Guru Ram Das

Guru Ram Das ([ɡʊru ɾɑm dɑs]; 1534–1581) was the fourth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and was given the title of Sikh Guru on 30 August 1574. He was Guru for seven years. Ram Das was born in Chuna Mandi Lahore, Punjab on 24 September 1534. His father was Hari Das and his mother Anup Devi(Daya Kaur). His wife was Bibi Bhani, the younger daughter of Guru Amar Das. They had three sons: Prithi Chand, Mahadev and Guru Arjan.

His father-in-law, Guru Amar Das, was third of the Ten Gurus. Guru Ram Das became guru on 1 September and was guru for 7 years.

Contributions

As a Guru, one of his main contributions to Sikhism was organizing the structure of Sikh society. Additionally, he was the author of Laava, the four hymns of the Sikh Marriage Rites. He was planner and creator of the township of Ramdaspur which became the Sikh holy city of Amritsar. He founded it in 1574 on land he bought for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to the new place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das). In Amritsar, he designed the gurdwara Harmandir Sahib, which translates as "The Abode of God" also known as the Darbaar sahib.