guru

THATTHA, village 12 km northwest of Zira (30058`N, 74059`E) in Firozpur district, claims a historical Gurdwara dedicated to Guru Hargobind who encamped here once on his way from Amritsar to Darauli. Called Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi or simply Gurdwara Thattha Sahib, the shrine is situated one kilometre south of the village within a walled compound. The foundation of its present building, a square hall with a domed sanctum in the centre, was laid by Baba Kharak Singh on 16 Har 1992 Bk/July 1935. The large compound has a sarovar as well. The Gurdwara is under the management of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

TRILOCHAN, one of the three Maharashtrian saint poets whose compositions are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the other two being Namdev and Parmanand. Trilochan is said to have been born in AD 1267 of a Vaisya family. There is no unanimity among scholars regarding the place of his birth. Some say that he was born in the village of Bars! in present day Sholapur district of Maharashtra, others that he was born and brought up in Uttar Pradesh but came to Maharashtra where he spent most of his life. Besides being an ardent Vaisnavite, Trilochan (lit. the three eyed, that is one who can see the past, present and future all at once) was a learned scholar well versed in the Puranic lore and Indian philosophical thought.

UDE SINGH (d. 1705), warrior and martyr, was the third of the sons of Bhai Mani Ram, a Parmar Rajput of `Alipur in Multan district (now in Pakistan). Ude Singh along with four of his other brothers received the rites of the Khalsa on the historic Baisakhi day, 30 March 1699. He was among the trusted 25 who constituted Guru Gobind Singh`s escort and took a leading part in battles fought in or around Anandpur after the creation of the Khalsa. Already in 1698 he had proved his skill as a musketeer when he killed a tiger during the chase.

VANDAR, named after the Jatt clan who inhabits it, is a village 22 km southeast of Kot Kapura (30°35`N, 74°49`E) in Moga district of the Punjab. It has a historical gurdwara dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh, who made a brief halt here on his way from Dina to Kot Kapura. The shrine, called Gurdwara Sahib Patshahi X, is situated inside a walled compound entered through a gateway. The old shrine, a small domed room, is still preserved, but the Guru Granth Sahib is seated in a separate flatroofed hall where daily services take place. The Gurdwara, endowed with 15 acres of land. is managed by a local committee under the auspices of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. A largelyattended annual fair is held annually on the occasion of Baisakhi.

VIR SINGH. BHAI (1872-1957), poet, scholar and exegete, was a major figure in the Sikh renaissance and in the movement for the revival and renewal of Punjabi literary tradition. His identification with all the important concerns of modern Sikhism was so complete that he came to be canonized as Bhai, the Brother of the Sikh Order, very early in his career. For his pioneering work in its several different genres, he is acknowledged as the creator of modern Punjabi literature. Born on 5 December 1872, in Amritsar, Bhai Vir Singh was the eldest of Dr Charan Singh`s three sons.

AGAMPUR or AGAMPURA, lit. city unapproachable or inaccessible (Skt. agamya plus pur or pura). The word appears in one of the hymns of Guru Nanak in Asa measure where it is used to signify God`s abode or the ultimate state or stage of spiritual enlightenment and bliss. Another term used synonymously in the same hymn is nijaghar, lit. one`s own real home signifying the ultimate sphere of jivatma.

AJMER CHAND, ruler of Kahlur (Bilaspur), one of the princely states in the Sivaliks. He succeeded his father. Raja Bhim Chand, who had retired in his favour. Bhim Chand had led battles against Guru Gobind Singh, and his son, Ajmer Chand, continued the hostility. He formed a league of the hill chieftains and solicited help from Emperor Aurangzib in order to evict Guru Gobind Singh from Anandpur which fell within his territory. Their attacks upon Anandpur in 1700 and 1703 proved abortive, but Guru Gobind Singh had to evacuate the citadel in 1705 under pressure of a prolonged siege. Ajmer Chand joined the imperial troops in their pursuit of the Guru up to Chamkaur. Ajmer Chand died in 1738.

AKUL, BHAI, a resident of Sultan pur Lodhi in present day Kapurthala district of the Punjab, embraced the Sikh faith in the time of Guru Amar Das. Bhai Gurdas in his Varan praises his sincerity and devotion to the Guru. Once Bhai Akul, along with several others from his village, waited on Guru Arjan and begged to be instructed in how sattvika gunas, or qualities of purity and goodness, might be cultivated.

AMAR DAS, GURU (1479-1574), the third of the ten Gurus of the Sikh faith, was born into a Bhalla Khatri family on Baisakh sudi 14, 1536 Bk, corresponding to 5 May 1479, at Basarke, a village in present day Amritsar district of the Punjab. His father\'s name was Tej Bhan and mother\'s Bakht Kaur; the latter has also been called by chroniclers variously as Lachchhami, Bhup Kaur and Rup Kaur. He was married on 11 Magh 1559 Bk to Mansa Devi, daughter of Devi Chand, a Bahil Khatri, of the village of Sankhatra, in Sialkot district, and had four children two sons, Mohri and Mohan, and two daughters. Dani and Bhani. Amar Das had a deeply religious bent of mind.

ANAND (Skt. Anand, from nand meaning "to rejoice" or "to delight") denotes mystical experience, spiritual bliss or a state of consciousness such as that ofaJi`van mukta, i.e. one released while still in body. Anand in the Upanisadic texts istaken to be one of the three inherent attributes of atman or Brahman, the other two being sat and chit. In the Taittiriya Upanisad (II. 15), it acquried this meaning of pure bliss. The self at the lowest or first stage of its evolution is defined as the annamaya kosa (the matter) which evolves successively into prana (life), man (mind or perceptual consciousness), vijnana (self consciousness) and ananda, nondual bliss.