guru

ATTAR SINGH, SARDAR SIR (1833-1896), scholar nobleman, was a collateral of the rulers of Patiala, and belonged to the village of Bhadaur, in present day Sangrur district of the Punjab. He was born in 1833, the son of Kharak Singh. From the very beginning, he had a bent for learning and gained pro ficiency in Urdu, Persian, Punjabi and English. For study of Sanskrit, he went to Varanasi. For his mastery in Sanskrit learning he was honoured by the British with the title of.Mahamahopadhyaya.

AGAMPUR – A village, about two km from Anandpur Sahib. There are two Gurdwaras in this village: 1....

BABA, a Persian word meaning \'father\' or \'grandfather\', is used among Sikhs as a title of affection and reverence. In its original Persian context, Baba is a title used for superiors of the Qalandar order of the Sufis, but as transferred to India its meaning extends to cover the old as well as any faqiror sannyasi of recognized piety. This was also one of Guru Nanak\'s honorific titles during his lifetime. It assumed a hereditary character and all the physical descendants of the Gurus were generally addressed by this title. Apart from them, the title was also applied to one who combined piety with the exercise of a secular authority.

BAHIR JACHCHH or Bahir Jakkh, a village in Samana tahsil of Patiala district, situated on the left bank of the Sarasvati, a small stream sacred to the Hindus, commemorates the visit of Guru Tegh Bahadur, who is believed to have stayed here with a devotee, Malla, a carpenter by trade. A small mud hut marked the site until Maharaja Karam Singh, of Patiala, in whose territory the village lay, had a proper gurdwara constructed in 1840. This, too, has since been demolished and replaced by a bigger gurdwara and a sarovar, holy bathing pool.

BALLU, son of Mula, was the grandfather of Bhai Mani Ram of "Alipur, in Multan district, whose five sons were distinguished warriors in the retinue of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708). According to Bhatt Vahi Multani Sindhi, Ballu himself was a retainer of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644). He died fighting for the Guru in the battle of Amritsar fought on 14 April 1634.

BARAMULA (34° 13`N, 74° 23`E), a district town 52 km northwest ofSrinagar in Kashmir is situated at the mouth of the gorge by which River Jehlum leaves the Kashmir valley after passing through Wular Lake. Guru Hargobind, Nanak VI, stayed at Baramula for a few days during his visit to the valley in 1621. A memorial platform was later constructed on the site by devotees. A gurdwara, originally named Kot Tirath but now known as Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi, was established during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

BAVANJA KAVI, lit. fifty-two poets, is how the galaxy of poets and scholars who attended on Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) is popularly designated. Guru Gobind Singh, Nanak X, prophet and soldier, was an accomplished poet and also a great patron of letters. According to Sarup Das Bhalla, Mahima Prakash, he sent out Sikhs to different parts of the country to invite and bring to him scholars of repute. His instruction was: "Let them bring with them works pertaining to the fields they specialize in." When they came, "the True Guru bestowed great respect and honour upon them and provided for them without discrimination.

BHAGATU, BHAI (d. 1652), a devoted Sikh who served the Fifth, Sixth and the Seventh Gurus, was the son of Adam (Uddam in some chronicles), a Siddhu Brar of Malva country. Sikh chronicles record that Adam, without a son for a long time and despaired of prayers at the feet of different holy men, Muslim as well as Hindu, was advised by a Sikh to go to Guru Ram Das. Adam reached Amritsar and dedicated himself to the service of the Guru and the sangat. The Guru was pleased by his humility and sincerity. Adam received his blessing and had a son born to him. Bhagatu, as the son was named, grew to be a saintly person with a firm faith in the Guru.

BHAI, of Indo Aryan origin (Sanskrit bhratr, Pali bhaya), means brother in its literal sense and is employed as an honorific as well as in the dominant familial sense and as a title of affection between equals. It has been used in the Guru Granth Sahib in the latter sense and there are several apostrophic examples none of which seems to imply any special rank or status. However, by the middle of the seventeenth century, it was being used as a title implying distinction: the earliest example is the Bala Janam Sakhi (AD 1658) which refers to its putative author as Bhai Bala. The naturalness of its use in this particular context suggests that it must have developed the honorific connotation even earlier though it does not necessarily follow that these connotations were clearly apprehended in earlier usage.

BHANU BHAI, a Bahil Khatri of Rajmahal in the present Santhal Parganah of Bihar, was a devout Sikh of the time of Guru Hargobind. According to Bhai Mani Singh, Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, Bhai Bhanu once asked Guru Hargobind, "0 true king! Different religious books prescribe different paths to be followed such as austerities, pilgrimages, sacrifices, fasting, rituals, knowledge and meditation. Which is the best way to attaining the goal?" The Guru replied, "Cultivate God`s Name with humility, and you will obtain liberation."