guru

KALIANA, BHAI (d. 1621), a Bindrao Khatri, was a leading Sikh of the time of Guru Arjan. He received initiation at the hands of the Guru, who instructed him to practise the Word and to devote himself to the service of others (See MAM CHAND HANDA, BHAi). Bhai Kaliana was also trained in the fighting skills and served in the armed retinue of Guru Hargobind. In the battle at Ruhela, he fell fighting valiantly.

KAUL, SODHI, or Sodhi Karival Nain (1638-1706), son of Baba Hariji and a great grandson of Baba Prithi Chand, the elder brother of Guru Arjan (1563-1606), was born at Muhammadipur village in Lahore district of the Punjab (now in Pakistan). He was educated under eminent men of letters at Amritsar where his father had been in control of the Harimandar and other Sikh shrines since 1639 as head of the Mina sect.

KHANU, BHAI, one of the prominent Sikhs mentioned by Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI. 15. He received the rites of initiation at the hands of Guru Angad and lived up to the time of Guru Amar Das. As says Bhai Mani Singh, Sikhdn di Bhagat Maid, he, accompanied by his son Maia and Bhai Govind, a Bhandari Khatri, once waited upon Guru Angad. "Enlighten us, 0 sustainer of the poor," he begged, "about the virtue most precious." "There is no virtue higher than love," said the Guru.

KHUSRAU, PRINCE (1587-1622), the eldest son of Prince Salim (later Emperor Jahanglr) from Man Bai (later Shah Bcgam), daughter of Raja Bhagvan Das of Amber, was born at Lahore on 6 August 1587. His grandfather, Emperor Akbar, had him brought up in the liberal tradition, entrusting his education to teachers, such asAbu`1Fazl and Abu`lKhair. Sheo Daft, a scholar of distinction, instructed him in Hindu religious thought and philosophy. Under the influence of these teachers and of his mother and Raja Man Singh, who acted as his guardian for sometime, Khusrau developed an eclectic interest in religion. His amiable disposition won him the favour of his grandfather and the goodwill of the liberal party at the court.

KAPILA (KAPILADA) The great Yogis like Kapila etc. sing the Praises of Godlike (Guru Nanak) (Swayye Mahle Pahle Ke, p. 1389) Kapila, the celebrated sage, was the founder of Sankhya philosophy. He is sometimes identified witMi Vishnu. He lived in the nether-regions (Patala) and is sakf to have destroyed sixty thousand sons of king Sagara. See : Ganga and Bhagiratha

LAKSHMlPUR, in Katihar district of Bihar, is predominantly a Sikh village and has a historical shrine dedicated to Guru Tegh Bahadur. The ancestors of the inhabitants of this village lived in Kantnagar, a flourishing port on the left bank of the River Ganga, and it was in fact this latter village where Guru Tegh Bahadur had stayed on his way back from Assam to Patna in 1670. The whole village accepted the Sikh faith.

LEHAL KALAN, village 9 km southeast of Lahira (29°56`N, 75°48`E), in Sarigrur district of the Punjab, was visited by Guru Tegh Bahadur, who halted briefly on a sandy mound, about 400 metres west of the village. An old farmer, Arak by name, served him, and received instruction from him. Bhai Arak constructed a simple memorial at the mound in honour of the Guru. His descendants continued to manage it until 1883 when Bhai Mall Singh, a mahant of Dhamtan, constructed the square domed Manji Sahib which still stands.

MAIA, BHAI, son of Bhai Khanu who, according to Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI. 15, received instruction at the hands of Guru Angad.

MANJI, derived from the Sanskrit mancha and manchaka meaning a stage, platform, raised seat, dais, throne, beadstead, or a couch, has a special connotation in Sikh tradition. Ordinarily, a manji, in Punjabi, means a cot, especially of the simple, stringed variety. Social manner in India requires that when more than one person are seated on the same cot, the one senior in age or superior in relationship should occupy the upper portion of it. But when someone commanding high social or spiritual status is present, he alone occupies the manji, while the others squat on the ground in front of or around it.

MATHRA SINGH, son of Bhai Dial Das, was according to Sarup Singh Kaushish, Guru kidn Sdkhidn, a warrior...