GHAVINDI, village in Lahore dislrict of Pakistan, only one kilometre from the IndoPak border opposite Khaira, had a historical shrine commemorating Guru Nanak`s visit. Upon his arrival in the village, the Guru is said to have put up under a lahurd tree (Cordia latifolia). On this site was built Gurdwara Lahura Sahib (lahurd being a pronunciational variation of lasurd), which had to be abandoned at the time of mass migrations caused by the partition of the Punjab in 1947.
GHUKKEVALI, village 21 km north of Amritsar (31°38`N, 74°52`E) and connected by a link road to the AmritsarAjnalaDera Baba Nanak road, has two historical shrines, sacred to Guru Arjan (1563-1606) and Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-75), respectively. GURDWARA GURU KA BAGH, located in what was formerly called Guru kl Raur (raur is a Punjabi word for a barren tract of land), commemorates Guru Arjan`s stay here during his travel through the Majha country.
GHULAL, an old village in Ludhiana district, 8 km west of Samrala (30°50`N, 76°ll`E), claims a historical shrine dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh. This Gurdwara is not included in older lists of Sikh historical shrines, but local tradition indicates that Guru Gobind Singh, on his way from Machhivara to the interior ofMalva country, stopped in this village for a while before proceeding to Lall. The Gurdwara stands on a mound inside the village said to be the site of an older shrine.
GHULAM MOHIY UDDIN, SHAIKH (d. 1845), who rose to be governor of Kashmir in Sikh times, was the son of Shaikh Ujala, a munshi or accountant in the service of Sardar Bhup Singh of Hoshiarpur. At a young age, Ghulam Mohiy udDin took up service under Diwan Moti Ram, the governor of Kashmir, later shifting to Lahore. He exhibited great diplomatic skill when in 1823, under Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s instructions, he persuaded Sardar Muhammad `Azim Khan of Kabul, who had marched upon Peshawar, to retire without firing a shot. In 1827, Kirpa Ram, Diwan Moti Ram`s son, took him to Kashmir upon his appointment as governor of the province.
GHUMAN, village 10 km west of Sri Hargobindpur (30°41`N, 75°29`E) in Gurdaspur district of the Punjab. Namdev (1270-1350), the muchrevered saint of Maharashtra, some of whose hymns are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, lived in this village for a considerable time. Most of his years until the age of 55 were spent at Pandharpur, in Sholapur district of Maharashtra. Then he journeyed extensively through north India and returned to Maharashtra after 18 years. During this period, he also visited the Punjab and, according to tradition, made Ghuman his seat of residence.
GIAN (Skt.jnana), knowledge, understanding or consciousness, is what differentiates human beings from the animal world and establishes the superiority of homo sapiens over the other species. Nature has not only provided man with a qualitatively superior brain but has also endowed human mind with a dynamic inner stimulus called jagiasa (Skt. jijnasa}, desire to know, inquisitiveness. Perhaps it is on account of this urge for knowledge and the consequent exercise that human brain or mind (psyche or soul for the ancients) gradually developed over the millenia.
GIAN SINGH, BHAI (1883-1953), naqqash or fresco painter, was born in the city of Amritsar in 1883. His father, Taba Singh, a comb maker by profession, supplemented his meagre income by dispensing ayurvedic medicines in his spare time. At the age of five, Gian Singh was sent to school run by Giani Thakur Singh, who later rose into prominence as a Sikh missionary and scholar. Giani Thakur Singh`s influence on him was everlasting. After he had passed his primary school, Gian Singh was apprenticed to Nihal Singh Naqqash, a third generation descendant of Bhai Kehar Singh Naqqash, who enjoyed court patronage under Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
GIANI SAMPRADAI is one of three major schools of Sikhs theologians and expositors of the Sikh scripture, the other two being the Udasis and the Nirmalas. Giani, the Punjabi form of Sanskrit jndni from the rootjnd (to know), originally meant a scholar of high learning. In Sikh tradition, a gidmis a learned man of pious character, competent to recite faultlessly, interpret and expound the Guru Granth Sahib and other Sikh religious texts. Sampraddi denotes a sectarian system or school of thought of accredited standing. It is claimed that the school of Gianis originated with Bhai Mani Singh (d. 1737) who had the privilege of receiving instruction from Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh.