Guru Ram Das Ji

Guru Ram Das Ji grew up as a young orphan selling boiled chickpeas in the streets of Lahore. He had very little, but he served with everything he had. When he came to the Guru’s presence, he worked, he cooked, he dug wells — never asking for praise or reward.

His humility was so deep and genuine that Guru Amar Das Ji chose him to carry the Guruship forward.

As Guru, he founded a new city — Ramdaspur, the place we today call Amritsar, meaning the Pool of Nectar. He began by excavating a Sarovar, a sacred body of water at the heart of the new settlement. He invited people of all backgrounds to come, settle, trade, and worship freely. A city built on love, open to all.

Guru Ram Das Ji also gave every Sikh wedding its most treasured gift: the Lavan, four hymns that walk a couple together around Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Each round is a step closer to Waheguru. Because of him, every Sikh marriage begins and ends in the presence of the Guru’s word.

Guru Ram Das Ji showed us that love is at the heart of everything — including these words sung at every Sikh wedding:

Life Journey of Guru Ram Das Ji

Guru Ram Das Ji was born Bhai Jetha on 24 September 1534, in the Chuna Mandi area of Lahore. His childhood was marked by loss. His mother died when he was very young; his father followed when Jetha was only seven. He went to live with his maternal grandparents in a small village called Basarke. He sold boiled chickpeas in the streets to help his grandparents and himself.

What he had was a willing heart and an instinct for service that would eventually define his entire life.

When Guru Amar Das Ji founded the township of Goindwal in 1546, young Jetha — then about twelve years old — moved there with his grandmother. Being near the Guru changed everything. He served in the Langar, helped dig the great baoli step-well at Goindwal, and carried baskets of earth and lime on his head alongside ordinary labourers. He did not ask for recognition.

His sincerity was so evident that Guru Amar Das Ji arranged for his daughter Bibi Bhani Ji to marry him. Even as a son-in-law of the Guru, Bhai Jetha continued to serve like any humble Sikh. He had no interest in status. He was interested only in the Guru’s grace.

Before receiving the Guruship, Bhai Jetha demonstrated his calibre in a very public way. Some opponents of Guru Amar Das Ji — including a man named Tappa and a group of high-caste Hindus — had filed a complaint against the Guru with Emperor Akbar, claiming his teachings were damaging to tradition. Guru Amar Das Ji sent Bhai Jetha to the royal court. There, in front of the Emperor himself, Bhai Jetha explained Sikh philosophy with such clarity, honesty, and conviction that Akbar was not only satisfied but genuinely impressed.

The complaint was dismissed. The Guru’s court recognised that Bhai Jetha had a rare combination of humility and inner strength.

In 1574, as Guru Amar Das Ji prepared to merge with the eternal light, he bowed before Bhai Jetha and passed the Guruship to him. Bhai Jetha became Guru Ram Das Ji.

One of Guru Ram Das Ji’s greatest acts was building the city of Ramdaspur — the place we know today as Amritsar, meaning “Pool of Nectar.” He selected a site in the Majha region of Punjab and began by excavating the Sarovar — a body of sacred water called Santokh Sar — at the heart of the new settlement. He then invited traders, craftspeople, and families of every background to come and settle. He wanted to create not just a place of worship, but a living, breathing community.

The city grew around the Sarovar, which later became the site of Sri Darbar Sahib. Guru Ram Das Ji did not live to see its completion; that was accomplished by his son Guru Arjan Dev Ji. But the vision, the land, and the first strokes of the shovel belonged entirely to him.

Guru Ram Das Ji also reinforced the Manji system he had inherited, now appointing trusted Sikhs known as Masands to collect offerings and carry the Guru’s teachings to distant communities. This kept the growing Sikh panth connected across wide geography.

The Lavan — four sacred hymns composed by Guru Ram Das Ji — form the heart of every Sikh wedding ceremony. Each Lavan describes a stage in the soul’s deepening journey toward union with Waheguru. The first Lavan speaks of setting out on the path of righteous living. The second is about meeting Waheguru through the Guru’s wisdom and the quieting of the ego.

The third describes the state of longing and love — the heart filled with devotion. The fourth describes the peace of arrival — the soul that has merged with the divine.

As a couple walks around Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji with each Lavan, they are not just marrying each other. They are walking together toward Waheguru.

Guru Ram Das Ji passed the Guruship to his youngest son, Guru Arjan Dev Ji, in August 1581, and merged with eternal light on 1 September 1581. The man who once sold chickpeas in the streets of Lahore left behind a sacred city, a wedding ceremony that millions observe to this day, and a reminder that humility is not weakness — it is the very quality that the Guru seeks most.