☬ ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ।।☬

"The Palace of the Lord God is so beautiful. Within it, there are gems, rubies, pearls and flawless diamonds. A fortress of gold surrounds this Source of Nectar. How can I climb up to the Fortress without a ladder? By meditating on the Lord, through the Guru,

Guru Arjan Sahib 

Guru Arjan Sahib, the youngest son of Guru Ramdas Sahib and Mata Bhani Ji was born at Goindwal Sahib on Vaisakh Vadi 7th, (19th Vaisakh) 
Samvat 1620 (April 15,1563). He learnt Gurmukhi script and Gurbani from Baba Budha ji. He was also given a suitable education in Persian, 
Hindi and Sanskrit languages. The child (Guru)Arjan Sahib often talked of God and loved to sing His songs. He had two elder brothers, Prithi 
Chand ji and Mahadev ji. The former proved to be the most selfish and the later mostly preferred utter silence. But (Guru) Arjan Sahib was 
sweet, humble and a perfect blend of devotion and sacrifice. He was hardly 18 years old when his father Guru Ramdas Sahib installed him as 
the Fifth Nanak. He was married to Mata Ganga ji and had a son (Guru) Hargobind Sahib. 

Guru Arjan Sahib completed the work on two sacred tanks (Sarowars) Santokhsar and Amritsar. He got the foundation stone of Harmandir Sahib, 
laid by a Muslim Saint Hazrat Mian Mir Ji of Lahore on 1st Magh, Vikrami Samvat 1644 (December 1588). After the completion of Sri Harmandir 
Sahib, Guru Sahib completed the construction of Santhokhsar. 

Guru Arjan Sahib founded the town of Tarn Taran Sahib near Goindwal Sahib and also created a large tank and Gurdwara there. A house for 
lepers was also built. He also laid the foundation stone of the town Kartarpur in Doaba region (near Jalandhar city). He constructed a Baoli 
in Dabbi-Bazar of Lahore. (Once Shah Jahan destroyed the Baoli and erected a mosque there. But later on Maharaja Ranjit Singh re-excavated 
the Baoli. Again, after the partition of India in 1947, it was demolished by the Musilm mob). Guru Sahib also established another town, 
Hargobindpur on the river Bias and sunk a big well for irrigation at Chheharta, a few miles away from Amritsar. 

Guru Arjan Sahib was very energetic and aspiring personality. In order to strengthen the cult of Sikhism he toured far and wide about five 
years throughout India. He also stayed sometime at Wadali (now it is called Guru-Di-Wadali near Amritsar city). To consolidate and extend 
Sikhism, Guru Arjan Sahib done a great and monumental work. After collecting the hymns of first four Guru Sahibs and several other Hindu and 
Muslim Saints, and compiled Guru Granth Sahib (written by Bhai Gurdas Ji). Guru Sahib himself contributed about 2000 verses for it, installed 
it at Sri Harmandir Sahib on Bhadon Sudi 1st Samvat 1661 (August/September 1604), and made Baba Budha Ji as the first Granthi. Sri Guru 
Granth Sahib proved a great landmark in the history of Sikh Nation. It created a sensor of religious separation from the Hindus and the 
Muslims. Now the Sikhism began to develop as a different religion. Once the emperor Akbar was mislead about the contents of Guru Granth Sahib 
by the enemies of Guru Arjan Sahib. But finding nothing objectionable, the emperor Akbar assessed Guru Granth Sahib as "The greatest Granth 
of synthesis, worthy of reverence". 

During the period of Guru Arjan Sahib the Amritsar city became the central institution where all the Sikhs used to gather annually on 
Baisakhi and the Massands began to deposit the collected offerings from the different parts of India in Guru Sahib's treasury. 

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