Guru Amar Das Ji Prakash Purab: the third Guru, langar and the baoli of Goindwal

The Prakash Purab of Sri Guru Amar Das Ji celebrates the birth in 1479 of the third Sikh Guru, at the village of Basarke near Amritsar. He became Guru at the age of seventy-three, and his long life is remembered as proof that it is never too late to give oneself to the Guru.

The life of Sri Guru Amar Das Ji

For many years Amar Das Ji was a devout Vaishnav who went on pilgrimage to the Ganga. Hearing Bibi Amro Ji, the daughter of Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji, singing the Guru's bani, he went to Khadur Sahib and became a Sikh. Already in his sixties, he served the Guru for about twelve years, rising before dawn to carry water from the river Beas. Guru Angad Dev Ji chose him as successor.

As Guru he made Goindwal Sahib the centre of the faith. He made langar a condition of meeting him: emperor or labourer, everyone first sat in a line and ate together, a practice tradition says the emperor Akbar himself accepted. He built the baoli, a step-well of eighty-four steps, organised the growing Sikh community into twenty-two manjis for preaching, appointed women among his preachers, and spoke against sati and purdah. He composed Anand Sahib, which Sikhs recite in their Nitnem and at every Anand Karaj.

How the day is observed

Sangats gather at Basarke, where Gurdwara Janam Asthan marks his birthplace, and at Goindwal Sahib, where many pilgrims recite Japji Sahib on the steps of the baoli. Gurdwaras everywhere hold kirtan, Akhand Paath and langar, and the day is a natural time to reflect on serving others without ego.