Guru Har Rai

Bar Rai became guru in 1644 on the death of his grandfather, Guru Bargobind. Be was a peace-loving man whose only pleasure in hunting was to bring the animals back for his zoo. There were no major military campaigns during his guruship although armed Sikhs were called on to defend themselves on a number of occasions. The oppression of the non-Muslims by the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb grew more severe at this time and Bar Rai spent his time peacefully consolidating existing Sikh communities and proselytising in areas of the Punjab where the imperial government would not feel themselves politically threatened. Born in 1630, Guru Bar Rai died in 1661 although he was suffering from no apparent illness at the time. 11 is suspected that he may have been poisoned by his jealous brother who was in league with the Emperor.

Guru Bar Rai and a poor woman s bread

There lived on the edge of the hunting forest a poor old woman who did spinning to earn her living. And not too far away there lived the seventh Guru of the Sikhs. The old woman had often longed to see Guru Har Rai but she had never had the chance. One day she earned a small amount of money from her spinning and bought with it some flour. She took it back to her tiny house and mixed it and kneaded it and cooked it on her fire as best as she could. And then she took the small bread cakes that she had made and stood by the side of a track that led from the forest.

Deep in the great forest Guru Har Rai and his Sikh friends had been spending a day of sport, riding and hunting. Har Rai was tired and hungry and made his way along one of the tracks that led out of the forest. As he came out of the trees there stood by the side of the road a poor old woman. Har Rai jumped down from his horse: 'I see you've been waiting here for some time,' he said. 'Have you anything I could eat? After the day's sport I'm hungry and it will be late before I get back home.'

'I have only these small bread cakes,' answered the old woman offering them to him. Without stopping to wash his hands Guru Har Rai took the bread cakes from the old woman he had never seen before and ate them as if they were the finest food that a king could eat. When he had finished he thanked her many times for the excellent meal and then rode off to join the hunt.

When the hunting party came back to their own village that evening Har Rai told the Sikhs of the kindness of the old woman who had nothing herself but was prepared to offer the Guru her food. But some of the hunting party were disgusted. 'It might have been kind,' they said to each other, 'but the Guru should not be eating without washing his hands, and he should not be eating food from a strange old woman in the forest. You don't know how dirty it might be.'

The next day was to be a day of enjoyment and sport too. That morning while the Guru was getting ready some of the Sikhs had made sweet cakes. They had made them with the finest pure flour and everything that went into them was rich and expensive. Carefully they were wrapped and prayers said over them so that they might be pure.

Later in the day when the Guru was resting from the hunt his Sikhs brought out the sweet cakes and offered them to him. Guru Har Rai said that he did not want them.

'But you ate unclean food made by a dirty old woman in her poor little hut yesterday. We have made these sweet cakes with all the best ingredients, we have said prayers over them that they might be pure and we have brought them to you carefully wrapped. Why could you eat the old woman's food and not ours?'

'I ate the old woman's food because it was made for me with love. Your food was made with pride,' answered Har Rai. The Sikhs realised that he was right. They had made the food carefully and cleanly but they had not done it with love for the Guru. They had done it to show him how he ought to eat. They asked him to forgive them.

All the Sikh gurus taught that saying prayers and not meaning them, or going to holy places without understanding why, or doing religious things without loving God were all a waste of time whether you were a Hindu, a Muslim or even a Sikh. The most important thing is to love God and to think about Him in everything you do.

People put on their best clothes and go to all sorts of places looking for God:

But they forget to make their hearts clean.
They won't find God
and they won't find happiness.
You must try to be a saint in your own home
and do as the Gurus have taught you;
Be truthful, be loving, and do good things for others. This is the only way that you will know the truth and be given God's grace.
(from Guru Ram Das in the Guru Granth Sahib )