Har Krishan

The Guru Har Krishan ( Punjabi : ਹਰਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨ; * July 23, 1656 in Kiratpur Sahib ; † March 30, 1664 in Delhi ) was the eighth of a total of ten Sikh gurus . He lived from July 23, 1656 to March 30, 1664 and became the Sikh successor of his father Guru Har Rai on October 7, 1661 . Guru Har Krishan Sahib Ji is often referred to as "The Eighth Master " because of the order of the Sikh Gurus .

childhood

For the world Guru Har Krishan Sahib Ji came (also Kiratpur Sahib), a village in Kiratpur Punjab , the son of Guru Har Rai and Krishan Kaur. Shortly before his death in October 1661, his father chose him as the new guru, although the privilege would have been granted to the older son Ram Rai. Har Krishan was five years old at the time.

Appointment as a guru

In order to be able to decide the succession of the Sikh gurus between his two sons Ram Rai and Har Krishan, the father Har Rai chose an unusual path. He sent a confidante to the two sons. There he was supposed to stick a needle into the leg of the bed on which the two boys were sitting and reciting from collections of Sikh prayers. The confidante did as he was told and was amazed to find that the needle stayed in bed during Har Krishan's prayers , but not with Ram Rai. When asked about it by the confidante, Ram Rai explained that the durability of the needle is a parable for a soft heart in Har Krishan and a hard heart in himself. The father then chose Har Krishan.

Act as a guru

Ram Rai felt disadvantaged and complained to the sixth mogul, Aurangzeb, about a lack of loyalty and a disadvantage in terms of his inheritance share . Ram Rai secretly hoped to sow discord between the new Guru Har Krishan and the Mughal because the father had instructed the new Guru to always critically question the Mughal. In the course of time all Sikhs should turn against Har Krishan. Many Sikh and last but not least Aurangzeb were critical of the new guru. Therefore Aurangzeb sent the faithful Mirza Raja Jai Singh I. to the Guru to accompany him to a court hearing in Delhi . On the way to Delhi, Har Krishan received a lot of support from the Sikh, but he was also mocked because of his age. An adversary named Chhajju was converted by a simple touch of Har Krishan during the journey.

death

The Guru and his entourage were enthusiastically received in Delhi, where they were guests of Raja Jai ​​Singh. When the city ​​was hit by a smallpox epidemic, Har Krishan was among the many helpers. He then fell ill with smallpox himself and therefore appointed his successor on March 30, 1664. For this purpose he had five coins and a coconut brought to him - already very weak from the disease . With the words "Baba Bakala" the Guru held up his hand three times, indicating that his successor had been found in Bakala, who dedicated his life to meditation . Shortly afterwards, Guru Har Krishan Sahib Ji died of complications from smallpox at the age of only seven.