A History of Agriculture in India v2.c87.2

v2.c87.2

GURU NANAK’S religion was not a system of philosophy, but a way of life. According to Guru Nanak, meditation should be combined with manual work. He condemned idleness and exhorted his followers to engage themselves in productive work. Apart from this, he gave women a new status and dignity as mothers, and equal partners in life with their husbands. Guru Angad (1539-1552), the second Guru, earned his living by rope-making. The third Guru, Amar Das (1552-1574), ordered that the Udasis, the celibate ascetics, who did not follow a productive avocation, were to be excluded from the new faith. He himself earned his living as a small tradesman. Guru Ram Das (1574-1581), the fourth Guru, on a site granted by Akbar, restored an old tank which he called Amritsar. He made Amritsar the centre of the new faith. Guru Arjan (1581-1606) constructed the temple of Hari Mandir in the middle of the tank. He also founded the towns of Kartarpur and Tarn Taran, and built temples at these places. A characteristic of these temples is that they have doors on all sides, indicating that they are open to members of all castes and creeds. He also compiled the Adi Granth, the scripture of the Sikhs, which included the hymns of his predecessors and himself as well as of the bhaktas.