The Guru Ram Das in Sikh Tradition

Guru Ram Das in Sikh Tradition traces the impact of the fourth Sikh Guru (1534-1581 C.E.) on the growth and movement of the Sikh community from the time of Guru Ram Das to the present. Guru Ram Das lived during the time when the Sikh community was forming itself around a sacred centre, a place of refuge and peace, which thrives more than four hundred years later. Guru Ram Das is credited with establishing Harimandir Sahib (the Golden Temple) as a sacred complex, as well as founding the city of Amritsar. The fourth Sikh Guru is also remembered through his poetry which is enshrined in the sacred text of the Sikhs, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Guru Ram Das in Sikh Tradition pieces together the collective memory of the Sikhs about their fourth sacred exemplar by looking back retrospectively on five centuries of Sikh history. This historical account reveals his influence and standing in the Sikh community from his lifetime to the present day, both in India and the West.