Guru Har Krishan Jiਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨ ਜੀ

Guru Har Krishan Ji (1656 to 1664) was the eighth Guru of Sikhism, and the youngest person ever to hold that office. He became Guru at the age of five, led the Sikhs for less than three years, and died at seven while caring for victims of a smallpox epidemic in Delhi. Sikhs remember him as Bal Guru, the Child Guru, and as Bala Pritam, the beloved child.

Who was Guru Har Krishan Ji?

Har Krishan was born on 7 July 1656 at Kiratpur Sahib, in the Shivalik foothills of Punjab, the second son of Guru Har Rai Ji, the seventh Guru, and Mata Krishen Kaur Ji, also known as Mata Sulakhni. His elder brother was Ram Rai. The family belonged to the Sodhi clan, and Kiratpur had been the seat of the Gurus since the time of Guru Hargobind Ji. Har Krishan grew up in the Guru's household, listening to Gurbani and meeting the Sikhs who came to Kiratpur from across Punjab.

Even as a small child, visitors noticed his calm manner and his grasp of the scripture. Sikh accounts say he delighted the hearts of his disciples with his explanations of passages from the holy Granth, reminding people to cherish the One God alone and to give up pride, anger and greed in favour of patience, charity and love. The poet Bhai Santokh Singh later compared him to the early morning sun, small in size, but with light everywhere.

Why did a five-year-old become Guru?

The choice of a child as Guru came out of a painful dispute. Guru Har Rai Ji had been summoned by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb to explain his support for Prince Dara Shikoh, and had sent his elder son Ram Rai to the emperor's court in his place. At court, Ram Rai changed a verse of the Adi Granth to please the emperor. When Guru Har Rai Ji learned of this, he excommunicated Ram Rai and declared that his younger son Har Krishan would succeed him.

Guru Har Rai Ji died on 6 October 1661. The next day, 7 October 1661, five-year-old Har Krishan was seated on the gaddi as the eighth Guru. His reign lasted two years, five months and 24 days, the shortest of any of the ten Gurus. Ram Rai, who had expected the succession, complained to Aurangzeb, and the emperor began to take an interest in the child Guru.

The journey to Delhi

Aurangzeb summoned the young Guru to Delhi through Raja Jai Singh, with an apparent plan to replace him with his elder brother Ram Rai. Guru Har Krishan Ji travelled by way of Ropar, Banur and Ambala, stopping to meet crowds of disciples along the road, and halted at Panjokhra, near Ambala. Sikh tradition remembers that a proud pandit, Lal Chand, challenged the child Guru's learning there. Guru Har Krishan Ji asked for the most unlettered man in the village, a deaf man named Chhajju Ram, and with a touch of his stick the man began to explain verses of the Bhagavad Gita so well that the pandit bowed at the Guru's feet. Both men became his disciples.

At Delhi, Raja Jai Singh lodged the Guru in his bungalow, the house that stands today as Gurdwara Bangla Sahib. The emperor had planned to test the boy, and Sikh accounts say two trays were laid before him, one of ornaments, clothes and toys, the other of a holy man's cloak. The child chose the cloak. He is also remembered for picking out the real queen from among Raja Jai Singh's ladies, when she had dressed as a maidservant. The meeting with Aurangzeb himself never took place. Some accounts say the Guru refused it because the emperor would demand miracles, which Sikh teaching forbids.

Serving the sick in the epidemic

In 1664 a severe epidemic of smallpox swept through Delhi, with cholera also reported in the city. The seven-year-old Guru went out through the narrow lanes to tend the sufferers, whatever their caste or creed, giving them water, comfort and prayer. The local Muslim population was so moved by this service that they called him Bala Pir, the child prophet. In the course of this service he caught the disease himself. He fell ill with a high fever, and the smallpox confined him to bed for several days. He died on 30 March 1664, before his eighth birthday. He had asked the Sikhs not to mourn him, but to sing the hymns of Gurbani.

Baba Bakale: naming the next Guru

Before he died, the Sikhs asked him who would lead them next. Guru Har Krishan Ji asked for a coconut and five paise, placed them before the congregation, and said only, 'Baba Bakale.' The Sikhs understood: the next Guru would be found in the village of Bakala, near the river Beas. There they found his great-uncle, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, who became the ninth Guru. The words frustrated Aurangzeb, who had wanted Ram Rai in the seat so he could control the community.

Where is Guru Har Krishan Ji remembered?

Guru Har Krishan Ji's short life is remembered wherever Sikhs gather. Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in New Delhi stands on the site of Raja Jai Singh's bungalow, and Sikh tradition holds that its sarovar brought healing to the sick of Delhi. Gurdwara Panjokhra Sahib near Ambala marks his halt on the road to Delhi, and Gurdwara Sri Sheesh Mahal Sahib at Kiratpur Sahib marks his birthplace. Every day, the Ardas carries Guru Gobind Singh Ji's tribute to him: 'Sri Har Krishan dhiyaiye, jis dithe sab dukh jaye.' Think of holy Har Krishan, whose very sight dispels all sorrow. His birth anniversary is observed each year as a gurpurab, and his story is told to Sikh children as the example of seva, selfless service given without counting the cost.