ਮੀਰੀ ਪੀਰੀ

Miri Piri (ਮੀਰੀ ਪੀਰੀ) is a central Sikh principle: temporal power and spiritual authority belong together in one life, and neither is complete without the other. Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh Guru, gave it lasting form in 1606 when he wore two swords, one for miri and one for piri.

What do the words miri and piri mean?

Both words are of Perso-Arabic origin, adapted into the Sikh tradition, as the Sikh Encyclopedia explains. Miri comes from mir, itself a contraction of the Arabic amir, meaning a commander, governor or lord, and it signifies temporal power: rule, defence and the affairs of this world. Piri comes from pir, a saint or spiritual guide, the head of a religious order, and it stands for spiritual authority. Put together, miri piri names the close relationship between the temporal and the spiritual, a principle that has shaped Sikh religious and political thought and the community's behaviour ever since.

Why did Guru Hargobind wear two swords?

He became Guru in 1606 at the age of eleven, after his father, Guru Arjan, was executed on the orders of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. At his installation he wore two swords on his person, one representing miri, the political command of the community, and the other piri, its spiritual headship, and he is remembered as the master of miri and piri alike. In front of the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar he built the Akal Takht, the throne of the Timeless One, and used that seat for the conduct of secular affairs. He also raised an armed force, a practical measure so that the young community could defend its freedom of faith and worship.

What does Miri Piri ask of a Sikh?

The idea's roots reach back to Guru Nanak himself, who taught not withdrawal from the world but participation in it: family, work and social life were brought within the religious domain, and oppressive power was to be faced honestly. Miri Piri is not a design for priestly rule: the encyclopedia notes that it does not envisage a theocratic system, and Sikh tradition has no priestly hierarchy. Instead, the two swords correct each other. Piri gives miri its conscience, so that power defends freedom of belief and stands against injustice, and miri gives piri its protection, so that devotion, service and honest living can flourish in safety.