Baba Sunder, also spelt as Sundar, was one of the four

Gursikh Gursikh ( Punjabi: ਗੁਰਸਿੱਖ ) is a term used by Sikhs, either to describe any Sikh, or one who is especially devoted to following the Sikh guru, a "pious, observant Sikh". See also * Amritdhari * Anand Karaj Anand Karaj () is t ...

s whose

gurbani Gurbani (, pronunciation: , lit. the Guru's words) is a Sikh term, very commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib. In general, hymns in the central text of the Sikhs, the Gu ...

is present in

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib (, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth (), its first rendition, w ...

Biography

He was the great-grandson of the third Sikh Guru,

Guru Amar Das Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73. Befor ...

. His father is said to be Anand Das, and he is the grandson of Guru Amardas' younger son, Baba Mohri. He is said to have had a pleasant childhood and had deep affection for his great-grandfather,

Works

He was known for his composition, '' Ramkali Sadu'', which was composed by him, and is present on Angs (pages) 923–924 of the

. The composition contains six stanzas, or ''padas''. Sadh literally means "call" (ਸੱਦਾ). The hymn states how Guru Amardas has become one with Almighty God and appoints

Guru Ramdas Guru Ram Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਮ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 24 September 1534 – 1 September 1581), sometimes spelled as Guru Ramdas, was the fourth of the ten Sikh gurus. He was born to a family based in Lahore, who ...

as the next guru, and how he told his family not to weep for him after his death. The composition also explains the reaction of a Sikh towards physical death. It also expounds on the importance of ''

kirtan Sikh ''kirta''n with Indian harmoniums and '' Kenya.html" ;"title="tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya">tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya (1960s) ''Kirtana'' (; ), also rendered as ''Kiirtan'', ''Kirt ...

'' on the spiritual path and describes the nature of the Sikh gurus as different physical bodies embodied by one spirit. It is also one of the earliest surviving literature documenting the

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

of a

Sikh guru The Sikh gurus (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ; Hindi: सिख गुरु) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established the religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year ...

, as it testifies that around the time Guru Amar Das died, he anointed Bhai Jeṭhā (later Guru Ram Das) as his successor, placed sandal paste on his forehead (as a mark of passing on the Guruship, and requested that all of his familial relations pay obeisance to him.

References

Punjabi Sikhs {{Sikhism-stub