Ram Rai (

Gurmukhi Gurmukhī ( pa, ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). It is used by Punjabi Sikhs to write the language, commonly r ...

: ਰਾਮ ਰਾਏ; ''rāma rā'ē''; 1645–1687) was the excommunicated eldest son of the seventh

Sikh Guru The Sikh gurus ( Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established this religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year 1469 marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the found ...

, Guru Har Rai, and the founder of the Ramraiyas, an unorthodox and heretical sect in

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

Biography

Ram Rai meeting Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and displaying his supposed magical powers

Excommunication

After Sikhs assisted the fleeing

Dara Shikoh Dara Shikoh ( fa, ), also known as Dara Shukoh, (20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659) was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Dara was designated with the title ''Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba'' ("Prince of High Rank" ...

in the aftermath of the Battle of Samugarh,

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

demanded that the Sikh Guru explain his actions. Ram Rai was chosen by his father to represent him in the Mughal darbar (court) to explain why he had supported and given refuge to Dara Shikoh, during the Mughal war of succession (1657–1661). During this meeting, the emperor complained that a verse from the ''

Adi Granth The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) 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 re ...

'' was "anti-Islamic", in-response to this claim by the emperor, Ram Rai altered the words of the verse, which changed the context, instead of standing firm to his faith entirely. This had pleased the emperor. Ram Rai was excommunicated from the mainstream Sikh community by his father Guru Har Rai, after he learnt that his eldest son had altered gurbani to please Aurangzeb and nominated his younger son, Har Krishan, as next-in-line for the Sikh guruship before he died on 6 October 1661. This had foiled the plans of the

Mughal emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

, who was keeping Ram Rai as a hostage, as he had been hoping that the Sikh guruship would pass onto Ram Rai so that he could enact control over the wider Sikh community by manipulating their titular head. After his excommunication, he founded the

Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib is a Sikh place of worship in Dehradun, India, dedicated to Baba Ram Rai, eldest son of Guru Har Rai, the seventh of the ten Sikh Gurus. Baba Ram Rai settled here with his followers in the mid-17th century, after he w ...

, a Darbar in

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

which was built in

Indo-Islamic architecture Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced by and for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence in Sindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establ ...

style. Ram Rai's brother,

Guru Har Krishan Guru Har Krishan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨ, pronunciation: ; 7 July 1656 – 30 March 1664) was the eighth of the ten Sikh Gurus. At the age of five, he became the youngest Guru in Sikhism on 7 October 1661, ...

, was the eighth of the ten Sikh Gurus.

Death

After his death, he was succeeded as head of the sect by mahant Aud Dass, who was helped by Ram Rai's widow, Panjab Kaur.

References

Bibliography

External links

Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib - History
Sikh warriors 1645 births 1687 deaths Punjabi people {{Sikhism-stub