Guru Hargobind
Guru Hargobind was born on June 19, 1595. See ranking, bio blurb, and everyone else born that day.
About Guru Hargobind
Guru Hargobind (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿਗੋਬਿੰਦ, pronunciation: [gʊɾuː ɦəɾᵊgoːbɪn̯d̯ᵊ]l 19 June 1595 – 28 February 1644) was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He became Guru at the age of eleven, after the execution of his father, Guru Arjan, by the Mughal emperor Jahangir. He spent his early life with his father at Ramdaspur (Amritsar), while his tenure as guru involved him residing in Bhai Ki Daroli, Goindwal, Kartarpur (Jalandhar), Hargobindpur, Gwalior, Lahore, and Kiratpur, with travels to Agra, Nanakmatta, Kashmir, and Malwa (Punjab). Guru Hargobind introduced the process of militarization to Sikhism, likely as a response to his father's execution and to protect the Sikh community. He symbolized it by wearing two swords, representing the dual concept of mīrī and pīrī (temporal power and spiritual authority). In front of the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Hargobind constructed the Akal Takht (the throne of the timeless one). The Akal Takht represents the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa (the collective body of the Sikhs) today. Amongst his social views, Guru Hargobind considered women to be the consciousness of mankind, promoted the lifestyle of a householder, discouraged asceticism, and promoted marriage as a pathway to self-realization. Beginning in 1606 and ending upon his death in 1644, his guruship was the second longest of all the Sikh gurus, surpassed only by Guru Nanak, whose founding guruship lasted 40 years.