Lehal Library

Building of the Sikh Church 53 expressed the hope that 'As one lamp is lighted from another, so the Guru's spirit will pass into him and will dispel the darkness in the world.' Arjun (1563-1606) Arjun's path, like that of his three predecessors, was full of pitfalls. As soon as his succession was proclaimed, his elder brother, Prithi Chand, turned violently hostile. Arjun was fortunate in having the loyal support of the venerable Buddha and Bhai Gurdas in thwarting the machinations of Prithi Chand19 and preventing a schism in the community. Arjun's first task was to complete the building of a temple in Cak Ram Das. He invited the Muslim divine, Mian Mir of Lahore to lay the foundation stone of the Harimandir, the temple of God. Instead of building the shrine on a high plinth as was the Hindu custom, Arjun had it built on a level lower than the surrounding land, so that the worshippers would have to go down the steps to enter it. And, unlike Hindu temples, which had only one entrance, Arjun had the Harimandir open on all four sides. These architectural features were intended to be symbolic of the new faith, which required the lowest to go even lower and whose doors were ever open to all who wished to enter.~~, 19 Curd.as gave him the sobriquet minii, deceitful, by which he is known to lhis day. 20 The four doors represented the four castes of Hindus. 'The teaching is for all the four castes. lhe Kshatriya , Brahmin, Shudra, and Vaishya,· wrote Arjtm ( Suhi) . The architecture is a happy blend of the Hindu and Muslim styles. The Lemple was _rebuilt during I.he period of L11e Sikh misls. IL was destroyed by the Afghans more than once, and was finally built in iLs present form in marble and gold by Ranjit Singh. The inscription above the entrance of the central shrine states: The Great Guru in His wisdom looked upon Maharajah Raajit Singh as hls chief servitor And Sikh, md in His benevolence, bestowed On him th·.: privilege of serving the temple. (Dated Sambat, 1887.)