Guru Amar Das

Amar Das (* May 5, 1479 in Basarke at Amritsar, † September 1, 1574 ) was in 1552 appointed Guru of the Sikhs. He followed the tradition of his predecessors, Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Angad Dev, open and free to set up kitchens. He reformed existing rituals for marriage, birth and death, and founded religious centers where Sikhism was taught.

Under Amar Das became clear that Sikhism wanted to be something other than a Hindu sect. He was against the burning of widows and recommended a re-interpretation of this custom. As a poet, he lashed out at the greed of some Brahmins and the excesses of the veneration of images.

Likewise, Amar spoke out against the caste:

According to legend, the Raja of Haripur or even Akbar, the Mughal emperor, with the common people in the public Guru kitchen sit together and eat before they could see the Amar had (Guru ka langar ).