The fifth Teacher Guru Arjan Dev decided to build a place of worship in Amritsar. It would be simply called the Harimandir; the temple of God. Any person, irrespective of gender, caste, or creed, could visit and pray here. To symbolize its openness, it would have four entrances, without doors, and would always be open – inviting all from the four corners of the planet to freely enter. To cement this openness of the Harimandir as the very base of its existence, he invited Baba Sain Mir Mohammad Sahib of Lahore, to lay the foundation stone. Baba was a famous and revered sufi saint who was also referred to as Mian Mir, and he laid the foundation stone of the Harimandir in January 1588 AD.
Guru Arjan Dev carried this inclusive view of God and spirituality into the compilation of the Guru Granth Sahib. He invited and sought contributions from saints, past and present, for being included in the Granth, in addition to the verses of the Gurus. Contributions came from all corners of the sub-continent, from across religions and sects, and the Guru selected them for being part of the holy book.
Other than the Gurus, the verses of the following spiritual thinkers and practitioners were included: Kabir, Ravidas, Namdev, Beni, Bhikhan, Dhanna, Jayadev, Parmanand, Pipa, Sadhna, Sain, Surdas, Trilochan, Ramkali Sadhu, Farid, Satta Doom, Balvand Rai, Kalshar, Balh, Bhika, Gayand, Harbans, Jalap, Kirat, Mathura, Nalh, and Salh.
These great souls came from all corners of South Asia, to Amritsar to contribute to the Guru Granth Sahib, Before he left his mortal frame, Guru Gobind Singh captured the essence of the Guru Granth Sahib in these words:
The temple and the mosque are the same;
Pooja and Namaz are the same.
The Human race is of one and the same caste.
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