Fifth Sikh Guru
Guru Arjan was the fifth Guru, and the youngest son of Guru Ram Das. Guru Arjan built the Golden Temple at Amritsar in the middle of the lake constructed by the fourth Guru. He also built beautiful gurdwaras at what are now the great cities of Taru Taran, Kartarpur and Shri Hargobindpur. Guru Arjan brought together the hymns of the first four Gurus and his own into a volume called the Adi Granth. Sikhs believe that the Gurus' hymns are the words of God, and therefore the Holy Scriptures are treated with utmost respect. From the day the Adi Granth was completed and entered the Golden Temple, Guru Arjan slept on the floor of the temple, out of his love and respect for the word of God.Guru Arjan was the first Sikh martyr.
The Mogul Emperor Jehangir, was a tyrant who became jealous of the Guru's fame. He could not bear it when even devout Muslims praised the Guru's saintliness. Eventually, he found an excuse to bring Guru Arjan to his court. There he tried to convert him to Islam and get him to change the Adi Granth under the threat of death. Guru Arjan calmly declined both commands. For this he was tortured and martyred. The torture lasted for five days. First the Emperor's men sat the Guru in a tank of boiling water, the next day they sat him on a plate of red hot iron, the following day, they poured red hot sand over his painfully blistered body.
However, Guru Arjan remained calm and peaceful throughout his ordeal to show that all people should happily accept the will of God. He was martyred in 1606 but before his final departure, he sent a message that his son Har Gobind was to become the sixth Guru. He instructed that his martyrdom would show that all peaceful means to persuade the Emperor against tyranny having failed, it was now right and just to resort to the sword to protect the weak and innocent. He therefore instructed Guru Har Gobind to bear arms.