ne and life were eminently
gentle and unaggressive. He was succeeded by nine _gurus_, the last
and most famous of whom, Govind Singh, died in 1708.

"The names of the _gurus_ were as follows:

1. Baba Nanak 1469-1538-9
2. Angad 1539-1552
3. Amar Das 1552-1574
4. Ram Das 1574-1581
5. Arjun 1581-1606
6. Har Govind 1606-1645
7. Har Rai 1645-1661
8. Har Kishen 1661-1664
9. Teg Bahadur 1664-1675
10. Govind Singh 1675-1708

2. The earlier Gurus.

"Under the second Guru Angad an intolerant and ascetic spirit began
to spring up among the followers of the new tenets; and had it not
been for the good sense and firmness displayed by his successor,
Amar Das, who excommunicated the Udasis and recalled his followers
to the mildness and tolerance of Nanak, Sikhism would probably have
merely added one more to the countless orders of ascetics or devotees
which are wholly unrepresented in the life of the people. The fourth
_guru_, Ram Das, founded Amritsar; but it was his successor, Arjun,
that first organised his following. He gave them a written rule of
faith in the Granth or Sikh scripture which he compiled, he provided
a common rallying-point in the city of Amritsar which he made their
religious centre, and he reduced their voluntary contributions to
a systematic levy which accustomed them to discipline and paved the
way for further organisation. He was a great trader, he utilised the
services and money of his disciples in mercantile transactions which
extended far beyond the confines of India, and he thus accumulated
wealth for his Church.

"Unfortunately he was unable wholly to abstain from politics; and
having become a political partisan of the rebel prince Khusru, he was
summoned to Delhi and there imprisoned, and the treatment he received
while in confinement hastened, if it did not cause, his death. And
thus began that Muhammadan persecution which was so mightily to
change the spirit of the new faith. This was the first turning-point
in Sikh history; and the effects of the persecution were immediately
apparent. Arjun was a priest and a merchant; his successor, Har Govind,
was a warrior. He abandoned the gentle and spiritual teaching of
Nanak for the use of arms and the love of adventure. He encouraged
his followers to eat flesh, as giving them strength and da