Sikhism 413 J
to lead the Sikh community: Guru Amar Das
(1479–1574), Guru Ram Das (1534–81), Guru
Arjan Dev (1563–1606), Guru Hargobind (1595–
1644), Guru Har Rai (1630–61), Guru Harkrishan
(1656–64), Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–75), and
Guru Gobind SINGH (1666–1708).
Each of the 10 gurus made his contribution
to the development of the faith. For example, the
fourth guru began construction on what would
become the Golden Temple in AMRITSAR, the phys-
ical center of the Sikh community. The formation
of the Sikh community, the Khalsa (the pure
ones), was completed by the 10th guru, Gobind
Singh. He saw to the baptism of new members
Sikh Gurudwara (temple) in Hong Kong (Institute for the Study of American Religion, Santa Barbara, California)
into the Khalsa by sprinkling with sweetened
water stirred with a sword. At the time, each male
adopted the name Singh (lion) as his family name.
As a visible sign of membership in the community,
each male also began to wear the five K’s: (1) kesh,
long hair; (2) kangh, a comb; (3) kach, short pants
(for quick movement); (4) kara, a steel bracelet;
and (5) kirpan, a knife.
Through the years, the writing of the gurus
were compiled in a book, the Adi Granth. The
fifth guru, upon the completion of the Golden
Temple, formally installed the volume in the
temple, much as Hindus installed statues of dei-
ties in their temples. After the death of Gobind