Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday paid tribute to Sri Guru Amar Das, the third Guru of Sikhism, on his Jyoti Jyot Diwas. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also offered his respects. All three recalled the Guru's teachings of equality, humility, service and social harmony.
Posting on X, Amit Shah said, "On the Jyoti Jyot Diwas of Sri Guru Amar Das Ji, the third Guru of Sikhism, who taught that love, equality, and humility are the true path of devotion, millions of salutations."
"He inspired humanity to renounce ego and embrace the path of service and dedication, and gave the message to society to unite as one. Guru Sahib's divine life and his lofty ideals will forever remain a source of inspiration for all humankind," he added.
Yogi Adityanath's Tribute
Yogi Adityanath said, "On the Jyoti-Jyot Diwas of Sri Guru Amar Das Ji Maharaj, the third Guru of the Sikh Panth, the great saint and immortal messenger of humanity, service, harmony, and spiritual consciousness, millions of salutations. The divine message given by Guru Amar Das Ji for the eradication of social evils remains even today a source of inspiration for all humanity. His luminous life will forever illuminate the path of public welfare."
Om Birla on Social Reform
Om Birla said, "Countless salutations on the Jyoti-Jot Diwas of the Sikhs' third Guru, Sri Guru Amar Das Ji. Guru Amar Das Ji's life is a symbol of the great values of service, equality, compassion, human dignity, and social reform. Through his spiritual contemplation and active life, he advanced the vision of a society in which there is no place for caste, high-low distinctions, and social discrimination."
Who Was Guru Amar Das?
Guru Amar Das, sometimes spelled Guru Amardas, became the third Sikh Guru on March 26, 1552, at the age of 73. His spiritual journey began late in life. Before becoming a Sikh, while on a pilgrimage after being prompted to search for a guru, he heard his nephew's wife, Bibi Amro, reciting a hymn by Guru Nanak. He was deeply moved by it, and that moment set him on the path that led to Guru Angad Dev and, eventually, the Guruship.
Why the Date Changes Every Year
Unlike fixed national holidays, Guru Amar Das's Jyoti Jyot Diwas does not fall on the same Gregorian date every year. The reason lies in the calendar used to mark it.
Most Sikh religious observances, including Gurpurabs and Jyoti Jyot Diwas, are calculated according to the traditional lunisolar Bikrami (Vikram Samvat) calendar. This calendar follows the phases of the moon, and its months and dates are tied to lunar days (tithis). The Gregorian calendar, by contrast, is purely solar, with 365 days in a year.
A lunar year is about 11 days shorter than a solar year. To keep the two broadly in step, the Bikrami calendar adds an extra month roughly every three years. Because of this difference in calculation, the same lunar date lands on a different Gregorian date each year, which is why Jyoti Jyot Diwas shifts on the English calendar.
There has also been a long-running debate within the Sikh community on this issue. The Nanakshahi calendar, adopted by the SGPC in 2003, had sought to fix such dates on the solar calendar, but it was later amended, and most Gurpurabs continue to follow lunar dates.
Why It Matters: Equality Put Into Practice
The leaders' tributes focused on equality and social reform, and Guru Amar Das is remembered for turning those ideals into daily practice. He is closely associated with strengthening the langar, the community kitchen, through the principle often summed up as "pehle pangat, phir sangat": first sit together in the row for the meal, then join the congregation. Anyone who came to meet the Guru was expected to eat in the langar first, sitting alongside others regardless of caste, status or background.
He is also remembered for building a wider organisational structure for the growing Sikh community through the manji system, for establishing Goindwal Sahib as a major centre with its well-known baoli (stepwell), and for composing the Anand Sahib, recited by Sikhs to this day. Sikh tradition also credits him with speaking out against social practices such as sati and purdah.
The Bigger Picture
Nearly five centuries later, the langar remains one of the most visible expressions of Sikh values. Gurdwaras around the world serve free meals to anyone who walks in, a tradition widely admired during emergencies, disasters and humanitarian crises. When leaders today speak of equality and ending discrimination, they are echoing ideas that Guru Amar Das put into practice in the 16th century.
The Bottom Line
Jyoti Jyot Diwas is a day of remembrance in the Sikh calendar. This year's tributes from the country's top leadership underline how the third Guru's message of service, humility and equality continues to find relevance well beyond the Sikh community.
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