Guru Ram Das: Making Room for Miracles
Who is Guru Ram Das, and why do we call on him when we seek a miracle?
Guru Ram Das was the fourth Sikh Guru, a spiritual teacher who lived in India in the sixteenth century. Known for his humility, compassion, and devotion, he is honored in the Kundalini Yoga tradition as the Lord of Miracles. His name means “servant of God,” and his life expressed that service through caring for others.
Born as Jetha, he was a young orphan who earned a modest living and devoted himself to serving the community of his teacher, Guru Amar Das. He sold wheat berries to earn his livelihood, helped in the community kitchen, and worked on construction projects, devoting his time and energy to serving others. When Guru Amar Das’s wife was considering a husband for their daughter, Bibi Bhani, she pointed to Jetha as an example of someone serviceful and radiant. Guru Amar Das recognized these qualities and chose Jetha himself as their daughter’s husband. In time, Jetha became Guru Amar Das’s successor, taking the name Guru Ram Das.
One story describes how, even after becoming Guru, he would dress humbly and visit the pilgrims’ camp at night to wash the feet of people who had traveled long distances to meet him. Without knowing who he was, they received his care as they rested. When they met the Guru the following day, they were surprised to recognize the humble person who had served them the night before.
In the teachings of Kundalini Yoga, Guru Ram Das is a source of guidance, healing, and protection. He symbolizes the possibility of Divine help because his life embodied such complete humility, service, and devotion. These qualities show us how to become receptive to grace: through gratitude, compassion, and a mind free of fixed judgments. Calling on him through mantra and prayer is a practice of opening ourselves to that grace, especially when our own understanding cannot see a way forward.
The shabad, or sacred hymn, Dhan Dhan Ram Das Guru celebrates this grace and the miracle of the Divine expressed through Guru Ram Das. The teachings encourage us to keep the mind clear, the consciousness bright, and gratitude alive. Through devotion, we can loosen our attachment to how things must happen and create space for possibilities beyond what we can imagine.
We may come to prayer hoping for a change in our circumstances. We can also become receptive to the guidance, courage, or understanding that helps us move through them. As we honor Guru Ram Das through sacred sound and service, we open our hearts to healing and the miracle of transformation.
To make room for miracles is to practice this openness: to lean on guidance, act with compassion, and remember the Infinite within the life we are living.
Guru Ram Das’s life offers a simple place to begin: serve with compassion, cultivate gratitude, and remain open to the Infinite.