[3] At age 12, Bhai Jetha and his grandmother moved to Goindval, where they met Guru Amar Das, the third leader of Sikhism.

When it came time for Guru Amar Das to name his successor, he passed over his own sons and chose Bhai Jetha, citing his exemplary service, selfless devotion, and unquestioning obedience.

[3] Bhai Jetha was born in the morning of 24 September 1534 in a family belonging to the Sodhi gotra (clan) of the Khatri caste in Chuna Mandi, Lahore.

[10][11] Jetha would sometimes encounter holy-men whilst he was out-and-about working who he would share his provisions of food produce with free-of-cost, being reprimanded by his grandmother for doing so.

[10] Bhai Jetha spent a lot of his time hawking and selling baklian (boiled corn) when he stayed at Khadur to generate an income for himself.

[12][10] Guru Amar Das eventually visited Basarke again and returned to Goindwal with Bhai Jetha in his company.

[12] Under the patronage of Guru Amar Das, Bhai Jetha was educated in North Indian musical tradition.

[11] Jetha met with emperor Akbar and simply put forth the argument that in the eyes of the divine, all of humankind is equal.

[10] Guru Amar Das designed a test to decide which of his two son-in-laws, Ramo and Jetha, was worthy of being his successor.

[10] Sri Chand then realized why Guru Ram Das was worthy of occupying his father's spiritual seat after witnessing this action.

[10] The Guru was eventually joined by Bhai Gurdas, a familial relative of his predecessor whom was well-educated in religious, linguistic, and literary pursuits.

In one based on a Gazetteer record, the land was purchased with Sikh donations, for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung.

[7] The construction activity between 1574 and 1604 is described in Mahima Prakash Vartak, a semi-historical Sikh hagiographical text likely composed in 1741, and the earliest known document dealing with the lives of all the ten Gurus.

[21] These cover a range of topics: One who calls himself to be a disciple of the Guru should rise before dawn and meditate on the Lord's Name.

During the early hours, he should rise and bathe, cleansing his soul in a tank of nectar [water], while he repeats the Name the Guru has spoken to him.

– GGS 776 (partial)His compositions continue to be sung daily in Harmandir Sahib (Golden temple) of Sikhism.

However, sometime in 19th or 20th century, by conflicting accounts, the composition of Guru Ram Das came back in use along with the Anand Karaj ceremony, replacing the Hindu ritual of circumambulation around the fire.

The composition of Guru Ram emerged to be one of the bases of the British colonial era Anand Marriage Act of 1909.

[10] After a suggestion by Baba Buddha to venture into new potentials for generating funds, Guru Ram Das came-up with the Masand missionary system.

[3][24][10] This institutional organization famously helped grow Sikhism in the decades that followed, but became infamous in the era of later Gurus, for its corruption and its misuse in financing rival Sikh movements in times of succession disputes.

[10] The Guru's three sons had distinctive roles and personality traits: Prithi Chand was responsible for ensuring the smooth operation of the langar, keeping records, and overseeing appropriate accommodation for visitors; Mahadev was a deeply spiritual individual who had no interest in worldly affairs and preferred to be by himself; and Arjan Dev was the youngest but deeply pious and viewed his father truly as a spiritual teacher and role-model to emulate.

[10] However, the Guru was busy and would be unable to attend the marriage and thus requested his eldest son Prithi Chand go on his behalf to represent him.

[10] However, Prithi used the excuse that he was too engrossed and concerned with the operation of the langar, fund acquisition, and other responsibilities, to be able to go to Lahore for the marriage ceremony.

[10] Guru Ram Das died on 1 September 1581, in Goindwal, he nominated his younger son, Arjan Dev, as his successor.

[10] Later Prithi Chand created a rival faction which the Sikhs following Guru Arjan called Minas[26] literally, "scoundrels"), and is alleged to have attempted to assassinate young Hargobind.

[27][28] However, alternate competing texts written by the Prithi Chand led Sikh faction to offer a different story, contradict this explanation on Hargobind's life, and present the elder son of Guru Ram Das as devoted to his younger brother Guru Arjan.