Within a century, Sikhism had become a mass movement. Even privileged members of the Muslim state administration began to embrace Sikhism. For example, Mian Mir, a prominent Muslim, became a disciple of Guru Arjun Dev Ji. Muslim leaders became panicked by Sikhism's ever-increasing popularity. Their reaction can be found in the diary of the Emperor Jahangir, the successor to Emperor Akbar. He wrote, "Not only Hindus but also unwary Muslims were becoming disciples of Arjun. I, therefore, ordered the killing of the Guru."

Guru Arjun Dev was fully aware of the increasingly violent threats being made against Sikhism. The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, had never hesitated to sharply criticize tyrants through his words. Now that the rulers were escalating the conflict with threats of force, Guru Arjun Dev began preparing Sikhs to exercise their right to self-defense. Before he was executed, he made sure his successor, Guru Hargobind, was trained in military affairs.

Guru Arjun Dev was arrested and brought to Lahore by Emperor Jahangir. He was tortured and killed by having scorching-hot sand poured on his head. His dead body was then consigned to the river Ravi on May 30, 1606, where it was swept away by the current.

Guru Hargobind Ji (1595-1644 CE)
After the murder of Guru Arjun Dev, Guru Hargobind Ji began wearing two swords, one symbolizing Piri, and the other symbolizing Miri. Piri and Miri respectively represented divinity and community involvement. This was a signal to the Muslim rulers that Sikhs would not meekly surrender to their tyrannical demands, but instead would actively defend their human rights.

In 1609, Guru Hargobind laid the foundation of the Akal Takhat. This establishment was meant to safeguard the political rights of the oppressed. Guru Hargobind invited devotees to come to Amritsar with arms and horses so they could be trained to protect their rights in times of emergency. These moves were not meant to pit one religion against another, but rather to encourage oppressed people to stand up for their rights against tyrants, regardless of religious affiliation. This was a very popular position with members of all communities as can be attested to by the fact that a Muslim, Painde Khan, became a top commander of Guru Hargobind's defense forces.

Emperor Jahangir decided to arrest Guru Hargobind as well and imprisoned him at Gwalior, a town far away from Punjab. However, this move went against the wishes of the public and the Emperor quickly found himself under intense political pressure. He decided he had to release Guru Hargobind, but surprisingly, the Guru refused to leave. In the same jail where the Guru had been imprisoned, Emperor Jahangir had also incarcerated 52 other political prisoners. The Guru demanded that these falsely incarcerated people be released along with him. The popular pressure on Jahangir was so serious that he had no alternative but to agree. As a result of this episode, people started referring to Guru Hargobind with the nickname 'Bandi Chhore', or 'Salvation of the Oppressed'.

After this incident, local rulers were given free reign to attack Sikhs if and when they wished. Beginning in 1628, the army of the governor of Lahore attacked Guru Hargobind three times. The forces of the Faujdar of Jullundur also challenged the Sikhs in a scuffle. Every one of these attacks was repulsed by the Sikhs. The plans of Emperor Jahangir to kill Guru Hargobind as he did Guru Arjun Dev, and to destroy Sikhism, backfired. The Muslim imperialists lost their prestige as invincible soldiers. Further, the Sikhs had improved their ability to protect themselves. Sikhism became even more popular than it had been before. The Muslim historian Mohsin Fani, who had witnessed the last battle at Kartarpur, wrote:

Throughout the battle Guru Hargobind's face was sublime, far above the base emotions of anger and desire for revenge often associated with war.

In order to de-escalate the situation as much as possible, Guru Hargobind decided to leave Amritsar and establish a new center at Kiratpur. Kiratpur was quite far away from Lahore and Sirhind, the Muslim administrative centers. Before passing away, he nominated Guru Har Rai Ji as the seventh Nanak.

Guru Har Rai Ji (1630-1661 CE)
Guru Har Rai carried on preaching in the new region. Distance was no bar to the popularity of Sikhism. People from as far as Assam and Bangladesh in the east and as far as Afghanistan in the West visited Guru Har Rai to seek his spiritual guidance. Guru Har Rai continued to promote a defensive military posture, but he tactfully tried to avoid any armed clashes with the rulers.

Meanwhile, Aurangzeb won the battle fought among brothers for the throne of Delhi. He was even more fanatical than Jahangir, if possible. Not only did he unleash a reign of terror against all non-Muslims, he even attacked fellow Muslims whom he felt were not adequately obeying conservative Muslim doctrine. The celebration of Muharram by Shia Muslims was banned and many Shia priests were executed. The leader of the Bohra Muslims, and 700 of his followers, were killed. Many famous saints such as Hussain, Sarmad, Qualandar, and more, and many Muslim scholars and holy men not following the Sunni code of conduct, lost their lives. The unbelievable atrocities of Aurangzeb are far too many to be listed here. Pressure was applied both directly and subtly against Guru Har Rai as well, but the Guru refused to compromise the principles of Sikhism.

Guru Har Krishan Ji (1656-1664 CE)
During the reign of Guru Har Krishan Ji, smallpox was once again raging. The Guru personally went to visit the people suffering from this disease, which had taken a heavy toll. Because of his constant exposure to the disease, he himself was eventually infected and he ultimately died. Before he died, he nominated Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji as the ninth Nanak.

Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (1621-1675 CE)
Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji had the difficult task of continuing to deal with a hostile imperial regime. He purchased the village Mahowal and built another Sikh center there, which he made his new headquarters. The place was first named Chak Nanaki and is now known as Anandpur Sahib. Guru Tegh Bahadur toured in the east as far as Bengal and Assam. When in Assam, the Guru reconciled the differences between a local tribal ruler and the army of the emperor of Delhi. This avoided a pending battle between them and saved many innocent lives. Both armies were so impressed by this that they both worked together to raise a Dhobari, or large earthen mound, as a monument in remembrance of Guru Tegh Bahadur's service. The Gurdwara Dhobari Sahib now stands there.

When Guru Tegh Bahadur heard that Muslim rulers in Kashmir were intensifying their efforts to convert Hindus to Islam, he hastily returned to the area. The Guru assured the Hindus that he would do everything he could to help them. Guru Tegh Bahadur told Emperor Aurangzeb that instead of trying to force Kashmiri Hindus to convert, he should try and see if he could get the Guru to convert. This was the first and only time in human history that the top leader of a religion would offer his life to defend the freedom of worship of a different religion.

As the countryside was in a state of terror, the Guru went from place to place encouraging the frightened people to continue leading honest and upright lives. He toured Malwa, the tract to the southeast of the river Sutlej, which today includes parts of present-day Punjab, Haryana, and Rajashthan. Thousands of people would gather to hear the Guru, as he represented hope in their lives. The Guru's advice to them during these threatening times was:

Fear None, Frighten None.
Love the Lord, Mighty One.

Emperor Aurangzeb was enraged by such statements of Guru Tegh Bahadur, and by the Guru's defense of the Kashmiri Hindus. The emperor thus ordered the Guru's arrest in order to follow up on the Guru's challenge and see if the Guru could be converted to Islam. The emperor not only tortured the Guru, but also tortured his close companions, with the assurance that the torture would stop if they converted. Guru Tegh Bahadur replied to the torture by saying:

Everyone is free to remember God the way he or she likes. This right cannot be taken away by an emperor.

Having failed to convert Guru Tegh Bahadur through torture, the emperor ordered that the Guru be put to death through torture along with three of his associates. Bhai Mati Das was slowly sawed in half. Bhai Dyala was boiled alive in water. Bhai Sati Das was wrapped in cotton and burnt. Guru Tegh Bahadur was decapitated.

Today, Gurdwara Sisganj stands by the side of the kotwali, or police station, where these state-sponsored crimes were committed. These acts sent a wave of intense emotional anger amongst the scared masses throughout the subcontinent. The public began to gather to fight this 'Zulam', or cruelty. A series of rebellions began and the resistance did not subside until Aurangzeb, exhausted from waging battles from one side of his kingdom to the other, died in 1707. Before dying, Emperor Aurangzeb wrote in his final letter to his sons:

I am leaving with empty hands. I collected sins all my life. I am frightened to see my death nearing.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1666-1708 CE)
After the passing of Guru Tegh Bahadur, Guru Gobind Singh Ji became the tenth Nanak. It was well-known that a massive onslaught against Sikhism by the frustrated emperor was highly likely. During this vulnerable period, Hindus, who Guru Tegh Bahadur had just died to protect, sensed an opportunity to attack the weakened Sikhs in order to seize some of their power and dampen their influence. Hindu hill rajas started trying to find excuses to fight the Guru.

Guru Gobind Singh tried to avoid any confrontation with them at all costs. He worked to develop good relations with them. He visited the kingdom of Sirmour and honored the traditional culture of the rajas. Furthermore, Guru Gobind Singh wished to enrich the culture of the region. He built Paonta Sahib and stayed there for several years to have classical literature translated into Punjabi. More than 50 scholars were engaged by Guru Gobind Singh for this purpose. He encouraged poets to read their compositions publicly. A great center of learning was established there. Today, the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation has built a Writer's House there as a monument to the Guru. Scholars of every faith are welcome to stay there, enjoy the perfect natural setting on the banks of the river, and write creative literature for propagating peace.

Nevertheless, the Hindu hill rajas pressed an attack on the Sikhs when the Guru was away from his Anandpur Sahib headquarters. Despite relying solely on local resources, the Sikhs won the battle. In fact, some of the Hindu hill rajas and their leading generals were killed in the fighting. In response to the attack, Guru Gobind Singh returned to Anandpur Sahib. He resumed preaching Sikhism there and training Sikhs in self-defense.

Within a year of having attacked the Sikhs, the Hindus again found themselves in serious trouble. A large Mughal force had arrived to extract money from them. The Hindus decided to request assistance from Guru Gobind Singh. Guru Gobind Singh willingly agreed to help defend them, forgiving their previous attacks on him. The rajas were very much relieved to have been saved from the pending threat while keeping their honor intact.

Over time, the Sikhs continued to be harassed and pressured by both Hindu and Mughal forces, yet the Sikhs retained their noble stance, always fighting for what they felt was the righteous cause, regardless of past grievances or injuries. Many Sikhs lost their lives, including several members of Guru Gobind Singh's immediate family, but throughout this period of persecution, no attack was able to derail the Guru's determination to see Sikhism through.

Guru Khalsa Panth (1699-Permanent)
In 1699, Sikhism formally became a complete and distinct religion with its own practices and self-perpetuating decision-making structures. Guru Gobind Singh finalized the initiation, or baptism ceremony, of the Sikhs. The Guru gave Amrit, or sanctified water, to five Sikhs who were addressed as the Panj Pyaras, or Five Beloved Ones. The Guru then requested these five Singhs to act with the authority of the Guru and give Amrit to him, to make him their first disciple. In this symbolic act, the Guruship was thus no longer passed on to another person, but rather to the entire community of initiated Sikhs, the Guru Khalsa Panth. Decisions would now be made with the collective judgment and input of all members, not just one individual. The Sikhs were to comply with the guidelines given by the holy scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, which was also vested with the status of the Guruship and formally installed in that role. There would be no more human Gurus - rather, Guru Granth Sahib would provide religious inspiration and Sikhs would decide pertinent issues together.

Thus, the miracle of Sikhism had been completed. A once helpless and disarrayed people, torn by internal strife and mutual hatred for other religions and for opposing sects within their own religions - virtual slaves who were completely oppressed by religious and political elites - had instead been transformed into a completely self-sufficient body, strongly united, challenging tyrants and defending the rights of all faiths, without the need of further human teachers. Unlike other religious traditions where the given savior and hope of humanity is waiting in some place unknown, the oppressed themselves had been transformed into their own saviours. The disciples of the religion had themselves been granted the religion's highest authority. Such a complete transformation of the oppressed into the enlightened has never been duplicated. No other religion has ever granted its members such a high level of permanent authority and responsibility.