Ans.MEENAS:Literally it means a cunning person – one who does not disclose his/her malicious thoughts. Bhai Gurdas used the word ‘Meena’ for Baba Prithi Chand, the eldest son of Guru Ram Das:
“The true Guru is the true emperor; the faces of Meenas are blackened”.
RAM RAAEE-AS:The descendents and the followers of Baba Ram Rae, the eldest son of Guru Hari Rae, are called the Ram Raaee-as. Guru Hari Rae had sent Baba Ram Rae, to the court of Aurangzeb, the then emperor of India, in order to answer the questions of the emperor regarding the Sikh teachings as delineated in the Adi Granth (Guru Granth Sahib), While at the court Baba Ram Rae forgot his mission and instead tried to gain the emperor’s favour by flattering him. He even misquoted one of the utterances of Guru Nanak:
ਮਿਟੀ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ਕੀ ਪੇੜੈ ਪਈ ਕੁਮਿਆਰ॥
(SGGS, P. 466)
He changed the word ‘Musalman’ (Muslim) to ‘Baiman’ (faithless).
On hearing this Guru Hari Rae had said, “Who is this with a leper-intellect (sick mind) to change the word of the Guru? Guru Nanak is the true emperor (sovereign) compared to Aurangzeb who is a false emperor”. Saying so he disowned his son.
MASANDS:The word ‘Masand’ is a transformation of the Persian word ‘Masand’, which means high seat (or the one who occupies the high seat). Guru Ram Das had appointed his emissaries for different parts of the country to preach and collect the tithe from the Sikhs. Considering them the representatives of the Guru, the Sikh congregations gave them respect equal to Guru. They also collected the tithe and passed it on to the Guru. Keeping even a small portion for their personal expenses was considered poison. Mohsin Fani, a historian, contemporary to the sixth Master, has written this: “With passage of time, these Masands became corrupt. So much so that the word ‘Masand’ became an insult. There were so many complaints about their corruption and misdeeds that in 1698 the tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh abolished this institution and enjoined the Sikhs to boycott them-if a situation arose where they had to choose between an intoxicated (mad) elephant and a Masand, they should choose the mad elephant”.
At the time of administration of Amrit’ (Khalsa initiation ceremony) the Guru directed, “Forsake Masands, meditate on one God”. In the 33 Sawaiyyas, the Tenth Master also says, ” If you want to please me, do not serve the Masands”.
SIRGUM:Anyone who has kept hair (as a Sikh) and then cuts them, or does not maintain the sanctity of hair, or picks and pulls (gray) hair, is called Sirgum. The Tenth Master had said, “Trimming of beard is equivalent to shaving it. Do not pull out gray hair”.
NARHEEMAAR:Those who smoke (hooka or cigarette), or use tobacco, are called Narheemaar. The latest scientific research has shown that even inhaling of smoke coming from a cigarette (secondary smoking) is as harmful as smoking a cigarette.
KURHEEMAAR:Those who commit infanticide, those who taunt and make life miserable for a married girl so that she is forced to commit suicide, are called Kurheemaars.The Guru’s commandment is not to associate with any of these five categories of people.It is written in “Tankhaah Naama” (the Khalsa code), or the Sikh penal code.
Prithi Chand, being the eldest son of the fourth Master considered himself to be the sole and uncontested claimant to the Guruship after Guru Ram Das. However, because of his egoistic temperament and abrasive personality traits, Guru Ram Das had indicated that his youngest son, Arjan Dev, would succeed him. Prithi chand, in frustration, started using unfair means. For this reason he and his descendents, who tried to start a parallel Gurudom, are called Meenas.