| Religion: | Sikhism |
| Ram Rai | |
| Alt: | Detail of Ram Rai from a mural depicting Guru Nanak and Ram Rai listening to hymns together under a tree from the Bhai Bahlo Darwaza of the Darbar of Ram Rai in Dehradun, circa pre-1688 |
| Birth Date: | 1645 |
| Death Date: | 1687 |
| Death Place: | , Dehradun |
| Other Names: | Guru Ram Rai |
| Sect: | Ramraiya |
| Father: | Guru Har Rai |
| Mother: | Mata Sulakhni |
| Relatives: | Guru Har Krishan (brother) |
| Native Name: | ਰਾਮ ਰਾਏ |
| Native Name Lang: | pa |
| Native Name Lang: | pa |
| Honorific Prefix: | Baba |
| Office1: | Head of Ramraiya sect |
| Predecessor1: | None (founder) |
| Successor1: | Aud Dass (mahant) |
Ram Rai (Gurmukhi: ਰਾਮ ਰਾਏ; rāma rā'ē; 1645–1687) was the excommunicated eldest son of the seventh Sikh Guru, Guru Har Rai, and the founder of the Ramraiyas, an unorthodox and heretical sect in Sikhism.[1] [2] [3]
He had four wives, Raj Kaur (d. 1698), Maluki (d. 1701), Panjab Kaur (d. 1742), and Lal Kaur (d. 1698).[4]
After Sikhs assisted the fleeing Dara Shikoh in the aftermath of the Battle of Samugarh, Aurangzeb demanded that the Sikh Guru explain his actions.[5] Ram Rai was chosen by his father to represent him in the Mughal darbar (court) to explain why he had supported and given refuge to Dara Shikoh, during the Mughal war of succession.[6] During this meeting, the emperor complained that a verse from the Adi Granth was "anti-Islamic", in-response to this claim by the emperor, Ram Rai altered the words of the verse, which changed the context, instead of standing firm to his faith entirely. This had pleased the emperor. Ram Rai was excommunicated from the mainstream Sikh community by his father Guru Har Rai, after he learnt that his eldest son had altered gurbani to please Aurangzeb and nominated his younger son, Har Krishan, as next-in-line for the Sikh guruship before he died on 6 October 1661. This had foiled the plans of the Mughal emperor, who was keeping Ram Rai as a hostage, as he had been hoping that the Sikh guruship would pass onto Ram Rai so that he could enact control over the wider Sikh community by manipulating their titular head. He became a favourite of Aurangzeb, purportedly due to his willingness to perform miracles for the Mughal emperor.[7] After his excommunication, he founded the Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib, a Darbar in Dehradun which was built in Indo-Islamic architecture style. Ram Rai's brother, Guru Har Krishan, was the eighth of the ten Sikh Gurus.[8]
According to Sikh accounts, by the time of Guru Gobind Singh's time on the gurgaddi, Ram Rai had become remorseful of his actions and asked to meet the 10th guru of the Sikhs, after learning about the exploits of the guru in 1685 at Sirmaur state.[9] However, any proposed meeting would have to be conducted in relative secrecy as the masands of Ram Rai were overzealous against any potential reconciliation between Ram Rai and the mainstream Sikhs. A meeting between the two is said to have taken place between Dehradun and Paonta Sahib on the banks of the river Yamuna. The guru forgave Ram Rai for his past transgressions. As a result, it is said Ram Rai left no heir apparent to lead his sect after him.
Historical accounts, such as Shahid Bilas by Sewa Singh blame the demise of Ram Rai on a masand named Gurbakhsh, who, along with other masands, is recorded as burning Ram Rai alive while he was meditating in September 1687. The motive was to capture his wealth and property. Ram Rai's remains were subsequently cremated against his widow's, Panjab Kaur's, wishes. After his death, he was succeeded as head of the sect by either mahant Aud Dass or Har Prasad, the successor was helped by Ram Rai's widow, Panjab Kaur.[10] Gurbakhsh became a pretender to the Ramraiya guruship at the Lahore ashram and later clashed with Khalsa Sikhs.