Panj Pyare

The first five initiates, known as the Panj Pyare, came from different social backgrounds. Their acceptance into one community showed that devotion and courage were not the possession of a particular caste or class.

Five came forward and became the Panj Pyare, the Five Beloved Ones. He prepared amrit, a mixture of water and sugar stirred with a double-edged sword in an iron bowl while prayers were recited, and used it to initiate them into the Khalsa.