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ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇਵ ਜੀ
श्री गुरु नानक देव जी
سری گرو نانک دو جی |
"Me, the bard out of work,
the Lord has applied to His
service. In the very beginning
He gave me the order to sing
His praises night and day.
The Master summoned the
minstrel to His True Court.
He clothed me with the robe
of His true honour and eulogy.
Since then the True Name had
become my ambrosial food.
They, who under the Guru's
instruction, eat this food to their
satisfaction, obtain peace.
By singing the Guru's hymns,
I, the minstrel spread the Lord's glory.
Nanak, by praising the True Name,
I have obtained the perfect Lord."
(Guru Nanak, Pauri, pg. 150)
Guru Nanak (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ, Devanagari: गुरु नानक )
(Saturday 10 November1469 - Monday 22 September, 1539),
the founder ofSikhism and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs, was born in the village of
Talwandi.Also called
Rai Bhoe-ki Talwandi, the village now known as
Nankana Sahib,
is near
Lahore in present-day
Pakistan. He was born, according to all ancient Sikh records,
in the early morning of the third day of the light half of the month of
Baisakh (April - May)
in the year 1469; this is believed to be
Saturday 15 April 1469. However, the
Sikhs now
celebrate this auspicious event each year on the full moon day in
November; consequently,
the date in November changes from one year to another Before Guru Nanak departed for
his heavenly abode in 1539, his name had travelled not only throughout India's north, south,
east and west, but also far beyond into Arabia, Mesopotamia (Iraq), Ceylon (Sri Lanka),
Afghanistan, Turkey, Burma and Tibet.
The name "Nanak" was used by all subsequent Gurus who wrote any sacred text in the
Sikh holy scripture called the
Guru Granth Sahib. So the second
Sikh Guru,
Guru Angad
is also called the "Second Nanak" or "Nanak II". It is believed by the
Sikhs that all subsequent
Gurus carried the same message as that of Guru Nanak and so they have used the name
"Nanak" in their holy text instead of their own name and hence are all referred to as the
"Light of Nanak."Guru Nanak also called Satguru Nanak, Baba Nanak, Nanak Shah Faqir,
Bhagat Nanak, Nanak Kalandar etc. by different people of religions and Cults.
Bhai Gurdas ji's summary
ਸੁਣੀ ਪੁਕਾਰ ਦਾਤਾਰ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਗੁਰੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਜਗ ਮਾਹਿ ਪਠਾਇਆ || ਚਰਨ ਧੋਇ ਰਹਰਾਸਿ ਕਰਿ ਚਰਣਾਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਸਿੱਖਾਂ ਪੀਲਾਇਆ ||
ਪਾਰਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਪੂਰਨ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਕਲਿਜੁਗ ਅੰਦਰ ਇਕ ਦਿਖਾਇਆ || ਚਾਰੇ ਪੈਰ ਧਰਮ ਦੇ ਚਾਰਿ ਵਰਨ ਇਕ ਵਰਨੁ ਕਰਾਇਆ ||
ਰਾਣਾ ਰੰਕ ਬਰਾਬਰੀ ਪੈਰੀ ਪਵਣਾ ਜਗਿ ਵਰਤਾਇਆ | ਉਲਟਾ ਖੇਲੁ ਪਿਰੰਮ ਦਾ ਪੈਰਾਂ ਉਪਰਿ ਸੀਸ ਨਿਵਾਇਆ ||
ਕਲਿਜੁਗ ਬਾਬੇ ਤਾਰਿਆ ਸਤਿਨਾਮੁ ਪੜ੍ਹਿ ਮੰਤ੍ਰ ਸੁਣਾਇਆ || ਕਲਿ ਤਾਰਣਿ ਗੁਰੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਆਇਆ ||੨੩|| ਵਾਰ ੧ ||
The Provider Lord listened to the cries, Guru Nanak descended into this world.
Washing His feet and praising God, he got his Sikhs to drink the ambrosial nectar.
In this Dark Age, he showed all gods to be just one.
The four feet of Dharma, the four castes were converted into one.
Equality of the King and beggar, he spread the custom of being humble.
Reversed is the game of the beloved; the egotist high heads bowed to the feet.
Baba Nanak rescued this Dark Age; read ‘
satnam’ and recited the mantar.
He was born to a simple Hindu family. His father Mehta (Kalu) kalian Das was an
accountant in the employment of the local Muslim authorities. From an early age
Guru Nanak made friends with both Hindu and Muslim children and was very inquisitive
about the meaning of life. At the age of six he was sent to the village school teacher for
schooling in reading and writing in Hindi and mathematics. He was then schooled in the
study of Muslim literature and learned Persian and Arabic. He was an unusually gifted child
who learned quickly and often question his teachers. At age 13 it was time for Guru Nanak
to be invested with the sacred thread according to the traditional Hindu custom
. At the ceremony which was attended by family and friends and to the disappointment
of his family Guru Nanak refused to accept the sacred cotton thread from the Hindu priest.
He sang the following poem;
"Let mercy be the cotton, contentment the thread, Continence the knot and truth
the twist. O priest! If you have such a thread, Do give it to me. It'll not wear out,
nor get soiled, nor burnt, nor lost. Says Nanak, blessed are those who go
about wearing such a thread" (Rag Asa)
On another occasion, Guru Nanak Dev Ji was sent to graze the buffaloes in the pastures
and he fell asleep under the shade of a tree. As the sun rose higher, the shadow moved away.
The rays of the hot summer sun began to fall on his face. A big cobra came at that place
and provided shadow with its hood over the face of the Divine Master. Rai Bular happened
to be passing by that side with his attendants. When he saw this strange scene,
he was convinced that Guru Nanak Dev Ji is not an ordinary man. God had sent him to
this world. Rai Bular then touched the Guru's feet in great reverence and thus became
his disciple and now there a gurudwara stands known as Kiara Sahib.
As a young man herding the family cattle, Guru Nanak would spend long hours absorbed in
meditation and in religious discussions with Muslim and Hindu holy men who lived in the
forests surrounding the village. Thinking that if bound in marriage Guru Nanak might start
taking interest in household affairs a suitable match was found for him. At age 16 he was
married to Sulakhani daughter of a pious merchant. Guru Nanak did not object as he felt
that married life did not conflict with spiritual pursuits
.Guru Nanak was happily married,he loved his wife and eventually had two sons
Sri Chand in 1494 and Lakshmi Chand three years later.Now that he had a family
of his own Guru Nanak was persuaded by his parents to take a job as an accountant in
charge of the stores of the Muslim governor of Sultanpur Daulat Khan Lodi. Guru Nanak
agreed and was joined by his family and an old Muslim childhood friend Mardana, a
musician by profession. Guru Nanak would work during the days, but early in the mornings
and late at nights, he would meditate and sing hymns accompanied by Mardana on the
rabab ( a string instrument). These sessions attracted a lot of attention and many people
started joining the two.Early one morning accompanied by Mardana, Guru Nanak went to
the river Bain for his bath.After plunging into the river, Guru Nanak did not surface and it
was reported that he must have drowned.The villagers searched everywhere, but their was
no trace of him. Guru Nanak was in holy communion with God. The Lord God revealed
himself to Guru Nanak and enlightened him. In praise of the Lord, Guru Nanak uttered;
"There is but One God, His name is Truth, He is the Creator, He fears none, he is
without hate,He never dies, He is beyond the cycle of births and death, He is self
illuminated, He is realized by the kindness of the True Guru. He was True in the
beginning, He was True when the ages commenced and has ever been True,
He is also True now." (Japji)
These words are enshrined at the beginning of the Sikh Holy Scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib.
Guru Nanak did not believe in a Trinity of Gods, or the belief that God can be born into human
form. After three days Guru Nanak appeared at the same spot from where he had disappeared.
He was no longer the same person he had been, there was a divine light in his eyes and his
face was resplendent. He remained in a trance and said nothing. He gave up his job and
distributed all of his belongings to the poor. When he finally broke his silence he uttered
"There is no Hindu,no Muslim". Daulat Khan asked what he meant when he said to
Guru Nanak, "Perhaps the Hindus were no longer Hindus but the Muslims remain devout to
their faith." Guru Nanak replied,
"Let God's grace be the mosque, and devotion the prayer mat. Let the Quran be the
good conduct.Let modesty be compassion, good manners fasting, you should be
a Muslim the like of this. Let good deeds be your Kaaba and truth be your mentor.
Your Kalma be your creed and prayer, God would then vindicate your honour." (Majh)
Guru Nanak was thirty years old at this time in 1499. The next stage of his life began with
extensive travels to spread the message of God. Accompanied by his Muslim rabab player
Mardana for company, Guru Nanak undertook long journeys to convey his message to the
people in the form of musical hymns. Guru Nanak choose this medium to propagate his
message because it was easily understood by the population of the time. Wherever he
traveled he used the local language to convey his message to the people. He traveled
throughout the Indian Subcontinent and further east, west, and north to spread his mission.
Wherever he went he set up local cells called manjis, where his followers could gather to recite
hymns and meditate.
Once when Guru Nanak came to the small town of Saidpur in West Punjab he choose to stay
there with Lalo, a low caste carpenter. At the same time the local chief of the town Malik Bhago
, who was quite wealthy and a very proud man was holding a feast to which all holy men were
invited. When Malik Bhago found out that Guru Nanak would not attend his feast but instead
partook of the simple fare of his host Lalo,he was quite angry and had the Guru brought to him
for questioning. When asked why he didn't join in the feast,the Guru sent for the meal served
by Malik Bhago and also some of the simple meal served by Lalo.
Holding these in separate hands he squeezed them, blood appeared out of the rich
food of Malik Bhago, while milk oozed out of Lalos simple fare.
Malik Bhago was put to shame and realized that his riches had been
amassed by exploiting the poor, while what Lalo offered was the milk of hard earned honest
work.Another time while camped out at a town during the rainy season, several devotees
would come to the Guru on a regular basis. One of them while on the way to see the Guru,
came across a prostitute and was allured by her.Thereafter he would leave home on the
pretext of going to see the Guru, but instead visited the prostitute. A few days later his friend
who daily came to pay homage to the Guru was pricked by a thorn, while his neighbor, who
visited the prostitute, found a gold coin in the street. The incident bewildered the Guru's
devotee who came every day religiously. He mentioned it in the morning prayer meeting
where Guru Nanak heard it and was amused. He told the Sikh;
"Your friend was destined to come across a treasure but due to his evil ways, it has
been reduced to a single coin. While on the account of your past karma you were to
have been impaled with a stake, but having reformed yourself, you have been let off
with the mere prick of a thorn." (Janamsakhi)
When the Guru visited Kurukshetra in Haryana, a big fair was being held at the holy tank to
celebrate the solar eclipse. There were a large number of pilgrims all over the country.
On his arrival at the fair, Guru Nanak had Mardana cook them a meat dish of a deer
presented to them by one of his followers. Upon finding that meat was being cooked
on the holy premises,a large angry crowd gathered in anger to attack the Guru for what
they thought amounted to sacrilege (Bhai Mani Singh, Gyan Ratnavali, pg. 123).
Upon hearing the angry crowd Guru Nanak responded;
"Only fools argue whether to eat meat or not. They don't understand truth
nor do they meditate on it. Who can define what is meat and what is plant?
Who knows where the sin lies, being a vegetarian or a non- vegetarian?" (Malhar)
When Guru Nanak stopped at Hardwar a pilgrimage center on the Ganges river he found a
large gathering of devotees. They were taking ritual baths in the holy river and offering water
to the sun.
When the Guru asked "Why do you throw water like that?" The pilgrims replied
that they were offering it to their ancestors. Guru Nanak upon hearing this started
throwing water in the opposite direction towards the west. When the pilgrims asked
him what he was doing?. Guru Nanak replied "I am sending water to my farm which
is dry". They asked, "How will water reach you crops so far away?". Guru Nanak
replied, "If your water can reach your ancestors in the region of the sun, why can't
mine reach my fields a short distance away?" The pilgrims realized their folly and fell
at the Gurus feet.
On an eastern journey Guru Nanak visited Gorakhmata where he discussed the true meaning of
asceticism with some yogis;
"Asceticism doesn't lie in ascetic robes, or in walking staff, nor in the ashes.
Asceticism doesn't lie in the earring, nor in the shaven head, nor blowing a conch.
Asceticism lies in remaining pure amidst impurities. Asceticism doesn't lie in mere
words; He is an ascetic who treats everyone alike. Asceticism doesn't lie in visiting
burial places, It lies not in wandering about, nor in bathing at places of pilgrimage.
Asceticism is to remain pure amidst impurities. (Suhi)
After his first long journey, Guru Nanak returned home after twelve years of propagating his
message. He then set out on a second journey traveling as far south as Sri Lanka. On his return north he
founded a settlement known as Kartharpur (the Abode of God) on the western banks of the
Ravi river. Guru Nanak would one day settle down here in his old age. It was also here that he
met a young devotee who would later go on to serve five of the following Gurus, Baba Buddha
(the revered old one). On his third great journey Guru Nanak traveled as far north as Tibet.
Wherever Guru Nanak traveled he always wore a combination of styles worn by Hindu and
Muslim holy men and was always asked whether he was a Hindu or Muslim. Guru Nanak
visited Sheikh Ibrahim the muslim successor of Baba Farid the great Sufi dervish of the
twelfth century at Ajodhan. When asked by Ibrahim which of the two religions was the true
way to attain God, Guru Nanak replied;
"If there is one God, then there is only His way to attain Him, not another. One must
follow that way and reject the other. Worship not him who is born only to die, but
Him who is eternal and is contained in the whole universe."
On his fourth great journey in life Guru Nanak dressed in the blue garb of a Muslim pilgrim
traveled to the west and visited Mecca, Medina and Baghdad. Arriving at Mecca, Guru
Nanak fell asleep with his feet pointing towards the holy Kabba. When the watchman on
his night rounds noticed this he kicked the Guru, saying, "How dare you turn your feet
towards the house of God". At this Guru Nanak woke up and said,
"Good man, I am weary after a long journey. Kindly turn my feet in the
direction where God is not."
When pilgrims and the holy men of the shrine gathered to hear Guru Nanak and question
him, he sang in Persian;
"I beseech you, O Lord! pray grant me a hearing. You are the truthful, the great, the
merciful, and the faultless Creator. I know for certain, this world must perish,
And death must come, I know this and nothing else. Neither wife, nor son,
nor father, nor brothers shall be able to help. I must go in the end, none can
undo what is my fate. I have spend days and nights in vanity, contemplating
evil. Never have I thought of good; this is what I am. I am ill-starred, miserly,
careless, short-sighted, and rude. But says Nanak, I am yours, the dust of the feet
of your servants." (Tilang)
While in Baghdad contradicting the Muslim priests views that their were only seven upper
and as many lower regions Guru Nanak shouted out his own prayer saying,
"There are worlds and more worlds below them and there are a hundred thousand
skies over them. No one has been able to find the limits and boundaries of God.
If there be any account of God, than alone the mortal can write the same; but
Gods account does not finish and the mortal himself dies while still writing. Nanak
says that one should call Him great, and God Himself knows His ownself." (Japji)
In 1916 a tablet with the following inscription was uncovered in Baghdad,
"In memory of the Guru, the holy Baba Nanak, King of holy men,
this monument has been raised anew with the help of the seven saints.
" The date on the tablet 927 Hijri corresponds to A.D. 1520-1521.
On his return journey home he stopped at Saidpur in western Punjab during the invasion
of the first Mughal Emperor Babar. On seeing the extent of the massacre by the invaders,
Mardana asked Guru Nanak why so many innocent people were put to death along with
those few who were guilty. Guru Nanak told Mardana to wait under a banyan tree and after
a while he would return to answer his question. While sitting under the tree Mardana was
suddenly bitten by an ant. In anger Mardana killed as many ants as he could with his feet
Guru Nanak said to him, "You know now Mardana, why do the innocents suffer along
with the guilty?" Guru Nanak and Mardana were both taken prisoner by the Mughal's.
While in jail Guru Nanak sang a divine hymn about the senseless slaughter of the innocents
by the Mughal invaders.Upon hearing it the jailer reported it to his king. Babar sent for the
Guru and upon hearing him realized that Guru Nanak was a great religious figure.
He asked for the Gurus forgiveness and set him free offering him a pouch of hashish.
Guru Nanak refused saying the he was already intoxicated with the love and name of God.
After having spent a lifetime of traveling abroad and setting up missions, an aged Guru
Nanak returned home to Punjab. He settled down at Kartarpur with his wife and sons.
Pilgrims came from far and near to hear the hymns and preaching of the Master. Here
his followers would gather in the mornings and afternoons for religious services. He
believed in a cast less society without any distinctions based on birthright, religion or sex.
He institutionalized the common kitchen called langar in Sikhism. Here all can sit together
and share a common meal, whether they were kings or beggars.While working the fields
one day in 1532 Guru Nanak was approached by a new devotee who said,
"I am Lehna," Guru Nanak looked at him and replied, "So you have arrived
Lehna - the creditor. I have been waiting for you all these days. I must pay your debt."
("Lehna" in Punjabi means debt or creditor.) Lehna was a great devotee of the Hindu God
Durga (Mata Vaishno Devi).One day having hearing about Guru Nanak and his teachings,
he decided to visit and see the Guru for himself. Once Lehna met Guru Nanak he left his
previous beliefs and became an ardent disciple of the Guru.Lehna's devotion to Guru
Nanak was absolute, when he was not working on the farm, he would devote his spare time
to the contemplation of God. Over time he became Guru Nanak's most ardent disciple.Guru
Nanak put his followers to many tests to see who was the most faithful. Once while accompanied
by Lehna and his two sons Guru Nanak came across what looked like a corpse covered with a
sheet. "Who would eat it?" asked Guru Nanak unexpectedly. His sons refused, thinking that
their father was not in his senses. Lehna though agreed and as he removed the cover he found
that it was a tray of sacred food. Lehna first offered it to Guru Nanak and his sons and then
partook of the leftovers himself. Guru Nanak on seeing this replied;
"Lehna, you were blessed with the sacred food because you could share it with others.
If the people use the wealth bestowed on them by God for themselves alone or for
treasuring it, it is like a corpse. But if they decide to share it with others,
it becomes sacred food. You have known the secret. You are my image." (Janamsakhi)
Guru Nanak then blessed Lehna with his ang (hand) and gave him a new name,
Angad, saying "you are a part of my body". Guru Nanak placed five coins and a
coconut in front of Guru Angad and then bowed before him. He then had Baba Budhha
anoint Angad with a saffron mark on his forehead. When Guru Nanak gathered his followers
together for prayers he invited Angad to occupy the seat of the Guru. Thus Guru Angad was
ordained as the successor to Guru Nanak. Feeling his end was near, the Hindus said we will
cremate you, the Muslims said we will bury you.
Guru Nanak said;
"You place flowers on either side, Hindus on my right, Muslims on my left.
Those whose flowers remain fresh tomorrow will have their way."
He then asked them to prey and lay down covering himself with a sheet.
Thus on September 22, 1539 in the early hours of the morning Guru Nanak
merged with the eternal light of the Creator. When the followers lifted the sheet
they found nothing except the flowers which were all fresh. The Hindus took theirs
and cremated them, while the Muslims took their flowers and buried them.
Thus having spread the words of reform throughout his lifetime, Guru Nanak
successfully challenged and questioned the existing religious tenants and laid the
foundations of Sikhism.
