Guru Nanak Dev

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Guru Nanak Dev^[1] (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇਵ, Gurū Nānak Dēv) (Born in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, India (now Pakistan) on 5 November 1469 – 7 September 1539, Kartarpur, Punjab, India (now Pakistan)), was the founder of Sikhism, and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji

Beside followers of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev is revered by Punjabi Hindus, Sahajdhari and Hindu Sindhis across the Indian subcontinent.^[2] His primary message to society was recorded to be "devotion of thought and excellence of conduct as the first of duties".^[3]

1 Stories of Guru Ji's life
2 Early life
3 Epiphany
4 The Three Pillars of Sikhism
5 Other beliefs and contributions
6 Four journeys
7 Joti Jot Samaye
8 Folklore
9 See also
10 Notes
11 External links
- 11.1 Video
- 11.2 Audio

[edit] Stories of Guru Ji's life

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The stories of Guru Ji's life are collected in writings known as the 'Janamsākhīs'. The most popular Janamsākhī purports to have been written by Bhai Bala before Guru Ji's death. However, the writing style and language employed have left scholars such as Max Arthur Macauliffe certain that they were composed after the Guru's death.^[4]

Bhai Gurdas, the scribe of the Gurū Granth Sāhib, also wrote about Nanak's life in his vārs. However, these too were compiled after Guru Ji's demise, and are less detailed than the Janamsākhīs. Sikhs tend to hold Gurdas's accounts in higher esteem because of the author's generally perceived trustworthiness.

[edit] Early life

Guru Nanak was born on 5 November 1469 in a Bedi family of Hindu Khatri clan,^[5] in the village of Rāi Bhōi dī Talvaṇḍī, now called Nankana Sahib, near Lahore (in present-day Pakistan).^[6] His father, Mehta Kalu, was a Patwari—an accountant of land revenue in the government. He worked for the Muslim landlord of the village, Rai Bullar. Guru Nanak's mother was Tripta Devi and he had one older sister, Nanaki.

The Janamsākhīs recount in minute detail all the circumstances of the birth of the guru. They claim that at his birth, an astrologer who came to write his horoscope insisted on seeing the child. On seeing the infant, he is said to have worshipped him with clasped hands. The astrologer then remarked that he regretted that he should never live to see young Guru Nanak's eminence, worshipped as he should be alike by Hindus and Muslims, and not merely by Hindus.^[7]

At the age of five years Nanak is said to have begun to discuss spiritual and divine subjects. At age seven, his father Mehta Kalu enrolled him at the village school.^[8] Nanak left school early after he had shown his scholastic proficiency. He then took to private study and meditation.^[9]

All the Janamsākhīs are unanimous in stating that Nanak courted the retirement of the local forest and the society of the religious men who frequented it. Several of them were profoundly versed in the Indian religious literature of the age. They had also travelled far and wide within the limits of ancient India, and met its renowned religious teachers. Nanak thus became acquainted with the latest teachings of Indian philosophers and reformers.^[10]

[edit] Epiphany

Sikh tradition states that at the age of thirty, Nanak went missing, and was presumed to have drowned after going for one of his morning baths to a local stream called the Kali Bein. Three days later he reappeared and would give the same answer to any question posed to him: "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim" (in Punjabi, "nā kō hindū nā kō musalmān"). It was from this moment that Nanak would begin to spread the teachings of what was then the beginning of Sikhism.^[11] Although the exact account of his itinerary is disputed, he is widely acknowledged to have made four major journeys, spanning thousands of kilometers. The first tour was east towards Bengal and Assam, the second south towards Ceylon via Tamil Nadu, the third north towards Kashmir, Ladakh and Tibet, and the final tour west towards Baghdad and Mecca.^[12]

Nanak was married to Sulakhni, the daughter of Moolchand Chona, a rice trader from the town of Batala. They had two sons. The elder son, Sri Chand, was an ascetic and he came to have a considerable following of his own, known as the Udasis. The younger son, Lakshmi Das, on the other hand was totally immersed in worldly life. To Nanak, who believed in the ideal of Template:Punicode (detachment in civic life), both his sons were unfit to carry on the Guruship.

[edit] The Three Pillars of Sikhism

It was in Sultanpur that Guru Nanak Dev formalised the three important pillars of Sikhism:

Naam Japna: Chanting God's name in a meditative manner.
Kirat Karō: Earning an honest living.
Vaṇḍ Chakkō: Sharing with others.

[edit] Other beliefs and contributions

Guru Nanak had many beliefs which were not popular at the time but are now widespread.

Equality of Humans: When throughout the East and West Slavery and race discrimination was rife, and disrespect amongst the different classes and castes was at its peak, Nanak preached against discrimination and prejudices due to race, caste, status, etc. He said: "See the brotherhood of all mankind as the highest order of Yogis; conquer your own mind, and conquer the world." (SGGS page 6); also "There is one awareness among all created beings." (Page 24) and finally "One who recognizes the One Lord among all beings does not talk of ego. ||4||" (page 432). He urges all the peoples of the world to "conquer" their minds to these evil practises. All human beings had the light of the Lord and were the same – only by subduing one's pride and ego could one see this light in all.

Equality of Women: In about 1499 when the society offered little status or respect to the womanhood, Nanak Dev elevated the position of women by spreading this message: "From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all. O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman." (Page 473). In so doing he promoted the equality of women in the 15th century. Nanak Dev also condemned the ritual of Sati some 300 years prior to the British doing so.

Universal message for all People It had been a custom at the time for religious leaders to address only their own congregation, and for segregation of the different religions – but Nanak Dev broke with tradition, and spoke to all of humanity. To the Muslim he said: "And when, O Nanak, he is merciful to all beings, only then shall he be called a Muslim. ||1||" (page 141"; to the Hindu, he said "O Nanak, without the True Name, of what use is the frontal mark of the Hindus, or their sacred thread? ||1||" (page 467); and to all he preached: "To take what rightfully belongs to another is like a Muslim eating pork, or a Hindu eating beef." (Page 141).

Upon being asked which religion, Hinduism or Islam, was the true path to God, he replied that the true way to attain God was to worship Him who is eternal and contained in the whole Universe.

[edit] Four journeys

Map of Satguru Nanak Dev Ji Journeys

History states that he made four great journeys, traveling to all parts of India, and into Arabia and Persia, visiting Mecca and Baghdad. He spoke before Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Parsees, and Muslims. He spoke in the temples and mosques, and at various pilgrimage sites. Wherever he went, Nanak spoke out against empty religious rituals, pilgrimages, the caste system, the sacrifice of widows, of depending on books to learn the true religion, and of all the other tenets that were to define his teachings. Never did he ask his listeners to follow him. He asked the Muslims to be true Muslims and the Hindus to be true Hindus.

After the last of his great journeys, Nanak Dev settled in the town of Kartarpur (in Punjab) on the banks of the Beas River, where he preached for fifteen more years. During this time, although his followers still remained Hindu, Muslim, or of the religion to which they were born, they became known as the Guru's disciples, or Sikhs.

Guru Nanak with Mardana (left) and Bala Colored woodcut, Amritsar or Lahore, about 1875

It was here his followers began to refer to him as teacher, or guru. The Guru told his followers that they were to be householders and could not live apart from the world—there were to be no priests or hermits. Here is where the Guru instituted the community meal or Langar, requiring the rich and poor, Hindu and Muslim, high caste and low caste, to eat together. Here is where Lehna, later to be Guru Angad, came to be with Nanak.

[edit] Joti Jot Samaye

Guru Nanak spent last fifteen years of his life in Kartarpur. The Guru would wake at dawn and recite his daily prayers. At daybreak, he would address his followers. He worked in the field and earned his livelihood. He worked in Langar; or community kitchen, where food would be partaken by Nanak's followers irrespective of their caste or creed.

On 22 September 1539, aged 70, Guru Nanak met with his demise, after he had requested his disciples to sing the Sohila (the praise of God).

[edit] Folklore

According to Sikh history it says that upon the death of Guru Nanak Dev, his Hindu followers wanted to cremate the remains while the Muslim followers wanted to bury the body following Islamic tradition. However on raising the cloth under which the Guru's body lay, some fresh flowers were found which were shared between his followers. The Hindus cremated their flowers whereas the Muslims buried theirs.

[edit] See also

Sikhism Portal

[edit] Notes

^ Nanak may be referred to by many names and titles such as Baba Nanak or Nanak Shah.
^ Duggal, Kartar Singh (1988). Philosophy and Faith of Sikhism. Himalayan Institute Press, xxii. ISBN 0-89389-109-6.
^ Cunningham, Joseph Davey [1853] (2006). History of the Sikhs. Albemarle Street. London: John Murray, 43. ISBN.
^ Macauliffe, Max Arthur [1909] (2004). The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. India: Low Price Publications, lxxix. ISBN 81-86142-31-2.
^ Macauliffe, Max Arthur [1909] (2004). The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. India: Low Price Publications, 1. ISBN 81-86142-31-2. “The third day of the light-half of the month of Baisakh (April-May) in the year AD 1469, but, some historians believe that the Guru was born on April 15th, 1469 A.D.” . Generally thought to be the third day of Baisakh (or Vaisakh) of Vikram Samvat 1526.
^ Singh, Khushwant (2006). The Illustrated History of the Sikhs. India: Oxford University Press, 12-13. ISBN 0-19-567747-1. Also, as according to the Purātan Janamsākhī (the birth stories of Nanak).
^ Macauliffe, Max Arthur [1909] (2004). The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. India: Low Price Publications, 1. ISBN 81-86142-31-2.
^ Macauliffe, Max Arthur [1909] (2004). The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. India: Low Price Publications, 2. ISBN 81-86142-31-2.
^ Macauliffe, Max Arthur [1909] (2004). The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. India: Low Price Publications, 8-9. ISBN 81-86142-31-2.
^ Macauliffe, Max Arthur [1909] (2004). The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. India: Low Price Publications, 10. ISBN 81-86142-31-2.
^ Shackle, Christopher; Mandair, Arvind-Pal Singh (2005). Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures. United Kingdom: Routledge, xiii-xiv. ISBN 0-415-26604-1.
^ Singh, Khushwant (2006). The Illustrated History of the Sikhs. India: Oxford University Press, 14. ISBN 0-19-567747-1.

[edit] External links

[edit] Video

[edit] Audio

[Nanak.jpg]

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