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Guru Nanak Dev (, ; 20 October 1469 – 22 September 1539), was the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs. He is revered not only by Sikhs, but also by Hindus and Muslims in the Punjab and across the Indian subcontinent. • His primary message to society was recorded to be "devotion of thought and excellence of conduct as the first of duties" • Stories of Nanaks life The stories of Nanak's life are collected in writings known as the Janamsākhīs. The most popular Janamsākhī, purports to have been written by Bhai Bala before Nanak's death. However, the writing style and language employed, have left scholars such as Macauliffe certain that they were composed after the Guru's death.• Bhai Gurdas, the scribe of the Gurū Granth Sāhib, also wrote about Nanak's life in his vārs. However, these too were compiled after Nanak'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. Background Nanak was born on 20 October 1469 in a Bedi family of Hindu Khatri clan,• in the village of Rāi Bhōi dī Talvaṇḍī, now called Nankana Sahib, near Lahore (in present-day Pakistan).• 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. Nanak's mother was Tripta Devi and he had one older sister, Nanaki. Early life
To read Short Stories related with life of Adi Guru Nanak Dev Ji http://www.thesindhuworld.com/rf_gurustory.htm 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.• Although the exact account of his itinerary is disputed, he is widely acknowledged to have made four major journeys, spanning thousands of kilometres. The first tour being 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.• 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 (detachment in civic life), both his sons were unfit to carry on the Guruship. The Three Pillars of Sikhism It was in Sultanpur that Guru Nanak formalised the three important pillars of Sikhism: 1.) Guru ji led the Sikhs directly to practise Simran and Naam Japna – meditation and reciting and chanting of God’s Name - Waheguru 2.) He asked the Sikhs to live as householders and practise Kirat Karni – To honestly earn by one's physical and mental effort while accepting Gods gifts and blessing. 3.) The Sikhs were asked to share their wealth within the community by practising Wand kay Shako – “Distribution Before Consumption” or sharing. Other Beliefs and Contributions Guru Nanak was revered by both Hindus and Muslims. Guru Nanak had many beliefs which were not popular at the time but are now widespread. Four Journeys History states that he made four great journeys, travelling 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, Guru 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, Guru Nanak settled in the town of Kartarpur (in Punjab) on the banks of the Ravi where he taught for another fifteen years. Followers from all over came to settle in Kartarpur to listen, and sing, and be with him. 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. 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 common meal or Langar; requiring the rich and poor, Hindu and Muslim, high caste and low caste, to sit together while eating. Here is where Lehna, later to be Guru Angad, came to be with Guru Nanak. See also: Death Guru Nanak spent the final part 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 his free kitchen, which even today is popularly known as 'langar'. This food would be partaken by Hindus, Muslims, rich, poor, high or/and so called low castes. Guru Nanak worked in the field and earned his livelihood. 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). Once when Guru Nanak was asked which religion, Hinduism or Islam was the true path to God, Guru Nanak replied that the true way to attain God was to worship Him who is eternal and contained in the whole Universe. As he died, he is said to have taken his body with him to the heavens, and never seen again. Folklore The legend says that upon the death of Guru Nanak, 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 Great 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. See also Notes | |||||||||
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