Guru Nanak Dev
Guru Nanak
(1469 - 7 May to 1539 ),is the founder of Sikhism and the first of
the ten Gurus of the Sikhs. He was born in the village of
Talwandi also called Rai Bhoeki Talwandi, now known as
Nankana Sahib , 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 (Apil-May)
in the year 1469 AD; but for conveniance sake his anniversary is
now observed by the Sikhs on the occaision of the full moon in the
month of Kartik (October-November). Before Guru Nanak breathed
his last in 1539, his name had travelled not only throughout India's
north, south, east and west, but also far beyond into Arabia,
Messopotania, Ceylon, Afghanistan, Burma and Tibet.
* Birth Anniversary:(Lunar Linked) 15th November in 2005;
5th Nov in 2006 , 24th Nov in 2007 and 13'thNov 2008
* Life Span: 1469 to 1539; 70 years
* Place of Birth: Nankana Sahib
* Father: Kalyan Dass
Mother: Mata Tripta
* Wife: Mata Sulakhni
* Sons: Baba Sri Chand<
* Guruship: Spanned the whole of Guru Ji Life
* Gurbani: Japji
, Sidh Gosht, Sohilaa, Dakhni Onkar, Asa di Var , Patti, Bara Mah,
Total of 974 Shabads in 19 Ragas
Sri Guru Nanak Dev
It was a dark moonless night; the clouds were heavy with rain
because it was the monsoon season. Suddenly thunder sounded
and lightning flashed as a few rain drops started to fall. The village
was asleep. Only Nanak was awake and the echo of his song
filled the air.
Nanak’s mother was worried because the night was more than half
over and the lamp in his room was still burning. She could hear
his voice as he sang. She could restrain herself no longer and
knocked at his door, “Go to sleep now, my son. Soon it will be
dawn.” Nanak became silent. From the darkness sounded the call
of the sparrowhawk, “Piyu, piyu, piyu!” it called.
“Listen, mother!” Nanak, called out. “The sparrowhawk is calling to
his beloved; how can I be silent, because I am competing with
him? I will call my beloved as long as he calls his – even longer
because his beloved is nearby, perhaps in the next tree! My
beloved is so far away.
I will have to sing for lives upon lives before my voice reaches Him.”
Nanak resumed his song.
Guru Nanak’s path was decorated with songs; he attained God by
singing to Him. Guru Nanak practiced no austerities or meditation
or yoga; he only sang, and singing, he arrived. He sang with all
his heart and soul, so much so that his singing became
meditation; his singing became his purification and his yoga. This
was Nanak’s path; decorated with songs and flowers. Whatever he
has said was said in verse, and his songs are not those of an
ordinary singer; they have sprung from within one who has known.
There is the ring of truth, the reflection of God within them. They
are these songs, songs of love and expressions of worship, along
with the songs of Guru Nanak's nine predecessors, that form's the
eternal Guru of the Sikhs, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib <http://www.
sikhiwiki.org/index.php?title=Guru_Granth_Sahib> .
His father was Kalayan Das Mehta also known as Kalu Mehta and
mother was Matta Tripat ji. They were both Hindus and belonged
to the Vedic Brahmin caste. Guru ji had an older sister called Bibi
Nanki, who was the first to recognise Nanak as an enlightened
Soul. Guru Nanak from an early age seemed to have aquired a
questioning and enquiring mind and refused as a child to wear the
ritualistic “sacred” thread . called a Janeu and instead said that
he would wear the true name of God in his heart for his protection,
as the thread which could be broken, be soiled, burnt or lost could
not offer any security at all.
Nanak married Sulkhni, of Batala, and they had two sons, Sri
Chand and Lakhmi Das . Guru ji brother-in-law, the husband of
his sister Nanki, obtained a job for him in Sultanpur as the
manager of the government granary. One morning, when he was
twenty-eight, he went as usual down to the river to bathe and
meditate. It was said that he was gone for three days . When he
reappeared, filled with the spirit of God, he said, "There is no
Hindu and no Musalman ." It was then he began his missionary
work.
As a householder, Guru ji continued to carry out the mission of his
life – To lead people to the true path of God; to dispel superstition;
to bring people out of ritualistic practises; to lead them directly to
follow Gurbani – without the need for priests and clergy; restrain
and guard against the five thieves within – Pride, Anger, Greed,
Attachment and Lust.
The Three Pillars of Sikhism
It was here that Guru Nanak formalised the three important pillars
of
Sikhism:
1. Guru ji led the Sikhs directly to practise Simran and Naam
Japna . – meditation on God 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 ones physical and mental effort
while accepting Gods gifts and blessing.
3. The Sikhs were asked to share their wealth within the
community by practising Vand Chakna – “Share and Consume
together”
Contributions to Humanity
Guru Nanak was revered by both Hindus and Muslims and this is
crystallised when on his death they both quarrel about whether his
body should be cremated as per the Hindu tradition or buried as
per Islamic tradition.
His contributions to humanity were more advanced then by
anyone else on earth at the time including western nations. His
main contributions
were:
* Equality of Humans: When in the West Slavery and race
discrimination was rife and respect between the different classes
and caste was at a peak, Guru 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. He urges all the peoples of the
world to "conquer" their minds to these evil practices. All human
beings had the light of the Lord and were the same only by
subduing ones pride and ego could one see this light in all.
* Equality of Women: In about 1499 when the world offered
no
status or respect to the woman, Guru Nanak 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."
In so going, He promoted the equality of women from the 15
century.
* 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 Guru Nanak
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. 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?
and to all he preached: "To take what rightfully belongs to another
is like a Muslim eating pork, or a Hindu eating beef." .
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 Kartapur (in Punjab ) on the banks of the Ravi where he taught
for another fifteen years. Followers from all over came to settle in
Kartapur 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 ; 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.