GURU NANAK-THE LIGHT FOR HUMAN RACE
Before the appearance of Guru Nanak in this world, the springs of true religion had been choked up by weeds of unmeaning ceremonies, debasing superstitions, the selfishness of priests and the indifference of people. The centuries of invasions, foreign misrule and persecutions had brought the greatest depression and spiritual demoralization in the people of India to an enormous degree. The status of woman was at its lowest ebb, not only in India, Islamic countries & Asia, but in the west as well. It was believed by most of the religions of the world that God has created them as woman, thereby depriving them of attaining salvation, so they must be reborn as man to attain salvation. Guru Nanak appeared in this world on 15th April, 1469 AD in village Rai Bhoi Di Talwandi, adjoining Sheikhupura near Lahore(now Pakistan). Bhai Gurdas summed up the appearance of Guru Nanak in this world as dust having vanished and it was light all around, as below:-
'SATGUR NANAK PARGATEYA MITTI DHUND JAG CHAANAN HOAA'--Bhai Gurdas
Guru Nanak was sent to Pandit Gopal for learning Hindi/Brij Bhasha and then to Pandit Brij Lal for learning Sanskrit. At the age of 13 years, He was sent to Maulvi Kutab Din for learning Persian language. But all His three teachers told His father Kalu Rai that they are astonished to know that Nanak not only has exceptional intellect but intuitive SPIRITUAL knowledge as well, and that they cannot teach him anything more. Thereafter He was not sent to school for further studies. Seeing His SPIRITUAL level at the childhood, the Hindus and Muslims started falling on Guru Nanak’s feet.
As Guru Nanak’s father wanted that his son should not remain idle, He was sent for grazing of Buffaloes. Guru Nanak sat under a tree and went into meditation and his Buffaloes entered the field of a farmer and damaged his crops, whose proprietor complained to Nawab Rai Bular, who on investigation found the crops to be in good condition. After this episode, he fell on Guru Nanak’s feet and apologized and became a disciple of Guru Nanak. Then Guru Nanak’s father gave him twenty rupees for doing some business. On the way to the town for business, some learned hungry people met Guru Nanak and He purchased ration from the market with this money for these hungry people and prepared ‘langar’(meals) and served it to them. On learning about this by his father on returning home, He was rebuked by His father.
Guru Nanak was married in 1487 AD with Bibi Sulakhni, daughter of Mool chand of village Pakhoke Randhawa, who gave birth to two sons i.e. baba Bidhi chand in 1494 AD and Baba Lakhmi Dass in 1497 AD. After sometime, Guru Nanak’s brother-in-law, Jai Ram came to Talwandi. Nawab Rai Bular, in consultation with him, sent Guru Nanak to Sultanpur Lodhi with Jai Ram in 1504 AD for doing some job. Jai Ram got Him the appointment of an official in-Charge of the store of Daulat Khan Lodhi, a Muslim ruler of Sultanpur Lodhi. He performed His duty with competence, sincerity and honesty. But Guru Nanak, who had taken his companion Mardana with him to Sultanpur, used to perform their daily chorus of singing in praises of God early in the morning and after coming back from work in the evening. As Guru Nanak would generously distribute ration to the needy and the poor people, the undesirable people would complaint to Nawab Daulat Khan that Nanak is distributing ration in excess to the people. But seeing the character of Guru Nanak, Nawab Daulat Khan never believed them, and moreover on counting of store being done at the end of the year every time, it was always found to be excess.
After studying the social and political conditions of India and atrocities being committed by the rulers, the Hindu and Muslim religious leaders and the high castes, one day He decided to go into trance and commune with Almighty God before starting this arduous and revolutionary task. For this purpose, One day He went to take bath in Riverlet ‘Vaeen’ with His companion and disappeared after taking dip in the Riverlet. As He did not come out till evening, His companion raised an alarm that Nanak went into Riverlet to bathe but has not come out. Nawab Daulat Khan sent his army in search of Him, but could not trace Him and the people of the city went into gloom. After three days Guru Nanak appeared again sitting in mortuary. Within minutes the news of Guru Nanak having appeared spread in the town and the people thronged to him. After coming back from ‘Vaeen’ Riverlet, the first thing He told the people that:- ‘there is neither a HINDU nor a MUSLIM and that all humanity is one’.
After getting the message of Truth from The Almighty God, Guru Nanak set out for His mission to wake up a depressed, demoralized, superstitious, priest ridden society and enlighten the humanity, leaving the service of Daulat Khan Lodhi in August, 1507 AD, despite persuasion by Bibi Nanaki, Jai Ram and Nawab Daulat Khan. Before starting His mission, He called his father-in-law and explained about his mission to him and entrusted the responsibility of his wife and sons to him. Thus the foundation of new spiritual gospel i.e SIKHISM was laid.
During Guru Nanak’s time, three types of religious places were famous i.e. Hindu Pilgrimages, Centres of Yogis/Sidh and Islamic preaching centres. As Guru Nanak had the vision to awaken the humanity at large and highlight the deficiencies of the preachers of these two sects, He decided to start His mission with the first journey to Hindu temples. As He had a long journey in mind and making use of kirtan for His mission, He took along with him Bhai Mardana(Muslim), a musician.
He started his first journey from Sultanpur in August 1507 AD and went to Talwandi to inform his old parents, who had only one son to take care of them. But after convincing His parents that He had planned a long and treacherous journey for his mission to save the depressed population of the country and the world from their miserable conditions, He took leave from them and started for his long journey. He reached Saidpur(now Eminabad, in Pakistan) and stayed at a place outside the village, where a poor Bhai Lalo served them with meals. A rich Malik Bhago invited saints for meals for Sharad, wherein he sent invitation to Guru Nanak, but He refused to go to his place. Therefore Malik Bhago got annoyed and called Guru Nanak by force and questioned him for not accepting his invitation. Due to this episode the people had collected in large number. In the presence of this large gathering, Guru Nanak explained to Malik Bhago that money earned by corruption and committing atrocities on the poor people is not honest earning and it is no use doing Sharad with such earnings, as it is like squeezing the blood of the people. All people are equal in the eyes of The God and distinctions of high or low have been created by vested interests to loot the people. The earning of Bhai Lalo is by honest means and is like milk.
Then He went to Haridwar and early morning went to Ganga river and noticed that the people were throwing water towards the sun in the east on the banks of Ganga river, so that sun will deliver it to their ancestors. So as to enlighten the people, He started throwing water towards the west. On questioning by them, He instead asked them why they were throwing water towards the east. After replying by them that the sun will deliver it to their ancestors, He replied that if it is so, then the sun will also deliver the water for watering His fields in the west. Thus He enlightened the people assembled there about their misbeliefs.
Further He went to Almora to enlighten the king of the area who was from chand dynasty and was in practice of making human sacrifices to Chandi Devi. Then He proceeded to Gorakh Matta to have interaction with Sidh and gave them the message that instead of living isolated life, they should serve the humanity. The people of the area were used to doing Chandi Pooja and serving Sidh yogis and getting their needs fulfilled. Guru Nanak enlightened them that One Almighty God is the creator of all humanity and as such they should fulfill needs of the poor humanity, which will be real worship of The God. Consequently the people stopped worshipping Yogis and they had to leave that place. The people started worshipping One Almighty God and Gorakh Mata became the centre of Sikh preaching and started being called NANAK Mata. Then He went to Ayodhya, Prayag and reached Benares in Feb, 1509 AD and had interaction with Brahmins/Pandits and asked them to leave misbeliefs/bad habits and meditate only on One Almighty God. While staying at Benares, He collected ‘Bani’ of Bhagat Ravi Das( a low cast cobbler), Rama Nand, Saien and Peepa etc. From here He went to Maghar in UP, where Kabir( a low caste weaver ), lived during his last times and left for heavenly abode, to prove Brahmin’s belief wrong that only those who die in Benares get salvation and those dying in Maghar do not get salvation. Guru Nanak noted down the valuable ‘Bani’ of Bhagat Kabir, who had devoted whole of his life to enlighten the people and wrote in strongest words against misbeliefs of Brahmins.
Then He went to Gaya in Bihar on Vaisakhi of 1509 AD, and reached Guwahati in Kamrup(now Assam) in oct, 1509 AD educate Noor Shah (known as queen of miracles ) at Kamakhya Devi temple and stopped her from performing miracles. The majority of people in the nearby hilly areas were ‘Vaam’ Marg believers and were very cruel and would feel proud in hunting men of other communities. Guru Nanak could not ignore their cruel acts and visited their central place Yoni Peeth in Guwahati to enlighten them and stopped them from such inhuman deeds. From here He went to Imphal, Silchar, Sylhet, Dacca and then Calcutta in Bengal. The people of the area were used to perform Durga Pooja and sacrifice male buffaloes, believing that Durga Devi killed ‘Mahikha Sur’ devil, whom they believed was born to female buffaloe. Guru Nanak travelled from village to village and stopped from such practices and enlightened them about these misbeliefs and asked them to worship One Almighty God.
Then He proceeded to Jagan Nath Puri through Faridpur Nadia, from where He collected ‘Bani’ of Bhagat Jaidev. He reached jagan Nath Puri in Orissa in June 1510 AD and educated the People that the Pandits were looting them in the name of doing ‘Aarti’ of Statues by keeping lamps in very valuable plates. He explained them that it was no use worshipping man made statues made from stone/metal, as there is only One Almighty God. He orated The ‘BANi’ of ‘AARTI’, for explaining to the Pandits/the people that the whole nature, with the sky as the plate, Sun and Moon as the lamps and all stars are jewels are doing ‘Aarti’ of The Almighty God, wherein Chandan wood is giving essence, all the vegetation are flowers and the air is doing ‘CHOUR’. From Puri, He proceeded to Bajwara, Gantoor and reached ‘KURHAPA’ in south along east coast, area inhabited by Dravidians, who were expert in arrow fighting and that is why they were called ‘Bheel’, but they started eating human beings of other communities than Dravidians for their survival, as they had nothing to eat after they were pushed out of fertile land by Aryans. Guru Nanak went to Kauda ‘Bheel’ in search of Mardana, presuming that he might have been caught by Kauda after he got separated from Guru Nanak, knowing well that KAUDA eats human beings. He gave him the message of Truth for welfare of humanity and stopped him and other people from this malice, and educated them to fight against injustice done to them.
Further He went to Palipur, Tirupati, Pondicherry and reached Rameshwaram in March, 1511 AD. Then He went to Ceylon (Now Sri Lanka) and educated Raja Shiv Nabh, who was waiting for Guru Nanak as he had learnt about him from a Sikh trader Mansukh. Learning about Guru Nanak, other 18 small kings inimical to Shiv Nabh also met Guru Nanak and He gave them message of worshipping One God and serve humanity. As a result, the kings stopped their rivalry and accepted Shiv Nabh as their head, who became a disciple of Guru Nanak. He stayed in Sri Lanka for about one year and returned in April, 1512 AD.
From Sri Lanka He reached Kochin on west coast, then Pandharpur, Barshi, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad and then Onkar temple, where Pandits were getting worshipping of ‘Shivling’ done from the people. Guru Nanak asked Pandits to stop worshipping stones and worship One Almighty God and orated ‘Bani’ of ‘ONKAR’. From here he went to ujjain and Palitana and educated Jain sadhus that they should take bath with water regularly, who were not taking bath as they believed that micro bacteria in water will be killed. Then He went to Somnath to educate people that Pandits were misguiding them for amassing wealth and asked them to worship One God. Then He went to Dwarka and asked people to leave worshipping of ‘Shivling’ and other stone statues and worship One Almighty God. Then He went to Kutch area, Anjar, Bees Nagar, Abu mountain to meet Jain Sadhus and asked them to take bath to keep cleanliness and worship God. Then He reached Udaipur, Nathdwara, chittor, Ajmer, Pushkar, Agra, Mathura in August, 1515 AD. Then He proceeded to Delhi, Panipat, Sarsa, Pehowa and reached kurukshetra in October 1525 AD to educate people about misbeliefs of Worshipping of Solar eclipse and asked them to worship One God and serve the humanity. He returned to Sultanpur in November 1515 AD after travelling about 6,500 miles in about 8 years.
As Guru Nanak had a great mission of enlightening the humanity in mind, He decided to set up a central place for this purpose and laid foundation of village KARTARPUR(now Pakistan) in January, 1516 AD, for which land was given by the villagers of Pakho ke Randhawa. He got its construction completed and shifted his parents to this place before starting his second journey. Then Guru Nanak started His second journey on 22 Sep, 1517 AD and for this purpose, He took Bhai Mardana along with Him and proceeded towards the hills of Vaishno Devi. Enroute He stopped at Sialkot at a place where the people had gathered in large number, as Pir Hamza Gauns was praying for destroying the town as one of his followers had not fulfilled the promise made to him. Guru Nanak started doing Kirtan in front of the building and Hamza Gauns came out of his room in anger and Guru Nanak explained to him that The God is not pleased by destroying/killing all children for one man’s mistake. For satisfying him more, Guru Nanak sent Mardana to purchase Truth and Falsehood for one pie and he came back with a paper on which it was written by Moola, a shopkeeper, that death is a Truth and living is false. Thus Guru Nanak enlightened Pir Hamza and stopped him from his nefarious designs. He went further to Jammu, Vaishno Devi, Amarnath for educating the people that instead of worshipping stone or ice statues, they should worship One Almighty God and Pandit Brahm Das became His Sikh and Guru Nanak appointed him as preacher of the area.
Then Guru Nanak went to Sumer Parbat for meeting Sidh Yogis living in caves of mountains of Tibet and advised them to adopt the path of service to humanity. Then He came to Kashmir for meeting Kashmiri Pandits, who were intellectuals but were exhorting people to misbeliefs of worshipping of Shivling and stone statues and dividing the society on caste lines, due to which low castes were suffering. Guru Nanak educated them to stop such practices and contemplate on One Almighty God. After travelling various cities and villages of Kashmir, He returned to Kartarpur in mid of 1518 AD.
His planned His third journey for Mecca and taking Bhai Mardana along with Him, He started His journey after rainy season of 1518 AD and went to Kasur and then Pakpattan. He met Shaikh Brahm, eleventh successor of Shaikh Farid, and obtained ‘Baani’ of Shaikh Farid from him. Then He went to Sajan Nagri to meet a person Sajan, who had constructed a Sarai in a jungle near Makhdumpur for resting of travellers. But due to bad companions, he lost track and started looting passengers. When Guru Nanak went to Him, he thought the same way, but Guru Nanak judge it and started singing ‘Baani’ to enlighten him and he realized his mistake fell on the feet of Guru Nanak and distributed all ill gotten wealth and pledged to serve the humanity.
Then He joined ‘Haazis’ for going to Mecca and passed through Multan, Bahawalpur, Shikarpur, Mekran, Hinglaj and reached Mecca in Arabia in December 1518 AD. As With passage of time, Muslims started believing that Kaaba in Mecca was the only house of God and as such no one would keep his feet towards Kaaba, although it was against their own faith that God is omnipresent. To enlighten the Qazis and Maulanas that The God does not live in Kaaba alone but is Omnipresent, The fearless Guru Nanak slept that night by keeping His feet towards Kaaba. When a Haazi saw it in the morning, he raised a alarm and all Haazis gathered and questioned Him. Guru Nanak very calmly asked to shift his feet in the direction in which there is no house of God. When he started rolling Guru Nanak, he started saying that which side there is no house of God. As a result this belief spread among all Haazis and everyone present there realized that The God is present everywhere.
Thus Qazis gathered in large number to have discussion with Guru Nanak and questioned Him that weather Hinduism or Islam is greater. Guru Nanak replied that all humanity is born from The God and neither of them is acceptable in eyes of God , and both of these weep because of not doing good deeds, as good character and good deeds are only acceptable in the eyes of God. After this Guru Nanak started for Madinah along with other Haazis on 24th Dec, 1518 AD and reached Madinah the next day. As after Guru Nanak’s discussion with other Haazis and Qajis, He got acquainted with Haazis of different countries, He started doing His daily Kirtan, which was stopped while starting His first journey with Haazis. Then He went to Basra, Karbala, Baghdad, where He started doing his Kirtan in Raag(music), although music was prohibited in Islam. The People were so influenced by His Kirtan that even Pir Shah Behlol and Pir Dastgir also came to Guru Nanak and listened to His Kirtan. As they had a faith that there are seven skys and seven ether regions, He explained them about the vastness of The universe, and that the created can not know the CREATOR. The water of wells of Baghdad was salty and Guru Nanak got a well erected , which alone has sweetwater.
Further He went to Isfahan, Tehran and Mashhad in Iran and further to Bukhara, Samarkand in Turkestan and then to Mazar-E-Sharif, Kabul and Jalalabad in Afghanistan. Then He came to Peshawar and reached Hasan Abdal in 1521 AD, where He educated Wali Kandhari who he refused to give water to drink to Mardana. When Mardana told Guru Nanak about it, Guru Nanak asked him to lift a stone and water flowed underneath for drinking and that of Wali Kandhari dried up. Annoyed by this, Wali Kandhari pushed a stone boulder towards a Guru Nanak, which He stopped with his hand. After this incidence Wali Kandhari fell on the feet of Guru Nanak and Guru Nanak told him God is not pleased by only reading Namaz and hurting His creation, but by serving the humanity.
Educating the people enroute passing through different villages, He reached Saidpur(Eminabad) and went to the house of Bhai Lalo. Babur then invaded Saidpur(Eminabad) in 1521 AD and Committed atrocities on its inhabitants, plundered their property, harassed children and women kept them in captivity. Babur took Guru Nanak as prisoner along with other prisoners and went to village Awan, where they were asked to carry out grinding of sawmills, and Guru Nanak carried out the work of grinding sawmill along with other prisoners. Learning about this, Babur visited Guru Nanak and Guru Nanak gave him message of service to humanity. On receiving news of Shah Beg invading Kandhari, Babur went back from here. Guru Nanak came back to Kartarpur in November, 1521 AD.
Guru Nanak has recorded the social and political situation prevalent at that time in his prophecies orated in ‘Babur Bani’, which He called “hymns of blood” and made it explicitly clear that He is revealing the direct message of God as it came to him. He told that a lot of excesses are being committed by Indian rulers and that Babur will punish them. Guru Says that:-
Jaisee mai ȧavai kɦasam kee baañee ṭaisaṙaa karee giȧanu ve laalo ||
i.e. As the Word of The Almighty God/Lord comes to me, so do I express it, O Lalo.
Paap ki Janjh lai kaabalou ḍɦaaia joree maṇgai ḍaanu ve Lallo II
i.e. Bringing the marriage party of sinners, Babar has invaded from Kabul, demanding our land as his wedding gift, O Lalo.
Saramu ḍɦaramu ḍuī cɦɦapi kɦaloēy kooɍu pɦirai paraḍɦaanu ve laalo ॥
i.e. Modesty and righteousness both have vanished, and falsehood struts around like a leader, O Lalo.
Kaajeeạa baamañaa kee gal ṭɦakee ạgaḍu paɍai saiṭaanu ve laalo ॥--SGGS--722
I.e.The Qazis and the Brahmins have lost their roles, and Satan now conducts the marriage rites, O Lalo.
Kɦoon ke sohile gaaveeạhi naanak raṭu kaa kuᴺgoo paaī ve laalo ॥1॥--SGGS--723
I.e. The wedding songs of murder are sung, O Nanak, and blood is sprinkled instead of saffron, O Lalo. ||1||
After returning to KARTARPUR(now Pakistan), He took up farming without disturbing His discourses. During the later 18 years of His mission, He carried out His Discourses in the morning and evening and carried out farming during the day, thus setting the example of honest earning i.e. KIRAT KARNI. His started His fourth journey to villages around Kartarpur such as village Malah, Bhinder and Sahowal in distt Sialkot, Udokey, Verka in distt Amritsar, villages Maghiana, Madara, Manga, Manak and Khalra in distt Amritsar, Harappa town and Kharahat in distt Montgomery, village Takhtupura, Pato in distt Ferozepur, village Thakarwal in distt Ludhiana, village Mansoorpur, Panjor, Dharampur, Kumarhatti in Patiala state. Then He went to hilly areas of Jawalamukhi, Bashar in Simla area.
As yogis and Sidhas used to come at the time of Shivratri each year at village ACHAL near Batala, Guru Nanak went to ACHAL in March, 1530 AD, the most of the people came to see Guru Nanak and did not go to Sidhs. Yogis and Siddhas got annoyed and came to Guru Nanak and sarcastically questioned Him that first becoming a saint and then becoming a householder is a undesirable path. Guru Nanak calmly replied that first leaving householder’s life and then going to householders for getting food for sustenance is no saintliness and sacrifice. Then they asked Guru Nanak to show some miracle, to which Guru Nanak replied that the biggest miracle is to remember God from the heart. His conversation with Sidhas is recorded in SGGS as ‘SIDH GOSHT’. On questioning by Siddhas that who is His Guru and whose chela he is. Guru Nanak replied that ‘SHABAD GURU SURAT DHUN CHELA’ i.e. SHABAD(the word of ‘Bani’) is His Guru and He is a disciple of the SHABAD and He focuses His mind/heart on it. Then in May, 1530 AD, He proceeded from ACHAL to Multan to educate the people and Pirs, as Multan being the first centre of Pathan rulers, many Pirs/Muslim preachers had come along with the Pathan rulers to the city for preaching of ISLAM. Pirs had established undesirable rituals among the people of making memorials at burial grounds of their ancestors. On reaching Multan, Guru Nanak sat down in the lawn of Dargah of Pir Shamas. Pir placed a bowl filled with milk before Guru Nanak to convey that their faith teaches as untainted way of life as milk in the bowl. Guru Nanak took a flower of Jasmine and placed it over milk in the bowl, thus giving them message that for living a good and respectable life, they should live by remaining aloof from worldly attractions like this flower floating on the milk. Guru Nanak undauntedly told them that instead of propagating worshipping of The God, they are telling people to do undesirable ritual of worshiping burial grounds for their vested interests, and educated them to shelve their ego and vested interests and propagate worshiping of One Almighty God. Pirs realized their mistake and got a print of a Guru Nanak’s hand on a paper as a mark of getting His blessings, as per practice prevalent among them. Then Guru Nanak came back from Multan to Kartarpur in July, 1530 AD. After sometime He again went to Sialkot and started Kirtan and the people gathered in large number but one of His old follower Moola did not come to the Congregation. Guru Nanak sent Mardana to his home for calling him, But his wife came out and told Mardana that Moola is not at home, while Moola hid himself in his house. But unluckily he was bitten by the snake and he died at the spot. When Guru Nanak learnt about it, He told the congregation that one should not make money as his aim of life.
His 29 years of extensive touring, travelling about 35,000 miles, was a major step for the organization of the new faith. He had triple object of acquaintance with all centres/organisations of prevalent religious systems, convey His message to these centres/organizations and point out futile and harmful nature of their methods and practices. Thirdly He set up local centres for His mission at Haridwar, Kurukshetra, Banaras, Kashi, Gaya, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Baghdad, Mecca etc.
In His teachings, householder's life and the moral life became primary focus of religious activity for spiritual progress. Another important aspect of moral life emphasized was, sharing of one's earnings. He created the institution of "Free Kitchen"(LANGAR) for the needy at Kartarpur and it was managed by His wife Mata Sulakhni, doing kitchen ‘sewa’ herself. The institution of ‘Langar’ had a twin purpose. As everyone sat and ate at the same place in 'PANGAT'(sitting in same row on the ground) and shared the food, it cut at the root of evil of caste and religious distinctions and also abolished the idea of pollution of food by mere presence of so-called untouchables/low castes prevalent at that time in the country.
Guru Nanak thus woke up the people from their slumber of ignorance and corruption. He freed them from the bondage of so many gods and goddesses and led them to accept a supreme being as the creator and sustainer of all. He taught that there were no incarnations, no special revelations and that man was the highest manifestation of The God and The God speaks through the heart of the man. Along with the uplift of man, He gave equal status to woman.
Guru Nanak's faith is simple and sublime, as It is the life lived. His religion is not a system of philosophy like Hinduism. It is a discipline, a way of life, a force which connects the humanity with each other, as well as The Guru. He gave the path of moral life and righteous deeds, which became the fundamental means of spiritual progress, since these alone were approved by The God. All this gave the new faith, a new life and new expectations to the depressed, dejected and low caste people of India. Guru Nanak expressed all His teachings in the spoken language of the people of Northern India i.e. Punjabi, Devanagari, brij bhasha etc., conveying His desire to enlighten the masses, as Sanskrit and Persian were the languages of the Hindu elite and the Muslim rulers respectively. Guru Nanak’s message is based on righteous laws of nature. It believes that deeds are more important than creed. The Guru says that :-
ਸਚਹੁ ਓਰੈ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਉਪਰਿ ਸਚੁ ਆਚਾਰੁ ॥੫॥
Sacɦahu õarai sabɦu ko ūpari sacɦu ạacɦaaru ॥5॥—SGGS—62
i. e. Truth is higher than everything; but higher still is truthful living. ||5||
“HAUMAI” i.e. ego, desires and worries stand in the way of human being and he gets the disease of egotism and this egoistic illusion is the source of all evils, sufferings and miseries of humanity, such as:- pride, anger, lust for sex, selfishness, corruption, confrontation, quarrels, wars, torture etc. Thus acting stubbornly one is reincarnated again and again. The causes of ego are:- forgetting God, materialistic illusion, bad company and environment etc. These cannot be destroyed but can be substituted with the consciousness of the divine light (God), by remembering Him and singing His praises through ‘NAAM SIMRAN’, which is inlaid in every soul. Guru says that:-
Hahṇūmai vadaa rog hai mari jaṃmai ȧavai jaaï ||-SGGS--592
i.e. Egotism is such a terrible disease; he dies, to be reincarnated - he continues coming and going.
Saṭigur kee sev na keeṭeeȧ sabaḍi na lago bɦaaū ||.
i.e. One who does not serve the True Guru, and who does not love the Word of the Shabad,
Haūmai rogu kamaavañaa ȧṭi ḍeeragɦu bahu suȧaū ||
-SGGS--850.
i.e. Earns the very painful disease of egotism; he is so very selfish.
SABDE HOUME MAAREEYE SACHIE MAHAL SUKH PAAE ||------SGGS----429
i.e. through the ‘Shabad’, conquer your ego, in the True Mansion of the Lord’s presence,you shall find peace.
PAARBRAHM POORAN PERMESAR RAV RAHIA SABHNEE JAAEE||--SGGS---62 i.e. The Supreme Lord God, the Perfect Transcendent Lord, is pervading everywhere.
Guru says that the evils cannot be destroyed but can be substituted with the consciousness of the Divine light i.e. The Almighty God, by remembering Him and singing His praises, Who lives in every heart, and thus becoming good human beings and living a peaceful, harmonious life and by following the five fundamental principles.
1. KIRAT KARNI: i.e. Earning Honest Living:-
Guru Nanak preached to earn our livelihood by sincere hard work by the sweat of our brow and honest means and not to become a parasite on the society. Guru further says that dishonest means of earning are prohibited to a Sikh, as pork to Muslim and beef to a Hindu, as such earnings pollute the mind in the same way as blood stains the clothes. He says only honest earnings are like “milk” and hence “sweet” and “tasty” and condemns dishonest earning. Unlike other religions of the world, Guru’s spiritualism deals with the complete life comprising body and soul i.e. Miri (house holder’s life) and Piri (spiritualism) for balance development of a human being. Guru says that:-
Guru peeru haama ṭaa bɦare ja muraḍaaru na kɦaaï ||
-SGGS--141.
i.e. Our Guru, our Spiritual Guide, stands by us, if we do not eat those carcasses.
2. “NAAM JAPNA” i.e. Remembering God:-
Guru says that one comes to the world i. e. one is born, when God infuses His light into him. As such He advises every individual to remember God daily i.e. both in the morning and in the evening and to be continuously with God while doing all his daily acts/deeds, to reflect on His virtues such as love, benevolence and kindness to inculcate such virtues into his character. This can be done by reciting, listening and understanding ‘Gurbani’ with love, individually or in the congregation (Saadh Sangat), and doing ‘NAAM SIMRAN’ i.e. applauding the Lord-God for His manifestation with the name “WAHEGURU”, or any other way by the people of other faiths. Guru says that ‘NAAM’ is God and by remembering Him and chanting His ‘NAAM’, one is enlightened like the light of millions of suns and the darkness of doubt is dispelled. Consequently it removes all sufferings and gives peace and tranquility and hence one lives in heaven and is thus saved of the hell in his life. Guru says that:-
E sarira mereya Har tum meh jot rakhi taa tu jag meh aia||-- SGGS---9 i.e. O my body, The God infused His light into you, and only then you came into the world.
Gaviai suneeai man rakhiai bhao ||Dukh parhar sukh ghar lee jae||---SGGS----2
i.e. sing, and listen Gurbani for applauding Him, and let the mind be filled with love. It will remove sufferings and peace.
3. ‘WAND SHAKNA’: i.e. share you earnings with the less fortunate and for the welfare of society.
Guru Nanak's message says that it is the sacred duty of a Sikh to share his earnings with the society for welfare of mankind such as running “Langar” (free kitchen) for the poor, helping the needy and giving education to the less fortunate. Guru says one who earns honestly and shares his earnings with others becomes kind-hearted and liberal and this brings invaluable blessings to him. Guru says that:-
Nanak ȧgai so milai ji kɦate gɦaale ḍeï ||1||--SGGS--472
i.e. O Nanak, in the world hereafter, that alone is received, which one gives to the needy from his own earnings and labor. ||1||
Gɦaali kɦaaï kicɦɦu haṭɦahu ḍeï ||
i.e. One who works for what he eats, and gives some of what he has,
Nanak raahu pacɦɦaañahi seï ||1||--SGGS--1245.
i.e.- O Nanak, he knows the true way of life.
4. SERVICE TO THE HUMANITY:-
Guru Nanak has laid stress on serving the society by whatever means an individual can do i.e. by doing physical work, contributing money for social welfare, helping the have not’s in the society, sharing/preaching Guru's message and doing service for the welfare of the society i.e. social and political. Guru says that service to humanity pleases God as it is His manifestation and He loves such individual and showers His blessings on him. Guru says that :-
Nanak Hukamee likheeai Lekh ||
Jeha vekheh Teha Vekh ||--------SGGS------466
i.e. O, Nanak, by the Lord’s Command the destiny is recorded. As the Lord sees our deeds which we do while living in this world, so we are seen by the Lord.
Thus the aim of Guru Nanak is the transformation of the human being and society. In order to achieve this goal each and every activity of the individual has to be God oriented and doing ‘SEWA’ (service to the society) for the welfare of the humanity, irrespective of caste, color creed, religion, sex or country and for all living creatures of the universe.
5. SPREAD TRUTH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, END INJUSTICE AND REPRESSION:-
Guru Nanak Ji preached the spreading of truth, righteousness and fighting injustice, repression, corruption, and the evil of hatred for the low castes in the society and spread love for the humanity at large. Implementing these principles is the execution of the Divine will.
Guru condemned the rulers and administrators ruling the people at that time in the strongest words in ‘Gurbani’. The Guru says that :-
Raaje seeh mukaḍam kuṭe ||
i.e. The kings are tigers, and their officials are dogs;
Jaaï jagaaïna´i baitɦe suṭe ||
i.e.They go out and awaken the sleeping people to harass them.
Cɦaakar nahaḍaa paaïna´i gɦaaū ||
i.e.The public servants inflict wounds with their nails.
Raṭu piṭu kuṭiho cɦati jaahu ||--SGGS----1288
i.e. The dogs lick up the blood that is spilled.
Guru raised His voice against such people to protect human rights of the weak. He compared unjust and cruel kings with blood sucking beasts and the corrupt and greedy officials of the rulers as dogs, licking their blood and eating flesh of the people.
Labhu paap ḍuï raajaa mahaṭaa kooṙu hoȧ sikaḍaaru ||
i.e. Greed and sin are the king and prime minister; falsehood is the treasurer.
Kaamu nebu saḍi pucɦɦeeȧi bahi bahi kare beecɦaaru ||-SGGS--468.
i.e. Sexual desire, the chief advisor, is summoned and consulted; they all sit together and contemplate their plans.
Thus Guru says that in this world the tongue of the man acts a king, sins as the minister, lie as the official and the sexual desire is their advisor. The people have become blind because of lack of knowledge and are facing ire of these functionaries.
Guru Nanak gave a divine message of leading a peaceful but dignified life and fight injustice. He even rebuked the masters of the herd, 'The Kshatriyas'(Hindu warriors), for not putting up a stiff fight for India. Guru says that:-
Je jeevai paṭi laṭɦee jaaï ||
i.e. Those who merely live shall depart in dishonor;
Sabɦu haraamu jeṭaa kicɦɦu kɦaaï ||-SGGS--142.
i.e. Everything they eat is impure.
Even the religious people had become lifeless and were only after money. Guru has explained the condition of these people in ‘Gurbani’ as under:-
Kaaḍee kooṙu boli malu kɦaaï ||
i.e.The Qazi tells lies and eats filth;
Braahamañu naavai jeeȧ gɦaaï ||-SGGS--662.
i.e. The Brahmin kills the beings and then takes cleansing baths.
He thus roused the national sentiment of the people and strengthened the ideals and thought of the community in His congregational singings, and made them conscious of the new powers of thought in themselves with illumination of intellect and sincerity.
Guru Nanak has very emphatically described the attributes of God in the beginning of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and is called “MOOL MANTAR”, where He says that there is but one God, His name is true everlasting, He is the creator, fearless and without enmity, the timeless form, does not die and take birth and is self existing. He is attained with His grace.
Guru Nanak rejects the theory of incarnation of The GOD and very authentically confirms that The God does not take birth and die. He can be realized with “NAAM SIMRAN” i.e. remembering God all the time while doing your day to day work with His grace and that a normal family life is no barrier to attainment of salvation during this life. Guru says that:-
SATGUR MERA SADA SADA NA AVAI NA JAAE ||--SGGS-759
i.e. my True Guru is forever and ever and does not take birth or dies.
Guru Nanak never represented to be Prophet, Avatar, Son of God as proclaimed by Prophets of the other religions of the world and rather advocated that all Prophets are men like you and me. Guru says that :-
SATGUR DEO PARTAKH HARI-MOORAT JO AMRIT BACHAN SUNAVAI ||--SGGS---1264
i.e. The Divine True Guru is the Embodiment, the Image of the Lord; He utters the Ambrosial Word.
Guru says that He is only delivering message of Truth, which The God gave Him for deliverance to mankind.
Dhur ki baani aaee ||
Tin Sagalee Chint mitaee ||-----------SGGS------628
i.e. The ‘baani’ of His word emanated from the God and it eradicates all anxiety.
Hou aapahu bol n jaanadhaa mai kehiaa sabh hukamaao jeeo || -------SGGS-----763
I.e. By Myself, I do not even know how to speak; I speak all that the Lord commands.
Sathigur kee baanee sat sat kar jaanahu gurasikhahu har karataa aap muhahu kadhaaeae || SGGS – 308
i.e. O Gursikhs, know that the ‘baani’, the Word of the True Guru, is true, absolutely True. The Creator Lord Himself causes the Guru to chant it.
Any suggestion of having a living Guru is precluded by Guru Nanak very explicitly in ‘Sidh Goshti’ on a question by the Sidhas that:-
TERA KAVANHU GURU JIS KA TOON CHELA||---SGGS-942
i.e. who is your Guru and whose disciple are you.
To which Guru replied that:-
SABAD GURU SURAT DHUN CHELA ||---SGGS-943
i.e. The Shabad is the Guru, upon whom I focus my consciousness and I am His disciple.
He says that anyone who takes birth and dies cannot be God. Sikhism prohibits worshipping any stone “Gods” (idol-worshipping) as He says that a stone God cannot lead a human being anywhere, which itself drowns in water and cannot itself swim. Guru further says that it will be mere wasting of time indulging in IDOL Worshiping symbolizing God and all our efforts in this direction will be fruitless. He therefore stresses worshiping one and only one GOD, Who is father of all the humanity, through ‘NAAM SIMRAN’ i.e. remembering God through ‘SHABAD’ in Gurbani or ‘GURMANTAR’ i.e. WAHEGURU (the wonderful God) or any other name i.e. Ram, Rahim, Allah, Gobind, Jehovah, God etc. He says that you become like the one you worship/remember the wonderful God, you become like Him and attain His qualities and He fulfills your desires when you receive His grace, which He feels are good for you and you deserve by your deeds. The Guru says that:-
EK PITA EKAS KE HUM BARIK TOO MERA GUR HAAEE||--SGGS—611. i.e. The One God is our father. We are the children of One God, You are also my Guru-brother.
Jo paaṭɦar kaū kahaṭe ḍev ||
Ṭaa kee biraṭɦaa hovai sev ||-SGGS--1160
i.e. Those who call a stone their god, their service is useless.
E man jaesa sevih taesa hovai tehe karam kamaei||---SGGS----755. i. e. O mind, as you serve, so do you become, and so are the deeds that you do.
Ȧṇḍɦe guṇge ȧṇḍɦ ȧṇḍɦaaru ||
i.e. They are blind and mute, the blindest of the blind.
Paaṭɦaru le poojahi mugaḍɦ gavaar ||
i.e. The ignorant fools pick up stones and worship them.
Õhi jaa ȧapi dube ṭum kahaa ṭarañahaaru ||2||
--SGGS--556. i.e. But when those stones themselves sink, who will carry you across?.
Guru Nanak gave equal status to women, who were regarded as inferior to men before Him. Guru Nanak says in ‘Gurbani ‘ that why call a woman inferior/bad, who gives birth to kings, to whom a man marries, loves and his generation moves, when she dies he finds another woman and through her, relations are developed. He says humanity cannot take birth without her, except God, who alone is beyond the system of production of humanity through a woman. He thus gave equal status to women in the society about 500 years ago, even though most of the religions of the world have not been able to give status to women equal to that of men up till now. Guru says that:-
Bɦaṇdie jaṃmeeȧi bɦaṇdie niaṃmeeȧi bɦaṇdie maṇgañu veeȧahu ||
i.e. From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married.
bɦaṇdhu hovai ḍosaṭee bɦaṇdhu cɦalai raahu || i.e. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come.
Bɦaṇdu muȧ bɦaṇdu bɦaaleeȧi bɦaṇdu hovai baṇḍɦaanu || i.e. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound.
So kiū maṇḍaa ȧakɦeeȧi jiṭu jaṃmahi raajaan ||
i.e. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born.
Bɦaṇdhu hee bɦaṇdu öopajai bɦaṇdie baajɦu na koï ||. i.e. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.
Nanak bɦaṇdie bahaaraa æko sacɦaa soï ||-SGGS--473
i.e. O, Nanak, only the True Lord is beyond taking birth from a woman.
Thus Guru Nanak laid the foundation of SIKHISM for spreading the message of truth, righteousness, fighting injustice and repression, uprooting corruption and eradicating the evil of hatred for the low castes in the society and spread the message of love for the humanity at large. He gave a pious and disciplined way of life prohibiting, incarnations, omens, magic spells, horoscopic dispositions, idol worshiping, intoxicants, undesirable rituals such as fasts, yug, Havan, shraadh, googa Pooja, Holi, pind, patal etc.The revolution started by Guru Nanak reached its climax and culminated into the appearance of 'The KHALSA' by Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1699 AD.
Before Guru Nanak left His body, He transmitted His spiritual light to Guru Nanak II i.e Guru Angad Dev Ji and after appointing him as His successor, handed over to him the “POTHI” containing His own ‘baani’ and that of other saints. He took his ‘parikrama’ and bowed His head at the feet of Guru Angad Dev Ji, thus setting a new example of relationship between The GURU and His disciple in the world. Similarly the transmission of spiritual light went on to succeeding Gurus and ultimately to tenth Guru I.e. Guru Gobind Singh Ji. It is only Guru Nanak in the whole world whose last rites were performed by the people of the prevailing two religions in India i.e. Hindus and Muslims, according to their respective faiths.
Guru Nanak's message is for the whole Mankind, irrespective of cast, creed, color, rich, poor, country, world etc. GURU NANAK IS THE LIGHT FOR THE HUMAN RACE. Following the teachings of GURU NANAK in the true spirit, will be executing THE DIVINE WILL OF GOD and thereby attaining GOD’S blessings, which will give peace and harmony to the individual and the Humanity at large. The well wishers of HUMANITY should understand, contemplate, follow and spread the Message of TRUTH of GURU NANAK to make THIS WORLD A HEAVEN ON EARTH.
