- Guru Nanak, Pauri
Premonition of his Birth
In the Hindu epic the Rig Veda In Mandala 7, Ush 5, Mantra 5 of Guru Nanak and the clan he belongs to is recorded "For the preaching of religious ways and the earning of good karma, there will manifest Guru Nanak from the clan of the Veithees" In the Bhavekhath Purana "Baavekhath" means "future foretelling". There are also places where the advent of Guru Nanak is directly alluded to.
"In the Kali Yuga when goodness in the world is deteriorating there will appear a Prophet from the Beithi clan named Nanak who from birth will be endowed with extra-ordinary spiritual power. He will preach on the nobility of life and the eradication of the sinful ways"
"The Guru of the prophets, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiv ji is God almighty himself. This very Creator will manifest itself as a human, in the form of one whose name will be Nanak”
Also recorded is the following detailed assertiveness about Nanak and the type of mission and work he shall perform. It appears to emanate from the Godhead itself.
"The Kali Yuga shall dawn on Earth with radical mainisfestation of destruction of Karma and Dharma to such an extent that every situation shall be colored by sinful activities. At that distressful moment, the Creator shall send down a spiritual luminary in the form of Nanak from the Khatria clan.
He will spread the message of Naam, the Holy life Force, by introducing the primacy of meditation and thus washing clean the sinful ways by the waters of love."
In the Vishnnu Purana there is recorded an dialogue between Vishnu and the Rishi Umbreek. Vishnu is said to have informed Umbreek that he will once again take birth in the Kali Yuga. The Rishi then enquired when about will that be and what will be your name then? Vishnu replied that this will happen when the Kali Yuga has proceeded for 4500 years and that I will take birth in the Shatri Sooraj Bansi clan, when I will be named, Nanak "Sri NANAK will once again appear in the world in a variety of incarnations; this is for sure, this is for sure, this is for sure."
It was during the time when the world was plunged into the dark world of ignorance, feudal tyranny and oppression, religious and cultural strife, that Siri Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, took his birth. Celestial music resounded in heaven. Almighty host of gods, thus, hailed his birth, God has come to save the trouble peace of the people of all communities. He came to preach brotherhood and humanitarianism irrespective of caste, creed, colour nor economic status. He brought vision of a common humanity to a society which had become a place of violence and strife. He had faith in humanity. For him, love of God implied love for his creation. Service of humanity indicates one's love for God.
Like many of Primordial Masters, Guru Nanak's birth was accompanied by supernatural signs and by celestial music. He lived his childhood in freedom of nature, but manifested very soon an exceptional tendency to mediation and isolation, refusing the company of his contemporaries.
Guru Nanak Dev's life was to serve as a beacon light for his age. He was a great seer, saint and mystic. He was a prolific poet and a unique singer of God's laudation. A prophet of peace, love, truth and renaissance. Guru Nanak Dev served his life is a bridge between two shores of the river of unity.
His Life
The founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak was born on April 15, 1469 in the Western Punjab
A priceless jewel, a shining star, a divine light, Guru Nanak Dev shone amongst his peers from his very early childhood. His wise questions and spiritual leanings surprised all those who came in contact with him at home and in school. When he was sent to school,
Guru Nanak Dev said to his teacher, "Teach me, only this one large lesson of life. Tell me of the Creator, and the wonder of these Great World". He confounded the school teachers by asking such questions. But to he utter surprise of the teachers and others, Guru Nanak Dev gained proficiency in Sanskrit, Persian and the local language.
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.
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"
Guru Nanak Dev's father thought of initiating him in business undertakings.
He gave him a few silver coins to bring some articles from the town, which could be sold in Talwandi for profit. On the way, Guru Nanak Dev came across some needy saints, and spent the money in feeding and clothing them. He returned empty-handed. His father was enraged by his reply that he had struck the "True Bargain".
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
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.
He first spoke the verse which is now called the Mool Mantra - the primordal Mantra which appears at the commencement of every Chapter the Sacred Scripture of the Sikhs. It is one of the most comprehensive definitions of God and is amongst the most powerful of all the world's Mantras.
"The True One and only Omnipresent Immortal Essence of Reality. The Creator, the Omniscient and Omnipotent, the Incomprehensible (the fearless). Before all Beginnings and after all Endings. Beyond Time, Space and Form (and enmity). Free from the cycle of Births and Deaths, the Self-manifested. The Loving Merciful Enlightener (Realised with His Grace through total Submission to His Will)."
When he 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."
The Great Pilgrimage
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
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.
These long journeys gave Guru Nanak Dev a keen insight of the human character and accordingly, he adopted impressive and effective methods in persuasion of his Divine mission. His attractive rationalism brought about amazing transformations in the life and character of all those who came in contact with him. At
Duni Chand was changed and he became Guru Nanak Dev's follower. According to the advice of the Guru, he distributed most of his wealth amongst the needy and the poor.
At Sultanpur, the Qazi took strong exception to Guru Nanak Dev's sayings that there was no Hindu and no Musalman. He invited Guru Nanak Dev to the mosque for offering namaz.
When Knob, Nawab Quasi and others were offering prayer, the Guru simply remained standing. That added to his fury but he was surprised when the Guru told him that though he was physically offering the namaz his heart was looking after the foal his mare had delivered that morning.The Nawab at heart was wandering in Kabul with his men busy in the horse-trade. Guru Nanak Dev then advised them that true worship is a matter of the heart and not of formal ritualism. According to Guru Nanak Dev "There can be no worship without performing good deed."
After Guru Nanak Dev visited
He also opposed any sort of distinctions in humanity. He professed that noble character rather than noble birth is the real test of human greatness :
“What power has caste? It is the righteousness that is tested. Whosoever tastes poison, Will die, no matter what his caste is.”
Guru Nanak Dev also raised his voice for the uplift and parity of the down-trodden, low-caste elements of the human society and that of the womenfolk. He had complete sympathy for the so called downtrodden people. He flayed those who were responsible for their notorious plight and asserted .Guru Nanak Dev exalted the status of woman by saying :
"It is from women, the condemned one, that we are conceived and it is from her that we are born. It is to the women that we are engaged and married. It is the woman who is our life - long friend and it is she who keeps our race going. It is women again who is sought when one loses one's previous wife. It is woman through whom we establish our social ties. Then why denounce her form whom even kings and great men are born."
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."
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. 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?"
When Guru Nanak stopped at
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. “After his first long journey, Guru Nanak returned home after twelve years of propagating his message. He then set out on a second journey travelling as far south as
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
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
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."
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 God's 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."
In 1916 a tablet with the following inscription was uncovered in
On his return journey home he stopped at Saidpur in western
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
Here his followers would gather in the mornings and afternoons for religious services. He believed in a castless 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. 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."
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 Bahi 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. His end was near, the Hindus said we will cremate you, the Muslims said we will bury you.
"You place flowers on either side, Hindus on my right, Muslims on my left. Those whose flowers remain fresh tomorrow will have their way."
Then came the day of destiny. The Guru prepared to depart from the world of mortals and his return to the Eternal Home. He addressed the disciples who had assemble around him .
"The appointed hour hath come.
The hour of marriage and union with the Spouse divine.
Assemble ye, my Comrades:
Cluster round me and lift up your merry notes:
Sing the praises of the Divine, Comforting Lord.
Anoint the Bride,
Pour oil on her forehead,
Give her your blessings,
And pray that she may meet her Lord,
And he happy with him for aye.
Sing Ye, my friends, the praises of the Spouse;
For the appointed hour of union hath come."
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.
Shri Mataji’s Quotes on Guru Nanak
“We can say on Guru principal Nanak Sahib came. Even in His time so many could not know their Spirit. He was breaking his head advising the people. He had taken human form but still he was not recognized. I was with Him (Guru Nanak Ji), in fact with all of Them."
Shri Nirmala Devi Delhi, India — August 18, 1979
“Then a great personality like Guru Nanaka came on this Earth and He said that, that all these nonsensical things are not what Kundalini is: "The Kundalini is your Mother and She rises without any trouble through different Chakras."
"And the one who supported Him and explained Sahaja Yoga in a very good way was the great personality of Kabira. And Kabira had described everything about Kundalini but in poetry. But human beings have a great sense of how to twist and turn everything into something that's just the opposite. Like he talked of the Kundalini and called Kundalini as Surti. He lived in Bihar and he preached about it in
"So this has happened with every great Incarnation who came on this Earth."
Shri Nirmala Devi
“One day I was travelling from
So I said, "Because they worship Shri Ganesha." So she said that, "In our family nobody worships Shri Ganesh." I said, "It cannot be possible? How is it?" They believe in the Nirakar, the formless God of Chaitanya. I said, "But who is the Source of that Chaitanya? Why don't they find out who is the Source? So they said that Nanaka has only talked up to this point.
He's not talked about the source. I said, "Better find out. Because in this book maybe some things have been taken away."
And then somebody gave me a passage where he had described the innocence, the Deity of Shri Ganesha also. He had described that the whole creation was done by the Mother and not by the Father. It’s very surprising because is for people who don't believe in the forms of God, always talk of Father, not of the Mother. It is true also about Christianity, also about Islam, also about the Jews."
Shri Nirmala Devi Ganesha Puja, September 10, 1995, Cabella
Guru Nanak about Shri Mataji
Obeisance, obeisance to Him, the Primal, the Immaculate, without beginning, without end, constant through all ages. The One Mother existed Alone in some mysterious way and She created the Three deities. One was the Creator, one the Sustainer and one the Destroyer. The world moves as He ordains and as He pleases. He see all, but no one sees Him; this is a great wonder.”
Sri Guru Granth Sahib
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