According to Guru Nanak salvation occurs from the heart, spirit and soul and not from the pilgrimage. Guru Nanak Jayanti, also known as ‘Gurupurab’, ‘Guru Nanak Prakash Purab’ or ‘Guru Nanak Aagman Divas’, has just arrived. It is considered one of the most important festivals in Sikhism. The day marks the birth of Sri Guru Nanak who laid the foundation of Sikhism. Born in 1469 in Talwandi, Pakistan, Sri Guru Nanak spread the message of ‘Ik Onkar’, meaning ‘One God’ who dwells in every one of his creations and constitutes the eternal truth. Ik Onkar’ is the first word of the mool mantra and is considered the most important component in Sikhism. The mool mantra is also significant because it is the opening text of the holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib, which contains the composition and bani of all the ten Sikh Gurus. This means: There’s only one God, his name is the only truth, he is the only creator, he is fearless, he is without hate, he is immortal, he is beyond birth and death, and by only his grace one can chant his name.
Guru Nanak’s of his many teachings that define a person’s perspective towards life: Vaand Chhako: Sharing whatever God has given you with others and helping those who are in need is what Sri Guru Nanak Ji preached all his life. This is one of the principles of Sikhism. Kirat Karo: Means, make a living honestly. One should not exploit others to enjoy self-happiness. Earning without fraud and working diligently is what he preached. Naam Japo: Chant the name of ‘True God’. Sri Guru Nanak emphasised meditating on God´s name to gain control over five evils- kama, krodh, lobh, moh, ahankar means lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego Guru Nanak emphasised the concept of universal brotherhood. He said that despite religion, caste, and gender, everyone should seek well for others and only then one can have that goodness back in return.
At the end of daily Ardaas prayer, it is said, “Nanak Naam Chardi Kala Tere Bhane Sarbat da bhala”, which means “Nanak with your name and blessings, may everyone in the world prosper and be in peace.” Speak the truth without any fear: Sri Guru Nanak said to always speak the truth without any fear. He said, getting victory by suppressing falsehood is temporary and standing firmly by truth is permanent. Guru Nanak never believed in a ‘Trinity of Gods’, or the belief that God can be born in human form. In Sikhism, he tried to harmonise both Hinduism and Islam. He never believed in superstitions, caste distinctions and rituals. After the well-known Moroccan scholar and explorer, Ibn Battuta (1304-1369), Guru Nanak (1469 – 1539) is the second most traveled person in the world. Between 1500 and 1524, spanning 24 years, Guru Nanak traveled more than 28,000 km. He made five major Udasis or journeys in his lifetime, most of which were on foot. In all his travels, Bhai Mardana, a Muslim and his childhood friend, accompanied him.
The two complemented each other as they traveled to distant lands. Guru Nanak would sing his spiritual Shabads (hymns) while Bhai Mardana would play the musical string instrument – the Rebab. They would create soulful music with a lasting message. Guru Nanak began questioning the social and religious beliefs and practices around him since his earlier years. He was upset to see the society around him so dominated by superstition, rituals, hypocrisy, untouchability, and irrationality. A Hindu by birth, he studied Islam at the local Madrasa, where he met his friend and companion, Mardana. Guru Nanak was quick to learn different languages, including Punjabi, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Persian, enabling him to read several religious scriptures of Hindu and Islamic faith. His thoughts and beliefs centered on the existence of one omnipresent and formless God, believing all humans, irrespective of faith, caste, or profession, were equal before the only Supreme Power. He believed there was a better way to connect with God through devotion and action, as all the answers lay within oneself.
Back then, traveling on foot was no easy task. Loot and plunder, diseases, and wildlife were all serious threats to a traveler besides the lack of availability of food. However, none of these held back Guru Nanak from setting off to unknown lands along with Bhai Mardana, in a quest to spread his divine message. Guru Nanak was just 30 when he started his first Udasi, and over the next 24 years, he traveled to distant places in the North, East, West, and South of his hometown. Besides traveling extensively within India, he traveled widely to several countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, present-day Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Tibet, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.In each of his journeys, Guru Nanak visited local religious centers and meet local priests, seers, pirs, and other scholars in an attempt to learn their spiritual customs, beliefs, and practices. He would engage with them on spiritual matters and reason with them why and how his message made rational sense in connecting with the one and only Almighty and finding inner peace in the process. One must keep in mind the times when Guru Nanak traveled. It was a period where religion, culture, and social practices were steeped in rigid tradition, and therefore, it was not easy for an outsider from a different culture to arrive and be accepted by local people. His simplicity, humility, and earthy logic connected with locals, and they listened keenly to his divine message.
Such was his acceptance, there are documented instances of Guru Nanak being remembered by various names even today, including, Nanak Rimpochea (Bhutan and Sikkim), Nanak Shah, Nanak Peer (Baghdad), Nanak Rishi (Nepal), Nanak Acharya, Nanak Lama (Tibet), Nanak Vali (Egypt), Baba Nanak (Iraq), Nanak Kadamdar, Baba Foosa (China), Vali Hind (Mecca), Peer Balgdaan (Mazhar-e-Sharief), Guru Nanak Vali Hind (Russia). There is a debate between whether Guru Nanak returned after the First Udasi before starting the Second or whether the First and Second Udasi were combined as one extended journey. Guru Nanak wanted to go out and enlighten people’s lives with his message of connecting with God. He felt it was his divine mission to go out and spread his spiritual message. Monotheism. Sikhi is Monotheistic and believes that there is only One God. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhi strongly denounces any type of Pakhand (hypocrisy or duality). Nanak prefixed the numeral “IK” (one) to the syllable Onkar to stress the idea of God’s oneness; that the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer is One.
It is significant to understand here that in medieval Hindustan, though the Muslims were the main persecutors of the Hindus and the Sikhs, Nanak’s words, ‘There is no Hindu, there is no Mussalman’, was meant to disregard the conflict with them in the spirit of a ‘spiritually aroused person’, one who bears ill-feelings towards none. Guru Nanak provided a new spiritual and humanistic message of ‘oneness’ of humanity that would go out to millions in his lifetime and in the centuries to come. His vision of the world was of an all-embracing, all-inclusive humanism. It was his divine calling that impelled Nanak to spread this message of God. Soon after his enlightenment in 1499, Guru Nanak set out on his journeys—which were recorded as udasis by eminent Sikh saints—to spread his vision of the divine. He visited the equivalent of nine modern countries or more in today’s global map comprising India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran—on foot, travelling for 24 years. Dressed in a loose, flowing shirt, armed with the light of truth and zeal of a missionary, he started his journeys first within Punjab in 1499 and then to the east in 1500, followed by travels to the south, north and west. There are many stories from his travels that demonstrate how he stirred human consciousness so that people could connect with God and live life truthfully and honestly. It is no mean achievement that during his lifetime Guru Nanak was able to set up dharamsals from Assam in the east to Iraq in the west. Unfortunately, Guru Nanak did not write his biography, so we do not have any first-hand account of his travels. We have to rely on the Sikh chroniclers.
