THE GURU
Guru Nanak Dev Ji
The founder of the Sikh Dharam, Guru Nanak was born in 1469 and lived for over 70 years, travelling and spreading the word of God.
Guru Ji's Life & Legacy
Sunrise: Arrival in the World
Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born in 1469, in the Punjabi village of Rai Bhoi di Talwandi, not far from Lahore in present-day Pakistan. His mother was Mata Tripta Ji and his father, Mehta Kalu Ji worked as an accountant for the Muslim landlord of the village, Rai Bhular. Guru Nanak’s parents were Hindu and their Khatri background meant that they were involved in trade, commerce and civil administration. Furthermore, the family surname, Bedi, was associated with knowledge of the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India.
There to welcome the new-born baby Nanak was his five year-old sister, Nanaki. The names of both sister and brother are often linked to their nanake; in Punjabi, this means home of one’s maternal grandparents, where it was customary for a mother to go and stay for some time before and after childbirth, in an atmosphere of love, nurture and care.
According to traditional accounts, Guru Nanak was born in the early hours before dawn, in the presence of the full moon. The Muslim midwife reported a beam of light filling the room and the baby’s wise laughter instead of crying. The family priest foretold of an exceptional life; the child would be revered by Hindus and Muslims alike, his name would be known on the earth and in the heavens beyond, he would embrace all of creation and acknowledge One Formless Creator.
Sikhs have traditionally celebrated Guru Nanak’s birth in the Punjabi month of Kattik (October/November), on the day of the full moon. The site of his birth is marked by Gurudwara Janam Asthan (janam means birth and asthan means place), in Nankana Sahib. It lovingly preserves the point from which Guru Nanak’s life and legacy unfolded.
Accounts about Guru Nanak’s life are part of the Sikh oral tradition. They can also be traced to several anthologies which are known, in plural, as the janam sakhiyaan. There are several versions which were written by devotees after Guru Nanak’s own lifetime. For generations, they have provided a memorable way for Sikhs to learn about Guru Nanak’s life and teachings, and to feel that he was divinely sent. The inclusion of ‘Dev Ji’ in his name reflects this deep reverence in which he is held.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਪ੍ਰਗਟਿਆ ਮਿਟੀ ਧੁੰਧੁ ਜਗਿ ਚਾਨਣੁ ਹੋਆ।
ਜਿਉ ਕਰਿ ਸੂਰਜੁ ਨਿਕਲਿਆ ਤਾਰੇ ਛਪਿ ਅੰਧੇਰੁ ਪਲੋਆ।
As soon as Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born, the mist of ignorance began to be dispelled with light – just as the glowing sunrise disperses the darkness, causing the last stars of the night to fade away.
– Bhai Gurdas Ji, var 1, pauri 27
Every Child is Precious
ਏ ਸਰੀਰਾ ਮੇਰਿਆ ਹਰਿ ਤੁਮ ਮਹਿ ਜੋਤਿ ਰਖੀ ਤਾ ਤੂ ਜਗ ਮਹਿ ਆਇਆ ॥
Oh my body, the Creator infused the jyot, the divine light, into you then you came into the world.
– Guru Amar Das Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 921
Each one of us was once a child born into this world. This miracle of life that we have all been given can often be overlooked in the drudge of daily activities.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji, through his teachings, stopped us from seeing ourselves, and one another, in an ordinary, run-of-the-mill way. He urged us to recognise that we arrive in the world carrying the jyot or ‘spark of the divine’ within us.
Whilst we may have different biological, cultural and geographical origins, the origin of our jyot is God, the Infinite Creator. This means, every child is born with divine dignity and worth.
The jyot is the core substance which enables life itself. Yet, we easily forget that it is ever present to guide our mind, heart and actions with wisdom and virtue.
No Ordinary Child
There are many fondly told stories about Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s early life which reveal that he was no ordinary child. Even as he played with his friends, he showed an awareness of the Divine, with his prayerful, kind and generous nature. He also showed exceptional wisdom and was often found engaging in meaningful dialogue with wise and knowledgeable elders.
One hot day, young Nanak fell asleep in a field. A venomous cobra then slid up towards him. Instead of attacking, the cobra, very caringly, used its hood to shade the sleeping Guru from the sun’s glare.
On another occasion, Guru Nanak was sent to graze buffaloes. As he went into meditation under a tree, his herd strayed into a neighbouring field and damaged the crops there. Complaints were raised to his father and to the landlord, Rai Bhular. Later, when the field was inspected, the crop was found to be undamaged; in fact, it had doubly bloomed. Today, this very site is marked by Gurudwara Kiara Sahib.
Over the generations, memorable accounts such as these have brought a sense of wonder and reverence to their listeners. They show that, whilst every aspect of creation is itself an unfolding miracle, nature can lovingly respond to those who are attuned to God.
They depict the way Guru Nanak’s very presence could be transformational – so much so, that even a deadly cobra became caring. And even when the crops got damaged, the young Guru received Divine assistance to resolve the situation.
Echoed here is the teaching that enlightened souls can uplift and transform people and situations in intangible ways, like the fragrance of sandalwood which infuses its surroundings.
ਆਨੀਲੇ ਕਾਗਦੁ ਕਾਟੀਲੇ ਗੂਡੀ ਆਕਾਸ ਮਧੇ ਭਰਮੀਅਲੇ ॥
ਪੰਚ ਜਨਾ ਸਿਉ ਬਾਤ ਬਤਊਆ ਚੀਤੁ ਸੁ ਡੋਰੀ ਰਾਖੀਅਲੇ ॥
The boy cuts the paper to make a kite; then he flies it up in the sky. He talks to his friends as normal, but all the while his awareness remains on the kite string.
– Bhagat Naam Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 972
The Gift of Childhood
ਪੁਹਪ ਮਧਿ ਜਿਉ ਬਾਸੁ ਬਸਤੁ ਹੈ ਮੁਕਰ ਮਾਹਿ ਜੈਸੇ ਛਾਈ ॥
ਤੈਸੇ ਹੀ ਹਰਿ ਬਸੇ ਨਿਰੰਤਰਿ ਘਟ ਹੀ ਖੋਜਹੁ ਭਾਈ ॥
Fragrance dwells in the flower, a reflection is held in the mirror. Make life a discovery of the Divine, who dwells deep within us.
– Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 684
Children are ‘new arrivals’ to a world we have long become used to. They look around at everything with fresh eyes. Sometimes they ask deep and thought-provoking questions. For a while, they may endlessly repeat the word ‘why?’.
In these ways, children help us look at ourselves in a new light – just as Guru Nanak Dev Ji did in his own childhood, reminding Sikhs that wisdom is not always confined to age.
For Sikhs, the arrival of every child is the arrival of a jyot or ‘spark of God’. The jyot guides the heart and mind to live by virtues, such as compassion, integrity, contentment, humility and love.
The power of this jyot in children can sometimes take us by surprise. For example, when they show remarkable empathy, forgiveness and generosity.
During our formative years, from the time spent in the womb to our early interactions in daily family life, the environments we experience play a strong role in nourishing the qualities of the jyot. Sikhs are taught that spiritual qualities can also be sparked in us through other people, i.e. through the sangat, or company we keep.
Childhood brings us fresh perspectives and the fragrance of innate goodness which rests inside everyone. In this way, the company of children is a gift to us all.
Thinking about School
Around the age of five, Guru Nanak Dev Ji began his education. His first teacher was Pandit Gopal Ji who ran a small school in the village. He taught basic reading, maths and accounts. Guru Nanak was a quick learner, but this learning did not satisfy him. Literacy and numeracy were important, but what could the Pandit teach him and his friends about life’s greater purpose and how to be a better human being?
In those days, children would write with chalk on a wooden tablet or slate known as a patti. While Pandit Gopal Ji was teaching the letters of the alphabet, to his astonishment Guru Nanak began to compose an acrostic poem.
Guru Nanak used each letter of the alphabet to introduce a deep thought about God and existence, the nature of the human mind and the values that are important in life. This composition, known as Patti Likhi, is preserved in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
At that time, India was under the rule of the Muslim Lodhi dynasty. Guru Nanak was also sent to learn Sanskrit (the scriptural language of Hindu tradition), from Pandit Brij Nath Ji, as well as Persian (the language of the government), and some Arabic (the language of Islamic scripture) from Maulvi Kutub-ud-Din.
During his schooling then, Guru Nanak learnt both classical and everyday languages. His compositions reflected his ability to communicate a profound vision to ordinary people and not just the learned elite. In this way, he elevated the thinking of all and reached out to many.
Today, Gurudwara Patti Sahib in Nankana Sahib marks where Guru Nanak undertook some of his studies. It now provides a school for Sikh children in Pakistan to learn Gurmukhi (the script used in Sikh teachings) and learn about their faith heritage.
ਙੰਙੈ ਙਿਆਨੁ ਬੂਝੈ ਜੇ ਕੋਈ ਪੜਿਆ ਪੰਡਿਤੁ ਸੋਈ ॥
ਸਰਬ ਜੀਆ ਮਹਿ ਏਕੋ ਜਾਣੈ ਤਾ ਹਉਮੈ ਕਹੈ ਨ ਕੋਈ ॥
The letter ‘nganga’ stands for gian, the spiritual wisdom of a ‘learned person’. When one truly has wisdom, there is no room for arrogance – one relates to others by seeing One God in all.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 432
What are we here to learn?
ਵਿਦਿਆ ਵੀਚਾਰੀ ਤਾਂ ਪਰਉਪਕਾਰੀ ॥
If you truly reflect on wisdom and how to apply it,
The fruit of your education would be generosity.
After all, there is no ownership on wisdom.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 356
Most people would probably agree that education is important. If someone asked you why, what would your answer be? Perhaps it would be to get a job or be successful in society. Perhaps it would be to gain the knowledge to make some difference in the world. We might have different reasons for why we want to learn, or to send our children to school, as Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s own parents did when he was growing up.
There are two things we know for sure about human life – we are born, and then we die. What are the most vital things to be learning in-between?
Even as a child, Guru Nanak stopped to make us think about what kind of education was worthwhile. He taught that through our birth and death, the undying jyot, or inner light, enters and leaves the world as part of its onward journey.
The jyot is what sparks and sustains our life, yet we may go through life learning little about it. Beyond this life, we can take nothing material with us. The only richness we take is intangible. It comes from our lifetime’s practice of virtue.
If we see life as a purposeful gift given to us, what really counts as success? When it’s time to leave this world, what things should we be remembered for the most? Should it just be the extent of our knowledge, earnings or status?
Or, rather, the values we showed as human beings, that guided how we put our knowledge, money and position to use?
In Sikh teaching, learning to work and contribute to society is important, but any education should always run in tandem with bringing spiritual growth.
Reflecting on Religious Rituals
As the male child from a high-caste Hindu family, Guru Nanak Dev Ji was expected to undergo a ceremony known as yagyopavit. During it, he would be invested with the janeu or sacred thread, to mark his entry into a life stage of spiritual discipline and education. It was also seen to secure his religious standing in this world and the next. Observing the customary traditions behind this rite of passage, Guru Nanak sensed that its spiritual significance had got lost. Because it was reserved for boys from the higher castes, it could also perpetuate social attitudes of superiority.
The janeu is a specially spun cotton thread which is placed, like a sash, diagonally across the chest. As the family priest leant forward to offer the thread, Guru Nanak interrupted him, “Give me a thread”, he requested, “that implants compassion, contentment and fidelity in the mind of the wearer and which cannot get broken, soiled, burnt or lost.” If the priest could offer such a thread for the soul, he would wear it.
Sometimes this sakhi is explained as Guru Nanak’s rejection of Hindu rituals. After all, it is true that he did not subscribe to some aspects of Hindu and Muslim ritual observance, such as fasting or the making of pilgrimages. However, throughout the janam sakhi accounts we see Guru Nanak questioning people from all walks of life when their religious or social observances appeared empty, shallow, exploitative or hypocritical.
His intention, it seems, was not to reject rituals outright, but to draw attention to the inner substance that a ritual was meant to conserve, so it was not left hollow of meaning.
ਦਇਆ ਕਪਾਹ ਸੰਤੋਖੁ ਸੂਤੁ ਜਤੁ ਗੰਢੀ ਸਤੁ ਵਟੁ ॥
ਏਹੁ ਜਨੇਊ ਜੀਅ ਕਾ ਹਈ ਤ ਪਾਡੇ ਘਤੁ ॥
Make compassion your cotton, contentment your thread,
make fidelity its knot and integrity its twist.
That would make a sacred thread for the soul.
If you have such a thread, O Pandit, then put it on me.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 471
Why do we have rituals?
ਬਾਹਰਿ ਜਨੇਊ ਜਿਚਰੁ ਜੋਤਿ ਹੈ ਨਾਲਿ ॥
The outward sacred thread is worthwhile, so long as the divine light shines within.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 355
If you think about it, so much of our daily life is full of rituals. Some of them are very practical, like brushing your teeth. Some of them communicate some important emotion or meaning, like cuddling a child before bedtime. Some of them are reassuring, like making a cup of tea.
We also know that, sometimes, rituals can be superficial, like a smile that is given for show. They can even be hypocritical, when they cover up a different intention. Sometimes rituals become so habitual that we forget why we might be doing them in the first place.
As a growing child, Guru Nanak Dev Ji looked around with fresh eyes at the rituals people conducted around him. In a way, he ‘deconstructed’ rituals, pulling them apart to think about their meaning and their purpose, and the mindset of the people performing them.
Rather than cynically rejecting ritual, he inspired people of all religious and cultural backgrounds to infuse their different, day-to-day practices with virtues. Whether their rituals involved particular kinds of gestures, clothes, words or actions, they were worthwhile only if they could help to cultivate a more genuine and benevolent self and remind us to live in God’s presence.
A legacy is preserved through rituals and many Sikh traditions conserve and take forward Guru Nanak’s legacy. This is through the teachings we recite and sing, the sayings we remember, the Sikh identity we maintain and the practices we have continued.
In this way, a ritual can be viewed like the skull which protects the brain; in itself, it can be an empty shell, but it plays a vital role when it protects and keeps alive some important inner substance.
A True & Worthwhile Investment
Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s parents had done what they could to set him on the traditional routes of schooling and religious life. Their young son always found a way to make people stop and think more deeply before following convention. Guru Nanak’s father, Mehta Kalu Ji, remained anxious that his growing boy was not going to do anything productive with his life. Being an accountant, he decided that his next duty was to initiate Guru Nanak into the skills of doing business and trade.
One day, Mehta Kalu Ji gave his son a sum of money. He instructed him to go the market village of Chuharkana, some 15 miles away from Talwandi. There he was to purchase some goods that could be used for trade. Accompanying Guru Nanak, on this first ‘business trip’ was Bhai Bala Ji, a young family employee who became the Guru’s lifelong friend.
As the two friends journeyed along, they came across some sadhus, or saintly people, deep in meditation. The young Guru Nanak felt there was something special about them. They looked as if they hadn’t eaten for many days. Noticing this, he offered money from the sum his father had given, but they explained they had no interest in money. Despite Bhai Bala Ji’s concern that they should stick to his father’s plan, Guru Nanak convinced him that they should proceed to Chuharkana to buy food and clothing for the hungry sadhus. On the return journey, the two friends then lovingly prepared and served the sadhus a meal. For Sikhs, this event marks the beginning of the Sikh institution of langar.
In his heart, Guru Nanak felt the blessing he had received from the sadhus was priceless. Mehta Kalu Ji’s instant reaction to his son’s first trading mission was complete anger. His daughter, Bibi Nanaki Ji, and the local Muslim landlord, Rai Bhular, stepped in to ease his temper. They reminded him that his son was a blessed soul who should not be treated so harshly.
Guru Nanak gently concluded that he had engaged in sacha sauda, a true form of trade, whose value was intangible. Beyond the buying and selling of material things, this was a truly worthwhile investment.
Today, Gurudwara Sacha Sauda stands at the site where Guru Nanak fed the hungry sadhus. Today, Chuharkana is known as Farooqabad, and remains a busy market city and central business hub for the wider region.
ਤਿਹਟੜੇ ਬਾਜਾਰ ਸਉਦਾ ਕਰਨਿ ਵਣਜਾਰਿਆ ॥
ਸਚੁ ਵਖਰੁ ਜਿਨੀ ਲਦਿਆ ਸੇ ਸਚੜੇ ਪਾਸਾਰ ॥
In the markets and bazars of the material world, the merchants do their trading.
The true traders load the true merchandise of invisible, priceless virtues.
– Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 1426
What have we come here to trade in?
ਪ੍ਰਾਣੀ ਤੂੰ ਆਇਆ ਲਾਹਾ ਲੈਣਿ ॥
ਲਗਾ ਕਿਤੁ ਕੁਫਕੜੇ ਸਭ ਮੁਕਦੀ ਚਲੀ ਰੈਣਿ ॥
Oh living, breathing being, you arrived in this world to earn a profit. Before time runs out, don’t waste this golden gift of human life.
– Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 43
What do you think is the measure of a person’s true worth? For Guru Nanak Dev Ji, it was the goodness that glimmers inside every human being. This goodness, he explained, radiates from the jewel of naam, the Divine Name. For Sikhs, naam is God’s identity and presence that we become conscious of through practices such as simran (remembrance), sewa (selfless service) and kirtan (singing scriptural teachings).
Just as we can use, invest or spend money (or even lose or waste it), we can do the same with the goodness within us. Guru Nanak encouraged us to see our virtues as a kind of currency which we can use, circulate and invest. Not only does this make a better world; it generates the only kind of wealth which our soul can take forward when our stay on earth ends.
ਧਨਵੰਤ ਨਾਮ ਕੇ ਵਣਜਾਰੇ ॥
ਸਾਂਝੀ ਕਰਹੁ ਨਾਮ ਧਨੁ ਖਾਟਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਵੀਚਾਰੇ ॥
“Rich are those who travel to this world
To trade in naam.
Partner with them, earn the wealth of naam,
Reflecting on the Guru’s word.
Abandon fraud, deceit and malice,
See God as always within you.
Trade in and accumulate this true wealth,
And you shall never suffer loss.
Use and spend it; this treasure is abundant
It can never be exhausted.
Says Nanak, you shall return to God’s court
With dignity and honour.”
– Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 1219
All is Yours
As Guru Nanak Dev Ji entered his teenage years, his parents hoped that he would settle into some occupation. To their relief, Jai Ram Ji, who was married to their daughter, Bibi Nanaki Ji, secured work for his young brother-in-law to manage the central provisions store, modikhana, for the governor of Sultanpur Lodhi.
Sultanpur Lodhi was an ancient city in the Punjab. It had once been a prominent Buddhist centre. Then, destroyed by invasion, it was rebuilt as a major imperial and trading city under Islamic rule. It had also become a key centre for Islamic learning. Whilst in the Punjab, Guru Nanak spent a major period of his married and working life there.
At the modikhana, Guru Nanak was responsible for managing the storehouse and also receiving and selling the stock. Often, officials in such roles were known to be corrupt. The city’s governor had been struck by Guru Nanak’s integrity, which he demonstrated at work. However, reports began to circulate of strange occurrences in the storehouse, together with concerns about its financial state.
This was because, as Guru Nanak stopped to weigh, measure and sell provisions to the locals, something would happen as he counted and reached thirteen scoopfuls. In Punjabi, thirteen (teraan) sounds like the phrase ‘All is Yours’ (tera). Absorbed in meditation, Guru Nanak kept distributing the stock, yet somehow the stores did not run empty. To their astonishment, the auditors found the store to be in profit.
For Sikhs, Guru Nanak’s extraordinary behaviour sheds light on an important truth which can be forgotten in day-to-day working life. He reminded us that we have no real ownership over anything. Nothing really ‘belongs’ to us, not even our soul. When we are mindful that our soul will transmigrate beyond this life, we realise that anything we earn or give all belongs, ultimately, to God. This idea highlights the Sikh principle of kirat, a strong work ethic which is to be underpinned by constant remembrance of the Creator, or Kartar.
Today, Gurudwara Hatt Sahib stands at the site of this modikhana where Guru Nanak was employed. On display can be found a set of weighing scales as a reminder of Guru Nanak’s message.
ਦਦਾ ਦਾਤਾ ਏਕੁ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਕਉ ਦੇਵਨਹਾਰ ॥
ਦੇਂਦੇ ਤੋਟਿ ਨ ਆਵਈ ਅਗਨਤ ਭਰੇ ਭੰਡਾਰ ॥
The letter ‘dada’ is for Daata – the One Creator who is the Universal Giver. The giving is limitless; countless stores brim with divine abundance.
– Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 257
Working with Dignity
ਕਿਰਤਿ ਵਿਰਤਿ ਕਰਿ ਧਰਮ ਦੀ ਹਥਹੁ ਦੇਕੈ ਭਲਾ ਮਨਾਵੈ।
The true disciples are those who work hard with dignity,
And feel joy in extending a hand to uplift others.
– Bhai Gurdas Ji, var 6, pauri 12
Like all of us, Guru Nanak Dev Ji grew up in a world of different established norms. In the janam sakhi accounts, we see him going to school or work as expected, but always in a way that was aloof, thought-provoking and illuminating.
Guru Nanak would observe what people were doing, consider the mindset behind their actions and offer a fresh vision for approaching the same activity. Often, in a humorous way, his seemingly odd behaviour – plus an ensuing miraculous occurrence – shone a light on the message he was conveying.
As Guru Nanak worked to measure out provisions at the storehouse of Sultanpur Lodhi, he became absorbed meditating on ‘Tera, tera’ (‘All is Yours, All is Yours’). As well as generously serving his customers, he also donated a portion from his salary to help others.
In his lifetime, Guru Nanak observed how people either looked down on working life because it was not considered ‘spiritual’ or earned their wealth by exploiting others. He taught that we should work with dignity and lead an active, productive and generous life. He also reminded us that we can never take complete ownership over what we earn and what we give. Remembering God keeps us accountable, grateful and humble.
Guru Nanak revealed how a preoccupation with self-gain can lead to deceitful and exploitative behaviour in the pursuit of money and power. In a memorable way, he communicated the need to work with an attitude of continuous reverence and gratitude. He also indicated that by infusing our work with nishkamta (selflessness), we do not lose out and there is much more for all to gain.
Guru Nanak and his Family
Even though Guru Nanak Dev Ji was aloof to the world around him, he did not live his life as a recluse. In the janam sakhi accounts, we see him engaging with family members, people in his village, teachers, saintly figures, state governors and the wider public. In home life, we see him as the son, who proved to be unconventional whilst he went along with his parents’ wishes. We also see the close bond he shared with his elder sister, Bibi Nanaki Ji, who would gently urge her mother and father to realise that her little brother was no ordinary child.
Bibi Nanaki is often regarded as the first ‘Sikh’. She recognised Guru Nanak’s divinity from the very start. Some would say that it was her loving prayer for a sibling that had played a role in his birth. A marriage for the young Guru Nanak was arranged through his sister. He was engaged to Bibi Sulakhani Ji, the daughter of Mool Chand, who was a friend of Bibi Nanaki’s husband, Jai Ram Ji.
The wedding took place in Bibi Sulakhani’s family home in Batala Sahib. According to some accounts, this was in 1487. The couple settled in Sultanpur, where Guru Nanak was employed and where his sister was also married and settled. Guru Nanak had two sons: Sri Chand Ji (in 1494) and Lakhmi Das Ji (in 1497). In this way, he began grihasti jeevan, the life of a householder.
All the while, however, his focus seemed to lie beyond the realms of family, home and work. In time, a miraculous pivotal event would confirm to him his wider calling and life mission. This would take him on a series of udasiyaan (melancholy travels) further afield, to lovingly enlighten people and awaken their innate goodness. He would intermittently return to the Punjab before settling back there with his family, and founding a community for the remaining years of his life.
Along with Nanakana Sahib, Sultanpur Lodhi is the town most associated with Guru Nanak’s early life, where he lived and worked for almost a decade after marriage. In Batala, Gurudwara Dera Sahib now stands at the site where his wedding took place. Even today, Sikhs gather there to commemorate Guru Nanak’s wedding anniversary.
ਭਗਤ ਜਨਾ ਕਉ ਸਰਧਾ ਆਪਿ ਹਰਿ ਲਾਈ ॥ ਵਿਚੇ ਗ੍ਰਿਸਤ ਉਦਾਸ ਰਹਾਈ ॥
The devotion of God’s devotees is divinely gifted to them, in the midst of family life, they remain unattached.
– Guru Ram Das Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 494
The Spiritual in the Everyday
ਹਸੰਦਿਆ ਖੇਲੰਦਿਆ ਪੈਨੰਦਿਆ ਖਾਵੰਦਿਆ ਵਿਚੇ ਹੋਵੈ ਮੁਕਤਿ ॥
Laughing, playing, clothing oneself and eating; in the midst of all these everyday activities, one can achieve mukti (spiritual liberation).
– Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 522
Sometimes we think that spiritual practice is an altogether serious activity, to be conducted away from everyday distractions. In some cases, family life has been considered one of these distractions – the Sikh Gurus taught otherwise.
In India, the term ‘grihast’ described the ‘householder’ stage of life, when one marries, earns a living, raises a family and plays a role in the wider community. Traditionally, at a later stage of life, it was recommended that one eventually became a sannyasi – a recluse who
renounces the day-to-day world altogether in favour of spiritual pursuits.
Instead of seeing these as different life stages, the Sikh Gurus taught Sikhs the art of engaging fully in everyday family life whilst remaining
inwardly detached:
ਰੇ ਮਨ ਐਸੋ ਕਰਿ ਸੰਨਿਆਸਾ ॥
ਬਨ ਸੇ ਸਦਨ ਸਬੈ ਕਰ ਸਮਝਹੁ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ਉਦਾਸਾ ॥
‘O my mind, practise the art of the sannyasi in this way; consider your house to be your reclusive forest-dwelling and cultivate detachment inwardly in your mind.’
– Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Dasam Granth Sahib Ji,
ang 1317
Guru Nanak Dev Ji set a precedent for the Sikh Gurus that were to follow. All of them (except the eighth Guru, who did not live beyond his childhood) married and had children. This practical example signalled that family life was
not a hindrance to the spiritual path.
Using everyday examples, the Gurus showed that whilst we can become too attached to people and material possessions, the loving relationships we form in this life can remind us of the bond of our own spirit with God.
In their poetic teachings, the Gurus take on the voice of a child addressing God as ‘Mother and Father’, or the voice of a bride seeking her groom. They depicted the bliss of connecting to God like the contentment of a baby drinking its mother’s milk, and the physical union of a husband and wife. They follow the experience of a child being guided, chided, consoled and forgiven to remind us of the different ways we learn on the spiritual path; knowing that love, devotion and dedication are the underlying qualities.
For the Gurus, the concept of family reminds us of our interconnectedness, interdependence, and kinship with creation as a whole.
Immersion: The Taste of Amrit Naam
As he went about his working and family life, Guru Nanak Dev Ji would arise each day before dawn to bathe and meditate. To bathe, he would walk down to Kali Bein, a small stream that flowed through Sultanpur Lodhi before joining two main rivers of the Punjab, the Beas and Satluj. Guru Nanak would then sit to meditate by a nearby tree, joined by his childhood friend, Bhai Mardana Ji, who had moved from their home town to Sultanpur Lodhi to be in Guru Nanak’s company.
Kali Bein means ‘black stream’. It is named after the colour reflected by the minerals in its riverbed. In Guru Nanak’s time, it was a site of great beauty. This stream marked a turning point in his lifetime. Immersed in its waters, Guru Nanak had a profound experience of God’s presence. In this mystical realm, he tasted the nectar of divine knowledge, received the root message of Sikh teaching and was informed of his life’s true mission.
The janam sakhi accounts tell us that, one morning, as Guru Nanak went to bathe in the Kali Bein, he did not return and harbingers announced him as missing. In time, boatmen and search parties were sent to look for him. Family, friends and locals, as well as the town’s governor, all became anxious that such a fondly loved and respected person may have drowned. Bibi Nanaki Ji intuitively sensed that all would be fine with her missing brother, for she was convinced he was an especially blessed soul.
Three days later, Guru Nanak reappeared, some 3.5 kilometres downstream. He wore saintly clothes and remained silent. When Guru Nanak eventually spoke, he uttered two statements.
The first was the Mool Mantar prayer, a sacred, succinct expression of God’s existence and nature.
The second was the proclamation that ‘There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim’.
What was Guru Nanak saying with this short statement? Perhaps he meant that we are more than our labels – we share a spiritual identity as humans, which is beyond any religious categories. Or perhaps it was that few people, despite their labels, seemed to be living in the true spirit of their faith, given the shallowness and hypocrisy he had observed. Or perhaps he was stressing that, since there was some antagonism between faiths, no one should be dismissed an alien or an ‘other’.
Guru Nanak’s profound experience of Oneness left him convinced that human beings. across all social, religious and cultural divides, need to live with a constructive sense of togetherness.
To understand Guru Nanak’s experience, the janam sakhi accounts are joined by Guru Nanak’s own compositions. In one verse, he depicts himself as a bard who was out of work and became blessed with God’s service. He was clothed with the ‘robes of Divine praise’, to remind him of his focus. He was nourished with amrit naam, the ambrosial nectar of the Divine Name, which infused his mind and body with divine knowledge.
Rather than forming an abstract idea of the Truth, Guru Nanak had tasted the Truth of God’s existence. He was instructed of his role as Guru, to reach out to human beings from all walks of life and help them cultivate their innate goodness. It was after this that Guru Nanak set off from Sultanpur Lodhi to embark on a series of long journeys.
Gurudwara Ber Sahib stands at the spot where Guru Nanak would meditate by a tree on the riverbank. The site where Guru Nanak reappeared after his mystical appearance is marked by Gurudwara Sant Ghat Sahib and by the Ik Oankar Mool Mantar Asthaan.
ਢਾਢੀ ਸਚੈ ਮਹਲਿ ਖਸਮਿ ਬੁਲਾਇਆ ॥ ਸਚੀ ਸਿਫਤਿ ਸਾਲਾਹ ਕਪੜਾ ਪਾਇਆ ॥ ਸਚਾ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਨਾਮੁ ਭੋਜਨੁ ਆਇਆ ॥
The Master summoned me, His bard, to the mansion of Divine truth.
My clothes became the robes of Divine praise;
my nourishment became the nectar of the Divine naam.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 150
Streaming the ‘Realm of Truth’
ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਗੁਰ ਆਪਣੇ ਦਿਉਹਾੜੀ ਸਦ ਵਾਰ ॥ ਜਿਨਿ ਮਾਣਸ ਤੇ ਦੇਵਤੇ ਕੀਏ ਕਰਤ ਨ ਲਾਗੀ ਵਾਰ ॥੧॥
I am constantly a sacrifice and utterly indebted to my Guru, Who, in a moment, has the power to transform ordinary humans into angels who live amongst us.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 462
What can we take from Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s experience to ‘stream’ the realm of Oneness and Truth into our everyday lives?
When Guru Nanak disappeared for three days, Sikhs understand that he became immersed in a mystical domain, interfacing directly with God. By tasting the amrit naam, the sweet essence of this higher reality, his whole being became immersed in this awareness.
Guru Nanak knew that such an awareness could uplift and transform people’s thoughts and actions, for he had witnessed how apathy, greed and selfishness were making people lesser human beings and causing so much undue suffering.
The mission blessed to him was to ‘stream’ this realm of Oneness and Truth – which he had so vividly experienced – into the realm of the everyday world.
Beginning with the opening words of the Mool Mantar – Ik Oankar Sat Naam – Guru Nanak continually emphasised Oneness and Truth in his teachings. He taught that they made up the underlying reality of existence, which we often fail to recognise, blinded by our self-centredness.
How could a connection with this realm transform our human condition?
If we look inside ourselves, and around us, we can see the multiple effects of disharmony, conflict, fraud, deceit, exploitation and manipulation. For Guru Nanak, by connecting with the One Divine Source, humans learn to stream integrity and virtue into their lives. By resonating with each other they help the world to flourish.
Underpinning all virtues is humility – the very quality Guru Nanak had asked for when he was given his life’s mission. During his profound experience, we are told, Guru Nanak had asked to be lovingly blessed with all the humility in the universe. He was concerned that he himself might become arrogant as a result of people’s praise.
Guru Nanak was informed that to receive all the humility in the universe would be impossible, but he would be blessed with three quarters of all the humility in the universe, together with all of the divine virtues, each of which is founded in humility. If people could be inspired and empowered to practise these virtues, the world they made together could become transformed.
The Udasiyan: ‘Melancholy Travels’
ਪਰਦੇਸੁ ਝਾਗਿ ਸਉਦੇ ਕਉ ਆਇਆ ॥
Wandering through foreign lands, I have arrived to do business.
– Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 372
Guru Nanak Dev Ji had lived and worked in Sultanpur Lodhi for almost fifteen years and had begun his early married and family life there. In this way, he did all the normal things expected of him, but with an approach that was always aloof and seeking some deeper meaning. Guru Nanak’s mystical experience in the Kali Bein stream marked a turning point in his life. He became fully conscious of his life’s wider purpose and his role in the world. He began to prepare for a period of extensive travel which lasted almost 25 years, with short returns to the Punjab in-between.
Janam sakhi accounts tell of at least four great journeys. These took Guru Nanak right across parts of India and further westwards to the Middle East. He would cross different terrains, from towns to farmlands, forests and mountains. He encountered people of different walks of life and religious persuasions, who spoke different languages.
He visited places sacred to Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists. He travelled with his childhood friend, the musician, Bhai Mardana Ji. In some accounts, he is also joined by a Hindu friend, Bhai Bala Ji. The three are often pictured together in popular Sikh paintings.
Often, when you hear about someone setting off on their ‘travels’ you might assume they are a tourist, or an explorer, or are somehow escaping from the world. In Punjabi, each of Guru Nanak’s journeys is called an udasi (in plural they are known as udasiyaan).
An udasi suggests a melancholy state of mind, where you step back and see life in a more detached way. As he prepared for the challenges and hardships of travel in those days, Guru Nanak was driven by a sense of sadness for the state of human affairs in the world. He also observed society with a detached yet compassionate gaze and this brought some humour and hope to the ways in which he taught.
There are many janam sakhi accounts associated with Guru Nanak’s journeys. In them, he encounters different people in various scenarios. Every character, good and bad, wise and foolish, plays a role to bring out its meaning. We see Guru Nanak teaching by example, sometimes using humour and irony to convey a message. Sometimes there is an extraordinary happening, where dramatic events, instead of words, do the talking. Usually, there is a shabad or verse which sums up the conditions Guru Nanak was observing and the possibilities for the inner transformation he was showing.
The Milk of Human Virtue
A well-known account from Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s life is when he stayed at the house of a humble carpenter, known as Bhai Lalo Ji. Guru Nanak visited Bhai Lalo’s town with Bhai Mardana Ji. Bhai Lalo offered them his humble hospitality. Although his earnings were modest, he welcomed Guru Nanak with warmth and reverence. It is these qualities shown by Bhai Lalo which lie at the heart of this sakhi.
Bhai Lalo saw that Guru Nanak was an immensely saintly person. When the evening meal was ready, he invited Guru Nanak to sit within the sacred lines of a specially marked out space, following Hindu customs of ritual purity. Guru Nanak told him that this was not necessary and accepted the meal where he was seated. It seemed Guru Nanak felt at ease there and was not interested in creating hierarchies. He continued to stay at Bhai Lalo’s for some days.
During this time, Malik Bhago, a high-ranking official of the town, gave a feast. He invited Guru Nanak to attend, but the Guru knew of his haughty nature and tendency to exploit others. He quietly remained at the house of Bhai Lalo.
Feeling rebuked, Malik Bhago summoned Guru Nanak to explain himself. Guru Nanak asked Bhai Lalo to bring with him a simple roti (traditional Punjabi wheat bread) from a meal prepared at his home. He then requested Malik Bhago to bring a portion of fine bread from his feast. Guru Nanak then held the first piece of bread in one hand and the second piece of bread in the other.
What followed was an extraordinary happening. As everyone watched, Guru Nanak began to squeeze both hands.
Blood dripped from the bread provided by Malik Bhago. From the bread brought by Bhai Lalo, pure milk began to flow. By itself, this dramatic occurrence spoke volumes. If one generates wealth through exploiting others and worshipping oneself, there is underlying corruption and greed. If one earns one’s livelihood with integrity and by remembering the Creator, the fruit of one’s labour is imbued with purity and virtue.
ਬਾਹਰਹੁ ਤ ਨਿਰਮਲ ਜੀਅਹੁ ਨਿਰਮਲ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਤੇ ਕਰਣੀ ਕਮਾਣੀ ॥
Those who are outwardly pure and also pure within,
Inspired by the Guru, their labour and earnings are virtuous.
– Guru Amar Das Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 919
Changing Life Through What We Earn
ਘਾਲਿ ਖਾਇ ਕਿਛੁ ਹਥਹੁ ਦੇਇ ॥ ਨਾਨਕ ਰਾਹੁ ਪਛਾਣਹਿ ਸੇਇ ॥
The one who labours for what he eats, And gives from his hands to others O Nanak, such a person knows the true path.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 1245
If someone curiously asked you, ‘How much do you earn?’, you would usually expect they were talking about money. Sometimes you might hear the phrase ‘earning one’s daily bread’: ‘bread’ suggests those daily material needs which we work to earn. Yet we also talk about earning trust, or love, or respect – these are non-material things which are important to us as humans. We become poorer people when we overlook them.
Kamaai is the Punjabi word for earnings. In the sakhi about Bhai Lalo Ji, the humble carpenter is remembered for his kirat kamaai, the earnings he generated from sincere daily work whilst remembering Kartar, the Creator. In contrast, Malik Bhago’s wealth was generated by exploiting and oppressing others. When the drops of blood and drops of milk began to flow from the bread, Guru Nanak Dev Ji revealed these otherwise hidden realities from both households. The sakhi also shows us how status and power were important to Malik Bhago, driven by his own vanity. Guru Nanak shone a clear light on virtues and integrity of character as the greater measures of success in human life.
Today, the state of the economy is a regular topic on the news. Certainly, Guru Nanak encouraged people to actively earn their livelihoods instead of escaping from the world, exploiting or lazily depending on others. By doing so, they could contribute materially to uplifting their families, communities and society. Yet he also helped people to picture another economy they could all be part of – an economy of virtues. Values such as compassion, truthfulness and contentment can all circulate, like a currency, and enrich people’s inner and outer lives. If we could deal or trade in these values, instead of in hidden greed and selfishness, the world could be a better place, in so many ways.
Sajjan becomes an Honourable Friend
On one of their journeys, Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Bhai Mardana Ji stayed at an inn run by a person named Sajjan. The word ‘sajjan’ means a good and honourable friend. However, over the years, he had become a swindler and a cheat. In Punjabi, this made him a ‘tthag’ – similar to the word ‘thug’ now used in English. Because of his character, he is known in the sakhi as Sajjan Tthag. As an inn-keeper, he would take every trouble to ensure his guests had a comfortable stay. He even had special quarters made where Hindus and Muslims could offer their prayers. While they rested, however, he would rob them of their belongings and did not stop at killing his unsuspecting victims. Guru Nanak could see very clearly through people and situations. Before retiring for the night, he asked Bhai Mardana to play his stringed rabab. Sajjan Tthag joined his new guests and listened.
As Guru Nanak sang, he painted a picture of things whose appearance might fool you: bronze which is shiny but turns black when you try to rub it clean; houses with beautiful exteriors which are empty and crumble like ruins; the pure-looking, white-feathered herons found at pilgrimage sites, who ruthlessly tear apart their prey; the tall species of tree whose fruit looks inviting but is tasteless. Through the vivid images of this verse (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 729), Guru Nanak revealed how things that seem to be true on the surface can be fake underneath.
As Sajjan continued to listen, Guru Nanak indicated that one’s true ‘sajjan’ or friends are those virtues which stay by one’s side till the day you leave the world and have to account for your life. Vices are like fake friends, who manipulate and abandon you in the end. In this life, hypocritical good deeds to chase wealth or power are pointless. True richness comes when you are free from the grip of selfishness and focus on recognising God’s light within you. Upon hearing this, the inn-keeper fell at Guru Nanak’s feet, repented and got liberated from the vices he had been concealing for so long. He distributed his ill-gotten wealth to the needy and started life afresh, becoming a ‘sajjan’ – or honourable friend – in deed as well as in name.
ਸਜਣ ਸੇਈ ਨਾਲਿ ਮੈ ਚਲਦਿਆ ਨਾਲਿ ਚਲੰਨਿੑ ॥
ਜਿਥੈ ਲੇਖਾ ਮੰਗੀਐ ਤਿਥੈ ਖੜੇ ਦਿਸੰਨਿ ॥
They alone are my honourable friends – the virtues that travel along with me; when life ends and the accounts are called for, They are there, standing right by my side.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 729
Being Genuine instead of Fake
ਸਚਿ ਕਾਲੁ ਕੂੜੁ ਵਰਤਿਆ ਕਲਿ ਕਾਲਖ ਬੇਤਾਲ ॥
There is a famine of truth – We have lost our own integrity.
What gets distributed is fake – And we become fake too.
Out of sync with our inner light, we live as phantoms,
Tarnished by the residues of this dark age of spiritual neglect.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 468
Sometimes, we put on a smile or a brave face when we feel upset. It helps us stay positive and that is okay. But we know that at other times, a person’s fake smile can hide some unpleasant intention. Sometimes, this kind of falseness can become a general habit, within a person or group of people.
Whether it is for money or not, people might even ‘sell’ us a product, an idea, or a hope, which is packaged nicely on the outside. Yet it won’t deliver what it promises, or might let us down. The sakhi about Sajjan Tthag brings to life this theme of deception versus truth.
The contrast between what is ‘genuine’ and ‘fake’ was frequently highlighted by Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
For Guru Nanak, it was not enough to ‘know’ about truth, it was important to practise truth and be sachiaara – someone who taps into his or her true spiritual identity to walk every step of life.
At the end of Jap Ji Sahib, such a person is likened to a suniaara, a goldsmith, who dedicatedly puts virtues into practice in the workshop of the mind. Guru Nanak highlighted that, like coins, people can be authentic, or counterfeit. The Guru guides and blesses us to measure, assess and transform our inward condition.
In his own era, Guru Nanak identified how traits such as hypocrisy, exploitation, deception and manipulation were in mass circulation, both in religious and wider social life. He also indicated these traits constantly present challenges for humans in every era.
In our overloaded ‘information age’, it is easy to talk about the truth, however one understands this. Guru Nanak taught that higher than this is the dedicated practice of truthful living, in sync with the attributes of our spiritual self. In this truthful practice lies the potential for deep personal and social change.
Honouring the Boundless
Towards the end of his first udasi, Guru Nanak Dev Ji visited Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha. On arriving at the temple, the Guru observed devotees performing the Aarti prayer. This involved the burning of incense, ringing of bells, and the offering of lamps and flowers on a decorative thaal, or tray. Guru Nanak did not take part in this ceremony.
Once the aarti had been completed, a pandit asked Guru Nanak, ‘Why did you not participate in the offering to the Lord?’
Guru Nanak replied, ‘Where is the Lord?’ The Pandit answered, ‘The statue of the Lord is before your eyes.’ Guru Nanak questioned this, ‘A statue cannot represent the Infinite Creator. God is boundless – he is not confined in one place.’
It was at this point that Guru Nanak sang a divinely revealed composition, which he entitled Aarti, in praise of the Infinite Creator. Today it forms part of Kirtan Sohila, the Sikh night-time prayer.
‘The sky is the Aarti tray, carrying the sun and moon as lamps. The stars shimmering in their constellations are the decorative pearls.
The wind is the fan that spreads Your finest sandalwood fragrance as incense. All the vegetation are flowers offered to You, Creator.
How can we do Your Aarti? An Aarti to honour You, the One who frees us from the cycles of birth and death. The rhythm of Your Divine Word is akin to the temple drums.
Manifest in a diverse creation, You have thousands of eyes, noses, feet, and forms – and yet You have none. You are the One in the many. I am enchanted by You and the universe You dwell in.
You are the Divine Light within everyone. It is Your light that illuminates creation.
Through the Guru’s teachings, Your light is revealed to us. Your worship will unfold according to Your Will.
Day and night I yearn to be at Your Divine feet. Bless me so that I may be entrenched in Your Divine Name.’
When the Guru stopped singing, everyone fell at his feet.
ਕੈਸੀ ਆਰਤੀ ਹੋਇ ਭਵ ਖੰਡਨਾ ਤੇਰੀ ਆਰਤੀ ॥
How can we do your Aarti – An offering of devotional worship to You?
An Aarti to honour You, the One who frees us From the cycles of birth and death.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 663
Expanding our Horizons
ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਕੁਦਰਤਿ ਵਸਿਆ ॥ ਤੇਰਾ ਅੰਤੁ ਨ ਜਾਈ ਲਖਿਆ ॥
Infinite Creator, I am utterly in awe;
Your presence pervades all of nature and creation
Your limits can never be known.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 469
When we take photos, we can use different settings to zoom in or out, depending on where our focus lies. Sometimes, when we get caught up in the routines of life, we tend to view things at the same, everyday range, from the camera lens of our own mind. Occasionally, if we go to see an inspiring natural landscape or get a chance to really admire the sky at night, we might start to see and think about our own existence differently.
In his own time, Guru Nanak Dev Ji observed that, even in religious life, people’s horizons could stay limited. In India, there was a long tradition of worshipping different aspects of the One Supreme Reality through different deities. This involved creating representations of these divine forces, through images or statues. Through habit, it was easy to limit one’s focus to these representations.
Even in Sikh life today, much reverence is given to places of worship and to symbols which point us towards the Divine. In his own way, Guru Nanak helped people to ‘zoom out’ to recognise the reality of God’s presence in the beauty of creation and see the earth itself as an awe-inspiring sacred place which deserves our care and loving protection.
Guru Nanak widened horizons in many other ways. Where people were looked down on, because of their social position or gender, he shone a light on every person’s dignity and worth. Where music entertained people, he made it transformational. In Guru Nanak’s teachings, even weapons, which were otherwise associated with aggression, became symbols of positive empowerment and illuminating wisdom.
Nanak Jhira: The Life-giving Spring
While Guru Nanak Dev Ji journeyed through parts of southern India during his second udasi, he visited Bidar, in Karnataka. Bidar was an imperial city on the Deccan plateau, famed for its picturesque views of the surrounding lowlands. However, the soil here was rocky and it was difficult to dig wells for drinking water. Using Persian technology, its Muslim rulers had begun to lay a special underground network of canals to supply water to settlements within the city’s fort.
Much of the surrounding region was arid. Whatever water was available for local inhabitants often had a salty, unpleasant taste. They constantly struggled for clean, sweet drinking water.
When Guru Nanak arrived in the outskirts of Bidar, he stopped, as ever, to sing sacred hymns to the accompaniment of Bhai Mardana Ji’s stringed rabab. Hearing the words of this divine music, a Muslim holy person, named Pir Jalal-Ud-Din, arrived with his followers to pay respects to the Guru.
In time, other local inhabitants joined them. The Pir then narrated the difficulties the locals were facing due to the scarcity of drinking water during a particularly dry season.
There were not just practical difficulties of having little water to drink, it was also difficult for local life to flourish. No one was prepared to arrange any marriages amongst the families in the region. This fundamental lack of water was having many effects and the people felt in a hopeless situation.
Guru Nanak quietly listened to their plight. He then uttered ‘Sat Kartar’ (True is the Creator) and, with his wooden sandal, he moved a stone from the ground beneath him. From that very spot, to the surprise and delight of all, a spring of water started gushing out. Miraculously, it was clean and sweet to the taste.
Eternally grateful to the Guru, the locals named the spring ‘Nanak Jhira’ (Nanak’s spring of water). Today, in the lap of the beautiful Manjra valley, right by the side of this spring, there stands a magnificent Gurudwara. Into a white marble tank known as amrit kund, the freshwater spring continues to flow from a nearby rock, right to this day.
ਮਨੁ ਤਨੁ ਨਿਰਮਲ ਕਰਤ ਕਿਆਰੋ ਹਰਿ ਸਿੰਚੈ ਸੁਧਾ ਸੰਜੋਰਿ ॥
The gardens of my mind and body become beautiful,
Irrigated by the sublime essence of God-consciousness
– Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 701
A Time for Rehydration
ਜਿਉ ਧਰਤੀ ਸੋਭ ਕਰੇ ਜਲੁ ਬਰਸੈ ਤਿਉ ਸਿਖੁ ਗੁਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਬਿਗਸਾਈ ॥
Just as the earth looks beautiful when the rain falls, So does a Sikh blossom forth, By connecting with the Guru.
– Guru Ram Das Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 758
Whenever we read up on health and well-being, the advice we’ve come to expect is to ‘drink two litres of water a day’. The main message is to keep well hydrated. We all need water to replenish our bodies. At the same time, we are more than just our bodies, We have a mind and spirit that need watering too. For Sikhs, in the garden of the spirit, the flowers are the spiritual virtues which are there to be cultivated.
Water, we know, is a life-giver. All space exploration to search for life is, in fact, a search for water. Even though its chemical composition, H2O, is so simple – two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen – humans have still been unable to make water in abundance.
Water is nature’s essential, multifunctional gift. It quenches thirst and hydrates, it cleanses and refreshes, and it pacifies fire. Because of its spectrum of qualities, it appears metaphorically in Sikh teaching in its many forms – as oceans and seas, rivers and streams, waterfalls and springs, rainclouds and snow, raindrops and even tears.
In Sikh practice, water is a mediator between the physical and spiritual realms. Amrit is an inner sweetness we may be blessed to taste; it is also the sanctified water which plays a key role in the amrit sanchar initiation.
In a way, the teachings and practices Guru Nanak Dev Ji initiated provide a means to quench the thirst of the spirit and to keep it irrigated. He also stressed the practical value of sangat, the company of enlightened people, to help us tend to our inner garden, from one generation to the next. For Guru Nanak, the outer condition of the world was an extension of our inner condition as humans. The world was caught in a spiritual drought. As hinted in episodes from his life, his arrival sparked a process of spiritual rehydration.
Dialogue with the Siddh Yogis
Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s journeys took him from different villages, towns and cities to remote landscapes. Along the way, he met people who had detached themselves from society, either by wandering from place to place, or by living far off in forests or mountains. They included yogis who pursued rigorous methods of physical and spiritual training and ascetics, who combined this with extreme self-denial. The term siddh was used for those who were so accomplished that they also possessed siddhi (psychic and supernatural powers).
Guru Nanak had discourses with such people in Gorakhmata, home to disciples of the great master, Gorakh Nath, and in Achal Batala, where yogis used to gather in huge numbers for a festival. He also made the mountainous journey into Tibet and ventured high up to the sacred and legendary Mount Kailash, from where four major rivers of Asia begin their flow. Known also by its mystical name of Mount Meru, it is where Guru Nanak met with formidable master siddhs who lived in complete isolation from the far away world of ordinary people.
A composition known as Siddh Gosht (‘Dialogue with the Siddhs’) gives an insight into these various encounters. It captures all the questions the accomplished masters posed to Guru Nanak, intrigued by his personality and his purpose in the world. We see the philosophical issues that concern them as yogis, and Guru Nanak’s distinctive responses and strong social vision.
‘God is realised’, he tells them, ‘through truthful living and prayerful service to others, rather than the practice of extreme austerity and the performance of supernatural feats. One should live like the lotus flower in muddy waters, involved yet detached from the world’.
Guru Nanak also put it to them that mukti, ‘spiritual liberation’, was not just an other-worldly concern. It was possible to be a jeevan mukat in this life – one who is ‘alive whilst dead’, for by overcoming the selfish ego, one truly lives and spiritually flourishes.
The Siddhs were also intrigued as to who Guru Nanak considered to be his Guru. When asked, he informed them that the shabad, the Divine Word, was his Guru and consciousness was the disciple. The inner shaping of this consciousness, to shed arrogance and drive forward the practice of virtues, was the truer measure of spiritual accomplishment.
ਕਿਆ ਭਵੀਐ ਸਚਿ ਸੂਚਾ ਹੋਇ ॥ ਸਾਚ ਸਬਦ ਬਿਨੁ ਮੁਕਤਿ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥
What is the use of wandering from place to place?
To practise truth and integrity is the path to purity.
If you seek liberation, you will not find it
Without attuning yourself to the Divine Word.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 938
Be the Lotus in the Water
ਜੈਸੇ ਜਲ ਮਹਿ ਕਮਲੁ ਨਿਰਾਲਮੁ ਮੁਰਗਾਈ ਨੈ ਸਾਣੇ ॥
ਸੁਰਤਿ ਸਬਦਿ ਭਵ ਸਾਗਰੁ ਤਰੀਐ ਨਾਨਕ ਨਾਮੁ ਵਖਾਣੇ ॥
Be like the lotus that floats aloof upon the water and like the duck that floats across the stream. To swim this daunting ocean of existence, attune your awareness to the Divine Word. To float across those formidable waves, O Nanak repeat the chant of the Divine Name.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 938
As children, we learn through trial and error, which objects sink or float in water. We soon discover that wood will float, but a stone will sink; a tiny paperclip sinks, yet an apple floats. In time, we learn about why this happens. We learn which principles, like density and buoyancy, are at work.
Wherever Guru Nanak Dev Ji met yogis and siddhs, whether it was far up in the Himalayan mountains or in other places, he saw their aim was to remain aloof from society and focus on higher spiritual pursuits.
In response, he presented the image of a lotus flower, with its roots in the muddy waters and flowers blossoming beautifully above. One could remain involved in the world, yet detached. In fact, our practical, everyday involvements, such as serving others, help our spiritual blossoming. Each person’s blossoming, in turn, helps to lift the world from unnecessary suffering.
What principles are at work when we aim to be like the lotus flower? Guru Nanak taught that, in the ocean of life, we are all prone to sinking. Haumai (our self-centred ego) can take over with its unchecked desire, greed and arrogance. Even by escaping from the world, we cannot easily shake these things from our mind.
As we become conscious of the Divine Name, we are profoundly humbled. Virtues blossom and spread their fragrance. Negativity doesn’t consume us. Guided and blessed by the Guru, we find an inner buoyancy which helps us make it across the waves.
Softening Stone-Heartedness
On their journey back to the Punjab from the Middle East, Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Bhai Mardana Ji passed through a place called Hasan Abdal in a mountainous region of present-day Pakistan. Far up on a hilltop there lived a Muslim holy man by the name of Vali Kandhari, who came from Kandahar in Afghanistan.
Vali Kandhari was blessed with a hilltop spring. This is a rare natural phenomenon and it enabled him to provide and control the only source of fresh water for the locals down below. In one sense, this saintly person became the town’s benefactor.
One day, however, from his hilltop residence, Vali Kandhari noticed Guru Nanak’s arrival and observed his popularity with the local people. His reaction was to cut off the water supply. If the people needed water, thought Vali Kandhari, let them see if the newly arrived holy person could provide it to them.
The locals pleaded with him, asking him to release the water supply, and were met with no success. Seeing their predicament, Guru Nanak instructed Bhai Mardana to make the long and difficult climb to meet with the great saint. Vali Kandhari refused his request to let the town receive the much-needed water.
After returning, Bhai Mardana was sent back up by Guru Nanak to make the same request again, and then again. Each time, Bhai Mardana returned back, still incredibly thirsty and increasingly exasperated at the holy man’s stubborn refusal.
Guru Nanak then asked Bhai Mardana to lift a stone where they were standing at the foothill. At that very spot, water began to gush out. At the same time, the hilltop spring ran dry.
Peering down, Vali Kandhari, in a fit of rage, pushed a large boulder down the hill, directing it towards Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak immediately stopped the boulder in its tracks, with a single, outstretched hand.
The Guru’s palm left an imprint on its rocky surface. It was as if the rock had turned to wax. In that instant, Vali Kandhari’s stone-like heart melted. He humbly descended down to ask Guru Nanak for forgiveness. He had realised Guru Nanak’s teaching, that whatever dharam or religion one practises, it can never be separated from the bedrock of daya or compassion.
Today, a boulder, in which the Guru’s handprint is embedded, is preserved at Gurudwara Panja Sahib in Pakistan. Below it flows a natural fountain from the spring that Guru Nanak uncovered.
ਮਨੁ ਕਠੋਰੁ ਸਬਦਿ ਭੇਦਿ ਤੂੰ ਸਾਂਤਿ ਵਸੈ ਮਨਿ ਆਇ ॥
Pierce your stone heart with the Word of the Divine message; let peace come to abide in your mind.
– Guru Amar Das Ji. Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 551
Humble the Heart, Elevate the Mindset
ਮਿਠਤੁ ਨੀਵੀ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਗੁਣ ਚੰਗਿਆਈਆ ਤਤੁ ॥
The sweet foundation of every single virtue is humility.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 470
We all remember a game or a rhyme from our childhood which taught us the difference between ‘up’ and ‘down’. A see-saw gave us the experience of being elevated and lowered.
Being wise is sometimes associated with ‘higher’ thinking. Yet, a humble person is someone who has diminished any sense of superiority. This is probably why people used to equate being humble with being ‘lowly’.
In the sakhi about Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Vali Kandhari, we see the differences between ‘high’ and ‘low’ played out in different ways. Vali Kandhari lives high on a hilltop, but we also get a view of his haughty mind. In the meantime, the freshwater source which he controls flows downwards.
In Sikh teaching, the very nature of water is to flow downwards, and to bring coolness. This makes it a strong symbol of humility and peace. Yet ironically, we see the holy man gripped by anger and arrogance. Bhai Mardana Ji’s exhausting and unsuccessful upward climbs to meet Vali Kandhari show how difficult it is to deal with someone who is hard-hearted.
Interestingly, throughout the sakhi, Guru Nanak remains composed and at peace on the low ground. In one sudden moment, we see the power of his undisturbed humility to soften Vali Kandhari’s heart.
Vali Kandhari was well-known and respected for his saintliness, and must have done much to earn this reputation. He was, after all, a benefactor to the local people, providing them with water from the spring that was blessed to him. The sakhi then teaches that it is easy to slip from a place of wisdom, be it through a flash of rage or jealousy. At the same time, it is also possible to be touched and blessed to become doubly humble and wise.
Sometimes, we can become haughty in our hearts and need more humility. Sometimes, we can downgrade the way we think and need to upgrade our mindsets. This is reflected in a simple formula from the Sikh ardas prayer – man neevan, mat uchi. It means being humble in our hearts and elevated in our thinking. It is a small daily reminder to steer the heart and mind in the right directions.
Meeting the Emperor Babur
During the first fifty or so years of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s life, North India was ruled by the Lodhi dynasty, originating from Afghanistan. For any conquerors, the Punjab was a corridor into India. It was here that Guru Nanak witnessed some ferocious invasions by Babur, who founded the Mughal Empire in India.
Babur was a descendant of the notorious Timur Lane, from Central Asia. He had violently ravaged and plundered the Punjab a century earlier. In his hymns, Guru Nanak observed how the decadence and corruption of one empire was now giving way to the violent conquest of another.
It was on a return visit to Saidpur that Guru Nanak witnessed Babur’s forces descending on the area, inflicting cruel massacres and causing ruthless destruction. Grief and mourning filled the region, as the survivors went about searching for and disposing of the dead. The lives of Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana were spared. They were sent to prison and made to undergo forced labour.
News reached the Emperor Babur of Guru Nanak’s saintly presence amongst the captives. It was said that, when he was given a hand-mill to grind corn, the mill began to revolve of its own accord.
After meeting Babur, Guru Nanak secured the release of the other prisoners. They refused to leave without the Guru.
Guru Nanak later travelled to have a further audience with Babur. This dialogue with Guru Nanak opened Babur’s mind to change. His underlying hope was to secure rule in India for generations to come. The Guru advised that, for this to happen, he must become a just, merciful, wise and responsible ruler. Without such values, dharam – the practice of what is good and right – evaporates from society and from those who lead and govern. Babur considered this lesson from Guru Nanak to be a blessing.
The Mughal dynasty established by Babur continued just as the Sikh Dharam took shape under the ten Sikh Gurus. Sometimes the Mughal rulers were gracious toward the Gurus, and other times they were openly hostile.
Through this meeting between Guru Nanak Dev Ji and the Emperor Babur, the intertwined and complex history of the Mughal emperors and the Sikh Gurus began to unfold. This relationship set a context for Sikh teachings about good governance in the world.
ਕਲਿ ਕਾਤੀ ਰਾਜੇ ਕਾਸਾਈ ਧਰਮੁ ਪੰਖ ਕਰਿ ਉਡਰਿਆ ॥
This dark age is like a knife; rulers are like butchers. Dharam – the enlightened practice of all that is good and right – has fled on its wings. In this dark night of falsehood, the moon of truth is nowhere to be seen.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 145
Governing our Mind and World
ਲਿਖਿ ਨਾਵੈ ਧਰਮੁ ਬਹਾਲਿਆ ॥
Through the script of the Divine Name, the civilisation of dharam was divinely established.
– Guru Angad Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 463
When you hear the word ‘government’, what comes to mind? Maybe it is the Houses of Parliament in London or the imperial Mughal courts during the time of the Gurus. The word ‘govern’ originally meant ‘to steer a ship’, whatever weather or sea conditions are at hand.
If you think about it, it is not only governments who do the job of governing. Guru Nanak Dev Ji highlighted that each one of us plays a role in governing the direction our mind takes. If we are inwardly aware, we take guidance from our heart and the jyot, our spirit.
The world has seen many civilisations establishing their empires over history, from the British to the Mughals, from the Greeks to the Ottomans.
For Guru Nanak, there is a form of civilisation which the earth – as a ‘dharamsal’ – was divinely created for. It somehow connects all human beings, whatever our cultural, religious or political allegiances. This form of civilisation would be inspired by dharam, guided by the spiritual qualities inherent in us all.
As Guru Nanak saw it, when corruption, tyranny and neglect take over in society, it is as if dharam has taken flight on its wings. All the Gurus engaged with religious and political leaders of their time. Each Guru encouraged these leaders to look deep within themselves, as well as around themselves, to reassess and re-envision their ways.
Guru Nanak taught that, even if we are ruled over politically, each person has dignity and a voice as a sovereign being. We each have the potential to participate in shaping the world we all share, along with a sacred responsibility to live wisely and care for creation.
Many aspects of Sikh identity communicate these basic ideas. The Sikh dastar, or turban, for example, expresses the capacity for good, virtue-led leadership in everyone. This identity reminds Sikhs of the need to be active, rather than passive, citizens, and that the basis of good leadership and citizenship is to be a good human being.
Cultivating the Faith at Kartarpur
Guru Nanak Dev Ji was one of the most widely travelled people of his era. After returning intermittently to the Punjab, he settled there and founded a community aligned to the vision he had taught about for so long. Near the banks of the River Ravi there was a landowner named Karori Mal. His wife, Bibi Meeto, having heard the hymns of Guru Nanak, was inspired. She prompted her husband to meet the Guru. He approached the Guru with pride about his local stature.
Guru Nanak asked Karori Mal who his land had previously belonged to. He explained it had belonged to his forefathers. The Guru then asked, ‘Tell me, where have your father and grandfather gone now?’. At that moment, Karori Mal recognised his own mortality. He began to think about what kind of legacy he hoped to leave. Whilst he continued to have mixed feelings about the Guru’s popularity in the area, he eventually asked the Guru to accept the land for the growing community. He suggested it be named as ‘Nanakpur’. In all humility, Guru Nanak chose to call it ‘Kartarpur’ (‘the town of the Creator’). After all, no person could really take any ownership of it.
Kartarpur marked an important chapter in the formation of the Sikh Dharam or faith. Already, a distinctive way of seeing and living had taken form through Guru Nanak’s teachings. In Kartarpur, he established a dharamsal, a place to practise dharam, a spiritually-attuned way of life. Kartarpur was home to the first settled community of Sikhs, where visitors from far and wide were received and served. The early routines of Sikh practice were established here – to arise and bathe before dawn, to devote regular time to prayer and meditation, to labour in the day and to serve people in an egalitarian manner with selflessness. The community was not a monastic order and family-centred living was valued. The compositions of Jap Ji Sahib, Asa Ki Var, Aarti, Sodar and Sohila were recited here daily.
It was in Kartarpur that Guru Nanak’s lifelong friend, Bhai Mardana Ji, passed away, and where the great Guru himself breathed his last, after selecting and appointing a successor. As Guru Nanak settled into life at Kartarpur, he discarded his attire of a saintly traveller, put on the clothes of an ordinary householder and took to farming. Not only did it fulfil the principle of toiling with dignity. It echoed what was taking place at Kartarpur, as the seeds and shoots of the Sikh Dharam were being cultivated.
ਧਰਮਸਾਲ ਕਰਤਾਰ ਪੁਰੁ ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਸਚਖੰਡ ਵਸਾਇਆ।
ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਗੁਰ ਸਬਦੁ ਸੁਣਾਇਆ ।
A dharamsal was established in Kartarpur. The realm of truth was practically materialised, as people joined to cultivate enlightened living, the chant of Vaheguru resounded there.
– Bhai Gurdas Ji, var 24, pauri 1
Cultivating Everyday Culture
ਮਨੁ ਹਾਲੀ ਕਿਰਸਾਣੀ ਕਰਣੀ ਸਰਮੁ ਪਾਣੀ ਤਨੁ ਖੇਤੁ ॥
ਨਾਮੁ ਬੀਜੁ ਸੰਤੋਖੁ ਸੁਹਾਗਾ ਰਖੁ ਗਰੀਬੀ ਵੇਸੁ ॥
Make your mind the ploughman, positive deeds your farming.
Make modesty the water and your body the field.
Let the Divine Name be the seed you plant, plough it with contentment and protect it with humility.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 595
People often use the word ‘culture’, but what do they mean? Maybe it’s what they associate with a particular heritage, like food, dress or language. Or maybe they are thinking of ‘being cultured’, in the sense of having good manners or good taste.
Sometimes, we talk about ‘pop culture’ or ‘consumer culture’ – lifestyles which revolve around particular interests. Or we might mention a ‘culture of greed’ or a ‘culture of giving’, to describe norms which revolve around certain values or traits. So, culture isn’t just static. Culture ‘happens’ every day, when people interact.
Agriculture involves cultivating crops. It seems no coincidence that Guru Nanak Dev Ji took on a life of farming at Kartarpur. Plants that grow to the surface begin as seeds under the soil. In one way, Guru Nanak was growing the early buds and shoots of the Sikh faith and the communities who would take it forward.
From his travels, Guru Nanak had witnessed the diversity in human society, as well as the problems within it. He knew that our actions and interactions grow out of the ideas and values which lie in the soil of our mind. To help people change their underlying perspectives and feelings about life, there is no quick fix. You have to intentionally inspire and educate for a process of change. Set in its farmlands, the dharamsal at Kartarpur was the first Sikh institution which sought to do this.
From Guru Nanak’s own teachings, his priority wasn’t to cultivate a ‘Sikh culture’ or new type of ‘Punjabi culture’ as such. He was sowing the seeds of an everyday culture attuned to naam – rooted in a consciousness that life is alive with sacredness.
In Punjabi, the word jaag means ‘awakening’. It is also the word for the small amount of starter culture which transforms a pot of milk into yoghurt. In this way, Kartarpur generated possibilities for wider change in how we make the world together as humans.
Baba Budda Ji: Seeing the Wise Elder in the Child
Amongst the daily flow of people to Kartarpur, there was one young boy, no older than seven years, who would come every day in the early morning and evening. After this, he would quietly depart.
Observing this little boy’s dedicated routine, Guru Nanak Dev Ji one day asked him, ‘What brings you here every day, at such a young age?’.
The boy gave a poignant reply: ‘I have seen my mother lighting firewood. The smallest sticks always burn first, before the bigger ones. I realise that I am still small and we can never know when our life will end. I may never live to an old age. So, I come here, hoping to get wisdom and blessings, before my time on earth runs out’.
Moved by these words, the Guru replied: ‘You are so very young, but you speak like a wise elder.’ Guru Nanak lovingly named the young boy Baba Budda Ji.
The word ‘budda’ in Punjabi means elder. The name became a lifelong blessing to the young boy to whom it was gifted. Baba Budda Ji lived many long years, serving under the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth Sikh Gurus. He had been called to anoint each of the successive Gurus when they were blessed with the Guruship.
For later generations of Sikh disciples, Baba Budda Ji was held in the greatest esteem. Through his very own eyes, he had experienced the company of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and, through his very presence among them, he was carrying forward Guru Nanak’s legacy.
ਘਰਿ ਘਰਿ ਏਹੋ ਪਾਹੁਚਾ ਸਦੜੇ ਨਿਤ ਪਵੰਨਿ ॥
ਸਦਣਹਾਰਾ ਸਿਮਰੀਐ ਨਾਨਕ ਸੇ ਦਿਹ ਆਵੰਨਿ ॥
An invitation comes each day, to every home and heart. May we always remember the One who calls us back. The day of our departure, will come to us all.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 12
Making Time Count
ਜੈਸੇ ਜਲ ਤੇ ਬੁਦਬੁਦਾ ਉਪਜੈ ਬਿਨਸੈ ਨੀਤ ॥
ਜਗ ਰਚਨਾ ਤੈਸੇ ਰਚੀ ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਸੁਨਿ ਮੀਤ ॥
As the bubbles in the water rise up and disappear again.
Says Nanak, listen my friend this is the finite nature of all created things.
– Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 1427
When we strike up a conversation, the topic of time very often crops up. Usually it is about being so busy, with not enough hours in the day. Or about how time has flown or slips through your fingers. Or about memories from a time in the past. As children we learn how to count time. As grown-ups, in the rush of life, we wonder how we can make time count.
The Sikh Gurus, like so many other spiritual teachers, emphasised that our lives are temporary, like all things of this world.
Knowing this, you could become quite cynical. You could feel that nothing really means anything or really matters. Alternatively, you could become overly indulgent and just do what you please, or you could be very philosophical and ponder a lot.
The Gurus taught that to know our time here is limited has a very practical and positive function. This is not only to work out our life’s purpose. It is also to live a worthy and purposeful life – one that is safal, or fruitful.
The sakhi about Baba Budda Ji is about a child who became wise beyond his years. It shows that time can surprise us. We should live each day as if it was our last, because we don’t know what lies around the corner. But, who knows, we might be graced with more years than we had imagined.
As a child, Baba Budda Ji had feared time. Guru Nanak taught him to welcome time as a chance for growth.
This legendary Sikh disciple departed from the world aged eighty-five years. Right from his childhood, blessed by the Guru, he had made time count, with each passing day, week, month, year and decade of his wise and generous life.
Adding Fragrance
During the last decade of his life, in 1530, Guru Nanak Dev Ji visited Multan in southern Punjab. Now in Pakistan, this ancient city was a renowned centre of learning for the mystical Sufi tradition, aligned to Islam. Nearby was the birthplace of the great Sufi mystic, Sheikh Farid Ji, whose verses are included in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
As Guru Nanak reached the city gates, he was presented with a bowl of milk, full to the brim. The gesture indicated that the city was already full of holy people and there was little space for more.
Guru Nanak’s response was to place a jasmine petal on the surface. This communicated, in turn, that his intention was not to displace anyone or take up more room; it was to add fragrance to what was already there.
ਨਾਨਕ ਨਾਮੁ ਮਿਲੈ ਤਾਂ ਜੀਵਾਂ ਤਨੁ ਮਨੁ ਥੀਵੈ ਹਰਿਆ ॥
Says Nanak, by attuning to the Divine Name I truly live,
And the mind and body blossom green.
– Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 1429
Bhai Lehna Ji: Guruship Tests
One of the people drawn to visit Kartarpur was Bhai Lehna Ji. He became a dedicated disciple and was rigorously tested and selected to become Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s successor. Their first meeting was in an alleyway as Bhai Lehna entered the town. Guru Nanak gave no indication that he himself was the Guru. He led Bhai Lehna to his residence before disappearing. Upon entering, Bhai Lehna realised it was Guru Nanak who had showed him the way. With tears in his eyes, Bhai Lehna Ji said: ‘The river has reached the sea. The soul has met the soul’.
Bhai Lehna Ji was from a well-to-do family, but for three years he lived simply and dedicated himself to the Guru’s service. At times, Guru Nanak would test the inner qualities and faith of his disciples. Once, due to heavy rain, no wood for fire was available and food could not be prepared. The Guru instructed each of his sons to shake the trees outside, for food would fall from them. Both sons refused to believe their father, but Bhai Lehna readily did as the Guru directed and food was miraculously made available.
A final test for Bhai Lehna was unnerving for all around. The Guru had led his disciples to a pyre. Next to it there appeared to be a corpse under a white sheet. Guru Nanak asked them, turn by turn, to eat what was under the sheet. None could bring themselves to do so. It was only Bhai Lehna who asked his master, from where he should begin eating. That instant, a pleasant fragrance began to emanate from under the sheet. When Bhai Lehna lifted it, there was karah prasad, a form of blessed food that was sweet to the taste.
During these years, Guru Nanak’s mind turned to the future. In his lifetime he had initiated a visionary process, with an aim to enlighten and empower people that extended well beyond his lifetime. Who could carry this process forward?
The leadership task would require a rare individual, who embodied total integrity, humility and utter dedication. It required a leader with zero ego and an unwavering spirit of sacrifice. It appeared that Bhai Lehna Ji was passing all of these tests.
ਤਨੁ ਮਨੁ ਧਨੁ ਸਭੁ ਸਉਪਿ ਗੁਰ ਕਉ ਹੁਕਮਿ ਮੰਨਿਐ ਪਾਈਐ ॥
Surrender body, mind and wealth to the Guru,
Accept the Divine command and your service will bear fruit.
– Guru Amar Das Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 917
The Guru’s Touchstone
ਮਨੁ ਰਾਮਿ ਕਸਵਟੀ ਲਾਇਆ ਕੰਚਨੁ ਸੋਵਿੰਨਾ ॥
With the Divine Touchstone the mind was tested; it was found to be pure gold.
– Guru Ram Das Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 448
When people advise you not to be fooled by appearances, you might hear them say, ‘All that glitters is not gold’. Sometimes in life, we learn this the hard way. It can be disappointing, but we also learn an important lesson – that ‘glitter’ is not always the trusted measure for something good. We then realise we need another measure. For example, to see whether or not someone is trustworthy. Humans are changeable creatures, so sometimes we can only measure over time if someone is steadfast in the qualities they seem to hold.
In Kartarpur, Guru Nanak Dev Ji put Bhai Lehna Ji through many tests. These reveal a careful process of selection to identify a successor. The mind of such a person would need to be deeply embedded with wisdom, humility, devotion and sacrifice. These qualities could not be superficial and easily shaken by ego-driven impulses.
The Gurus taught that, as the mind becomes more genuine and steadfast in the practice of virtues, it becomes like a pure, precious metal. This purity can be tested by a touchstone. This was a special stone tablet used, since ancient times, to test the purity of metals such as gold. By touching the metal to it, the line or mark that appeared could tell you how pure the metal was.
In this way, no matter how precious an article – like a gold coin – looked, you could tell if it was counterfeit. Tested by the Guru’s touchstone, Bhai Lehna Ji proved to be the disciple who was inwardly and outwardly worthy to serve as the next Guru.
As human beings, we can easily let glitter be our measure, even for important things in life. When it comes to identifying leaders, for example, popularity is all important in elections, where everybody has a fair vote and candidates must shine. A touchstone reminds us that we need some measure of integrity and inner substance. With our ability to elect, we also need the wisdom to educate, train and select people who can best serve us in shaping and governing society, today and into the future.
Guru to Disciple
When the time came to appoint a successor to the Guruship, there was an expectation that it might be passed down to one of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s own sons. The two brothers, Sri Chand Ji and Lakhmi Chand Ji, were both spiritually inclined.
These were certainly the initial thoughts of their mother, Mata Sulakhani Ji. In time, however, her husband let her observe how they responded to his tests. Neither son was free of self-importance.
It became apparent, even to Mata Sulakhani Ji, that the passing of the Guruship would not be hereditary. It was Bhai Lehna Ji who embodied the total selflessness required.
When the day came, Guru Nanak invited Bhai Lehna Ji to sit on the seat of Guruship. Guru Nanak walked in a circle around him and made a symbolic gesture to transfer the Guruship; he placed before him a coconut, five gold coins and a string of rosary beads.
Then came a momentous and poignant moment. Nanak, the great Guru, knelt down and bowed his forehead before Bhai Lehna Ji. The jyot or light of wisdom was transferred from one ‘house’ to another, from Guru to disciple.
Guru Nanak then lovingly blessed Bhai Lehna with the name ‘Angad’. The word ang means limb; whilst the second Guru, Guru Angad Dev Ji, was not Guru Nanak’s own flesh and blood through any family ties, he was an extension of the Guru’s own self in a spiritual context. For the remaining weeks, before Guru Nanak himself departed from the world, he guided the sangat (congregation) to accept and revere the disciple who had earned the Guruship.
The significance of this event is recounted in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, by two bards, Satta and Balwand. They explain that, by installing a successor, Guru Nanak founded a new form of governance (‘raj chalaaiaa’) and he illuminated Guru Angad Dev Ji’s spirit with the divine sword (‘kharag’) of spiritual wisdom. All the while, Guru Nanak maintained deep humility, taking no ownership of the gift he was passing down for the future.
ਲਹਣੇ ਧਰਿਓਨੁ ਛਤ੍ਰੁ ਸਿਰਿ ਅਸਮਾਨਿ ਕਿਆੜਾ ਛਿਕਿਓਨੁ ॥
ਜੋਤਿ ਸਮਾਣੀ ਜੋਤਿ ਮਾਹਿ ਆਪੁ ਆਪੈ ਸੇਤੀ ਮਿਕਿਓਨੁ ॥
Over the head of the disciple, Lehna Ji, Guru Nanak placed the majestic canopy Raising his glory to the skies above. Light merged with light. The divine connection was made complete.
– Satta and Balwand, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 967
Believing is Seeing
ਗੁਪਤਾ ਹੀਰਾ ਪ੍ਰਗਟ ਭਇਓ ਜਬ ਗੁਰ ਗਮ ਦੀਆ ਦਿਖਾਈ ॥
The hidden diamond became visible, when the Guru revealed it to me.
– Bhagat Kabir Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 483
No matter where we are from, we all remember playing ‘hide and seek’. As children, we’d have counted to 10 or 100, and then gone to look for our friends. Likewise, if we ever got a chance to make homemade butter, we’d learn that it was ‘hiding’ in the cream – you had to churn it to find it.
In a similar way, famous artists or athletes might recount how someone once spotted a talent which was ‘latent’ in them. It might have gone by unnoticed, if they weren’t able to identify and develop it.
These discoveries reflect Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s conviction about human beings. The gift of human life is like a diamond. With our limited vision, we don’t see its value and potential.
No matter what social position we are born into, each one of us has worth and is capable of so much. This message was powerful at a time when people’s lives were overshadowed by prejudice, apathy and indifference, or by oppression and exploitation.
Guru Nanak taught that we are all born with spiritual virtues, for they are the qualities of God’s jyot inside us. He imagined a world where what we hear and see being practised around us every day could help to strengthen these qualities in us, and where people can ‘spark’ these qualities in each other.
His legacy, which became the Sikh Dharam, can be seen as a movement to realise this vision. He did not form a picture of human society limited by what he observed around him, he formed it from a vision of how he believed everything could be, as it had been divinely revealed to him.
In the accounts about the Guruship tests of Bhai Lehna Ji, we see the disciple who did not just go by appearances, but by the faith he had in Guru Nanak. Through his tests, his qualities became visible.
To understand the world and ourselves, we sometimes rightly say that ‘seeing is believing’. The Gurus and their enlightened disciples showed that extraordinary things can become possible when we also accept that ‘believing is seeing.’
Flowers in Bloom: a Parting Message
It is said that, when the time came for Guru Nanak Dev Ji to depart from the world, he went to sit under a tree. The tree was dried out and dying, but the moment the Guru reached the tree, branches and leaves sprouted and the tree became green. Together with Guru Angad Dev Ji, family members and devotees gathered to be around the great and beloved Guru, whose hours on earth were drawing to a close.
The night passed in the singing of kirtan (divine hymns). At the end Guru Nanak recited the verse known as Baarah Maaha, where the twelve months of the year are vividly depicted, as a metaphor for the soul’s spiritual journey. In the early hours of the morning, Guru Nanak Dev Ji gave his personally written gutka (a collection of sacred compositions) to Guru Angad Dev Ji.
Over his lifetime, Guru Nanak had won the love and respect of both Hindus and Muslims. Now, as devotees from both faiths stood before him, they communicated to him their dilemma about how to carry out the funeral. For the Hindus, a cremation, by lighting a funeral pyre, was traditional. For Muslims, a burial was the religious requirement.
Listening to their concerns, Guru Nanak gave the following instructions: ‘Keep flowers on both sides. On the right let the Hindus keep the flowers, and on the left let the Muslims keep the flowers. Whosoever’s flowers are found fresh in the morning will decide how to carry out the funeral.’
Guru Nanak then asked the congregation to sing divine hymns and recite the Sohila prayer. This was followed by the singing of Aarti. As the prayerful singing concluded, the congregation placed a white sheet over Guru Nanak Dev Ji. All then bowed in reverence and left.
When they returned in the morning, the flowers on both sides remained fresh and in bloom. However, the Guru’s body had disappeared. The sheet which had been covering the Guru’s body was then split in half. One of the halves was cremated and the other half was buried in Kartarpur.
Today, Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur commemorates the place where Guru Nanak Dev Ji breathed his last in 1539. It is located very close to the India-Pakistan border, which was created – four centuries later – in 1947.
This gurudwara marks the precious history of Guru Nanak’s final years at Kartarpur. As such, it stands as a quiet reminder of the cohesion and togetherness that people can build across religious, cultural and national divides.
ਦੇਹੁ ਸਜਣ ਅਸੀਸੜੀਆ ਜਿਉ ਹੋਵੈ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਸਿਉ ਮੇਲੁ ॥
My friends, give me your blessings, that I may merge with the Eternal Master.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 12
Greeting our Last Breath
ਅਜਹੂ ਕਛੁ ਬਿਗਰਿਓ ਨਹੀ ਜੋ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਗੁਨ ਗਾਵੈ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਤਿਹ ਭਜਨ ਤੇ ਨਿਰਭੈ ਪਦੁ ਪਾਵੈ ॥
Even if you neglected life’s chance to awaken the spirit, it is never too late to sing God’s praises.
Says Nanak, by resonating with the Divine, you shall obtain the state of fearlessness.
– Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 726
Just as none of us can remember the moment of our birth, we cannot really contemplate the actual moment of our death. We know that death is an inevitable fact of life. Yet it is difficult to accept this in a way that changes how we live today.
Sometimes we notice this deep change in someone who faces, or cares for someone with, a terminal illness. Otherwise, caught up in the everyday, we forget the bigger picture. Then something reminds us to step back and shift our perspective.
For Guru Nanak Dev Ji, our temporary stay on earth was the starting point for asking about life’s purpose. The Sikh dharam can be seen as one response offered to humanity, which grew out from Guru Nanak’s life and legacy.
Before departing from the world, Guru Nanak had appointed a successor. For this reason, every Sikh Guru was seen to be carrying forward the same guiding voice and light into the evolving chapters of history. After Guru Nanak, subsequent Gurus became known as the second, third and fourth Nanak, and so on.
The consciousness of death took on a new dimension when the fifth and ninth Gurus had to prepare for death by torture and execution by the imperial authorities. Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, the ‘ninth Nanak’, depicts the qualities of a person whose consciousness is enlightened in the face of his or her mortality. Such a person embodies the compassionate detachment we observed in Guru Nanak’s own life.
The Gurus taught that we should try to live every day as a jeevan-mukat – one who is liberated or ‘dead’ whilst still alive, one who overcomes the ego and blossoms spiritually, right up to and beyond one’s final breath.