| Jotti Jot, First
Patshah, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
==> GURU NANAK (1469-1539):
In a world rife with falsehood, sunk in superstitions and plagued
by all kinds of inequities and inequalities, Guru Nanak rang in
the gospel of truth, universal love and brotherhood. The Founder
Guru of the Sikhs and one of the greatest and saintliest of saviours,
he redeemed the soul of a moribund society that had experienced
a total eclipse, if not annihilation, of all abiding human values.
The condition of the contemporary society has been vividly described
by the First Master in the well -known words
This age is a knife, kings are butchers,
justice hath taken wings and fled.
In this completely dark night of falsehood
the moon of truth is never seen to rise.
Guru Nanak was
born in a Bedi family at Talwandi (Nankana Sahib), near Lahore,
in 1469. At an early age he learnt Sanskrit, Persian and the prevalent
form of Gurmukhi. He was a precocious child with a pronounced penchant
for religion. His father, Mehta Kalu, made vain efforts to woo him
to a mundame mode of life. Accordingly, he was got employed in a
Government store of the Nawab of Sultanpur where he served for 13
years.
It was in 1499
that the day of destiny of ecstatic communion with God came. While
taking his daily bath in the rivulet Bain that flows near Sultanpur,
Nanak had his illumination through a soul-stirring vision of Almighty
God. It was here that the Guru delivered his great sermon in the
memorable words: There is no Hindu, there is no Musalman. The
spiritual enlightenment enjoined on him a mission to the propagation
of which he consecrated his entire life. He set out on his great
Udasi's (Missionary journeys) to deliver God's message to sinning
and suffering humanity.
He toured the
whole of India and many foreign countries, preaching the gospel
of true religion and rooting out ignorance and evil. The great Guru
undertook five major missionary journeys in this behalf.
In the course
of his first long travel, Guru Nanak visited celebrated Hindu places
of pilgrimage like Kurukshetra, Banaras and Jagnnath Puri. He taught
people how to distinguish Dharma from Adharma and abandon such pretentious
rituals and prayers as constituted the accepted religious practice
of the times. During his second journey the Guru went as far as
Sangla Deep and having done his ministry returned to the Punjab.
The Master's
third missionary journey is known for his discussions with reputed
Kashmiri Pandits and savants and for his visits to famous haunts
of the Yogis, the Sidhas and the Nathas in the Himalayas. The Guru
preached truth and righteousness wherever he went.
The fourth missionary
journey comprised the Master's visit to prominent Muslim shrines
in Mecca, Medina and Baghdad. After his return to the Punjab, the
Guru set out on his fifth and final journey. This time he confined
his travel to places nearer home such as Saidpur, Pakpattan, Multan,
Achal Batala, etc. Saidpur had been sacked by Babar's forces. Deeply
moved by spectacle of infinite human suffering resulting from the
inhuman atrocities perpetrated by the Mughal invader, the Guru chanted
hymns of Sorrow.
At Achal Batala,
a renowned centre of the Yogis and Sidhas, the Guru preached the
unity and equality of all religions. For twenty-two years Guru Nanak
propagated his faith in India and abroad. During his 18 years' stay
at Kartarpur, he incarnated into splendid deeds the lofty ideals
that he had been preaching all his. life. Thus, by his own inspiring
example, the Guru demonstrated how Raj and Yog, the worldly and
the spiritual modes of life, could be happily and fruitfully conjoined.
During his extensive
missionary journeys, Guru Nanak exhorted the benighted humanity
to pursue the path of divine meditation. He stressed the significance
of righteous living above all other things. The Guru made men realize
that there is only one God Who is peerless. He held that through
Nam Simran (Meditation of God's Name) and concentration on Shabad
(the word) man could muster up courage enough to uphold truth in
his life.
Guru Nanak cried
down all cant and blind observance of soulless customs, rites and
rituals. The Guru averred that they were a meaningless meandering
unconnected with the attainment of man's spiritual destiny, Thus
he rightly laid accent on pious practical living which alone constitutes
true religiosity.
The quintessence
of Guru Nanak's philosophy is enshrined in his mul mantra. He has
aptly emphasized the imperative need of truth and beauty, freedom
and fraternity. According to Guru Nanak, religion implies a communion
between God and man. As a corollary to this, a person who devotes
himself to Nam Simran is naturally virtuous and fearless. Unsullied
by ill-will or enmity, he works for the amelioration of the weak
and the down-trodden. His noble actions give an impulse to his aesthetic
ability. A truely religious man of the Guru's conception is opposed
alike to serfdom and masterdom. His life is radiant with love and
humility, sweetness and light.
Indeed, Guru
Nanak wanted to unite and organize his disciples in order to give
religion true solidarity. To this end, he established sangat (congregations)
at numerous places and appointed their chiefs. Besides, he compiled
his writings in book form which he handed over to his successor,
Guru Angad Dev.
The Guru established
a sangat at Kartarpur and prescribed a set of values to be cherished
and practised. He also founded the great institution of langar (free
community-kitchen) and spent his earnings from land on running it.
Thus, he gave a living form to his doctrine of work, Nam Simran
and the Temple of Bread. The Guru nominated Bhai Lehna, his most
beloved and trusted disciple, for the exalted office of the Guru
after him. In the Adi Granth are enshrined 974 hymns by the First
Master.
-Ref. Guru
Granth Ratnavali, (pp. 38) by Dr. D.S. Mani, Sardar Bakhshish Singh,
and Dr. Gurdit Singh
Mahan Kosh (pp. 111) |
