SRI CURU NANAK DEV - Sikh Missionary Society

The follorving bo,rklets also can bc lrarl lrt't' frorrr SikhMissionary Societv lr{ala1'a, 175 Quet'n Strt't't, Singirpore-7.

1 The Birth of Khalsa by Prol. Kartirr Singh.* 2 Fonns and S1'nrbols of tlie Khalsir lrr, tlre lirte Prof.

Teja Singh.o 3 Gum Nanak - His Life ancl Teac,lrings lry Prof. Gancla

Singh.+4*E

+6*7

8

I10

11

*12

*13

14

Guru Gobind Singh b)' tl.,c litc Il'ol. 'ftja Sinclr.

Guru Arjan Dev by Prof. Krrrtiu' Sirrglr.

The Japji-translated bv the latt' Plol. Prrnr;r Singh.

The Greatness of Gnru Golrintl Sirrglr ln' I)r'. .\rjirnSingh tr{an.

Siklis as Liberators lrr. tlre lrrtt' I'rof. 'ft,jir Sir,glr.

The tl'rgent Need of Todar, lrv I'rol. Krrrlrrl Sirrgli.

Sikls and Peace bv N. Nlclrt'rvln Siuglr.

Sikhism on Internationul tlnitv lx. N. Nlt'lrt'nrrir Sirrgh.

The Anand - translatecl lry Dr. Slrt'r Sirrglr.

Practical Utilitv of Sikh kleals lrv l,r'ol. 'l'rrrrrrr Sirrgh.

The Sikh Religion (An OLrtline of its Dor.trirrt's) Irr, tht'late Prof. Teja Singlr.

15 The Sikh Religion (A lrrief srin'cv fol St'c'ondan St.lroolchildren).

16 Nanak's relationship u'ith Clo<l lrr, J. I}rlkrrrrr Sirr{lr.

Gave His Fleacl But Not IIis Faitlr-rrlrrtvlrlorrr trf ClrrnrTegh Bahadur by J. Baikara Singlr. (Prrlrlislr<,tl lrv Klrrrlsa

Dharrlak Sabha. Sing:rpolt').

o io be reprintecl.

Printed ittMALAYA PUBLISHING }IOIISE. I,1]\,I]]-IiI)

Singapore

,l

i,l

;i

..

I

t

I

SRI CURU NANAK DEV

AND

HIS RELIGIOI\

SIKII

B;'

Sardar Bahadnr Teia SinghChief Justice (Retd.)

Publisln:d lor lree distribution bt1

r\fISSIONi\RY SOCIETY MALAYA175, Queen Street.

SINCAPORE-7.

Tract No. 17

8November 1963 3,000

FOREWORD

The birth of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ]i is celebrated bvSikhs qt lst November, 1963.

. ,We take this opportunity of presenting to the generalpublrq of Malaysia this small booklet on Sri Guru NanakDev, ji and Fiis Rel{gion. We are greatly indebted toSardar Bahadur Teja 5ingh, Chief JuJtice (netd.), for hisPerml55iqn to reprint it.

We also nlu"-" o" record our ttrianks to Professor SantokhSingh vr6o, o"

".r, behalf, sought the permission.

The demand for booklets on Sikh Curus and Sikh Iteli-gion is so great that some of the old stocks have beene'xhau51"4 *id ,o-" are fast running out.

. Booklets published by this Society are sent free to tho.sewho q1" interested in Sikh Religion throughout the world.

Donations will be accepted *ittr ttrurrt* and efiorts arebeing **6" to reprint tracis presently out of stock.

" Jugg"rtions for improving our seryice and new booklets

rrom v71i1".s on Sikh Religion or Sikh Gurus will be rnostwelcorn".

Managernent CommitteeSikh Missionary SocieSr Malaya175 Queen Street, Singapore-7.

ALL RTCHTS RESER\'ED

Shri Guru Narxil< Dev and His Retrigion

Ex-Chie'f lustice S. Teja Singh

CI{APTER I

flinduisnrAII the principal religions cf the rvorld were born in

Asia. trndia u'as the home of sot"tre of thern. The ancientreligion, rvhich later on came to be called Ftrinduisrn, had itsbirth on the banks of the Punjab rivers ancl those of iheGanges and the Jarnuna, u.ltere the Rishis of the oldcomposed the Vedas and the Upnishidas. In course of timethe Aryans conquered the Taniil land and were so much

afiected by the dogmas and doctrines of the South. that notonly they adopted them in part, but also absorbed one oftheir Deities in their orvn hierarchy of Gods' In this wa1'

Hinduism, which was originally the exclusive religion of theAryans, underrvent a material change and practicall-v became

an amalgam of sects. Sonre prominent Hinctru philosophersof to-day, rvhen called upon to give a precise definition ofHinduism, describe it as a sort of civilisation and a social

system.Dr. S. Radha Krishrian rvhile dealing rvith Hindu

Dharma in fris well-known book "Religion and Society" says:

"Hinduism is not based on any racjal factor. Though the

civilisation has its roots in the spiritual life of the Vedic Aryans,

1-

1

l

rl

Noverqf"r, 1o63

and has iost ihe traces of its origin, it has taken so much fromthe social life of the Dravidian, and other native inhabitants thatit is difficult to disentangle, in modern Hinduism, the Vedic andthe non-Vedic elements. . . . . . The different communities whichaccepted Hinduism rose to the level of the society around them,educated themselves in its spirit, took on its colour and contri-buted to its growth. The epics of the Ramayana and theMahabharta describe the spread of Hindu ideals, though in themthe facts of history are obscured in a haze of legend. By thetime the spread rvas made effective in large parts of India,the Vedic civilisation found itself in a world of altered value."(Lecture III P. 101).

BudhisrnAbout six centuries before the birth of Christ, Prince

Sidharatha of Patliputra, later known and honoured as

Gautam Budha, propounded his religion, lvhich within a

short time, swept the whole of India, from where it spread

throughout the South-East Asian countries, Thailand, Chinaand Japan on one side and Ceylon on the other. It came toacquire such a popularity and widespread inguence, that themost powerful Emperor of India of that time, Ashoka, joinedits fold and for many a year Budhism remained the State

religion of India. For causes into which it is not necessary

to go here, the forces of Brahmanism again raised their headand under the leadership of the Vedantik philosopher,Shankracharya, Budhism was completely driven out of India.

Budha did not believe in God. During the time hisreligion was at its height, his images were set up everywhereand virtually they became the object of worship. There isreason to believe that idolatory was prevalent in India even

before Budhism came into existence, but the practice ofworshipping idols received great encouragement duringBudhistic times. It was because of this that even after Indiawas purged of Budhism, idol-worship continued to fourish

here in one form or the other. Casteism also came to prevailand degenerated the Hindu socie$r by dividing it into hide-bound and narrow groups, with Brahmans at the top and

Sudras at the bottom of the Society.

N{uslim InfuxThis was the state of afiairs when the Muslims started

making inroads upon this land. Islam was founded bvHazrat Mohammad of Arabia, who was born there in572 A.D. In that land of ignorance and superstition, he

propounded the doctrines of oneness of God and brother-hood of man. To start with, he had to face difficulties andwas even compelled to leave Mecca, his original home, and

flee to Medina; but by and by he succeeded in attracting a

large following. Crowds flocked to his banner in largenumbers. After him his successors carried on the propagandawith great vigour and intensity. The Arabs were the firstto cross into India. A{ter them came the turn of Persians,

Mangoles and Pathans. As time passed, the Muslim invadersestablished their kingdoms in India and forcibly convertedmillions of Hindu men, women and children to Islam at thepoint of the sword. The result was a clash between theHindu civilizations and, as was natural, Hindus being dis-organised, weak, oppressed qnd persecuted, their religioussystem got demoralised.

DemoralisationIn course of time, signs of degeneration appeared among

Muslims also. The ruling classes corrupted by power and

wealth, forgot the high principles of religion and becameslaves of formalism and routine. The masses who weremostly descendants of the converts were devoid of truereligious spirit and being ignorant and unlettered, like themajority of their Hindu compatriots, became prey to the

3

same sort of evils to which the latter had succumbed. Theresult rvas that the bulk of the population, Hindus as wellas lvluslims, r.vere victims of degradation, politically, morallyand socially. Most Hindus inr,vardly professed theirancestral faith but outwardly tried to adopt Muslim customsand manners in order to please their rulers. Guru Nanakdescribed their condition in the following r,vords:

"You tax the cow and the Brahrnin; you cannot be saved by thecow-dung.

You rvear a loin-cloth, sacriffcial mark, and a rosary;yet you earn your living frorn those r.vhom you call'Malechhas.'

You perform the Hindu worship in private;yet, O' my brothers; you read the books ofMohamrnaclens and adopt their manners.

Those who devour men, yet read the Nimaz;Those who ply the dagger have sacred strings on their necks,

They trade in lies with the capital of falsehood, and earn theirfood by speaking lies.

With all their sacred marks on the forehead and their loin-clothstucked in behind,

They are butchers of the world, with daggers in their hands.

They wear blue clothes in order to be acceptable to the rulingclass.

They earn their living from those '"vhom they call 'Malechhas';

yet they worship the Purenas.Thev eat meat of a goat killed in the Mohammadan fashion, with

the unutterable words pronounced on it.Yet they allow no access to their cooking squares,. '. '. .

But their bodies are already defiled by their foul deeds,

And their hearts are firlse even while they rinse their mouths."

As regards the persons in authorittz, Gurr- Nanak's verdicton them was as belorv:-

"The age is like a clrawn sworcl. The kings are butchers

in the gloom of falsehood. The moon of truth is never seen and

the larv of life has taken r.vings".

Conditions when Guru Nanak appearedIndubhushan Banerjee in the first volume of his book

"Evolution of the Khalsa" thus sums up the religiolrs condi-

tion of the people prevailing at the time Guru Nanak was

born:-"At the time of Guru Nanak's aclvent, religion, there rvas

none. The spirit of both Hinduism and Islam u'as hidden beneath

a mass of formalities and extraneous observances. 'fyranny reigned

supreme; the tyltrnny of might, the tyranny of forms and the

tyranny of names. The unity of the Coclheatl was lost in the

rvolship of numerous, 'avtars' and deities, 'pils' and 'dargal'rs';

pilgrimages and emptv ritualistic practices had taken the place ofthe real devotion of the heart; blind faith and superstition had

driven truth away. The Hindus and the Mohammadans cluar-

relled, the Brahman and the Mullan rvlrrngled, social and politicalinequalities reigned ramPant and there was strife, eternal strife,

everyrvhere".

Medieval SaintsBefore the advent of Guru Nanak, in fact even before

the beginning of Muslim invasions, many earnest, pious and

religious-minded persons among the Hindus had raised theirvoices against the prevalent practices that were underminingthe religion and corrupting the society. Some of them be-

came quite popular and the movements started by them didimmense good. In view, hoy'ever, of the fact that theirobject merely was to rid the Hindu Society of certain evils,

they never thought of interfering rvith the fundamentalstructure of Hindu religion. What I mean is that they were

all reformers and none of them ever thought of giving the

people a new religion. Dealing with this subject in theForeword written to Puran Singh's "Book of the Ten }\4asters",

this is what Earnest Rhys writes:

"Indeed the monastic tendencv of Hindu philosophy and

Hindu life had by Nanak's time well-nigh killed the spirit of

religion in India. After manv ages, the sense of religious visionhad iirvakenecl in the mediaeval Bhagats, under the leadership ofthe Hindu philosopher, Ramanuja. But he coulcl not found hisnew religion of mysticism without torturing the Vedant philosophy;this religious movement clid little beyond producing a fe* Bhagatswho were something between monks ancl householclers, ,"pi lntheir own metaphysictrl reverie, The only exception was iabir,a weaver; a N{ussalman by birth, whom Ramanand won as hisdisciple more thr.ough the latter's enthusiasm than the formertchoice. Kabir by his inheritance of N,Ioslem ideas, was well fittedto shock those follorvers. of Hinduism whose ritual went bv thename of religion. He clearecl the air, and his ,u-" iod*r,is

- the only bright and living memorv of the awakening

leci bv Ramanu;'a and Ramnnand. But neither Kabir nor Ramananlhnd that mastery over the ltrws of spiritual life that would haveenabled them to create a nerv spirit in India. They were voicesof reform, but lacking the original po$,c-r at rvhose signal thegraves would open ancl the dead arise from their sleep. Stillrve do see in their arvakening the forerunner of the coming ofthe N{aster in the Punjab. The Master sarv the darkness,

"rrJ h.

rose to scatter thel ghosts of night under Heaven's own inspiration,and on the authority of his o*'n direct realization of the Truth."

This Master was Guru NanakSorne orthodox Hindus in their desire to preserve the

solidarity of the Hindu community argue that Guru Nanakalso r,vas a Reformer and Sikhism is a sect of the Hinduslike the Shiviets, Vashnavites, Sanatanists, Arya Smajists etcWe respect the sentiments of these Hindu friends, but, asu'ili be sho\-,'n heleafter, Guru Nanak intended to establish,and in frrct did esttrblish, a separate religion. From the startrvlien he made up his mind to preach his gospel, he declaredthat he \,vas neithel a Hindu nor a Moslem. lVhat his reli-gion is, I shall set out later.

Birth & ParentageNanak was born in the year L469 A.D., at a distance of

about 40 miles from Lahore, now the capital of WestPakistan. His father, Mehta Kaloo, u'ho belonged to the

Bedi caste of the Khatris, was emplo)red as a Patwari or an

Accountant with the local N{uslim Chief, Rai Bular. His

mother, Mata Tripta, was a woman of remarkable personalityand greatly influenced the early )/ears of her son. Nanak

had an elder sister, Bibi Nanaki. She $'as attached the most

to her brother and was the firit Person to recognise liisinnate greatness and devotion to God and to be attracted bythe new faith that he propounded.

MiraclesThe earliest chroniclers, who wrote the biograohies of

Guru Nanak, popularly known as Janam Sakhis, like all the

biographers of the kind, have drvelt at length on the miracles

that were attributed to and associated with him. Here are

some of them;-(1) Just as Nanak took his birth, the room in rvhich he made

his appeartrnce got illumined s'ith rr heavenly and clazzlinglight.

(2) A halo of light alrvays surrounclecl his hend.(3) Once wl-ren he went out into fielcls he lav down on the

ground, under the shade of a tree. Later on, though the

sun changeci its course, the shiide on Guru Nanak's face

remaine<l stittionarv.

At another time as h" tJas lving on the ground ancl asleep,

a big cobra came out and snreacl its big hood over his face

in order to protect it against the scorching rays of the sun

that had risen in the meanwhile.

Once when he was still very young, l-re took a herd of cattle

out for grazing. Some of them straved into other people's

crops and fed themselves, to their hearts' content. WhenthJ orvner of the fields turned up ancl found his crop

damaged, he went and complained to the Iocal chief. The

Chief sent for bo1' Nanak and all that he could say indefence was that before any action rvas taken upon the

(4)

(5)

complaint, the allegation that the crop had been actutrllvdamaged, should be verifiecl. Lo! *'hen someone wascommissionecl to go and inspect the spot he found that theentire crop rvas inta'rct ancl no clamage hacl been donewhatsoever.

I do not rvish to enter into discussion regarding the pos-sibility of these miracles, or for the matter of that, whetherthere can happen any miracles at all. The subject thoughinteresting is very intricate and there aue all kinds of opinionsabout it. I have read the viervs of rnany learned men, savantsand scientists, u'ho assert on the basis of their personalexperiences that many an incident, rvhich the common manrvould dismiss as a miracle, pure and simple, has actuallyhappened. Their explanation is that people endowed rvithspirilual and occult powers, are capable of overcoming theordinary laws of nature. Another explanation is that rvhatin case of a miracle is regarded as a violation of tr certainphysical law, is in fact, the phenomenon of a superior larvover-riding an inferior larv. The difficulty of the common manis that while the superior law is not known to him, it isrvithin the grasp of ihe person, who performs the so-calledmiracle. I must admit that my knowledge in the matter islimited and it is not possible for me to pronounce any opinionregarding a spiritual law overcoming and over-riding aphysical lar'v. At the same time, I cannot positively assertthat such a thing cannot.happen at all. Then. during therecent vears, many pliysical laws have been overcome byothel larvs, that rvere not known to us previously. With allthis I do not rvish to refer to the alleged miracles of GuruNanak, because I am personally inclined to think that unlessone is sure of the theory of miracles, it is not advisable tomake them the basis of a great man's spiritual power, andsuch a course may amount to giving credence to any and

every theory. In addition, my conviction is that the great-ness of Curu Nanak, as a religious teacher, does not dependupon his so-called miracles, but on his exalted and pure lifethat he led and the gospel that he propounded.

Another important feature of the janam Sakhis (Bio-graphies) may also be referred to at this stage. The oldestare said to have been written' 60 to 70 years after GuruNanak's death. Later on other biographies were preparedby the votaries and admirers of the Guru. Some mentionof the events of the Curu's life and his mission etc., is alsomade in the Vars (Ballads) of Bhai Gurdas, a devout andprominent Sikh, rvho lived during the time of the fifth Guru.Another work dealing with Guru Ji's life history is 'Dabistan',

vi'ritten by a Muslim writer, under the pseudonym MohsinFani. He was a contemporary of the fifth, sixth and seventhGurus, and according to some writers, a personal friend ofthe sixth Guru, Shri Har Gobind. On the basis of thesebooks, quite a number of persons have rvritten biographicalsketches of the Guru, some of them being fairly full.They include rvriters like Trum and Macauliffe. It is notpossible to say that they all contain authentic and correctdescriptions of the important events of the Curu's life in strictchronological order. This mgy sound a harsh statement, butunfortunately it is true, the reason being that the earliest

Janam Sakhis upon u'hich the subsequent writers have drawn,were neitheruvritten rvith a view to their being strictlyaccurate historical books. nor were they the result of anykind of research. They were prirnarily the works producedby the admirers and votaries of the Guru who deified himand depicted him as one possessed of extra-ordinary super-natural powers, a factor which is common to almost all oldbooks dealing with tlie lives and works of all religious leaders

including scriptures such as Old and Nerv Testaments' Inhis book already rnentioned, Indhubhushan Banneriee has

taken considerable pains in dealing u'ith this aspect of the

matter and in exposing the mistakes in which the earliestrvriters of Janam Sakhis landed themselves.

There is yet another factor bearing on the reliabilityof some Janam Sakhis, particularly those written by sctrrismatic

sects of Sikhs, Udasis, Meenas and Handals. Thev eitherfalsified the old Janam Sakhis or colnposed new ones inwhich they sought to exalt the ranks of their ou'n ancestors

or leaders by inventing stories and introducing fictitiousnarratives. We are told that there existed reliable materialin the shape of old manuscripts from rvhich the authenticitvof contentious incidents contained in the above Janam Sakhis

could be checked, but unfortunately most of the rnanuscriptswhich were preserved in shrines or even by private persons,

were destroyed by Muslims during the time they started acampaign for the persecution and destruction of Sikhs. Forfurther information on this point reader is referred to thewell-known work of Macauliffe.

The object of the above digression is to tell the reader

that all that follows under the present chapter, happenedexactly in the order given. I can, horvever, assert that Ihave conffned myself only to those events about which thereis unanimity among most modern rvriters, 'ivho have devotedsome degree of research and about the existence of whichthere is no reasonable doubt.

Early LifeAbout the early days of Nanak all chroniclers are agreed

that he was handsome, generally healthy, always cheerfuland impressed everyone as an inteiligent and wide-awakechild. When he was old enough to talk or go about, he

displayed afiection and love for his playmates, but at times

he appeared to drarv himself in contemplated moods.

Four incidents have been particularly described in detailin the earliest Janam Sakhis. The first happened when his

father took him to a local teacher (Pandha) to learn the

three R's. The second occurred when he was later placed

under the charge of Mullan Maulvi to be taught Persian.

The third relates to what transpired between boy Nanak

and the family priest rvho was summoned to invest Nanak

with the sacred thread.As regards the first tlo, we are told that instead of

learning the alphabets about which he was given lessons,

l"re ffrst asked his teachers to explain to him what spiritualsignificance the letters had, and then he compiled acrostics

(Pattis) of the full alphabets. At the time of the investitureof the sacred threaci, he argued with the priest that the

whole cerenony rvas useless and could serve no PurPose'because by lapse of time the thread which he was asked towear nust become imrrure and then get broken' He furthersaid to the priest that if the thread was meant for purificationof one's soul, it should be of more permanent character, notrnerely to be put round the neck but to be of some use inorder to enable one to control passions and to resist tempta-

tions. The fourth incident requires to be dealt with in greater

detail. As boy Nanak grerv in age and maturity, he became

more reserved and at times appeared to be morose' His

parents and rvell-u'ishers became alarmed at this unusual

condition of his and suspected him of suffering from some

mental ailment. Accordinglv they called in a physician forhis treatment. When the physician put his fingers on his

patient's pulse in order to diagnose his supposed malady,

Guru Ji remarked that the trouble that he u'as taking, was in

10 11

vain, because his was the disease not of the physical bodybut of the spirit. He further told the physician that he wassuffering from the pangs of separation from his beiovedi.e. his Maker.

The Sliabads (hymns) which young Nanak came outu'ith, on the above occasions, are among the finest of ]riscompositions and are all preserved in Gurr Granth Sahib*along with the rest of his compositions. A question is askedwhether he was capable of giving expression to such highclass verses and lofty thoughts at that unripe erge. Theexplanation is that having been specially endorved rvithspiritual insight and vision of God, there was notiring sur-prising in what he thought and said. There are any numberof instances of great men giving evidence of their intuitionand inner knowledge in the early years of their lives. Prodi-gies are come across even in the present times, whose knorv-ledge, grasp and ability baffie human experience and under-standing.

The rest of Guru Nanak's life can be divided into threeperiods. The first ended with his sojourn at Talrvandi, wherehe was employed as the Modi, Store Keeper, of the LodhiNawab i.e. up to the age of about 25 years. This might beregarded as the period of preparation and final decisionregarding the mission which he was to accomplish in life.The second consists of that part of the Guru Ji's life, rvhichhe spent in going about the world, preaching his gospel.According to the Janam Sakhis, he rnade 5 itineraries rvhichare called Udasis. It was in the course of these travels thathe composed most of his hymns and Shabads. The thirdperiod commences from the time when at the age of about52 he settled down at Kartarpur and spent there his last days.* Holy Book

Sojourn TalrvandilVe start with the first period with the knowledge that

the parents of young Nanak, who had then attained the ageof seven, were highly dissatisfied with his lvay of life. Hehad refused to receive what little education was availableduring those days, as he would not take lessons either fromthe Pandha or the Mullah. We have, however, reason tobelieve that he did not remain illiterate. On the other hand,his vast and varied compositions leave no doubt that he notonly knew how to read and write, but he also learnt Persianand acquired knorvledge of the prevalent lore of Hindu andN{uslims. This he probably did when he became adult andrnostly by association rvith the Hindu and Muslim anchoritesand divines i.e. Sadhus, Pirs, and other learned men, wholived in the jungles surrounding his village and with whomhe frequently associated. His father had hoped to get himeducated and initiated into business as befitted the scion ofa respectable family, and in order that he should be able toearn a comfortable living. Nanak, however, did not sharehis father's aspirations and had his eyes upon the missionthat he had before him. Before giving him up as hopeless,N{ehta Kalu sent him out with a small sum for investing it ina profitable business. A pereon called Bala of the villager.as commissioned to accompany him. Nanak agreed tocarry out his father's r,vishes and taking Bala with him wentstraight towards Chuhar Kana. On the way, while passingthrough a jungle, at a place which later on became knownas Sacha Sauda (True Bargain) because of r,vhat Nanak didthere, he came across a number of faqirs. He learnt thatthey were mendicants and were spending their days in medi-tation upon God. He also learnt that they were not in thehabit of going about begging alms, but depended upon the

72 13

food that was supplied to them by the residents of the neigh-

bouring villages from time to time. As it happened, they

had had nothing to eat for several days. On hearing this

pitiful tale, Guru Nanak ofiered them the money that he had

*ith hi-, but tliey refused to touch it. On this Nanak and

Bala brought some food for them. Thus having spent every

pie, which his father had given him for business, he had no

alternative but to take the return journey. As he feared that

his father rvould be highly displeased on knorving that he

had spent the whole money in feeding the Sadhus, he stayed

outside the village. Bala went home and rvhen he met

Mehta Kalu, he informed him of u'hat had happened. ]vlehta

Kalu rvas greatly upset and sent for Nanak. He even gave

him some thrashing, but Rai Bular intervened and saved

him from his father's wrath.The last incident, as well as a ferv other incidents of the

kind, convinced Mehta Kalu that it rT'as futile to expect

Nanak to take up any kind of occupation with the object of

improving his worldly prospects. With all this he was bentupon making another efiort by getting his son entangled into

a married life. He succeeded in finding a suitable match

for him and at the age of 19 years, Nanak was married toShrimati Sulakhni, daughter of Baba tr'{ula, of village Batala.

The husband and wife lived on happily for a few years and

two sons rvere born to them, Siri Chand and Lkhmi Dass.

Either because Nanak thought that norv that he had a familyto support, it was proper for him to start earning, or because

his father still continued persuading him to take to worldlyafiairs in right earnest, he agreed to go to Tahvandi, where

his sister's husband Dewan Jai Ram, held a responsible

position under the Lodhi Nawab of tlrat place and throughhis intervention, he rvas put in charge of this Nawab's granary.

He worlied there till 1496. Evidently his charitable dis-position and readiness to meet the wants of the needy hadnot left hirn, and he distributed whatever he earned amongthose who approached hirn for help and succour.

This gave an occasion to his detractors to complain tothe Nawab that he rvas squandering his stores. On investi-gation and checking up the stores, the complaint was foundfake, but the indications are that the mere fact that such a

situation could be created made Nanak very unhappy.In a way the time spent by Guru Nanak at Talwandi

rvas crucial and critical. He was a married man and fatherof trvo sons. He rvas holding a responsible position andhad started earning. trn the case of an average person allthese factors could cornbine together in fastening him tightlyto the world and in tliron'ing him into the clutcl-ies of allsorts of attachments, desires, aspirations and ambitions. Onyoung Nanak they had just the opposite effect. The moretirne he had to spend in the worldly affairs, the more im-patient he became to devote greater attention to the activeservice of his Creator. The probability is that when he feltthat his domestic duties were seriously threatening to bindhim down to the life of a householder he hurried to throwoff the yoke and resolved to extricate himself from theroutine into which his people wanted him to get completelyabsorbed.

Final DecisionWe are told that one fine morning he went to the Bein, a

small river that forved near Talwandi, had a long dip in deepwaters and rvhen he came out, he had already determinedto give up the kind of life that he was then leading. Natu-rally this raised opposition from the members of his familyand friends, but the decision had been taken once for all,

L4 15

Guru Nanak was a free man ready to go into the rvide q'orld

for carrying out the mission that awaited him. A glimpse ofrvhat inspired him, is given in his orvn hymns composed on

the occasion. He says:-

"I, the bard of the Lord, \vas summoned to the Coirrt of tbe

True and the Suprerne Master. He gracecl me bv grantitg me

the Khilat of the praise of the true name, I{e fed ne rvith the

nectar of the great truth".

His mission.Guru Nanak's future activities reveal that to make people

knorv the true attributes of God rvas upper lnost in hismission. Next came the propagation of His Name. Since

the sacred books of Hindus as well as Nluslims rvere in the

languages rvhich most people could neither read nor Llnder-

stand, they had become slaves of traditions and in order tohave some idea of their respective religions, they clepend

upon the classes rvho had come to acquire monopolv ofreligious lore, Brahmins among Hindus, Nlullans and Qazisin the case of Muslims. These classes fully exploited theignorance of their sheep and encouraged them to indulgein all kinds of formalities and ceremonies, to observe sym-

bols, to resort to a variety of practices and rituals, such as

fasts, sharadhs, yags and to pay visits to places of pilgrimage,etc. Guru Nanak appears to have realised at a verg earlystage in life the futility of such symbols, rituals and practices,and accordingly he also considered it a part of his missionto take the people out of the grips of the priestly classes

and to make them forego the practices in which the lattermade them indulge.

The Second Period of Nanak's LifeThe Second period of Nanak's life r'vas the most impor-

tant and active, because he spent it wholeheartedly in going

from place to place and giving his heavenly message person-ally to the wide world. As mentioned above, accordingto the rvriters of early Janam Sakhis, he made five itinerariesand this fact has been accepted by later u'riters. Naturallyhe started with the Punjab and visited a large number ofplaces. The ffrst place of importance to rvhich he went, wasSaidpur, norv called Aimunabad.

Lalo & BhagoIt was here that he met Malik Bhago, a Hindu digni-

tary of tlie local Pathan Chief, and demonstrated to him,and to the whole rvorld, that he did not believe in caste orclistinctions between the rich and the poor. He put upr,vith a poor man, named Lalo, who belonged to what wasregarded a lorv caste. N,{alik Bhago happened to thror,r' asumptuous feast and invited the Guru to it. The Guru,declined to accept his invitation. N{alik Bhago rvas annoyedand sent his men to bring the Guru to him. When theGuru arrived and he was asked rvhy he had spurned Bhago'sinvitation to his feast, he said that r.vhile the coarse breadof Lalo was made of milk, earned by him bv the sweat ofhis body, Bhago's dainty dishes rvere polluted rviih theblood sucked out of the sufiering humanity. The storyproceeds that he actually took'both the kinds of foods, onein each hand, and as he squeezed them, milk trickled outof the first and drops of blood from the other. Whetherthis actually happened or not, there cannot be any doubtthat Guru Nanak's words went home to and convinced everyone as to how the poor and the rich made their earningsand further that Guru Nanak was the friend of the poor.In many of his hymns he described himself as low andhumble. At one place he said he was the lowliest of theIow and had nothing to do with the so-called rich and high.

I

l6 T7

After visiting other places in the Punjab, such as Lahoreand Pakpattan, where lived the l2th successor of Sheikh

Farid, Panipat, Kurukeshetra and Delhi, he went to Hardwar,Banaras, Patna, Rohelkhand, Caya, Dacca and Kamraj inAssam. He also visited Ajmer, Nishangpur, Jagan Nath Puriand Cape Comeran. In one of his travels he even crossed

to Ceylon and rvhile reilrrning from there went to a bigYogi Ashram ai Kajliband near Bijapur, Nasik. Bombay,

Surat, Kathiawar, Junagarh, Darvarka and Som Nath. Inthe north he travelled right up to Kashmir. There he visitedSirinagar, then Martand and later on N{ount Samer or Kailash

and N{ansarover lake. On his way back, he passed throughNepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet. In Tibet he went toLassa and other places where we still find ternples held

sacred in his memorv. After that he entered China and

established a Dharamsala at Nanking.

To BaghdadHis itinerary to the rvest included visits to a number of

Muslim religious places where he met renowned MuslirnFaqirs and Pirs. Authentic evidence is available of his visits

to lvlecca, Medina and Baghdad. At the latter place, visitors

are still shown a platform in a corner of one of the rooms

attached to the mausoleum of a saint, called Balol Dana"

rvhich is associated with the name of Guru Nanak' In addi-

tion to the platform, there exists an inscription in a language'

which is the mixture of Arabic, Persian and Turkish, to the

efiect that the divine master "Baba Nanak, Faqir-i-Aulia"'

was there and the building rvas raised in his memory by

seven saints. Mention of this fact is also made by Swami

Anand Charya in his book "The Snow Birds". According

to him, the inscription reads as follows:-

"Here spoke the Hindu Guru Nanak to Faqir Bahlol; forthese sixty rvinters since the Guru left Iran, the soul of Bahlolhas rested on the Master's word like a bee poised on a clarvn-lithoney-rose,"

We are told that from Baghdad the Guru travelled up toBaku, Turan, Ashfahan and certain other places in persiaand from there to Bukhara, Tashkand, Kashgar, yarkand andSamarkand. During his return journey he visited Ktrbul, thecapital of Afghanistan. A Gurudwara at Kabul was built topreserve his memory and another at Askara, nine miles fromKabul. Either whiie coming back from Afghanistan, orduring some other journey, he halted at Husan Abdal, nearTaxila, now called Punja Sahib.

The voluminous compositions of Guru Nanak enshrinedin the Adi Granth indicate that the method adopted by himfor preaching his gospel was to sing his compositions (Sha-bads-Songs) to his audiences in the company of Mardana orto make him sing. We are told that at places he had alsofriendly discussions with Sadhus, Yogis and Faqirs, or. groupsof them, but his usual practice was to appeal to his liear&sby songs. On occasions, he adopted unusual and sort ofdramatic poses or attitudes, in order to attract public atten-tion. Three of these incidences are described by almost allthe writers. One happened af Haridwar. When the Guruwent there he found crowds throwing out handfuls of rvaterfrom the Ganges towards the east. On enquiry he rvas toldthat the water was intended to reach and benefit the soulsof throwers' ancestors in the next world. Without saying aword, he turned towards the rvest, and started throwingwater in that direction. When asked the explanation of hisact, he replied that he had fields at Kartarpur in the punjaband was throwing water for their use. The people laugh-ingly asked how could water reach such a long distance.

II

1B t9

He quietly retorted, "If it is incapable of reaching a fewhundred miles on the face of the earth, surely it is impos-sible for it to get to the other world". The remark convincedhis lister'ers of the futility of the superstitious act in whichthey r,vere engaged.

At MeccaThe second incident happened at Mecca. The Curu

lay tired after a long journey in the open with his feettowards Kaaba, the sacred place of Muslims. A local reli-gious dignitary, when informed, came running to him andasked him what he meant by sl-rowing such a disrespect tothe house of God by turning his feet towards it. The Gurusaid, "I see God in all directions. If you do not agree rvithme, yoLr may turn my feet in the direction in which He isnot". This baffied everyone, because no one could havethe audacity to contend that there \,vas any direction in whichGod did not abide. Guru Nanak's object mainly was to tellthe people that God drvelt all over the world and not in aparticular house or direction and this he succeeded in demon-strating by his rvords and deed.

Panja SahibThere rvas another incident r.vhich though not exactly

similar to the ones just mentioned, can be regarded as some-rvhat analogotis to them. This was at Panja Sahib nearHassan Abdal now in the West Punjab. Guru Nanak andMardana were on their way. When they were at somedistance from Hassan Abdal, which is about 20 miles southof Taxila, once the seat of a famous Budhist Universitv,Mardana suddenly felt thirsty. No water could be seen

nearby. They were told that there was plenty of waterat the top of a solitary hill, where a celebrated Muslim FaqirWali Qandhari, was residing. With Guru's permission

N4ardana went up the hill. The inmates of Wali Qandhari'sshrine asked him what he rvanted. He answered that he.

r'vanted water to quench his thirst. When they learned inthe course of conversation that Mardana was a Nluslim,escorting a Hindu saint, they turned him away saving that-if his companion u'as really a saint, he should be able toproclrre rvater for himself. Mardana came back and relatedlthe whole story to his master. Guru Ji thought that Mardana.had unnecessarily annoyed Wali Qandhari's men by sayinggood things about him i.e. Guru Nanak. So, he asked himto go up once more, apologise for his conduct and beg for'water. N{arCana again ascended the hill and implored forwater. \\/ali Qandhari's men instead of being moved bypoor Mardana's condition and his second journey up the'hill in th:rt weather, became more defiant and forciblv ttirnedbim out telling him that he should ask his master to dralvthe u'ater for him. On Mardana's return and after hearing"

the account of his second trip from him, Guru Nanak smiledand stirred the earth rvhere he was sitiing with his hands.

In an instant clear and limpid water started gushing out.

Either this affected the water at the hiil, because it rvas thatu,ater th:rt had forind its rvay down the hill, or for some other^

reason, \tr'ali Qandhnri lost his temper and rolled dorvn ar

big boulder frorn above. As the boulder reached the piacev'here Guru Nanak and N{ardana were sitting, Guru Nanak

held it up with one of his hands. The place rvherefrom

the r,r'ater came out has now been converted into a beautiful'tank laid rvith marble, and quite close to it, stands tiratboulder r,vitl'r the impression of Guru's hand. It is because

of this that the place is called Panja Sahib (Panja meaning

impression of the palm). Adjoining the tank there is a biqtemple. Tradition is that after Mardana had quenched his,

,,f.

.l

t

I

N

2l

rthirst and the episode became known to everyone, Wali'Qandhari met Guru Nanak. They botli had a friendly dis-

course and exchange of thoughts. Wali Qandhari was im-pressed by Guru Nanak's piety and devotion to God andthey parted as friends.

In the course of his extensive travels Guru Nanak met.a large number of persons, some of rvhorn became his ardentdisciples and propagated his gospel. N4ention is made inthe Janam Sakhis and Biographies of the follor'ving:

,Sajjan ThagThis man lived near Talamba, which is now a part of

.Assam District. He had built a mosque and a temple and

"also a spacious building, where rvalfarers were allor,ved torest for the night. From the way a stranger coming to the

place was received and entertained, he could not have the;slightest suspicion- about the bonafides of Sajjan, who was

the owner of the place, but when night fell and the strangerlay asleep rvithout any idea of the snare into which ire hadfallen, he was overpowered, robbed of u'hatever he had, andvery often killed. When Guru Nanak and Ndardana arrivedthev were given a reception more cordial than usual, because

'Guru Nanak's appearance made Sajjan think that he was a

rich person, possessed of jewels and gold. In the eveningthev were offered food and drinks. Guru Nanak refusedto take anything. Sajjan then persuaded Guru Nanak andMardana to retire. The Guru smiled and told Sajjan that'he was a Faqir not used to cosy beds and would take care,of himself. Sajjan left them and r,r'aited for his opportunity.A short time later Sajjan heard heavenly music coming from'the Guru's room. He was ffrst surprised but rvhen he heardand understood what the music rl'as about, his eyes were,opened. He came to the Guru, touched his feet and begged

22 23

forgiveness for his past acts, promising at the same time thathe would not only give up the evil ways but rvould dedicate

his life to spreading Guru Nanak's message. We are told-

that he became an ardent Sikh Missionary.

Jagan Nath PuriAfter visiting \{ultan, the home of Muslem Faqirs, Guru

Nanak went to Jagan Nath Puri, a famous place of pilgrimageon the east-rvest of India. There is a huge temple where

every morning and evening people collect to perform Artibefore ttrre image of god by waving with their hands salvers,

containing flowers, scent, lighted Chirags (deevas) etc' GuruNanak not only refused to join that Arti, but recited hisr

famous hvmn describing the Arti that he would perforrnbefore his God. The r'r'ords of the Arti are:-

"The whole heaven is the salver; The sun and the moon

are lamps therein, Countless little stars zrre pearls' beside. The

r,vinds clo fan Him q'ith "ch:ruris' unseen. The perfume rising from

millions of flou'ers, plants and trees on the earth, is the incense

ofiered to Him in His temple of the universe. How wonderfulis Thy Arti, O Lord, thaf is being thus performed; unbeaten'

enclless music of the whole creation resounds like trumpets beyond

number."

Noor Shah 'At Karnroop in Assam, which was notorious for magic

and mysticism, the Guru met the beautiful enchantress, Noor

Shah. She had become notorious for tempting and morally

ruining man)i a person, who fell in her clutches' At first,'

Mardana alone went to her place. He was subjected to all

sorts of hypnotic influences. Later on, when Guru Ji came'

to his rescue, Noor Shah tried to influence him too, but failed.

Eventually, she realised that she was in the presence of a

real man of God. She not only expressed her remorse, but

became a devout disciple of the Guru, distributed her wealthamong the poor and took to preaching Guru's message.

Sikander LodhiWhen Guru Ji went to Bhai Lalo's place, Strid Pur,

second time, he heard of the tyrannies of the Lodhi R.ulers.

He was captured by Sikander Lodhi's men and detained for{orced labour with Mardana, his manners and beirtrviourso strucl< his captors that they brought him to the notice ofthe Emperor. He was released and on his recommendationothers rvere also set free. He was however, deepiy totichedwith the pitiful state of people's sufferings and in propheticr,vords he described what the lot of the countrv rvas going tobe and q'hat terrible time she was going to pass throughat the hands of another tyrant, who rvas being tempted tothe land by the iniquitous rule of the Lodhis and who rvas

going to force the reins of the Empire out of the latter'shand. This is rvhat he said:

"As the Word of the Lold doetl'r come to me, even so do Imake it knou'n to thee, O Lalo. With a mighty host, in terriblehaste, will he hasten hithel from Kabul, like a briclegroom, butrvith a huge crowd of sins ancl licence as his bridal party. Withbrutal force will he clemand the gift of India's wealth as, his bride,O Lalo, Woe ancl misery will clisfigure this luckless land. N'{odesty,

honour and righteousness will all disappear. Evil and shameless

vice will hold the ffelcl, O Lalo dear. Brahmins and Qaziswill no longer be callecl in to solemnize conjugal unions. Thedevil himself rvill do that job; O Lalo, rape and rapine will bethe orcler of the day; no \47oman will they spare, though Hinduor Muslim she be. The Muhammaclan women will in soul's deepagony, read Aloud their holy book, and in a piteous moan willcall upon God, O Lalo. The Hindu women of all castes, highand low, will suffer the same terrible rvoe. Human bodies willbe cut into pieces like shredg of cloth. India will find this savingof mine to be wholly correct. In '78 will they come and in '97depart; another disciple of a hero, will also rise in the land.

24 25

Nanak hath spoken the word of the True Lord now, and willproclaim the rest when these things clo actually come to pass. . . . "

Evidently, tire prophecy referred to the advent of Babar,rvho invaded India thrice and eventualll' defeated IbrahimLodhi in tr526. It is mentioned in some biographies thatthe armies of Babar, when they.marched through Saidpur,took hold of a large number of people, including Guru Nanakand N{ardana, rvho also happened to be there. SomehowCuru Nanak came to attract the attention of Babar's rnenand he was talien before him. It is further stated that Babaroffered him rvine. The Guru told him that his u'ine couldhave only a temporary efiect, r,vhiie the wine that he hadquafied had intoxicated him permanently. Babar then askedGuru Ji if he could do anything for him. The Guru sug-gested to him to release everyone rvhom he had captured.And tliis was done.

At Gorakhpur, rvhere he met the follorvers of Gorakh,called Yogis, he had a long discussion wiih them. This ispreserved in the Adi-Granth as "Sidh Gosht".

Kartar PurAfter one of his later itineraries, v'hen Cum Nanak

r:eturned to the Punjab, he found a place on the banks of theRavi, near Pakhowal, and buflt a house for l-rimself. Thisplace was later on called Kartarpur, the abode of God, andlike Talwandi, it is also a part of the West Pakistan nor,v.

At the end of his last itinerary, Guru Ji settled down there.His wife and children also joined him. There he spent thelast days of his life, till Sept. 22, 1539 A.D. he was finallycalled away by the Master in whose service he had spenthis life.

Baba BudhaThere he made two important converts. One was a

young boy, who impressed the Guru by the keen interest

ir" tJot in his discourses. He is remembered in the Sikh

history as Bhai Budha and he lived right up to the time

of Guru Arjan, the 5th Guru.

Guru AngadThe

"second person, r'vhom the Guru picked up and

honourecl, was an otditlt man named Lehna' He rn'as origin-

ally a devotee of the goddess Durga and once rvhile l'ie was

on his way to Durga's shrine at Vaishno Devi, he halted at

Kartarpur, because lle had heard so much about Guru Nanak

and rv'anted to see for himself rvhether he could satisfy his

hunger for spiritual knorviedge, which notrvithstanding his

man], visits tL Durga's place, had still remained unsatisfied.

He had hardly spent tr'vo days at Kartarpur, r'vhen he came

to feel that tirat rvas the place where he would find what

he tiacl been in search of. Accordingly, he decided to stay

on. In a very short time he became one of the devoted and

devout Sikhs of Guru Nanak and spent most of his time in

serving him. The Guru on his part was also struck with

Lehna;s earnestness and faith. He subjected him to one or

trvo tests and on both occasions Lehna fully came up to the

mark. Gurn Nanak then asked him his name' He said he

rvas known as Lehna. Guru Ji felt happy and observed'

"Yes, you are really a Lehna and I believe that you have tc'

recover from me a debt that I owe to you'" (The worcl

'Lehna' means a debt to be recovered)' After sorne time

u,hen Guru Nanak realised that his earthly days were soon

going to be over, he decided to appoint Lehna as his suc-

!"rro.-r, and rvith the help of Bhai Budha, he installed him as

such bv giving him the name of Angad' After Guru Nanak's

death itiru Angad became the second Guru of the Sikhs'

2627

CHAPTER II

Religion of Guru Nanak

Guru Nanak never sat dorvn like a philosopher to rvritea thesis on religion nor did he lav dorvn intricate and ela-

borate doctrines or dogmas. He was essentially a poet and

saint and as a true poet he sang of lris Beloved, whom he

believed to be his Creator and the Creator of the entireIJniverse. Accordingly, in order to be able to understand

his religion, all that we have to do is to study his shabads

(hymns), contained in Guru Arjan Dev's Adi Granth'However rve should not forget that Guru Nanak lvas

by nature a man of peace and goodwill, and hence, even

when he wanted to denounce a practice or a ritual, or ]'re

desired to impugn the position that certain religious ieaders

claimed for themselves, or their followers ascribed to them,

he avoided using strong words. Evidently he was aware

that by nature, an average person is proud of his faith, and

would like to stick to the routirre prescribed by it. So invari-ably he would concede his right to keep to his ways, but at

the same time he tried to induce him to substihrte what he

(the Guru) regarded as correct and proper for what was

prevalent. For example, when he was asked to put on the

sacred thread (Janioo) he told the priest that he was pre-

pared to use one, provided instead of tlre ordinary cotton

thread, and its knots and twists, it was made of Inercy,

contentment, continence and truth. He also told the priest

that if he could produce a Janioo of that kind, he rvould

put it round his neck, because it would neither break norb""o*" dirty, nor rvill it burn or get lost. Similarly, whileaddressing a Muslirn and talking to him about his practiceof saying five prayers he told him that he agreed that'thereare five times or five prayers and there are five names forthem,' but he also added that his prayer is first truth, second

larvful earning, third to beg the grace of God {or all, the

fourth the right intention in mind and the fifth, the praise

of the Lord. Again addressing the Muslim about his other

practices, he said:-"Let good conduct be thv fasting,Let recognition of God be thv Wazifa

(Recitation of the holY u'ord)

From what has been said in the first chapter regarding

the conditions prevailing in India at the time Guru Nanak

appeared on the scene, the reader must have formed some

idea of ritualism, formalism and superstitions, that had taken

the place of true religion. Among others several orders ofYogis had assumed importance and had come to wield consi-

derable influence over the Hindu masses. They had theirpeculiar symbols and practices about which thev were verystrict. They had their ears bored and put on ear-rings ofall kinds. They rvent about begging alms and put them

in wallets that they kept hanging over their shoulders. Thev

also held stafis and u'herever they rvent they shouted theircharacteristic slogans and declared that they had an organi-

sation (panth) of their own. In Pauri 28 of the Jnp Ji whichrvas evidently addressed to them, the Guru suggested to'

them to put on the ear-rings of contentment, to make humi-lity a begging bowl, rub the body with ashes of contempla-

tion, make knowledge of death their gabardine and be

(chaste and humble like) a virgin. They were further told

28 29

that they should make faith in God as their stocks and insteadof the Ayee' order to which they belonged they shouldregard themselves as members of the universal brotherhood.In the 29th Pauri the Guru advised the Yogis to make rvisdomtheir sustenance, compassion their steward etc.

GodThe first and the outstanding lesson that u'e learn by the

study of the Guru Nanak's compositions is that belief in Godwas intuitive with him. It may be u'eil described in theterm so rvell-knorvn in mathematics as 'ariornatic truth'. Henever required proof in support of God's existence nor didhe ever make any effort to advance arguments to establishit. The perusal of his life history, rvhich has been brieflyrecounted in the first chapter of this pamphlet, reveals tl-iathe ever lived rvith God and perpetually found himself inHis presence. His God is the God of the rvhole humanity,irrespective of the creed, the colour, the status and the sexof human- beings. In the Mul Mantra of jap jee, the veryfirst r.vord used for God, is Ek Onkar. Onkar *"urrs orr"God and is a very familiar name of God used in manv Hinduscriptures, but in order to emphasise His oneness, CuruNanak added the numeral I to it. Ek-onkar can be translateclas 'But one God'. Evidently Guru Nanak intended to con_vey the idea that God of his conception was not the headof a Pantheon i.e., galaxy of Gods and Godders"s. [tre r,vasthe only God, the only Deity and there was no one else rvhoshared His functions and attributes, or could be called Godin the sense in which Guru Nanak's God rvas. This descrip_tion of God at once puts the religion that Guru Nanak el-pounded on a footing distinct from tlie Hindu religion orany sect thereof.

The second attribute of God that Guru Nanak laid

down is, that He is Truth personifted (SATNAM). Literallythe pbrase means, "His name is Truth". This signifies that,

according to Guru Nanak, if God is to be given a nome:r-

clature in order that we should identify Him, 'Truth' is the

only word that is available for this purpose. This covers

botlr ttre aspects that are implied in the term. (i) Real and

not illusory and (ii) Eternal, ah,'i'avs existing, having neither

beginning nor end. According to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan

'Real' also means exempt from all changes and persistent

for all times. This fact is further made clear by Guru Nanak

in the last words of the same Mul Mantra, wherein he says,

'True in the beginning, has been True for all times, True

even now and shall remain True forever' (Ad sach, iugadsach, hai bhi sach, Nanak hosi bhi sach')

The third attribute of God is, that He is the Creator

and Person (Karta Purkh). Everything that you see' or can

conceive of in the world, including physical matter, spirit,all powers and forces, all laws to which they are subiect and

according to which they work, have been brought intoexistence by God. While God exists by Himself, everything

else orves its existence to Him. In stating this Guru Nanak

took particular care to make it clear that God was not a

mere force or an energv or a law or a system, but He is aPerson possessed of \Vi11, Design, Benevolent qualities, such

as \4ercy etc. Guru Nanak further taught that God had'grace' (Nadar) 'lvhich he bestorved upon His creatures, in

addition to allowing them to benefit by or sufier for theiracts, and did not act like a machine or an autontation. Some

commentators of Jap Jee have interpreted the rvord Purkhas meaning 'imminent, all pervading', but as I explained inmy commentary (Jap Yiyakhaya), this view appears to be

incorrect.

30 31

Then it is mentioned in the N{ul N{antra that God islvithout fear, without enmity, deathless and not subject tothe phenomena of transmigration, exists by Himself and canbe achieved by the grace of the Guru.

The necessary implication of the above attributes ofCod, particularly the one that he is not subject to birth anddeath is, that according to Guru' Nanak, there can be noincarnation of God and the Hindu theory that God appearsin the world every now and then in the garb of a iruman-being, with a view to helping and guiding His creatures, isnot tenable. This is another factor bearing on our conten-tion that Guru Nanak's religion is distinct flom Hinduism.

In parts of Jap Jee, which has been rightly regardedas the key to Guru Nanak's other compositions and in fact,to the rvhole of Adi Granth, several other attributes of Godare described, the most important of which are, He pen'adesthe minutest molecule and atom of tlre universe, He is allknowing and He is All Powerful.

At several places in Jap Jee, and in other compositionsof his also, Guru Nanak refers to gods and goddesses, r,vho

according to the Hindu mythology, perform ?-nportant func-tions. This has made certain writers think that he believedin the existence of such deitieso This view is incorrect. Ashas been observed earlier, Guru Nanak, while addressingfollowers of different religions, generally refrained from con-demning them. On the other hand, lre adopted the line ofargument that, even if what they believed were correct, theessential truth was that God was all powerful, and His will,Law, etc., always predominates and not that of gods andgoddesses who, if they exist at all, are subordinate to Him.In pauri No. 30 of Jap Jee he clarified the position in so rnanywords. He observed that according to the common belief

'Maya'had union with the Supreme Being and brought forththree deities-Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, who perform theirrespective functions, but the truth is that God carries on and

manages the whole system according to as He rvills'trt is thus clear that mere mention of a particular god

or goddess or phenomenon does not commit Guru Nanak

to any belief in his, her, or its function. The supreme test

to be applied to cases of this type is whether such a beliefin the existence of a particular god, goddess or phenomenonis consistent with the fundamental attributes of God givenin the Nlool Mantra of Jap Jee or in the other compositions

of his dealing with the same subject. So far as gods and

goddesses are concerned the Mool Mantra leaves no doubtthat Guru Nanak could not have believed in their existence.-

He states that God is the only Creator, and All Powerfulas He is, there could be no need for him to emplov any god

or goddess to help Him in His functions' In any case GuruNanak strongly deprecated the worship of such gods and

goddesses even if they existed. He allorved the rvorship ofonly one God. He savs:-

"The god ancl goddesses are rvorshipped, O'brother! whatought we beg and rvhat ought can they give; (They are just likea) Stone in water. O' brother! it sinks clown in it."At another place he says:-"They worship the sewantsBut do not see the Lord (God)."

One of his successors rendered his injunction in thefollorving words:-

"Remember onl1' One who pervades etrrth and rvater, Whyremember any other rvho is born and dies."

SoulAs regards the human-being, Guru Nanak taught that

his physical body enshrines the soul (jeev atma) rvhich is

32 r)r)

quite distinct from the gross matter of which the body iscomposed, and both are created by God. The soul has dif-ferent functions- It does not die along with the physicalbody and is liable to take another body after his piesentbody becomes unfit to contain him. He belier.ed in Ava_Gavan (Transmigration of soul). In some systems of Hinduphilosophv, in addition to God,''Jeev' (soul) and .prakirti'(matter) are also believed to be eternal. Guru Nanak repelledthis theory. According to him, both are created by Gocl andthe functions of the one are distinct from those ol the other.

"God htrs causecl the union of bocly ancl soul; He who createclthem can separate them."

(Nlaccnlauf: paqe 985)

Wherefrom God created soul and matter is a subjectu,ith rvlrich Guru Nangk did not bother himself.

Caste SystemA very irnportant corollary from Guru Nanak's above

teaching is that the soul is the creation of God, that all hunranbeings are equal in His eyes, that they are all the sons anddaughters of the same Father. Accordinglv, he condemnedthe caste system and called the distinctions created by rnan onthe basis of castes as useless, and without any substance.He atrso said that one'5 caste,depended upon one's deeds.He deprecated the practice of treating rvomen as inferior tomen.

MayaSome Hindu philosophers like Sankara believed that the

world is an illusion (Nfava) and it has no existence in fact.Guru Nanak's view on this point is quite difierent. He heldthat even though the w-orld is not eternal and like all pheno-mena created by God, has a definite span of life, it isnone the less real, because it has been created rvith a pur-

f,)ose. That purpose, Guru Nanak saicl, was to enable man

io attain to God. One of his successors namely, Shri Curu

Ram Dass, the third Guru of the Sikhs, explained the above

saying of Guru Nanak in these rvords:

"l{an, you have obtained the human bodv' This is thy

opportunity to attain to your God."

RenunciationBecause of the importance that Guru Ji attacl-red to the

world, he was opposed to the renunciation of the rvorldly

life.

NamThe only method, according to Guru Nanak by rvhich

man can accomplish the above object of life is Nam. The

word 'Nam' literally means 'the name'; and ordinarily, it is

understood as the repetition of God's name.

But at several places in his compositions, Guru Nanak

and his successors have explained that mere repetition ofGod's name is not sufficient. \{lhat is essential is tl-lat one

should always bear Him in mind, think of Him, meditate on

Him, and make Him dwell within himself. Now, in order

that God should dwell in a human l'reart, it is imperative thatthe heart should be pure; free from all kinds of evil' Andr.vhen one's heart is pure; his deeds must also be pure. So,

Curu Nanak laid down that only he can slrccessfullv derive

real benefit from Nam, who is a man of pure thoughts and

deeds. These teachings of Curu Nanak, Guru Arjan main-

tained, constitute the highest of all religions. His rvords

are "The highest of all religions is to remember God and tobe of pure deeds."

Arising directly from the value of tlre purity of thoughts

and deeds is the question, whether a Inan is free to think or

act as he desires, or he is just a tool in the hands of his pre-

34 35

destined fate. So it is desirable at this stage to say a fewrvords regarcling the theories of Karma and fate. The Guru'sobservations on these topics are many and varied. The mostsignificant of them is "Not a tree moves without God's order.'"There are also any number of other observations which, lite-rally interpreted, signify that nothing in the world happensu'ithout the will of God and consequently, no man can moveeven lris little ffnger unless he is ordained to do so. Thisis taken_-to imply that a human being does not possess anyfree will and r.vhatever he does, whether *rorrg or righl,he does as God has ordained him to do. An average mancannot be blamed if he is baffied by such like observationsand becomes a fatalist. In case of many persons the theoryof fatalism does not do much mischief. On the other hand,it makes a man resign to his fate contented with his lot.invariably with some such remark: "Well this is what goodGod has ordained and whether I like it or not, I have toundergo what is in store for me". But fatalism strictlypursued can also lead to a man's degeneration. He is bornin circumstances that apparently leave him no scope forimprovement or progress. The difficulties with rvhich hefinds himself surrounded, may be insurmountable, but underthe belief that they are heaped upon him by God to punishhim, he dare not make anv efiort to overcome tirem. This,i" T{ opiniorr, is against the spirit of Guru Nanak's teachings_As I have already said, according to him man is created LyGod and his soul was put in human body in order to enablehim to attain to Him. If his hands and feet be fettered bysomething which he cannot change or evade or overcomeunder any circumstances, how can he achieve the objectiveof his lifeP In addition, since the entire world is God'screation and God, as we are taught by Guru Nanak, is Truth

iand embodiment of virtue, how can He tolerate that a single

human being should lag behind in the march towards the

.goal? One can understand a person who deliberatelv in-

d,tlg"t into vice, creating obstacles in his way, but endowed

,as he is with qualities that are inherent in every human

soul, it should be possible for him to improve his lot and

ultimately to push forward with God's blessings. This con-

tention is supported by Guru Nanak's own words such as

"As you sow, so shall you reaP"' At another place the Curu

Ji said "You shall be as you act" meaning thereby that if.you commit an evil act, you wiII becon-re evil, that is to say,

you rviil be punished for your deeds. Norv if a man is just

the slave of his fate and he can act only as ordained, how

can he be punished for what he does?

The impression that I have formed by reading Guru

Nanak's compositions over and over again is' that there is

rro real contradiction between the two kinds of his observa-

tions mentioned above. N{an is given the faculty to tlrinkto resolve, and to act. Whatever he does he is to bear the

Jruit of it; it may be bad, il may be good. This depends

on the nature of his act and the intentions underlying it'But he should not forget that he is not completely a free

agent. The world in whicjr he lives is governed by laws,

some of rvhich are known to man and some he is still tryingto know. It is impossible to think that limited as his intellector capacity is, he can know or completely understand each

and every law. Then there are forces of nature that are

controlling the universe. Man has started acquiring control

over some of them, bui by the very nature of things, ire can

never master them all and completely. The fact that what

we do is subject to the operation of laws and circurnstances

by which we are surrounded, explains what I have said

36 .tl

above, that man is not completely a free agent. Withinthese limitations he is free to think and act.

In addition, man's life is limited. It is microscopicallysmall as compared to the life of the universe. Ftre can see

things only within a limited distance. His vision and imagi-nation are also resfricted. This cannot be said of God. Hesees things not only as they ar6 but as they shall shapefinally, even as a result of your and my actions. So, whenGuru Nanak talks of God's will and commands, he refers tothe ultimate shape that the things will take, and from whatI have said above it will be clear that this does not a$ectman's free will.

Dr. Radha Krishnan has discussed the subject in hisbook "The Hindu View of Society." He says:-

"The principle of Karma reckons rvith the material or contextin which each inctrividual is born. While it regards the past as

determined, it allorvs that the future is only conditioned. Thespiritual element in man allows him freedom rvithin the Iimitsof his nafure. Man is not a mere mechanism of instincts. Thespirit in him can triumph over the automatic forces that try toenslave him....We can use material with which we are endowedto promote our ideas. The cards in the game of life are givento us. \tr/e do not select them. They are traced to oul pas,t

Karmas. But we can call as we please, lead what suit we willand as we play we gain or lode, and there is freedom."

. ... (Page 75)

Later on, he observed, "The theory of Karma allowsman the freedom to use material in the light of his know-ledge. N{an controls the uniformities in nature, his or,vn

mind and society. There is, thr-rs, scope for genr-rine nationalfreedom, while in determinism, chance leads to a false fatal-ism" (pn. 75-76).

Different religions have different views regarding thepurpose and objective of human life. The Budha taught

his disciples to attain Nirvana - annihilation and freedom

from pain and sorrow. The predominant Hindu idea

was that of Moksh, which should, on one hand,

free a man from the cycle of births and deaths thattransmigration involves, and on the other, merges the

Jeev Atrna into Brahm. For the attainment of Moksh dif-ferent schools of philosophy prescribed different methods in-cluding adoption of s).mbols, observation of a variety of

rituals and practices such as sacrifice, Yajna, Barats, HathYog, Paranayam Jap (recitation of sacred texts) and Tap etc.

Guru Nanak did not accept any of these methods or practices

and asked his Sikhs to concentrate only on Nam' His view-

point is that symbols on the whole have not much efiect

upon man's spiritual progress and so far as rituals and prac-

tices are concerned, whatever may have been the originalpurpose or object for introducing them, in the long run they

completely absorb man's attention and by becoming ends inthemselves, they prevent him from attaining to God. Evident-ly, he had learnt from his own experience that Nam was the

only method by which man could come nearer his Maker,

day after day, and ultimately reach Him. The experience

of those who have followed Guru Nanak's injunctions faith-fully and assiduously is that the method laid down by himis simpler than others and at the same time wholly successful.

It now remains to deal with only one other aspect ofGuru Nanak's religion, namely, the place occupied in it bydogmas and doctrines.

Almost all the religions of the world have certain dogmas

and doctrines, the belief in which is regarded as an essential

feature. I will conffne here only to the principal religionsprevalent in India, namely Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.Christianity believes in one God, but there are two dogmas

38 39

in which every Christian is required to believe: One thatin addition to God there exists, and have always existed theSon and the Holy Ghost and further that like God they arealso eternal. The second dogma is that Christ is the Son

of God and that hg was sent to,the world to take on himselfthe sins of humanity in order to save it, and for this purposehe offered himself for cruciffxion. As a logical effect ofthe second dogma, there is a doctrine for all Christians tofollow, namely that faith in Christ alone can save one.

Islam also acknowledges the existence of God andbelieves in His oneness. But along with the belief in God,it has a dogma that Mohammad was the last Prophet andMessenger (Rasool) of God and only he can be saved whoputs faith in him. It has also a number of doctrines forthe guidance of its followers, the principal of which is thatif one has faith in the Rasool and observes all the rituals,such as saying of Nimaz and keeping of fasts etc., one willgo to heaven.

The difierent schools of philosophy of Hindus have dif-ferent dogmas about the existence of God, His occasionalincarnations by which He reveals Himself different gods andgoddesses working side by side with or under His controland guidance and the existencp of the Jeev Atma and thePrakirti that are alleged to be as eternal as God Himself,etc., etc. Since these schools have given rise to differentsects, the followers of each sect are required to subscribe toits respective dogmas and to follow its respective doctrines.It is unnecessary to dilate on them. All that need be men-tioned is that very great importance is attached to dogmasas well as doctrines and the common belief is that unless onehas faith in the dogmas of the particular sect to which youbelong and follow its doctrines, one cannot be called religious

in the true sense of the rvord.Guru Nanak, as I have stated above, had only one

dogma, if it can be cailed as such, narnely tlrat there is one

Goct, the Creator of the Universe possessing the attributes

given in the N{ool Mantra. He never attacired any impor-

ior."" o, foruulated a dogma relating to horv God created

the world including Jeev Ahna and Prakirti and horv tlielife evolved in the universe. I'{y personal opinion is that

Gr-rru Nanak must have thought that these or anaiogous

qr-restions, must depend upon each uan's intellig'ence a'ncl

knowledge and as intelligence and knou'ledge must grorv

with rnan's aclvancement, it is unnecessary to pin hin-r dorvn

to a set dogma or doctrines on the point. Er.rdon'ecl as he

was u,ith intuition, he further realisecl that man is bound

to study the rvorking of the lau's of nature and then evolve

theories about how nature functions. Accordinglv, he

carne to the conclusion that belief in all clogmas ercept the

one rvhich l.re considered essential for trris f0llorvers. t:ould

have no real connection with true religion' Similar is his

position as regards doctrines and so he plopounded only one

doctrine, namely that man's object in life u'as to attain to

God and that obieci could be achieved onlv bv Nam,

provided he rvas pure in thought and cleecl'

This is Guru Nanak's religion.

40

Gunu NeNar

IAPII SAHIB _ SHLOK 26

llis goodness cannot be priced or traded,Nor IIis usorshipTters aalued, nor thei.r store;I'rit't'lcss too ore dealers in the rharket sacred\l'ith looa and peace eDerrnore.l'r'rfcct IIi.s luu and ad.ministration,I'rrt'isc IIis weights and measures;

llt,trttrllc.;. His bounty and His omens,Irrlinitr ul(rcr1 in trIis orders.IItttt; ltrit:cles,s Thou art one c&nnot state,'l'ltttst tr.ln sTtoke are mute in adoration,'l'lrt rcotlc,rs of the scriptures expa.tiate,Iltring n:atl, ure lost in learned corusersati,on.'l'ltt' grcut gods Blalvnu and ln&'a do Thee proclaim.Srr rlrr Krir/nw und his maidens fair;Sit tt rtttrl the Saioites do Thee nam,e;'l'ln' Iltulclhas Thou made, Thy nnme bear.'I'ltt tltnnns and the demi-goilsf\lr'tt. ltrattc ntcn, seers and the sai,nted,llrtning discour.sed and discussed!lttr(' spoken and departed. 'Il 'l'hou clidst many more createllttl orrt' could tuty rnore state,Iirtr'I'ltort urt os great as is Thy ploasure,( ) Narra('. T-lutu alone knouest Thy measure.Ilt' tt'lto cluinug to knou blasphemeth,rtrrrl i.s thc uorst among the stupidest"