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Guru Nanak

Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: [gʊɾuː naːnəkᵊ], pronunciation), also referred to as Bābā Nānak ('father Nānak'),[1] was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated worldwide as Guru Nanak Gurpurab on Katak Pooranmashi ('full-moon of Kattak'), i.e. October–November.

Guru Nanak
19th-century mural painting from Gurdwara Baba Atal depicting Nanak
Personal
Born
Nanak

15 April 1469 (1469-04-15)
Rāi Bhoi Kī Talvaṇḍī, Delhi Sultanate
(present-day Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan)
Died22 September 1539 (1539-09-23) (aged 70)
Kartarpur, Mughal Empire
(present-day Punjab, Pakistan)
Resting placeGurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Kartarpur, Pakistan
ReligionSikhism
SpouseMata Sulakhani
ChildrenSri Chand, Lakhmi Das
Parent(s)Mehta Kalu and Mata Tripta
Known forFounder of Sikhism
Other namesFirst Master
Signature
Religious career
Based inKartarpur
SuccessorGuru Angad

Nanak is said to have travelled far and wide across Asia teaching people the message of ik onkar (, 'one God'), who dwells in every one of his creations and constitutes the eternal Truth.[2] With this concept, he would set up a unique spiritual, social, and political platform based on equality, fraternal love, goodness, and virtue.[3][4][5]

Nanak's words are registered in the form of 974 poetic hymns, or shabda, in the holy text of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib, with some of the major prayers being the Japji Sahib (jap, 'to recite'; ji and sahib are suffixes signifying respect); the Asa di Var ('ballad of hope'); and the Sidh Gosht ('discussion with the Siddhas'). It is part of Sikh religious belief that the spirit of Nanak's sanctity, divinity, and religious authority had descended upon each of the nine subsequent Gurus when the Guruship was devolved on to them.

Biography

Birth

 
The Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, commemorates the site where Nanak is believed to have been born.

Nanak was born on 15 April 1469 at Rāi Bhoi Kī Talvaṇḍī village (present-day Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan) in the Lahore province of the Delhi Sultanate,[6][7] although according to one tradition, he was born in the Indian month of Kārtik or November, known as Kattak in Punjabi.[8]

Most janamsakhis (ਜਨਮਸਾਖੀ, 'birth stories'), or traditional biographies of Nanak, mention that he was born on the third day of the bright lunar fortnight, in the Baisakh month (April) of Samvat 1526.[8] These include the Puratan ('traditional' or 'ancient') janamsakhi, Miharban janamsakhi, Gyan-ratanavali by Bhai Mani Singh, and the Vilayat Vali janamsakhi.[9] The Sikh records state that Nanak died on the 10th day of the Asauj month of Samvat 1596 (22 September 1539 CE), at the age of 70 years, 5 months, and 7 days. This further suggests that he was born in the month of Vaisakh (April), not Kattak (November).[10]

Kattak birthdate

 
Birth of Guru Nanak, painting from an 1830's Janamsakhi.

In as late as 1815, during the reign of Ranjit Singh, the festival commemorating Nanak's birthday was held in April at the place of his birth, known by then as Nankana Sahib.[9] However, the anniversary of Nanak's birth—the Gurpurab (gur + purab, 'celebration')—subsequently came to be celebrated on the full moon day of the Kattak month in November. The earliest record of such a celebration in Nankana Sahib is from 1868 CE.[11]

There may be several reasons for the adoption of the Kattak birthdate by the Sikh community. For one, it may have been the date of Nanak's enlightenment or "spiritual birth" in 1496, as suggested by the Dabestan-e Mazaheb.

The only janamsakhi that supports the Kattak birth tradition is that of Bhai Bala. Bhai Bala is said to have obtained Nanak's horoscope from Nanak's uncle Lalu, according to which, Nanak was born on a date corresponding to 20 October 1469 CE. However, this janamsakhi was written by Handalis—a sect of Sikhs who followed a Sikh-convert known as Handal—attempting to depict the founder as superior to Nanak.[12] According to a superstition prevailing in contemporary northern India, a child born in the Kattak month was believed to be weak and unlucky, hence why the work states that Nanak was born in that month.[12]

Bhai Gurdas, having written on a full-moon-day of the Kattak month several decades after Nanak's death, mentions that Nanak had "obtained omniscience" on the same day, and it was now the author's turn to "get divine light."[13]

According to Max Arthur Macauliffe (1909), a Hindu festival held in the 19th century on Kartik Purnima in Amritsar attracted a large number of Sikhs. The Sikh community leader Giani Sant Singh did not like this, thus starting a festival at the Sikh shrine of the Golden Temple on the same day, presenting it as the birth anniversary celebration of Guru Nanak.[14]

Macauliffe also notes that Vaisakh (March–April) already saw a number of important festivals—such as Holi, Rama Navami, and Vaisakhi—therefore people would be busy in agricultural activities after the harvest festival of Baisakhi. Therefore, holding Nanak's birth anniversary celebrations immediately after Vaisakhi would have resulted in thin attendance, and therefore, smaller donations for the Sikh shrines. On the other hand, by the Kattak full moon day, the major Hindu festival of Diwali was already over, and the peasants—who had surplus cash from crop sales—were able to donate generously.[15]

Family and early life

Nanak's parents, including father Kalyan Chand Das Bedi (commonly shortened to Mehta Kalu) and mother Mata Tripta,[16] were both Hindu Khatris and employed as merchants.[17][18] His father, in particular, was the local patwari (accountant) for crop revenue in the village of Talwandi.[19]

According to Sikh traditions, the birth and early years of Nanak's life were marked with many events that demonstrated that Nanak had been blessed with divine grace.[20] Commentaries on his life give details of his blossoming awareness from a young age. For instance, at the age of five, Nanak is said to have voiced interest in divine subjects. At age seven, his father enrolled him at the village school, as per custom.[21] Notable lore recounts that, as a child, Nanak astonished his teacher by describing the implicit symbolism of the first letter of the alphabet, resembling the mathematical version of one, as denoting the unity or oneness of God.[22] Other stories of his childhood refer to strange and miraculous events about Nanak, such as the one witnessed by Rai Bular, in which the sleeping child's head was shaded from the harsh sunlight by, in one account, by the stationary shadow of a tree[citation needed] or, in another, by a venomous cobra.[23]

 
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartar Pur in Narowal, Pakistan, marks the site where Guru Nanak is said to have died.[24]

Nanaki, Nanak's only sister, was five years older than him. In 1475, she married and moved to Sultanpur.[citation needed] Jai Ram, Nanaki's husband, was employed at a modikhana (a storehouse for revenues collected in non-cash form), in the service of the Delhi Sultanate's Lahore governor Daulat Khan, at which Ram would help Nanak get a job.[25] Nanak moved to Sultanpur, and started working at the modikhana around the age of 16.[citation needed]

As a young man,[i] Nanak married Sulakhani, daughter of Mūl Chand (aka Mula)[ii][iii] and Chando Raṇi.[citation needed] They were married on 24 September 1487, in the town of Batala,[26] and would go on to have two sons, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Chand[25] (or Lakhmi Das).[iv][27] Nanak lived in Sultanpur until c. 1500,[25] which would be a formative time for him, as the puratan janamsakhi suggests, and in his numerous allusions to governmental structure in his hymns, most likely gained at this time.[28]

Final years

 
Hindus and Muslims disputing over the final rites of Guru Nanak. 19th century fresco from Gurdwara Baba Atal, Amritsar.

Around the age of 55, Nanak settled in Kartarpur, living there until his death in September 1539. During this period, he went on short journeys to the Nath yogi centre of Achal, and the Sufi centres of Pakpattan and Multan. By the time of his death, Nanak had acquired several followers in the Punjab region, although it is hard to estimate their number based on the extant historical evidence.[29] The followers of Nanak were called Kartārīs (meaning 'the people who belonged to the village of Kartarpur') by others.[30]

Guru Nanak appointed Bhai Lehna as the successor Guru, renaming him as Guru Angad, meaning "one's very own" or "part of you". Shortly after proclaiming his successor, Guru Nanak died on 22 September 1539 in Kartarpur, at the age of 70. According to Sikh hagiography, Guru Nanak's body was never found. When the quarreling Hindus and Muslims tugged at the sheet covering Nanak’s body, they found instead a heap of flowers—and so Nanak’s simple faith would, in course of time, flower into a religion, beset by its own contradictions and customary practices.[31]

 
The four Udasis and other locations visited by Guru Nanak
 
The abandoned Gurudwara Chowa Sahib, located near the Rohtas Fort in Pakistan, commemorates the site where Guru Nanak is popularly believed to have created a water-spring during one of his udasis.[32]
 
Guru Nanak's handprint is believed to be preserved on a boulder at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, Pakistan.
 
Coin from 1747 CE depicting Guru Nanak with his two disciples, Bhai Mardana and Bhai Bala waving a chaur (fly-whisk) as a mark of respect.

Odysseys (Udasis)

During first quarter of the 16th century, Nanak went on long udasiya ('journeys') for spiritual pursuits. A verse authored by him states that he visited several places in "nau-khand" ('the nine regions of the earth'), presumably the major Hindu and Muslim pilgrimage centres.[25]

Some modern accounts state that he visited Tibet, most of South Asia, and Arabia, starting in 1496 at age 27, when he left his family for a thirty-year period.[20][33][34] These claims include Nanak's visit to Mount Sumeru of Indian mythology, as well as Mecca, Baghdad, Achal Batala, and Multan, where he would debate religious ideas with opposing groups.[35] These stories became widely popular in the 19th and 20th century, and exist in many versions.[36][35]

In 1508, Nanak visited the Sylhet region in Bengal.[citation needed] The janamsakhis suggest that Nanak visited the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya in 1510–11 CE.[37]

The Baghdad inscription remains the basis of writing by Indian scholars that Guru Nanak journeyed in the Middle East, with some claiming he visited Jerusalem, Mecca, Vatican, Azerbaijan and Sudan.[38]

Disputes

The hagiographic details are a subject of dispute, with modern scholarship questioning the details and authenticity of many claims. For example, Callewaert and Snell (1994) state that early Sikh texts do not contain such stories.[35] From when the travel stories first appear in hagiographic accounts of Guru Nanak, centuries after his death, they continue to become more sophisticated as time goes on, with the late phase Puratan version describing four missionary journeys, which differ from the Miharban version.[35][39]

Some of the stories about Guru Nanak's extensive travels first appear in the 19th-century Puratan janamsakhi, though even this version does not mention Nanak's travel to Baghdad.[35] Such embellishments and insertion of new stories, according to Callewaert and Snell (1993), closely parallel claims of miracles by Islamic pirs found in Sufi tadhkirahs of the same era, giving reason to believe that these legends may have been written in a competition.[40][35]

Another source of dispute has been the Baghdad stone, bearing an inscription[clarification needed] in a Turkish script. Some interpret the inscription as saying Baba Nanak Fakir was there in 1511–1512; others read it as saying 1521–1522 (and that he lived in the Middle East for 11 years away from his family). Others, particularly Western scholars, argue that the stone inscription is from the 19th century and the stone is not a reliable evidence that Guru Nanak visited Baghdad in early 16th century.[41] Moreover, beyond the stone, no evidence or mention of Guru Nanak's journey in the Middle East has been found in any other Middle Eastern textual or epigraphical records. Claims have been asserted of additional inscriptions, but no one has been able to locate and verify them.[42]

Novel claims about his travels, as well as claims such as Guru Nanak's body vanishing after his death, are also found in later versions and these are similar to the miracle stories in Sufi literature about their pirs. Other direct and indirect borrowings in the Sikh janamsakhis relating to legends around Guru Nanak's journeys are from Hindu epics and puranas, and Buddhist Jataka stories.[36][43][44]

 
Bhai Mani Singh's Janamsakhi

Posthumous biographies

The earliest biographical sources on Nanak's life recognised today are the janamsakhis ('birth stories'), which recount the circumstances of the guru's birth in great detail.

Gyan-ratanavali is the janamsakhi attributed to Bhai Mani Singh, a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh who was approached by some Sikhs with a request that he should prepare an authentic account of Guru Nanak's life. As such, it is said that Bhai Mani Singh wrote his story with the express intention of correcting heretical accounts of Guru Nanak.

One popular janamsakhi was allegedly written by a close companion of the Guru, Bhai Bala. However, the writing style and language employed have left scholars, such as Max Arthur Macauliffe, certain that they were composed after his death.[21] According to such scholars, there are good reasons to doubt the claim that the author was a close companion of Guru Nanak and accompanied him on many of his travels.

Bhai Gurdas, a scribe of the Guru Granth Sahib, also wrote about Nanak's life in his vars ('odes'), which were compiled some time after Nanak's life, though are less detailed than the janamsakhis.

Teachings and legacy

 
Fresco of Guru Nanak from Baoli Sahib, Goindwal

Nanak's teachings can be found in the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib, as a collection of verses recorded in Gurmukhi.

There are three competing theories on Guru Nanak's teachings.[45] The first, according to Cole and Sambhi (1995, 1997), based on the hagiographical Janamsakhis,[46] states that Nanak's teachings and Sikhism were revelations from God, and not a social protest movement, nor an attempt to reconcile Hinduism and Islam in the 15th century.[47]

The second theory states that Nanak was a Guru, not a prophet. According to Singha (2009):[48]

Sikhism does not subscribe to the theory of incarnation or the concept of prophet hood. But it has a pivotal concept of Guru. He is not an incarnation of God, not even a prophet. He is an illumined soul.

The third theory is that Guru Nanak is the incarnation of God. This has been supported by many Sikhs including Bhai Gurdas, Bhai Vir Singh, Santhok Singh and is supported by the Guru Granth Sahib. Bhai Gurdas says:[49]

ਗੁਰ ਪਰਮੇਸਰੁ ਇਕੁ ਹੈ ਸਚਾ ਸਾਹੁ ਜਗਤੁ ਵਣਜਾਰਾ।

The Guru and God are one; He is the true master and the whole world craves for Him.

Additionally in the Guru Granth Sahib it is stated:[50]

ਨਾਨਕ ਸੇਵਾ ਕਰਹੁ ਹਰਿ ਗੁਰ ਸਫਲ ਦਰਸਨ ਕੀ ਫਿਰਿ ਲੇਖਾ ਮੰਗੈ ਨ ਕੋਈ ॥੨॥

O Nanak, serve the Guru, the Lord Incarnate; the Blessed Vision of His Darshan is profitable, and in the end, you shall not be called to account. ||2||

Guru Ram Das says:[51]

ਗੁਰ ਗੋਵਿੰਦੁ ਗੋੁਵਿੰਦੁ ਗੁਰੂ ਹੈ ਨਾਨਕ ਭੇਦੁ ਨ ਭਾਈ ॥੪॥੧॥੮॥

The Guru is God, and God is the Guru, O Nanak; there is no difference between the two, O Siblings of Destiny. ||4||1||8||

The hagiographical Janamsakhis were not written by Nanak, but by later followers without regard for historical accuracy, containing numerous legends and myths created to show respect for Nanak.[52] In Sikhism, the term revelation, as Cole and Sambhi clarify, is not limited to the teachings of Nanak. Rather, they include all Sikh Gurus, as well as the words of men and women from Nanak's past, present, and future, who possess divine knowledge intuitively through meditation. The Sikh revelations include the words of non-Sikh bhagats (Hindu devotees), some who lived and died before the birth of Nanak, and whose teachings are part of the Sikh scriptures.[53]

The Adi Granth and successive Sikh Gurus repeatedly emphasised, suggests Mandair (2013), that Sikhism is "not about hearing voices from God, but it is about changing the nature of the human mind, and anyone can achieve direct experience and spiritual perfection at any time."[45] Guru Nanak emphasised that all human beings can have direct access to God without rituals or priests.[20]

The concept of man as elaborated by Guru Nanak, states Mandair (2009), refines and negates the "monotheistic concept of self/God," where "monotheism becomes almost redundant in the movement and crossings of love."[54] The goal of man, taught the Sikh Gurus, is to end all dualities of "self and other, I and not-I," attaining the "attendant balance of separation-fusion, self-other, action-inaction, attachment-detachment, in the course of daily life."[54]

Guru Nanak, and other Sikh Gurus emphasised bhakti ('love', 'devotion', or 'worship'), and taught that the spiritual life and secular householder life are intertwined.[55] In the Sikh perspective, the everyday world is part of an infinite reality, where increased spiritual awareness leads to increased and vibrant participation in the everyday world.[56] Guru Nanak described living an "active, creative, and practical life" of "truthfulness, fidelity, self-control and purity" as being higher than the metaphysical truth.[57]

Through popular tradition, Nanak's teaching is understood to be practised in three ways:[58]

  • Vand Shhako (ਵੰਡ ਛਕੋ, 'share & consume'): Share with others, help those who are in need, so you may eat together;
  • Kirat Karo ('work honestly'): Earn an honest living, without exploitation or fraud; and
  • Naam Japo (ਨਾਮ ਜਪੋ, 'recite His name'): Meditate on God's name, so to feel His presence and control the five thieves of the human personality.

Legacy

 
Death of Guru Nanak from an Illustrated Janamsakhi Manuscript. Punjab, late 18th century - early 19th century

Guru Nanak Dev Ji is the founder of Sikhism.[59][60] The fundamental beliefs of Sikhism, articulated in the sacred scripture Guru Granth Sahib, include faith and meditation on the name of the one creator; unity of all humankind; engaging in selfless service, striving for social justice for the benefit and prosperity of all; and honest conduct and livelihood while living a householder's life.[61][62][63]

The Guru Granth Sahib is worshipped as the supreme authority of Sikhism and is considered the final and perpetual guru of Sikhism. As the first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak contributed a total of 974 hymns to the book.[64]

Influences

Many Sikhs believe that Guru Nanak's message was divinely revealed, as his own words in Guru Granth Sahib state that his teachings are as he has received them from the Creator Himself. The critical event of his life in Sultanpur, in which he returned after three days with enlightenment, also supports this belief.[65][failed verification][66]

Many modern historians give weight to his teachings' linkage with the pre-existing bhakti,[67] sant,[v] and wali of Hindu/Islamic tradition.[68] Scholars state that in its origins, Guru Nanak and Sikhism were influenced by the nirguni ('formless God') tradition of the Bhakti movement in medieval India.[vi] However, some historians do not see evidence of Sikhism as simply an extension of the Bhakti movement.[69][70] Sikhism, for instance, disagreed with some views of Bhakti saints Kabir and Ravidas.[69][71]

The roots of the Sikh tradition are perhaps in the sant-tradition of India whose ideology grew to become the Bhakti tradition.[vii] Fenech (2014) suggests that:[68]

Indic mythology permeates the Sikh sacred canon, the Guru Granth Sahib and the secondary canon, the Dasam Granth and adds delicate nuance and substance to the sacred symbolic universe of the Sikhs of today and of their past ancestors.[viii]

In the Bahá'í Faith

In a letter, dated 27 October 1985, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, the Universal House of Justice stated that Guru Nanak was endowed with a "saintly character" and that he was:[73]

...inspired to reconcile the religions of Hinduism and Islám, the followers of which religions had been in violent conflict.... The Bahá'ís thus view Guru Nanak as a 'saint of the highest order'.

In Hinduism

 
Mural of Guru Nanak from a Hindu temple in Jammu

Guru Nanak is highly influential amongst Sindhi Hindus, where the majority follow Nanakpanthi teachings. [74][75]

In popular culture

  • A Punjabi movie was released in 2015 named Nanak Shah Fakir, which is based on the life of Guru Nanak, directed by Sartaj Singh Pannu and produced by Gurbani Media Pvt. Ltd.
  • Allegory: A Tapestry of Guru Nanak's Travels is a 2021–22 docuseries about Guru Nanak's travels in nine different countries.

Places visited

Uttarakhand

Andhra Pradesh

Bihar

Delhi

Gujarat

Haryana

Jammu and Kashmir

Punjab

Sikkim

Odisha

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Afghanistan

Iran

Iraq

Sri Lanka

Saudi Arabia

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Macauliffe (1909) notes that, according to the janamsakhi of Mani Singh, Nanak was married at the age of 14, not 18. "It is related in the Janamsakhi which bears the name of Mani Singh, that Nanak was married at the age of fourteen" (p. 18) Subsequent janamsakhis, however, claim that Nanak was married later, after he moved to Sultanpur (p. 29).
  2. ^ "He was betrothed to Sulakhani, daughter of Mula, a resident of Batala in the present district of Gurdaspur." (Macauliffe 1909, p.19).
  3. ^ "As a young man Nanak was married to Sulakhni, a daughter of Mula, a native of the newly founded town of Batala who had come there from his village, Pakho dī Randhawi, on the left bank of the river Ravi. Mula belonged to the subcaste Chona which was less important than even the subcaste Bedi.". (Grewal 1998, p. 6)
  4. ^ Trumpp (1877) transliterates the names of Nanak's children from the Colebrooke janamsakhi as "Sirī-čand" and "Lakhmī-dās", rather than "Lakhmī-čand" (pp. iii, viii). Macauliffe (1909, p. 29) also gives their names as Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das.
  5. ^ "In its earliest stage Sikhism was clearly a movement within the Hindu tradition; Nanak was raised a Hindu and eventually belonged to the Sant tradition of northern India." (McLeod 2019)
  6. ^ "Historically, Sikh religion derives from this nirguni current of bhakti religion." (Lorenzen 1995, pp. 1–2)
  7. ^ "Technically this would place the Sikh community's origins at a much further remove than 1469, perhaps to the dawning of the Sant movement, which possesses clear affinities to Guru Nanak's thought sometime in the tenth century. The predominant ideology of the Sant parampara in turn corresponds in many respects to the much wider devotional Bhakti tradition in northern India." (Fenech 2014, p. 35)
  8. ^ "Few Sikhs would mention these Indic texts and ideologies in the same breadth as the Sikh tradition, let alone trace elements of their tradition to this chronological and ideological point, despite the fact that the Indic mythology permeates the Sikh sacred canon, the Guru Granth Sahib and the secondary canon, the Dasam Granth,[72] and adds delicate nuance and substance to the sacred symbolic universe of the Sikhs of today and of their past ancestors." (Fenech 2014, p. 36)

Citations

  1. ^ Macauliffe 1909, p. lvii.
  2. ^ Hayer 1988, p. 14.
  3. ^ Sidhu 2009, p. 26.
  4. ^ Khorana 1991, p. 214.
  5. ^ Prasoon 2007.
  6. ^ Singh 2006, pp. 12–13.
  7. ^ Grewal 1998, p. 6.
  8. ^ a b Gupta 1984, p. 49.
  9. ^ a b Gupta 1984, p. 50.
  10. ^ Gupta 1984, p. 54.
  11. ^ Gupta 1984, p. 52.
  12. ^ a b Gupta 1984, pp. 50–51.
  13. ^ Gupta 1984, pp. 53–54.
  14. ^ Macauliffe 1909, p. lxxiv.
  15. ^ Gupta 1984, pp. 51–52.
  16. ^ SGPC: Guru Nanak Sahib.
  17. ^ Singha 2009a, p. 125.
  18. ^ McLeod 2009, p. 86.
  19. ^ Nankana: Rai Bular Bhatti.
  20. ^ a b c BBC: Religions 2011.
  21. ^ a b Macauliffe 2004.
  22. ^ Cunningham 1853, pp. 37–38.
  23. ^ Singh 1984, p. 18.
  24. ^ Singh 2000.
  25. ^ a b c d Grewal 1998, p. 7.
  26. ^ Macauliffe 2004, p. 19.
  27. ^ Trumpp 1877.
  28. ^ Cole & Sambhi 1978, p. 9.
  29. ^ Grewal 1998, p. 8.
  30. ^ Singh, Pashaura (3 April 2021). "Ideological basis in the formation of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and the Shiromani Akali Dal: exploring the concept of Guru-Panth". Sikh Formations. 17 (1–2): 16–33. doi:10.1080/17448727.2021.1873656. ISSN 1744-8727. S2CID 234146387. Unsurprisingly, Guru Nanak’s followers were frequently referred to as Kartārīs, the people who belonged to the village of Kartarpur (Singh 2006, 106 & 129, n. 4).
  31. ^ "Guru Nanak". MANAS.
  32. ^ Singh & Kapur 2004, p. 174.
  33. ^ Dilgeer 2008.
  34. ^ Johal 2011, pp. 125, note 1.
  35. ^ a b c d e f Callewaert & Snell 1994, pp. 26–7.
  36. ^ a b Lorenzen 1995.
  37. ^ Garg 2019.
  38. ^ Gulati 2008, pp. 316–319.
  39. ^ Lorenzen 1995, pp. 41–2.
  40. ^ McLeod 2007, pp. 42–44.
  41. ^ Ménage 1979, pp. 16–21.
  42. ^ McLeod 2004, pp. 127–31.
  43. ^ Oberoi 1994, p. 55.
  44. ^ Callewaert & Snell 1994, pp. 27–30.
  45. ^ a b Mandair 2013, pp. 131–34.
  46. ^ Cole & Sambhi 1995, pp. 9–12.
  47. ^ Cole & Sambhi 1997, p. 71.
  48. ^ Singha 2009a, p. 104.
  49. ^ "Vaaran Bhai Gurdas:- Vaar1-Pauri17-ਜੁਗ ਗਰਦੀ-Anachy of the agesਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ; :-SearchGurbani.com". www.searchgurbani.com. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  50. ^ "Ang 306 of Guru Granth Sahib Ji - SikhiToTheMax". www.sikhitothemax.org. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  51. ^ "Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji -: Ang : 442 -: ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ :- SearchGurbani.com". www.searchgurbani.com. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  52. ^ Singh 2011, pp. 2–8.
  53. ^ Cole & Sambhi 1995, pp. 46, 52–3, 95–6, 159.
  54. ^ a b Mandair 2009, pp. 372–73.
  55. ^ Nayar & Sandhu 2007, p. 106.
  56. ^ Kaur 2004, p. 530.
  57. ^ Marwha 2006, p. 205.
  58. ^ McLeod 2009, pp. 139–40.
  59. ^ Cole & Sambhi 1978, pp. 9–10.
  60. ^ Moreno & Colino 2010, p. 207.
  61. ^ Kalsi 2007, pp. 41–50.
  62. ^ Cole & Sambhi 1995, p. 200.
  63. ^ Teece 2004, p. 4.
  64. ^ Shackle & Mandair 2013, pp. xviii–xix.
  65. ^ Singh 1982, pp. 12, 18.
  66. ^ "There is One God". The Hans India.
  67. ^ Lorenzen 1995, pp. 1–2.
  68. ^ a b Fenech 2014.
  69. ^ a b Singha 2009b, p. 8.
  70. ^ Grewal 1998, pp. 28–.
  71. ^ Pruthi 2004, pp. 202–03.
  72. ^ Rinehart 2011
  73. ^ Sarwal 1996.
  74. ^ Kalhoro, Zulfiqar Ali (13 April 2018). "Nanakpanthi Saints of Sindh".
  75. ^ Singh, Inderjeet (1 October 2017). "Inderjeet Singh (2017). Sindhi Hindus & Nanakpanthis in Pakistan. Abstracts of Sikh Studies, Vol. XIX, No.4. p35-43". Abstracts of Sikh Studies – via www.academia.edu.
  76. ^ "A Gurdwara steeped in history". The Times of India. 25 March 2012.
  77. ^ The Sikh Review, Volume 41, Issues 469–480. Sikh Cultural Centre. 1993. p. 14.

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External links and Further reading

    Preceded by
    Sikh Guru
    20 August 1507 – 7 September 1539
    Succeeded by

    guru, nanak, gurū, nānak, april, 1469, september, 1539, gurmukhi, ਨਕ, pronunciation, gʊɾuː, naːnəkᵊ, pronunciation, also, referred, bābā, nānak, father, nānak, founder, sikhism, first, sikh, gurus, birth, celebrated, worldwide, gurpurab, katak, pooranmashi, fu. Guru Nanak 15 April 1469 22 September 1539 Gurmukhi ਗ ਰ ਨ ਨਕ pronunciation gʊɾuː naːnekᵊ pronunciation also referred to as Baba Nanak father Nanak 1 was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus His birth is celebrated worldwide as Guru Nanak Gurpurab on Katak Pooranmashi full moon of Kattak i e October November Guru Nanak19th century mural painting from Gurdwara Baba Atal depicting NanakPersonalBornNanak15 April 1469 1469 04 15 Rai Bhoi Ki Talvaṇḍi Delhi Sultanate present day Nankana Sahib Punjab Pakistan Died22 September 1539 1539 09 23 aged 70 Kartarpur Mughal Empire present day Punjab Pakistan Resting placeGurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur Kartarpur PakistanReligionSikhismSpouseMata SulakhaniChildrenSri Chand Lakhmi DasParent s Mehta Kalu and Mata TriptaKnown forFounder of SikhismOther namesFirst MasterSignatureReligious careerBased inKartarpurSuccessorGuru AngadNanak is said to have travelled far and wide across Asia teaching people the message of ik onkar ੴ one God who dwells in every one of his creations and constitutes the eternal Truth 2 With this concept he would set up a unique spiritual social and political platform based on equality fraternal love goodness and virtue 3 4 5 Nanak s words are registered in the form of 974 poetic hymns or shabda in the holy text of Sikhism the Guru Granth Sahib with some of the major prayers being the Japji Sahib jap to recite ji and sahib are suffixes signifying respect the Asa di Var ballad of hope and the Sidh Gosht discussion with the Siddhas It is part of Sikh religious belief that the spirit of Nanak s sanctity divinity and religious authority had descended upon each of the nine subsequent Gurus when the Guruship was devolved on to them Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Birth 1 1 1 Kattak birthdate 1 2 Family and early life 1 3 Final years 2 Odysseys Udasis 2 1 Disputes 3 Posthumous biographies 4 Teachings and legacy 4 1 Legacy 5 Influences 6 In the Baha i Faith 7 In Hinduism 8 In popular culture 9 Places visited 9 1 Uttarakhand 9 2 Andhra Pradesh 9 3 Bihar 9 4 Delhi 9 5 Gujarat 9 6 Haryana 9 7 Jammu and Kashmir 9 8 Punjab 9 9 Sikkim 9 10 Odisha 9 11 Pakistan 9 12 Bangladesh 9 13 Afghanistan 9 14 Iran 9 15 Iraq 9 16 Sri Lanka 9 17 Saudi Arabia 10 See also 11 Notes 11 1 Citations 12 Bibliography 13 External links and Further readingBiographyBirth The Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib Pakistan commemorates the site where Nanak is believed to have been born Nanak was born on 15 April 1469 at Rai Bhoi Ki Talvaṇḍi village present day Nankana Sahib Punjab Pakistan in the Lahore province of the Delhi Sultanate 6 7 although according to one tradition he was born in the Indian month of Kartik or November known as Kattak in Punjabi 8 Most janamsakhis ਜਨਮਸ ਖ birth stories or traditional biographies of Nanak mention that he was born on the third day of the bright lunar fortnight in the Baisakh month April of Samvat 1526 8 These include the Puratan traditional or ancient janamsakhi Miharban janamsakhi Gyan ratanavali by Bhai Mani Singh and the Vilayat Vali janamsakhi 9 The Sikh records state that Nanak died on the 10th day of the Asauj month of Samvat 1596 22 September 1539 CE at the age of 70 years 5 months and 7 days This further suggests that he was born in the month of Vaisakh April not Kattak November 10 Kattak birthdate Birth of Guru Nanak painting from an 1830 s Janamsakhi In as late as 1815 during the reign of Ranjit Singh the festival commemorating Nanak s birthday was held in April at the place of his birth known by then as Nankana Sahib 9 However the anniversary of Nanak s birth the Gurpurab gur purab celebration subsequently came to be celebrated on the full moon day of the Kattak month in November The earliest record of such a celebration in Nankana Sahib is from 1868 CE 11 There may be several reasons for the adoption of the Kattak birthdate by the Sikh community For one it may have been the date of Nanak s enlightenment or spiritual birth in 1496 as suggested by the Dabestan e Mazaheb The only janamsakhi that supports the Kattak birth tradition is that of Bhai Bala Bhai Bala is said to have obtained Nanak s horoscope from Nanak s uncle Lalu according to which Nanak was born on a date corresponding to 20 October 1469 CE However this janamsakhi was written by Handalis a sect of Sikhs who followed a Sikh convert known as Handal attempting to depict the founder as superior to Nanak 12 According to a superstition prevailing in contemporary northern India a child born in the Kattak month was believed to be weak and unlucky hence why the work states that Nanak was born in that month 12 Bhai Gurdas having written on a full moon day of the Kattak month several decades after Nanak s death mentions that Nanak had obtained omniscience on the same day and it was now the author s turn to get divine light 13 According to Max Arthur Macauliffe 1909 a Hindu festival held in the 19th century on Kartik Purnima in Amritsar attracted a large number of Sikhs The Sikh community leader Giani Sant Singh did not like this thus starting a festival at the Sikh shrine of the Golden Temple on the same day presenting it as the birth anniversary celebration of Guru Nanak 14 Macauliffe also notes that Vaisakh March April already saw a number of important festivals such as Holi Rama Navami and Vaisakhi therefore people would be busy in agricultural activities after the harvest festival of Baisakhi Therefore holding Nanak s birth anniversary celebrations immediately after Vaisakhi would have resulted in thin attendance and therefore smaller donations for the Sikh shrines On the other hand by the Kattak full moon day the major Hindu festival of Diwali was already over and the peasants who had surplus cash from crop sales were able to donate generously 15 Family and early life Nanak s parents including father Kalyan Chand Das Bedi commonly shortened to Mehta Kalu and mother Mata Tripta 16 were both Hindu Khatris and employed as merchants 17 18 His father in particular was the local patwari accountant for crop revenue in the village of Talwandi 19 According to Sikh traditions the birth and early years of Nanak s life were marked with many events that demonstrated that Nanak had been blessed with divine grace 20 Commentaries on his life give details of his blossoming awareness from a young age For instance at the age of five Nanak is said to have voiced interest in divine subjects At age seven his father enrolled him at the village school as per custom 21 Notable lore recounts that as a child Nanak astonished his teacher by describing the implicit symbolism of the first letter of the alphabet resembling the mathematical version of one as denoting the unity or oneness of God 22 Other stories of his childhood refer to strange and miraculous events about Nanak such as the one witnessed by Rai Bular in which the sleeping child s head was shaded from the harsh sunlight by in one account by the stationary shadow of a tree citation needed or in another by a venomous cobra 23 Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartar Pur in Narowal Pakistan marks the site where Guru Nanak is said to have died 24 Nanaki Nanak s only sister was five years older than him In 1475 she married and moved to Sultanpur citation needed Jai Ram Nanaki s husband was employed at a modikhana a storehouse for revenues collected in non cash form in the service of the Delhi Sultanate s Lahore governor Daulat Khan at which Ram would help Nanak get a job 25 Nanak moved to Sultanpur and started working at the modikhana around the age of 16 citation needed As a young man i Nanak married Sulakhani daughter of Mul Chand aka Mula ii iii and Chando Raṇi citation needed They were married on 24 September 1487 in the town of Batala 26 and would go on to have two sons Sri Chand and Lakhmi Chand 25 or Lakhmi Das iv 27 Nanak lived in Sultanpur until c 1500 25 which would be a formative time for him as the puratan janamsakhi suggests and in his numerous allusions to governmental structure in his hymns most likely gained at this time 28 Final years Hindus and Muslims disputing over the final rites of Guru Nanak 19th century fresco from Gurdwara Baba Atal Amritsar Around the age of 55 Nanak settled in Kartarpur living there until his death in September 1539 During this period he went on short journeys to the Nath yogi centre of Achal and the Sufi centres of Pakpattan and Multan By the time of his death Nanak had acquired several followers in the Punjab region although it is hard to estimate their number based on the extant historical evidence 29 The followers of Nanak were called Kartaris meaning the people who belonged to the village of Kartarpur by others 30 Guru Nanak appointed Bhai Lehna as the successor Guru renaming him as Guru Angad meaning one s very own or part of you Shortly after proclaiming his successor Guru Nanak died on 22 September 1539 in Kartarpur at the age of 70 According to Sikh hagiography Guru Nanak s body was never found When the quarreling Hindus and Muslims tugged at the sheet covering Nanak s body they found instead a heap of flowers and so Nanak s simple faith would in course of time flower into a religion beset by its own contradictions and customary practices 31 The four Udasis and other locations visited by Guru Nanak The abandoned Gurudwara Chowa Sahib located near the Rohtas Fort in Pakistan commemorates the site where Guru Nanak is popularly believed to have created a water spring during one of his udasis 32 Guru Nanak s handprint is believed to be preserved on a boulder at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal Pakistan Coin from 1747 CE depicting Guru Nanak with his two disciples Bhai Mardana and Bhai Bala waving a chaur fly whisk as a mark of respect Odysseys Udasis During first quarter of the 16th century Nanak went on long udasiya journeys for spiritual pursuits A verse authored by him states that he visited several places in nau khand the nine regions of the earth presumably the major Hindu and Muslim pilgrimage centres 25 Some modern accounts state that he visited Tibet most of South Asia and Arabia starting in 1496 at age 27 when he left his family for a thirty year period 20 33 34 These claims include Nanak s visit to Mount Sumeru of Indian mythology as well as Mecca Baghdad Achal Batala and Multan where he would debate religious ideas with opposing groups 35 These stories became widely popular in the 19th and 20th century and exist in many versions 36 35 In 1508 Nanak visited the Sylhet region in Bengal citation needed The janamsakhis suggest that Nanak visited the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya in 1510 11 CE 37 The Baghdad inscription remains the basis of writing by Indian scholars that Guru Nanak journeyed in the Middle East with some claiming he visited Jerusalem Mecca Vatican Azerbaijan and Sudan 38 Disputes The hagiographic details are a subject of dispute with modern scholarship questioning the details and authenticity of many claims For example Callewaert and Snell 1994 state that early Sikh texts do not contain such stories 35 From when the travel stories first appear in hagiographic accounts of Guru Nanak centuries after his death they continue to become more sophisticated as time goes on with the late phase Puratan version describing four missionary journeys which differ from the Miharban version 35 39 Some of the stories about Guru Nanak s extensive travels first appear in the 19th century Puratan janamsakhi though even this version does not mention Nanak s travel to Baghdad 35 Such embellishments and insertion of new stories according to Callewaert and Snell 1993 closely parallel claims of miracles by Islamic pirs found in Sufi tadhkirahs of the same era giving reason to believe that these legends may have been written in a competition 40 35 Another source of dispute has been the Baghdad stone bearing an inscription clarification needed in a Turkish script Some interpret the inscription as saying Baba Nanak Fakir was there in 1511 1512 others read it as saying 1521 1522 and that he lived in the Middle East for 11 years away from his family Others particularly Western scholars argue that the stone inscription is from the 19th century and the stone is not a reliable evidence that Guru Nanak visited Baghdad in early 16th century 41 Moreover beyond the stone no evidence or mention of Guru Nanak s journey in the Middle East has been found in any other Middle Eastern textual or epigraphical records Claims have been asserted of additional inscriptions but no one has been able to locate and verify them 42 Novel claims about his travels as well as claims such as Guru Nanak s body vanishing after his death are also found in later versions and these are similar to the miracle stories in Sufi literature about their pirs Other direct and indirect borrowings in the Sikh janamsakhis relating to legends around Guru Nanak s journeys are from Hindu epics and puranas and Buddhist Jataka stories 36 43 44 Bhai Mani Singh s JanamsakhiPosthumous biographiesThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed April 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The earliest biographical sources on Nanak s life recognised today are the janamsakhis birth stories which recount the circumstances of the guru s birth in great detail Gyan ratanavali is the janamsakhi attributed to Bhai Mani Singh a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh who was approached by some Sikhs with a request that he should prepare an authentic account of Guru Nanak s life As such it is said that Bhai Mani Singh wrote his story with the express intention of correcting heretical accounts of Guru Nanak One popular janamsakhi was allegedly written by a close companion of the Guru Bhai Bala However the writing style and language employed have left scholars such as Max Arthur Macauliffe certain that they were composed after his death 21 According to such scholars there are good reasons to doubt the claim that the author was a close companion of Guru Nanak and accompanied him on many of his travels Bhai Gurdas a scribe of the Guru Granth Sahib also wrote about Nanak s life in his vars odes which were compiled some time after Nanak s life though are less detailed than the janamsakhis Teachings and legacy Fresco of Guru Nanak from Baoli Sahib Goindwal Nanak s teachings can be found in the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib as a collection of verses recorded in Gurmukhi There are three competing theories on Guru Nanak s teachings 45 The first according to Cole and Sambhi 1995 1997 based on the hagiographical Janamsakhis 46 states that Nanak s teachings and Sikhism were revelations from God and not a social protest movement nor an attempt to reconcile Hinduism and Islam in the 15th century 47 The second theory states that Nanak was a Guru not a prophet According to Singha 2009 48 Sikhism does not subscribe to the theory of incarnation or the concept of prophet hood But it has a pivotal concept of Guru He is not an incarnation of God not even a prophet He is an illumined soul The third theory is that Guru Nanak is the incarnation of God This has been supported by many Sikhs including Bhai Gurdas Bhai Vir Singh Santhok Singh and is supported by the Guru Granth Sahib Bhai Gurdas says 49 ਗ ਰ ਪਰਮ ਸਰ ਇਕ ਹ ਸਚ ਸ ਹ ਜਗਤ ਵਣਜ ਰ The Guru and God are one He is the true master and the whole world craves for Him Additionally in the Guru Granth Sahib it is stated 50 ਨ ਨਕ ਸ ਵ ਕਰਹ ਹਰ ਗ ਰ ਸਫਲ ਦਰਸਨ ਕ ਫ ਰ ਲ ਖ ਮ ਗ ਨ ਕ ਈ ੨ O Nanak serve the Guru the Lord Incarnate the Blessed Vision of His Darshan is profitable and in the end you shall not be called to account 2 Guru Ram Das says 51 ਗ ਰ ਗ ਵ ਦ ਗ ਵ ਦ ਗ ਰ ਹ ਨ ਨਕ ਭ ਦ ਨ ਭ ਈ ੪ ੧ ੮ The Guru is God and God is the Guru O Nanak there is no difference between the two O Siblings of Destiny 4 1 8 The hagiographical Janamsakhis were not written by Nanak but by later followers without regard for historical accuracy containing numerous legends and myths created to show respect for Nanak 52 In Sikhism the term revelation as Cole and Sambhi clarify is not limited to the teachings of Nanak Rather they include all Sikh Gurus as well as the words of men and women from Nanak s past present and future who possess divine knowledge intuitively through meditation The Sikh revelations include the words of non Sikh bhagats Hindu devotees some who lived and died before the birth of Nanak and whose teachings are part of the Sikh scriptures 53 The Adi Granth and successive Sikh Gurus repeatedly emphasised suggests Mandair 2013 that Sikhism is not about hearing voices from God but it is about changing the nature of the human mind and anyone can achieve direct experience and spiritual perfection at any time 45 Guru Nanak emphasised that all human beings can have direct access to God without rituals or priests 20 The concept of man as elaborated by Guru Nanak states Mandair 2009 refines and negates the monotheistic concept of self God where monotheism becomes almost redundant in the movement and crossings of love 54 The goal of man taught the Sikh Gurus is to end all dualities of self and other I and not I attaining the attendant balance of separation fusion self other action inaction attachment detachment in the course of daily life 54 Guru Nanak and other Sikh Gurus emphasised bhakti love devotion or worship and taught that the spiritual life and secular householder life are intertwined 55 In the Sikh perspective the everyday world is part of an infinite reality where increased spiritual awareness leads to increased and vibrant participation in the everyday world 56 Guru Nanak described living an active creative and practical life of truthfulness fidelity self control and purity as being higher than the metaphysical truth 57 Through popular tradition Nanak s teaching is understood to be practised in three ways 58 Vand Shhako ਵ ਡ ਛਕ share amp consume Share with others help those who are in need so you may eat together Kirat Karo work honestly Earn an honest living without exploitation or fraud and Naam Japo ਨ ਮ ਜਪ recite His name Meditate on God s name so to feel His presence and control the five thieves of the human personality Legacy Death of Guru Nanak from an Illustrated Janamsakhi Manuscript Punjab late 18th century early 19th century Guru Nanak Dev Ji is the founder of Sikhism 59 60 The fundamental beliefs of Sikhism articulated in the sacred scripture Guru Granth Sahib include faith and meditation on the name of the one creator unity of all humankind engaging in selfless service striving for social justice for the benefit and prosperity of all and honest conduct and livelihood while living a householder s life 61 62 63 The Guru Granth Sahib is worshipped as the supreme authority of Sikhism and is considered the final and perpetual guru of Sikhism As the first guru of Sikhism Guru Nanak contributed a total of 974 hymns to the book 64 InfluencesMany Sikhs believe that Guru Nanak s message was divinely revealed as his own words in Guru Granth Sahib state that his teachings are as he has received them from the Creator Himself The critical event of his life in Sultanpur in which he returned after three days with enlightenment also supports this belief 65 failed verification 66 Many modern historians give weight to his teachings linkage with the pre existing bhakti 67 sant v and wali of Hindu Islamic tradition 68 Scholars state that in its origins Guru Nanak and Sikhism were influenced by the nirguni formless God tradition of the Bhakti movement in medieval India vi However some historians do not see evidence of Sikhism as simply an extension of the Bhakti movement 69 70 Sikhism for instance disagreed with some views of Bhakti saints Kabir and Ravidas 69 71 The roots of the Sikh tradition are perhaps in the sant tradition of India whose ideology grew to become the Bhakti tradition vii Fenech 2014 suggests that 68 Indic mythology permeates the Sikh sacred canon the Guru Granth Sahib and the secondary canon the Dasam Granth and adds delicate nuance and substance to the sacred symbolic universe of the Sikhs of today and of their past ancestors viii In the Baha i FaithSee also Bahaʼi Faith in IndiaIn a letter dated 27 October 1985 to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha is of India the Universal House of Justice stated that Guru Nanak was endowed with a saintly character and that he was 73 inspired to reconcile the religions of Hinduism and Islam the followers of which religions had been in violent conflict The Baha is thus view Guru Nanak as a saint of the highest order In Hinduism Mural of Guru Nanak from a Hindu temple in Jammu Guru Nanak is highly influential amongst Sindhi Hindus where the majority follow Nanakpanthi teachings 74 75 In popular cultureA Punjabi movie was released in 2015 named Nanak Shah Fakir which is based on the life of Guru Nanak directed by Sartaj Singh Pannu and produced by Gurbani Media Pvt Ltd Allegory A Tapestry of Guru Nanak s Travels is a 2021 22 docuseries about Guru Nanak s travels in nine different countries Places visitedUttarakhand Gurudwara Reetha Sahib Champawat Uttrakhand NanakmattaAndhra Pradesh Gurudwara Pehli Patshahi Guntur Andhra PradeshBihar Gurdwara Sri Guru Nanak Sheetal Kund Rajgir PatnaDelhi Gurdwara Nanak Piao Delhi Gurudwara Majnu Ka Tila Delhi 76 Gujarat Gurdwara Pehli Patshahi Lakhpat GujaratHaryana PanipatJammu and Kashmir Hari Parbat SrinagarPunjab Gurudwara Shri Ber Sahib Sultanpur Lodhi Gurudwara Shri Hatt Sahib Sultanpur Lodhi Gurudwara Shri Kothri Sahib Sultanpur Lodhi Gurudwara Shri Guru Ka Bagh Sultanpur Lodhi Gurudwara Shri Sant Ghat Sultanpur Lodhi Gurudwara Shri Antaryamta Sultanpur Lodhi Dera Baba Nanak Gurudwara Manji Sahib Kiratpur Sahib Achal Batala 77 Sikkim Gurudwara Nanak Lama Chungthang Sikkim Gurudongmar LakeOdisha Gurdwara Guru Nanak Datan Sahib Cuttack Odisha Gurdwara Bauli Math Sahib Puri OdishaPakistan Nankana Sahib Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur Kartarpur Gurdwara Sacha Sauda Farooqabad Sultanpur Lodhi Gurdwara Rori Sahib Gujranwala Gurdwara Beri Sahib Sialkot Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hasan Abdal Gurudwara Chowa Sahib Rohtas Fort NarowalBangladesh Gurdwara Nanak Shahi DhakaAfghanistan Gurduara Baba Nanak Dev Ji Jalalabad Chashma Sahib Patshahi Pahili JalalabadIran Gurudwara Pehli Patshahi MashhadIraq Baba Nanak Shrine BaghdadSri Lanka Gurudwara Pehli Patshahi Batticaloa Koti now known as KotikawattaSaudi Arabia Mecca MedinaSee also India portal Biography portal Punjab portalNanakpanthi Fatehabad Punjab List of places named after Guru Nanak Dev Bebe Nanaki Guru Gobind SinghNotes Macauliffe 1909 notes that according to the janamsakhi of Mani Singh Nanak was married at the age of 14 not 18 It is related in the Janamsakhi which bears the name of Mani Singh that Nanak was married at the age of fourteen p 18 Subsequent janamsakhis however claim that Nanak was married later after he moved to Sultanpur p 29 He was betrothed to Sulakhani daughter of Mula a resident of Batala in the present district of Gurdaspur Macauliffe 1909 p 19 As a young man Nanak was married to Sulakhni a daughter of Mula a native of the newly founded town of Batala who had come there from his village Pakho di Randhawi on the left bank of the river Ravi Mula belonged to the subcaste Chona which was less important than even the subcaste Bedi Grewal 1998 p 6 Trumpp 1877 transliterates the names of Nanak s children from the Colebrooke janamsakhi as Siri cand and Lakhmi das rather than Lakhmi cand pp iii viii Macauliffe 1909 p 29 also gives their names as Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das In its earliest stage Sikhism was clearly a movement within the Hindu tradition Nanak was raised a Hindu and eventually belonged to the Sant tradition of northern India McLeod 2019 Historically Sikh religion derives from this nirguni current of bhakti religion Lorenzen 1995 pp 1 2 Technically this would place the Sikh community s origins at a much further remove than 1469 perhaps to the dawning of the Sant movement which possesses clear affinities to Guru Nanak s thought sometime in the tenth century The predominant ideology of the Sant parampara in turn corresponds in many respects to the much wider devotional Bhakti tradition in northern India Fenech 2014 p 35 Few Sikhs would mention these Indic texts and ideologies in the same breadth as the Sikh tradition let alone trace elements of their tradition to this chronological and ideological point despite the fact that the Indic mythology permeates the Sikh sacred canon the Guru Granth Sahib and the secondary canon the Dasam Granth 72 and adds delicate nuance and substance to the sacred symbolic universe of the Sikhs of today and of their past ancestors Fenech 2014 p 36 Citations Macauliffe 1909 p lvii Hayer 1988 p 14 Sidhu 2009 p 26 Khorana 1991 p 214 Prasoon 2007 Singh 2006 pp 12 13 Grewal 1998 p 6 a b Gupta 1984 p 49 a b Gupta 1984 p 50 Gupta 1984 p 54 Gupta 1984 p 52 a b Gupta 1984 pp 50 51 Gupta 1984 pp 53 54 Macauliffe 1909 p lxxiv Gupta 1984 pp 51 52 SGPC Guru Nanak Sahib Singha 2009a p 125 McLeod 2009 p 86 Nankana Rai Bular Bhatti a b c BBC Religions 2011 a b Macauliffe 2004 Cunningham 1853 pp 37 38 Singh 1984 p 18 Singh 2000 a b c d Grewal 1998 p 7 Macauliffe 2004 p 19 Trumpp 1877 Cole amp Sambhi 1978 p 9 Grewal 1998 p 8 Singh Pashaura 3 April 2021 Ideological basis in the formation of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and the Shiromani Akali Dal exploring the concept of Guru Panth Sikh Formations 17 1 2 16 33 doi 10 1080 17448727 2021 1873656 ISSN 1744 8727 S2CID 234146387 Unsurprisingly Guru Nanak s followers were frequently referred to as Kartaris the people who belonged to the village of Kartarpur Singh 2006 106 amp 129 n 4 Guru Nanak MANAS Singh amp Kapur 2004 p 174 Dilgeer 2008 Johal 2011 pp 125 note 1 a b c d e f Callewaert amp Snell 1994 pp 26 7 a b Lorenzen 1995 Garg 2019 Gulati 2008 pp 316 319 Lorenzen 1995 pp 41 2 McLeod 2007 pp 42 44 Menage 1979 pp 16 21 McLeod 2004 pp 127 31 Oberoi 1994 p 55 Callewaert amp Snell 1994 pp 27 30 a b Mandair 2013 pp 131 34 Cole amp Sambhi 1995 pp 9 12 Cole amp Sambhi 1997 p 71 Singha 2009a p 104 Vaaran Bhai Gurdas Vaar1 Pauri17 ਜ ਗ ਗਰਦ Anachy of the agesਵ ਰ ਭ ਈ ਗ ਰਦ ਸ SearchGurbani com www searchgurbani com Retrieved 24 March 2022 Ang 306 of Guru Granth Sahib Ji SikhiToTheMax www sikhitothemax org Retrieved 24 March 2022 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Ang 442 ਸ ਰ ਗ ਰ ਗ ਰ ਥ ਸ ਹ ਬ ਜ SearchGurbani com www searchgurbani com Retrieved 24 March 2022 Singh 2011 pp 2 8 Cole amp Sambhi 1995 pp 46 52 3 95 6 159 a b Mandair 2009 pp 372 73 Nayar amp Sandhu 2007 p 106 Kaur 2004 p 530 Marwha 2006 p 205 McLeod 2009 pp 139 40 Cole amp Sambhi 1978 pp 9 10 Moreno amp Colino 2010 p 207 Kalsi 2007 pp 41 50 Cole amp Sambhi 1995 p 200 Teece 2004 p 4 Shackle amp Mandair 2013 pp xviii xix Singh 1982 pp 12 18 There is One God The Hans India Lorenzen 1995 pp 1 2 a b Fenech 2014 a b Singha 2009b p 8 Grewal 1998 pp 28 Pruthi 2004 pp 202 03 Rinehart 2011 Sarwal 1996 Kalhoro Zulfiqar Ali 13 April 2018 Nanakpanthi Saints of Sindh Singh Inderjeet 1 October 2017 Inderjeet Singh 2017 Sindhi Hindus amp Nanakpanthis in Pakistan Abstracts of Sikh Studies Vol XIX No 4 p35 43 Abstracts of Sikh Studies via www academia edu A Gurdwara steeped in history The Times of India 25 March 2012 The Sikh Review Volume 41 Issues 469 480 Sikh Cultural Centre 1993 p 14 Bibliography Bhai Gurdas Vaaran Search Gurbani Retrieved 1 December 2012 Callewaert Winand M Snell Rupert 1994 According to Tradition Hagiographical Writing in India Otto Harrassowitz Verlag ISBN 978 3 447 03524 8 Cole William Owen Sambhi Piara Singh 1978 The Sikhs Their Religious Beliefs and Practices London Routledge amp Kegan Paul pp 9 10 ISBN 0 7100 8842 6 Cole William Owen Sambhi Piara Singh 1995 First published 1978 The Sikhs Their Religious Beliefs and Practices Sussex Academic Press ISBN 978 189872313 4 Cole William Owen Sambhi Piara Singh 1997 A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism Sikh Religion and Philosophy Taylor amp Francis p 71 ISBN 0 203 98609 1 Cunningham Joseph Davey 1853 A History of the Sikhs London John Murray pp 37 38 Dilgeer Harjinder Singh 2008 Sikh Twareekh Belgium The Sikh University Press Fenech Louise E 2014 Singh P Fenech L E eds The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies Oxford University Press ISBN 978 019969930 8 The First Master Guru Nanak 1469 1539 Sikhs org Retrieved 9 August 2009 Garg Abhinav 12 November 2019 How Guru Nanak played a role in Ayodhya verdict The Times of India Grewal J S 1998 First published 1990 The Sikhs of the Punjab In Johnson Gordon Bayly C A Richards John F eds The New Cambridge History of India pbk ed Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 63764 0 Gulati Mahinder N 2008 Comparative Religious And Philosophies Anthropomorphlsm And Divinity Atlantic Publishers pp 316 319 ISBN 978 81 269 0902 5 Gupta Hari Ram 1984 History of the Sikhs The Sikh Gurus 1469 1708 Munshiram Manoharlal ISBN 978 81 215 0276 4 Guru Nanak Sahib Ten Gurus Amritsar SGPC Archived from the original on 18 February 2012 Retrieved 9 August 2009 Hayer Tara 1988 Economic History of Sikhs Sikh Impact Vol 1 Surrey BC Indo Canadian Publishers p 14 Johal Jagbir 2011 Sikhism Today Bloomsbury Academic p 125 note 1 ISBN 978 1 84706 272 7 Kalsi Sewa Singh 2007 First published 1999 Sikhism Simple Guides pp 41 50 ISBN 978 1 85733 436 4 Kaur Nikky Guninder Singh 2004 Sundararajan K R ed Hindu Spirituality Postclassical and Modern Motilal Banarsidass p 530 ISBN 81 208 1937 3 Khorana Meena 1991 The Indian Subcontinent in Literature for Children and Young Adults An Annotated Bibliography of English language Books Greenwood Publishing Group p 214 ISBN 978 0 313 25489 5 The Legacy Of Rai Bular Bhatti Nankana com Archived from the original on 16 June 2013 Retrieved 9 August 2009 Lorenzen David N 1995 Bhakti Religion in North India Community Identity and Political Action Albany State University of New York Press ISBN 978 0 7914 2025 6 Macauliffe Max Arthur 1909 The Sikh Religion Its Gurus Sacred Writings and Authors Vol 1 Oxford University Press Macauliffe Max Arthur 2004 First published 1909 The Sikh Religion Its Gurus Sacred Writings and Authors India Low Price Publications ISBN 81 86142 31 2 Mandair Arvind Pal Singh 2009 Religion and the Specter of the West Sikhism India Postcoloniality and the Politics of Translation Columbia University Press pp 372 73 ISBN 978 0 231 14724 8 Mandair Arvind Pal Singh 2013 Sikhism A Guide for the Perplexed Bloomsbury Academic pp 131 34 ISBN 978 144110231 7 Marwha Sonali Bhatt 2006 Colors of Truth Religion Self and Emotions New Delhi Concept Publishing Company p 205 ISBN 81 8069 268 X McLeod W H 2004 Sikhs and Sikhism Comprising Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion Early Sikh Tradition The Evolution of the Sikh Community Who is a Sikh Oxford University Press pp 127 31 ISBN 978 0 19 566892 6 McLeod W H 2007 Essays in Sikh History Tradition and Society Oxford University Press pp 42 44 ISBN 978 0 19 568274 8 McLeod W H 2009 The A to Z of Sikhism Scarecrow Press ISBN 978 0 8108 6828 1 McLeod William Hewat 2019 First published 1998 Sikhism Encyclopaedia Britannica Menage V L 1979 The Guru Nanak Inscription at Baghdad Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Cambridge 111 1 16 21 doi 10 1017 S0035869X00134999 JSTOR 25210997 S2CID 163324791 Moreno Luis Colino Cesar 2010 Diversity and Unity in Federal Countries McGill Queen University Press p 207 ISBN 978 0 7735 9087 8 Nayar Kamal Elizabeth Sandhu Jaswinder Singh 2007 The Socially Involved Renunciate Guru Nanaks Discourse to Nath Yogi s New York State University of New York Press p 106 ISBN 978 0 7914 7950 6 Oberoi Harjot 1994 The Construction of Religious Boundaries Culture Identity and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition University of Chicago Press p 55 ISBN 978 0 226 61593 6 Prasoon Shrikant 2007 Knowing Guru Nanak Pustak Mahal ISBN 978 81 223 0980 5 Pruthi R K 2004 Sikhism and Indian Civilization New Delhi Discovery Publishing House pp 202 03 ISBN 978 81 7141 879 4 Sarwal Anil 1996 Guru Nanak and Miracles Miracles in Religion A Study of the miraculous in religion in context of the Baha i Faith Lucknow Royale Publishers Shackle Christopher Mandair Arvind 2013 Teachings of the Sikh Gurus Selections from the Sikh Scriptures Routledge pp xviii xix ISBN 978 1 136 45108 9 Sidhu Dawinder 2009 Civil Rights in Wartime The Post 9 11 Sikh Experience Ashgate Publishing p 26 ISBN 978 1 4094 9691 5 Sikhism Guru Nanak BBC 7 October 2011 Singh H S 2000 The Encyclopedia of Sikhism Hemkunt Press ISBN 978 81 7010 301 1 Singh Harbans 1982 Berkeley Lectures on Sikhism Berkeley University of California pp 12 18 ISBN 978 817304067 2 Singh Kartar 1984 Life Story Of Nanak New Delhi Hemkunt Press p 18 ISBN 978 81 7010 162 8 Singh Khushwant 2006 The Illustrated History of the Sikhs India Oxford University Press pp 12 13 ISBN 0 19 567747 1 Singh Kirapala Kapur Prithipala 2004 Janamsakhi tradition an analytical study Singh Brothers p 174 ISBN 9788172053116 Singh Nikky Guninder Kaur 2011 Sikhism An Introduction I B Tauris pp 2 8 ISBN 978 184885321 8 Singha H S 2009a First published 2000 The Encyclopedia of Sikhism New Delhi Hemkunt Publishers p 104 ISBN 978 81 7010 301 1 Singha H S 2009b Sikhism A Complete Introduction New Delhi Hemkunt Press p 8 ISBN 978 81 7010 245 8 Teece Geoff 2004 Sikhism Religion in Focus Black Rabbit Books p 4 ISBN 978 1 58340 469 0 Trumpp Ernest 1877 Adi Granth or The Holy Scriptures Of The Sikhs translated from the original Gurmukhi London W H Allen amp Co and N Trubner via Internet Archive External links and Further readingSingh Sahib Guru Nanak Dev and His Teachings Singh Shamsher Virdi Narendra Singh 1969 Life of Guru Nanak Through Pictures Phulan Rani Modern Sahit Academy Wikiquote has quotations related to Guru Nanak sikh history comPreceded by Sikh Guru20 August 1507 7 September 1539 Succeeded byGuru Angad Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Guru Nanak amp oldid 1130647044, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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