The Story of Guru Nanak

as i promised yesterday, i do a few posts on the unique traditions of Punjab. During the Islamic invasions, the land of Punjab( which included present day pakistan)was the most threatened actually it was the religious traditions of the land which were threatened. That was the time when the bhakthi movement started in the various parts of India but had not yet reached punjab so that is how the initial roots of what came to be the rich tradition of " Sikhism" were eventually sown .Now it was the great Guru Nanak who started the bhakti movement in punjab Now here is a short story of Guru Nanak .Birth and early life
Guru Nanak Dev was born on 13 November 1469 into a Hindu Khatri( a sub caste of Kshatriya) family of the Bedi caste, in the village of Talwandi, now called Nankana Sahib, in Lahore, Present day pakistan.Today, his birthplace is marked by Gurdwara Janamastan.
His father, Mehta Kalyan Das popularly known as Mehta Kalu, was the patwari (accountant) of crop revenue for the village of Talwandi under the Muslim landlord of the village, Rai Bular, who was responsible for collecting taxes. Guru Nanak's mother was Triptha Devi and he had one elder sister, Nanaki.At the age of five years Nanak is said to have voiced interest in divine and spiritual subjects. At age seven, his father, enrolled him at the village school as per the norm.[8] Notable lore recounts that as a child Nanak astonished his teacher by describing the implicit symbolism of the first letter of the alphabet, as denoting the unity or oneness of God. Other childhood accounts refer to strange and miraculous events about Nanak such as a poisonous cobra being seen to shield the sleeping child's head from the harsh sunlight. Guru Nanak's teachings can be found in the Sikh scripture Guru Granth, a vast collection of revelatory verses recorded in Gurmukhi.
From these some common principles seem discernible. Firstly a supreme Godhead who although incomprehensible manifests in a variety of religious forms, the Singular 'Doer' and formless source of all forms. It is described as the indestructible or timeless form and in both impersonal and personal forms. Salvation or liberation depends on the grace ('nadir'- glance) of God alone and although outside the power of the individual, manifests through the individual whom is seen to be unceasing in their efforts. Religious awakening is compared to undergoing a living death.
Guru Nanak describes the dangers of the self (haumai- 'I am') and calls upon devotees to engage in worship through God's name and singing of God's qualities, discarding doubt in the process. However such worship must be selfless (seva). God's name cleanses the individual to make such worship possible. This is related to the revelation that God is the Doer and without God there is no other. Guru Nanak warned against hypocrisy and falsehood saying that these are pervasive in humanity and that religious actions can also be in vain. However the practice of satsang is considered exalted. It may also be said that ascetic practices are disfavoured by Guru Nanak who suggests remaining inwardly detached whilst living as a householder.Also, Guru Nanak said that" na koi hindu na hi koi musalmaan- hum sab ek hai , hamara rab bhi ek hi hai" loosely translated this means that there is no Hindu or Muslim, we are all one , even our GOD is one.(How similar it is to the teachings of the Vedic philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam).Through popular tradition, Guru Nanak's teaching is understood to be practiced in three ways:
Naam Jaapna: Chanting the Holy Name and thus remembering God at all times (ceasless devotion to God)
Kirat Karō: Earning/making a living honestly, without exploitation or fraud
Vaṇḍ Chakkō: Sharing with others, helping those with less who are in need
Guru Nanak put the greatest emphasis on the worship of True Name (naam japna). One should follow the direction of Awakened individuals rather than the mind (state of manmukh- being led by the mind)- the latter being perilous and leading only to frustration.
In the context of his times, reforms that occurred in the wake of Nanak's teachings and the bhakti movement at large included bhakti devotion being open to all castes, women not to be marginalized from its institutions, and both Godhead and Devotion transcending any religious consideration or divide, as God is not separate from any individual.
Common errors today are to understand Guru Nanak as a mere reformer or intellectual thinker. People tend to think of him as someone who attempted to reconcile Hindu and Muslim differences, and consequently of Sikhism as a thoughtful and conscientious attempt to combine elements of Hinduism and Islam. However, a close study of even a few of his shloks quickly dispel this false notion. Guru Nanak Dev spoke from direct understanding as an Awoken personality and not as a scholar, utilizing the language of [Punjab] at the time as a person of Hindu background living in a highly Islamic state. He encouraged people to worship within their own traditions, but to keep the focus on God's names rather than egotistic considerations.For over twenty years beginning in about 1497, Guru Nanak traveled in all four directions on foot. He traveled as far east as Assam and Burma. To the South he went as far as Sri Lanka (Ceylon). To the north he ventured even to places outside India like Tibet, Chinaand RussiaHe also went towards the west into Arabia and Persia and further on. From the stories ive heard from nani and dadaji, Nanakdevji travelled as far as Mecca and Medina and also visited many islamic centres. ( not very shocking as one of his closest disciple Bhai Mastana was a follower of the Islamic Sufi Sect)As his end approached Guru Nanak would frequently test the devotion of his sons and nearest followers and in doing so demonstrate their state of mind to one another. There were numerous such occasions and one particular devotee, Baba Lehna, rose to eminence because he never faltered in his faith in Guru NanakGuru Nanak appointed Baba Lehna as the successor Guru, renaming him as Guru Angad Dev, meaning 'one's very own' or 'part of you'. This successorhood wasn't a mere gesture. Via a transformation, compared in Sikh tradition as the passing of a flame from one candle to another, the Guru-aspect of Guru Nanak descended upon Guru Angad. Guru Angad became Guru Nanak. In Guru Granth Sahib this is described as having even a physical manifestation whereby Angad in person suddenly appeared to look like Nanak.
(To Sikhs, although there were ten separate Gurus in physical form, there was actually only one single Guru whose metamorphosised light moved from one successor or vessel to the next, granting a kind of rebirth to those personalities on their initiation. Hence they all held the original name of 'Nanak'.)
Shortly after proclaiming Lehna as the next Guru, Nanak announced that the time of his death had arrived, and retreated to a tree whereby he sat in the lotus position,nd the praan (life-force) was guided upwards and outwards from his body . The date was said to be 22 September,539according to the western calendar.And, upon his death, his followers from Hinduism as well as Islam were having quarels about his cremation and his successoer decided to just cover his body with a chaddar and let them carry on with their fight. The next morning when a compromise was reached between Nanaks followers, Guru Arjan Dev lifted tjhe chaddar not to finf Nanaks Body but lotus flowers where his body was and there after the Hindus immeresed the flowers in the Ganges and the Muslims buried the flowers at one of their dargahs. Look forward to the post on the Golden Temple tomorrow and also my first experience there.