Oneness of GOD

His first statement after his prophetic communion with God was "There is no Hindu, nor any Mussalman." He spread the message that there is only one God and so people should not divide them in different religions. Everyone should be treated as equal and said "nā kōi hindū nā kōi musalmān" which means that there is neither any hindu nor any muslim but everyone is sent by the only Almighty. Guru Nanak thus started spreading his teachings, what was then the beginning of Sikhism. According to him there was only one God, he explained that to Kazi, in Mecca.

During his tours, he visited numerous places of Hindu and Muslim worship. At Mecca, Guru Nanak ji slept with his feet towards the Kaabam. He was found sleeping by the Kazi, Rukan-ud-din. Whe he saw him he became very angry, went to Guru Nanak and asked him to turn his feel, in the other direction other than Mecca. Guru Nanak asked the Qadi to turn his feet in the direction where he could not find God. The Qadi was struck with wonder when he saw that in every direction when he turned Guru Nanaks feet, the Mecca automatically shifted to that direction. Thus, he understood the meaning of what the Guru was saying "God is everywhere".

Accompanied by Mardana, he began his missionary tours. Apart from conveying his message and rendering help to the weak, he preached life against caste distinctions ritualism, idol worship and the pseudo-religious beliefs that had no spiritual content. It is a matter of great significance that the Guru's first companion was a low caste Muslim. Also he promoted the concept of common kitchen or langar, which became a major instrument of helping the poor.

He spent twenty five years of his life preaching from place to place. During these tours he studied other religious systems like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Islam. His followers adopted a separate way of greeting each other with the words Sat Kartar (God is true). Twentyfive years of his extensive preparatory tours and preachings across the length and breadth of the country clearly show his deep conviction that the people needed a new prophetic message which God had commanded him to deliver.

On reaching Kartarpur after his tours, the Guru lived with their family members, for the remaining eighteen years of his life. He took up work as a cultivator, along with his morning and evening prayers. It was a total involvement in the moral and productive life of the community.

Thus, the Guru by his new message brought God on earth.

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Guru Nanak Dev Ji

Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, was born in the year 20 October 1469. He was born in the village of Rāi Bhōi dī Talwandī, near Lahore in Pakistan. Now it is called Nankana Sahib. Tripta Devi was Guru Nanak's mother. Mehta Kalu was his father, he was the patwari (accountant) of the village. He use to keep an account of the revenue from crop, for a Muslim landlord, Rai Bular Bhatti. He had one older sister, named Bebe Nanaki.

In his childhood, he left his home to explore the hidden mysteries that leads to pure life, as he was very much influenced by religion. Guru Nanaks ji's father got him admitted to school but he was never interested in studying, but was interested only in religion. Besides religion, he also learnt Persian and Arabic. In his childhood only, the landlord of the village was very much influenced by him, as he was got to know about the divine qualities he was blessed with. He also witnessed many incidents and got influenced. Also, his sister Bebe Nanki, also knew that Guru Nanak dev ji, was blessed with many divine powers. The event of poisonous cobra which worked to give shed to the sleeping child (Guru Nanak) from the scorching sunlight, as seen by Rai Bular, astonished him. In the school also, as a child Guru Nanak dev ji astonished his teacher by describing the implicit symbolism of the first letter of the alphabet, resembling the mathematical version of one, denoting the oneness of God.



When Guru Nanak Dev ji was 12 years old, though he was not interested in studying, his father gave him twenty rupees and asked to do a business. While walking through he saw some saints. Guru Nanak dev ji bought food for all the money and distributed among saints and the poor. In the evening when he came home, at his fathers question about the business done, he replied that he had done a "True business". Thus a gurdwara was made and named Sacha Sauda.

At Sultanpur, It was Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s daily routine to go to Bein stream for a bath. After bath he used to spend time in meditation. According to Janamsakhis, one he plunged into the stream, and remained missing for three days. It is said that Guru Nanak Dev Ji had a face to face talk with the Almighty, who assigned him with the mission of preaching the glory of his name. Then God blessed him and commanded, “O Nanak ! When you look at anyone gracefully, it is not yours, but my graceful look.”

Nanak was married to Sulakhni, the daughter, Moolchand Chona, a rice trader from the town of Bakala. They had two sons. The elder son, Sri Chand, was an ascetic, and he came to have a considerable following of his own, known as the Udasis. The Udasis served as guardians of the historical Sikh sites. The younger son, Lakshmi Chand, on the other hand, was totally immersed in worldly life. To Guru Nanak, both his sons were unfit to carry on the Guruship.

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