On Gurpurab, the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, REENA SINGH recalls the Guru’s timeless teachings and how we need the presence of the Guru more than ever, today
There was a time back in my childhood when Gurpurab meant a family trip to the Gurdwara for kirtan and the festive langar—roti, dal, sabzi, rice and kheer—the prasada prepared in the community kitchen and served by volunteers to the congregation who were seated together on mats on the floor. Everyone ate in patras, not in the styrofoam plates one sees today.
This Gurpurab, though, I did none of that. I stayed indoors shielding myself from the unprecedented smog that has blocked the sun for days, too afraid to venture out. And even if one could think of braving the smog, no parking is usually available in the vicinity of the gurdwara and the crowds are somehow just too intimidating.
But I was glad to see that Guru Nanak, though born in 1469 AD, remains vibrantly alive in people’s heart. This year, many more—apart from the estimated 30 million Sikhs worldwide—shared his three key teachings on WhatsApp. All through the day, groups and personal acquaintances shared slides with me with the words:
Kirit Karo
Earn honestly and righteously
Naam Jappo
Chant thy Name
Vandd Chhako
Share one’s wealth (and food) with the one’s in need
Traditionally, Sikhs celebrate this day every year with jaloos or processions, day-long langars and kirtan programmes, and spirited participation in the Guru-ka-langar which Guru Nanak had initiated. At night, Sikhs light up their homes (at least I did that), and some burst crackers they specially save up from Deepavali—although, this year, I confess, I didn’t hear them.
Guru Nanak, maverick poet, spiritual seeker and teacher made a huge impact across the length and breadth of his travels across India back in the 15th century. He toured Asia, from Mecca-Medina in the west to Burma in the east and as far down as Ceylon in the south, spreading his message of love and endearing himself to both Hindus and Muslims. His followers, the Sikhs of today, are known to have been drawn from both communities.
A number of legends are associated with Guru Nanak and Sikh children in most homes grew up listening to these tales in wonderment and fascination. Each story comes packed with a powerful message—that God is One, belongs to everyone and loves all his creations equally. These colourful parables exist today through the Janamsakhis, largely believed to have been written in the 18th century.
Says author Kirpal Singh in his introduction to Janamsakhi Tradition — An Analytical Study, that janamsakhis are “compilations of anecdotes on the life of Guru Nanak and anthologies of stories told of his life.” Though these stories are based on facts, they were written “from the standpoint of faith,” he says in the introduction to his work.
There is this much-loved story of Guru Nanak refusing to wear the sacred thread that Hindu boys of his caste had to don to distinguish themselves from others. The child, Nanak, refused, saying that people should be distinguished by their deeds and individual qualities, and not by threads. This pearl of wisdom came from young Nanak, who at that time, was only 11. The boy grew up special, lost in search of the true meaning of God, till he finally left home and family to find this truth. It was then that he began his crusade against the fanaticism, intolerance, meaningless rituals and discrimination of caste and sex that marked the two major religions of his time.
I hate to say this out loud—but it seems that not much has changed in present-day India.
Guru Nanak taught that God was One, based on Truth, and that everyone, man and woman was equal in His eyes. On this simple wisdom, the tenets of Sikhism rest. As his fame grew, Baba Nanak became Guru Nanak, and tales of his miracles reached far and wide.
On one occasion, while in Mecca, he fell asleep with his feet towards the mosque. He was woken up rudely and asked to shift his feet. Nanak asked the people to turn his feet in a direction where God did not dwell, if they thought his action was disrespectful. It is said that in every direction that his feet were turned, there was a mosque! Nanak later said: “To worship an image…yet to have the mind impure is all in vain.”
Another legend says that Baba Nanak disappeared under water for three days. He went in as a seeker, and came out initiated and completely changed, a Guru.
Another magical tale revolves around his stay with a poor farmer, Lalo. A rich man of the area, Malik Bhago had also invited the Guru to stay with him at the same time, but the Guru chose to stay with Lalo. When Bhago demanded an explanation for this insult, Guru Nanak asked for chapattis from both Lalo’s and Bhago’s homes. Then, holding them in either hand, he squeezed the chappatis. Out fell milk from Lalo’s chapattis, a symbol of his hard work, while drops of blood fell from Bhago’s chapattis, standing for the money he made by torturing and exploiting the poor and the weak.
Guru Nanak, himself, did not believe in miracles though. He has said in the scriptures: Please listen to the Truth that I speak. Except the True Name, I have no miracle.
Remembering these tales of Guru Nanak a day after Gurpurab, I thought how wonderful it would be if Guru Nanak chose to send someone just like Him to manifest here on earth. Now, more than ever, we need someone to show us the way so that once again, we look upon each other without hatred and suspicion and accept each other just the way we are…unconditionally and lovingly.
Reena Singh has more than 39 years’ experience in senior editorial positions in The Times of India (TOI) and Genpact. She was Deputy Editor with TOI’s spiritual newspaper, The Speaking Tree, where she spent more than nine years.