Today is Guru Nanak Jayanti, also referred to as Gurupurab, which celebrates the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism. Every year, Guru Nanak Jayanti coincides with Kartik Purnima, as per Hindu calendar.
2025 marks the 556th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
Guru Nanak [1469-1539] was the founder of Sikhism, a
monotheistic religion born in 15th-century. Influenced by the pure monotheistic
doctrine of the Upanishads (mystical Hindu texts) Guru Nanak preached the
fundamental truth underlying all religion.
Guru Nanak was born in a Khatri family in 1469 at the
village of Talwandi ((now called Nankana Sahib), thirty-five miles south-west
of Lahore and situated in the Nankana Sahib district in the Punjab province of
Pakistan.
The followers of Sikhisism must carry five articles all the
time. They are known as the Five Ks: the Kesh (uncut hair), Kara (a steel
bracelet), Kanga (a wooden comb), Kaccha (cotton underwear), and Kirpan (a
curved dagger).
Guru Nanak is the first Sikh Guru. Nine gurus followed him
and there is no living human successor, but the Sikh holy book Guru Granth
Sahib is considered the 11th and eternal. Guru Nanak’s teachings are contained
in the Adi Granth which was compiled by the fifth guru, Guru Arjan (1564–1606)
Nanak's father was a Patwari (accountant). Nanak was given
formal education and employed as an assistant to his brother-in-law, Jai Rama,
who was in the service of Daulat Khan Lodi, governor of Lahore, at Sultanpur
Lodi in Punjab.
At Sultanpur Lodi Nanak began his religious career preaching
a faith based on equality and one God. He wandered over the country and even
beyond as far as Makkah and Medina. He died in 1539 in Kartarpur in Pakistan.
He preached the gospel of universal toleration and opposed
caste-based distinctions and religious fanaticism. His message was one of unity
of God and personal love for him. Both Hindu and Muslim were among his
disciples. He nominated Angada, one of his disciples as his successor who gave
unity and organisation to his followers. Gradually they became known as the
Sikhs.
A contemporary of Kabir, Nanak was also a Bhakti saint.
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