Instead of encouraging renunciation, he preached the lessons of hard work, honest living and hospitality, says Sharika Muthu
In a country that is home to hundreds of millions, who speak different languages and believe in a dozen religions and faiths, a man preached about one God and one world while speaking in one language — the language of love.
Born in Talwandi village (now in Pakistan) in 1469, Nanak was a rather unusual child, who constantly demanded answers to the most complex philosophical questions. Gifted with a sharp mind, he learnt his lessons quickly and eagerly. After school everyday, when it was time for him to graze cattle, he would be lost in deep meditation for hours together, while the cattle strayed far away. Whenever he got the opportunity, he would engage in profound discussions with Hindu and Muslim holy men who happened to be passing through the village.
When Nanak turned 13, his father arranged for him the sacred thread ceremony. However, when the priest approached him, thread in hand, Nanak burst out with these words: “let mercy be the cotton, contentment the thread, continence the knot and truth the twist. O priest! If you have such a thread, do give it to me. It’ll not wear out, nor get soiled, nor burnt, nor lost.”
Realising that their son was becoming ‘unmanageable’, Nanak’s parents decided to marry him off, hoping that a householder’s responsibilities would ‘cure’ him. To their great joy, Nanak agreed to settle down with the gentle Sulakhani. Within a few years, he had two sons, Sri Chand and lakshmi Chand. He took up a job as an accountant in charge of the stores of the Muslim governor of Sultanpur. In the evenings after work, Nanak regaled his family and friends with melodious songs, sung to the accompaniment of the rabab (an oriental string instrument), played by his childhood friend Mardana.
Nanak was now a happy family man, and all seemed peaceful. However, his destiny took a strange turn one day when he went to the river to bathe — something he had done every day for 30 years. Nanak waded into the river, immersed himself completely, and did not come out. Finally, a tearful Mardana broke the news to the shocked village that Nanak had drowned. It is believed that suddenly after three days, Nanak appeared — emerging from the river at exactly the same spot as he had disappeared. The awe-struck villagers saw that there was a radiance on his face and a light in his eyes. And when he opened his lips, he said: “There is but one God, His name is truth, He is the creator, He fears none, He is without hate, He never dies, He is beyond the cycle of birth and death, He is self-illuminated, and He is realised by the kindness of the true Guru.”
From that point onward, Nanak began a new life. He gave up his job and set out on a journey to spread God’s message. Accompanied by Mardana, he travelled across the country — from Multan in the north-west to Assam in the east, and from Kashmir in the north to lanka in the south. The singing Hindu youth and his rabab-playing Muslim companion must have made a strange pair as they urged people to love one another.
Opposed to the caste system, Nanak started the tradition of langar or ‘community meal’. Anyone coming to the langar — from any caste, community or creed — is welcome to a free meal. Here, a king may sit next to a beggar, and a businessman may eat with a farmer. The symbolic experience of eating a humble meal as equals is the cornerstone of Guru Nanak’s teaching. Himself a householder, Guru Nanak preached the lessons of hard work, honest living and hospitality; and these became the foundation stones of the Sikh community. Instead of encouraging renunciation, he advocated useful activity, service and charity.
Thus, Nanak founded a new religion of simplicity, unity and equality. He preached the unity of all mankind, and the oneness of God, who has created us all. Incidentally, Sikhism, the religion which Nanak founded, means the religion of those who accept a teaching — the Hindi word for ‘teaching’ being seekh. So, all those who accepted Nanak’s teachings became Sikhs. And the teaching was the simplest possible — love all, be kind to the poor and praise God — the one maker.