The word Sikh is
derived from the Sanskrit 'shishya' meaning disciple. Sikhs are
the disciples of their ten Gurus beginning with Guru Nanak Dev Ji
(1469 - 1539) and ending with Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1666 -1708).
There are over 20 million Sikhs in the world today, the vast majority
live in the north Indian state of Punjab.
Guru
Nanak Dev Ji
the founder of the Sikh faith was the son of an official with a small
holding of land in a village northwest of Lahore. Guru ji had his elementary
education in Sanskrit and Persian. His father intended to train him as
an accountant so that he could get a job in the court of the Muslim governor
of the district. But Guru Nanak Dev Ji turned out to be indifferent
to his school text books and instead engaged in long discourses with holy
men both Hindu and Muslim, who turned up at his village. He was the despair
of his parents as he would not attend to family business and spent what
ever money they gave him on feeding the poor. When he grew up to be a
young man , they arranged a marriage for him. For a time he devoted himself
to the care of his wife and two sons.
 |
Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji |
Then the
search for truth became too overpowering; bathing in a river Guru Ji had
a divine revelation in which Guru Ji entered the court of Akal
Purkh(God) who sent him on a mission to spread his word. For three days Guru Nanak Dev Ji was
missing presumed drowned. On the third day Guru ji appeared and started
his mission with a simple message 'There is no Hindu, there is no
Mussulman'. By this statement he was not decrying Hinduism or Islam, but
stating that in Gods eyes all are equal. He took with him as his
companions a Muslim musician Mardana Ji and a Hindu peasant Bhai Bala
and the three went preaching from village to village. Guru ji composed
his sermons in ragas (musical modes) which were sung to the
accompaniment of the Rabab (lute style intrument of Mardana Ji).
Guru Ji's
teachings inspired the people and within a few years these disciples
became a homogeneous group whose faith was exclusively the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
Guru Ji traveled all over India. He went as far as Assam ,far south as
Sri Lanka, far north as Tibet. Guru Ji then went westwards beyond India
to Mecca and Madina in Arabia. Wherever he went , he sang his hymns
which told the people that if they wanted to love God they should learn
first to love each other.
There
are countless stories of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's travels. Once Guru Ji came
to a river and in it he saw many Hindus who were taking water in their
clasped hands and offering it towards the Sun. Guru Ji enquired about
what was going on. One person replied " we are offering water to our
ancestors who are in the next world ". Guru Ji replied " This sounds
like a good idea, let me try". With this Guru Nanak Dev Ji started
offering water to the opposite side to the crowd. The throng looked on
and were very puzzled. "What are you doing Fakir Ji ?" they asked. "Why,
I am offering water to my fields in the Punjab" he said "if your water
can reach the next world surely mine can reach the Punjab which is a few
hundred miles away". With this the people realised their folly.
On
his travels Guru Ji met a very rich and successful man. The man invited
Guru Sahib to his large a luxurious house. The man had accumulated a
vast fortune with deciete and foul means and he boasted about his
wealth. He asked Guru ji if there was anything he could do for a man of
God. Guru Ji saw a needle on the floor picked it up and handed it to him
, "Please give me this needle in the next world". The man was puzzled
"How can i do this" he said " One comes into this world with nothing and
leaves it with nothing". The penny dropped and he realised that he had
wasted away his whole life. He fell at Guru Sahibs feet "Forgive me " he
cried. Guru Nanak Dev Ji blessed him and told him the three rules all
should live by : Naam Japo - Recite the name of the Lord at all times,
Kirat Karo - Do an honest days work , Wand Shako - Share your food with
those around you.Guru Nanak Dev Ji's crusade was against intolerance
which had become the practice of the Muslims, and the meaningless
rituals and discriminations of caste and gender which had become a
integral part of Hindu life.
Guru
ji spent the last years of his life with his family in the village of
Kartarpur. Here people flocked to him and heard him sing his hymns. Even
today Guru ji is regarded as the symbol of harmony between the two
communities.