November 9, 2011: Sikhs all over the world are celebrating Guru Nanak’s Birthday (Properly called as: Pawan Prakash Utsav) on November 10, 2011 with great devotion and celebrations.
Guru Nanak Professed:
- God is one. He has innumerable forms. He is the creator of all.
- Truth is High; Higher Still is Truthful Living.
- Engage in a daily practice of Meditation (by reciting and chanting of God’s Name).
- Honest Living. Daily earnings must be through honest means.
- Share with the needy. It is the greatest and true worship of all time.
Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. The
Sikhs believe that all subsequent Gurus possessed Guru Nanak’s divinity and religious authority.
One of the most spiritual and sacred Compilations of Guru Nanak, called as Japji states: "There is but One Universal Creator God; His name is ‘Truth’ and He is the Creator. He fears none; He is without hate; He never dies; He is beyond the cycle of births and death; He is self existent and self illuminated; He is realized by the kindness of the True Guru. He was True in the primal beginning; True throughout the ages; Ever been True. He is also True now."
These words are enshrined at the beginning of the Sikh Holy Scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib.
Guru Nanak’s path was, is and will ever remain decorated with endless rows of true flowers. He realized God by singing virtues of God and following a life of true deeds.
He only sang in the beautiful poetic forms of the time. Singing, often extemporaneously, with all his heart and soul, so much so that his singing became his meditation and Hymns. This was Nanak’s path, decorated with true flowers of song - songs of glory and praise of the Almighty Lord.
His blissful and mesmerizing Hymns are not those of an ordinary singer. There is the ring of truth, the reflection of God within them. It is these Hymns of love and expressions of truthfulness and worship, along with the Hymns of Guru Nanak's nine successors, that form the eternal Guru of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib.
Guru Nanak founded and formalized the three main principles of Sikhism:
- Meditation: Guru Nanak preached and practiced meditation on God through reciting, chanting, singing and constant remembrance followed by deep study and comprehension of God’s name and virtues. In real life, to practice and tread on the path of righteousness - the inner thought of the Sikh thus stays constantly immersed in praises and appreciation of the Creator and the “ONE ETERNAL GOD” – is commonly referred by Sikhs as Waheguru (meaning: The Wonderful Lord).
- Honest Living: He expected the Sikhs to live as honorable householders and earn honest living by ones physical and mental effort while accepting both pains and pleasures as God's gifts and blessings. One is to stay truthful at all times and, fear none but the Eternal Super Soul. Live a life founded on decency immersed and controlled by high spiritual, moral and social values.
- Share with the Needy: Guru Nanak preached the Sikhs to share their earnings with the needy by practicing “share and consume together.” The community or congregation is an important part of Sikhism. One must be part of a community that is living the flawless objective values set out by the Sikh Gurus and every Sikh has to contribute in whatever way possible to the common community pool. This spirit of sharing and giving is an important message from Guru Nanak.
In 1499, he embarked on his Divine Mission and travelled on foot towards east, west, north and south of India. He met people of different religions, tribes, cultures and races - his travels are called Udasis. Guru Nanak was moved by the plight of the people of world and wanted to tell them about the "real message of God." Guru Nanak saw the world suffering out of hatred, fanaticism, falsehood and hypocrisy. The world had sunk in wickedness and sin, so he decided that he had to travel and educate and press home the message of Almighty Lord. He carried the torch of truth, heavenly love, peace, compassion, righteousness and joy for mankind
Social Reforms and Contributions By Guru Nanak:
- Equality of Humans: Guru Nanak preached against discrimination and prejudices due to race, caste, status, etc. All Human Beings are created equal. He urged to "conquer" our minds to these evil practices. All human beings had the light of the Lord and were the same - only by subduing one's pride and ego could one see this Light in all.
- Equality of women: Around 1499 when the world offered low to no status or respect to women, Guru Nanak sought to improve the respect of women by spreading this message: "From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all. O' Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman."
- Universal message for all people: It had been a custom at the time for religious leaders to address only their own congregation and for segregation of the different religions -- but Guru Nanak broke with tradition and spoke to all of humanity.
Unity, Harmony, Equality, Love, Faith, Sharing, Giving…is Guru Nanak!
(Author Manmohan Singh Bharara (Manny) is co-founder of Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar, Southington CT and is the founder of Sikh Faith Organization of Spiritual Enlightenment, UjaroDeepa.Org. This entry is designed to provide educational, be it brief, information for those curious about the Sikhism)
Related stories:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/11/19/statement-president-anniversary-birth-guru-nanak-dev-ji
http://www.sikhnet.com/news/obama-greets-sikhs-guru-nanaks-birth-anniversary-and-hosts-event-white-house
http://southington.patch.com/blog_posts/gurdwara-the-gateway-to-guru-a-place-of-worship-for-sikhs