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Guru Baba Nanak in Afghanistan |
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| Guru Nanak Dev Ji visited district Surkh-Ro-d of Nangarha-r Province in Afghanistan on his return from Baghdad and Mecca to India in the 16th century. Local tradition says at that time people in this region had a water shortage. They asked Guru Nanak for help and said to him “You are a messenger of God, please pray to God to relieve us from the water shortages. Guru Nanak listened to their problem and acted upon by pointing a stick to the nearby ground where a spring of water surfaced. There was no water shortage at this place from that day onward. The water needs of locals were fulfilled. Henceforth Sri Chishma Sahib has become a place of pilgrimage. Thereafter, Baba Nanak went to the Jalalabad and stayed there for 40 days. There now is a Gurdwara called Guru Nanak Darbar is situated in Jalalabad. Everyday after bathing in the Kabul River, he taught message of mutual respect and universal brotherhood in Jalalabad. In that Gurdwara there is a historical well where Guru Nanak gave sermons. In the last few years this place had almost dried up but now, after supplications of the followers, the water here has sprung again. Since then followers come here to bathe at this sacred place. Devotees gather here twice a year during the festival of Vaiskhai and on Guru Nanak birthday. In the past, (before the conflict) Sikhs and Hindus from Kabul, Kandahar, Ghazni, Paktia, Khost and other parts of the country came here and camped for 8 days in celebrations of the religious festivals. The atmosphere was lovely; after bathing in the sacred pool disciples went to the nearby Gurdwara where they listened to holy hymns and discourses. During the last 30 years of conflict most of Afghan Sikhs community have fled to other countries in Europe and Asia. As a consequence, the population of Sikhs in Nangarhar together with neighbouring Laghman and Kunduz provinces have dwindled very significantly. A happy Gurpurb to you all Researched & Written by Pritpal Singh, TheDutchSikh Follow on Twitter: @TheDutchSikh1 https://www.facebook.com/TheDutchSikh https://www.youtube.com/TheDutchsikh |