Who is guru nanak dev

He was the one who spread the message of humanity and mankind at a time when everyone was focusing on spreading their religion. He talked about women and their rights and equality.

He was a great scholar but still used local languages to spread his message among the people while he journeyed in all four directions. His teachings did not die with him but passed to further generations through his successor and his teachings are now included in Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji which is a holy book of Sikhs that contains all the teachings of Sikh Gurus and other spiritual leaders as well.

Full Name. Nanak Dev. Date of Birth. April 15, Place of birth. Rai Bhoe ki Talwandi now Nankana Sahib. Death Joti Jot. September 22, , Kartarpur. Guru Nanak history is very wide which includes his early life in which he lived with his family and the life in which his teachings begin.

This place was part of India by then but now it is known as Nankana Sahib which is located in the territories of today's Pakistan. Guru Nanak Dev Ji birth place is near Lahore.

Every year the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji is celebrated on full moon day in the month of Katak i. October - November. It falls on different dates every year and is celebrated by all the Sikhs around the world.

The name of his father was Mehta Kalu who worked as a village accountant and belonged to the Khatri caste and the name of his mother was Tripta who was very simple and a religious woman. He had an elder sister namely Nanki who loved his younger brother a lot. He was an extraordinary child from his childhood and his teachers and elders used to be astounded with his level of knowledge, understanding, and rational thinking on all the matters especially the spiritual ones.

In his growing age only, he used to put questions on the prevailing rituals of the society and even refused to participate in such rituals and religious activities and he also put questions on casteism and the practice of idolatry. Even he refused to put the sacred thread on the " Upanayana ritual". Besides this, he was very intelligent and by the age of 16 only he learned many languages such as Sanskrit, Persian, Hindi, etc.

When his father realized that Guru Nanak was not interested in farming or related activities so he thought of giving him some money for the business transaction so that he could do something profitable. Thus, he gave twenty rupees to him and sent Mardana with him to do some profitable transactions.

As per the records, Guru Nanak saw some hungry and needy people on the way and spent the entire amount on his food and said what could be more profitable and called a true bargain than helping the needy.

This incident is known as " Sacha Sauda" or "True Bargain". Another incident was of Sultanpur Lodhi. His beloved sister got married to Jai Ram. She moved to Sultanpur. Guru Nanak also went with her sister and brother-in-law for some days and started working there under his brother-in-law.

In Sultanpur, he used to visit a nearby river to bathe and meditate. One day he went there and did not return for three days. When he returned, he was looking like a man possessed and when he spoke, he said "There is no Hindu or Muslim".

These words were considered as the beginning of his teachings. He took majorly four spiritual journeys in the sub-continent to spread the message of God. First of all, he visited his parents and told them the importance of these journeys and then he started travelling. In the first journey, he covered most of the parts of Pakistan and India and this journey took almost 7 years i. He covered most parts of present-day Sri Lanka in his second journey and it also took 7 years.

It took place from AD to AD and took almost 5 years to complete. He visited Mecca and other places in the Middle East on his fourth journey and it took 3 years. In his final journey, he spread the message in Punjab for two years.

It is believed that he spent almost 24 years of his life on these journeys and travelled on foot to almost 28, km.

Many languages were known to him but he usually used the local languages to spread his message with the people which became more effective during these journeys. He taught people that to reach God, we do not require any rituals and priests. He believed that every human being can have that level of spiritual perfection that can lead him to God.

To attain God, he asked people to repeat the name of God. He taught people to live a life of spirituality by helping and serving others. He asked them to remain away from any kind of fraud or exploitation and living an honest life.

Basically, through his teachings he founded three pillars of the new religion i. Sikhism that are mentioned below:. Nanak, the string breaketh not if it is strong. Asa di Var, Mohalla 1. Out of the cotton of compassion spin the thread of contentment.

Tie knots of continence. Give it a twist of truth. That would make a Janaeu for the soul, if thou have it, O Brahman, put it on me. Such a thread once worn will never break nor get soiled, burnt or lost. The man who wears such a thread is blessed. Only fragrant flowers could be found which they distributed amongst themselves. From Wikibooks, open books for an open world. Category : Book:Sikhism. Namespaces Book Discussion. Views Read Edit Edit source View history.