Today marks the Prakaash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev jee. Happy Gurpurb to everyone. May Guru Nanak Dev jee bless us all and light up our lives with Naam and Gurbani.
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| Old rare photo of Sri Nankana Sahib |
Below is a really nice written article by the Sikh Research Institue in celebration of Guru jee's Gurpurb:
"He [Guru Nanak] dispenses justice judiciously and
in his kingdom tolerated no atrocity or tyrant.
The wise Guru has manifest itself as the mentor of the world."
- Bhai Gurdas, 24.4
Guru Nanak Sahib, the center of Sikh consciousness, means different things to different people. For some he is the source of boons, bounties and happiness; for others the fountain of spiritual wealth, ascendency and contentment; and for still others he is the deliverer from bondage of ignorance, protector of the oppressed, and a flag bearer against slavery, hegemony, hypocrisy and so on.
Today as we celebrate Guru Nanak Sahib’s arrival (prakash purab – popularly birth anniversary, but literally illumination day) on the world scene 546 years ago, let’s take a moment to reflect on what he means to each of us.
He met the panda and forever changed the yardstick of education and learning. He took twenty rupees (today’s $300,000) from father Kalu and changed the rules of trade. When Bebe Nanaki got married, he moved in with her and defied cultural norms. He encountered Babar at Saidpur, and with his defiance changed the equation between the ruler and the ruled. He engaged with the kazi, the brahman and the jogi, and redefined religiosity and leadership. He fostered an environment of honest dialog and communication.
“The mist cleared and the light scattered,” as the Guru Nanak of Bhai Gurdas “rose like the Sun to dispel the darkness. Stars disappeared. The Lion roared, and the flock of deer ran away.”
The Divine-like Guru Nanak Sahib changed the status quo and questioned the conventional wisdom. He nurtured a sovereign and aware individual, based on love of humanity and justice as its foundation, free to experience the beauty of the Divine within and around.
Prof. Puran Singh writes, “Guru Nanak condemns false creeds, crooked politics and unjust social order. He condemns the hollow scriptures and isms of the times; he condemns barren pieties, asceticism, trances, sound-hearing yogas, bead-telling, namazes’ fasts, and all formal vagaries of religious and political hypocrisies. He condemns them without sparing any, for it was all darkness in the world and men.”
In a world with increasing differences in wealth and power distribution, the brother of Bebe Nanaki is more relevant to us than ever before, as the principle revealed to us in the Divine wisdom of the Sabad.
A fitting celebration of Guru Nanak Sahib’s arrival would require us to reflect on the values inculcated by him (and not whether it was month of Kattak or Vaisakh, though that is historically important) and ask reflective questions:
Am I furthering dead forms and perverted social orders in the guise of religiosity?
Is the law of Love dominating all spheres of human activity?
Is my journey starting with where the Creator dwells—Kartarpur?
Is the Sikh collective working towards realizing the Guru’s City of Joy—Anandpur?
Today as we celebrate Guru Nanak Sahib’s arrival (prakash purab – popularly birth anniversary, but literally illumination day) on the world scene 546 years ago, let’s take a moment to reflect on what he means to each of us.
He met the panda and forever changed the yardstick of education and learning. He took twenty rupees (today’s $300,000) from father Kalu and changed the rules of trade. When Bebe Nanaki got married, he moved in with her and defied cultural norms. He encountered Babar at Saidpur, and with his defiance changed the equation between the ruler and the ruled. He engaged with the kazi, the brahman and the jogi, and redefined religiosity and leadership. He fostered an environment of honest dialog and communication.
“The mist cleared and the light scattered,” as the Guru Nanak of Bhai Gurdas “rose like the Sun to dispel the darkness. Stars disappeared. The Lion roared, and the flock of deer ran away.”
The Divine-like Guru Nanak Sahib changed the status quo and questioned the conventional wisdom. He nurtured a sovereign and aware individual, based on love of humanity and justice as its foundation, free to experience the beauty of the Divine within and around.
Prof. Puran Singh writes, “Guru Nanak condemns false creeds, crooked politics and unjust social order. He condemns the hollow scriptures and isms of the times; he condemns barren pieties, asceticism, trances, sound-hearing yogas, bead-telling, namazes’ fasts, and all formal vagaries of religious and political hypocrisies. He condemns them without sparing any, for it was all darkness in the world and men.”
In a world with increasing differences in wealth and power distribution, the brother of Bebe Nanaki is more relevant to us than ever before, as the principle revealed to us in the Divine wisdom of the Sabad.
A fitting celebration of Guru Nanak Sahib’s arrival would require us to reflect on the values inculcated by him (and not whether it was month of Kattak or Vaisakh, though that is historically important) and ask reflective questions:
Am I furthering dead forms and perverted social orders in the guise of religiosity?
Is the law of Love dominating all spheres of human activity?
Is my journey starting with where the Creator dwells—Kartarpur?
Is the Sikh collective working towards realizing the Guru’s City of Joy—Anandpur?
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