Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji
RETURN FROM SANGLADEEP:
Worship of Shiv's idol was very common in southern India at that time. There were twelve
Shivling temples and six of
them were situated in the south. Southern India was also ridden with caste system. Guru Nanak had to visit
all such
places to show the people the path of Eternal Truth i.e. the worship of Almighty, the Formless. This was
superior
and fruitful than the worship of the idols.
After staying for some time (may be a year) in Sangladeep, the Guru reached Cochin on his
wayback journey. There
is a Gurdwara at this place to mark the memory of the Guru. Delivering his divine doctrine he passed through
Palghat, Nilgiri Hills, Rangapatan and then reached Pandharpur. Saint Nam Dev whose Bani is included in Guru
Granth Sahib, passed most of his life at this place. From there he reached Barsi which was the native place
of
Saint Trilochan whose two Sabads are included in Guru Granth Sahib. From there he passed through Poona,
Amarnath, Nasik, Aurangabad and reached Amreshwar where there was famous temple called Onkar Mandir. Here
the
worship of Shivling (Shiv's idol) was considered as a worship of God. The people considered Sanskrit as the
language of the gods and learning of Sanskrit language was considered as an act of holiness.The Guru
preached
against the idol worship and stressed that one should only worship One but One God, the Formless. The gospel
preached by the Guru at the Onkar Mandir, is included in Guru Granth Sahib as Ramkali Mohalla 1- Dakhni
Onkar,
page 929.Then he proceeded to Indaur, Ujjain, Baroda and finally reached Palitana where there was a famous
Jain
temple. Jaini Sadhus would not take bath for many days thinking bathing killed some life in the water. Here
he
had discussion with a Jain Sadhu named Ambhi. He explained to the Sadhu that running away from water would
not
do any religious good but the worship of the Almighty was the only answer.The Guru went through almost all
the
famous Hindu pilgrimage places in the area and delivered his message of Oneness of God and to have belief in
none other than One Supreme Being only. He visited Somnath, Sudhana, Puri and Dwarka. From Kathiawar through
Kachh and Chataur, he reached Ajmer. There was a famous Muslim saint, Khawaza Mai-u-din Chisti, who
propagated
Islam for about seventy years at Ajmer. It was an annual Muslim gathering to celebrate Khawaza's day when
the
Guru reached there. He forbade the Muslims from worshipping the Makbras (the tombs of their saints), but
asked
them to worship only One God.Passing through Pushker, he reached Gokal Mathura-Bindraban. People were in
full
preparation for celebrating Lord Krishna's birthday. The Hindus placed Krishna's idol (which they call
Thakur)
in a small cradle.They were swinging it and were putting all their offerings before the idol. The Guru
exposed
the futility of idol worship and preached them to worship God, the Formless.After that he arrived at Delhi
and
stayed at Majnu da Tilla. There is a Gurdwara at this place at the bank of river Jamna. A Gurpurb of
Baisakhi is
celebrated at this place every year in April. Thence he went to Panipat where he met a Muslim saint Sheikh
Sharf
or Taher and urged him to worship only one God, the All- Pervading Divine Spirit instead of worshiping the
tombs
of the saints.Passing through Pehwa, he reached Kurukshetra, a place where the famous battle of Mahabharat
was
fought between the Kauravs and the Pandavs. It was an occasion of solar eclipse when the Guru visited
Kurukshetra. Thousands of people including a large number of Brahmans and saints had gathered there. Hindus
consider it sacred to go to Kurukshetra at the time of solar eclipse, bathe in the holy tank and give alms
to
Brahman priests. According to Hindu belief, solar eclipse occurs when sun, the god, is harassed by its
enemies,
the demons. None is required to eat anything during the eclipse.The Guru went there to draw attention of the
erring Hindu community towards the fact that eclipse was nothing but only a natural phenomenon. The Guru
took
his seat near the sacred tank and when the sun was eclipsed he began to cook deer which was presented to him
by
Prince Rai Singh. A big crowd gathered around the Guru, for it was a sacrilege to cook meat. The Brahmans
led by
Nanu besieged the Guru and were ready to club him to death. The Guru stood up and spoke. His words worked
like a
magic and the crowd stood spell-bound. "Man is first conceived in flesh, he dwelleth in flesh,
When he quickeneth, he obtaineth a mouth of flesh; his bone,
skin, and body are made of flesh.
When he is taken out of the womb, he seizeth teats of flesh.
His mouth is of flesh, his tongue is of flesh, his breath is
in flesh.
When he groweth up he marrieth, and bringeth flesh home
with him.
Flesh is produced from flesh; all man's relations are made
from flesh. By meeting the true Guru and obeying God's order,
everybody shall go right.
If thou suppose that man shall be saved by himself, he shall
not: Nanak, it is idle to say so." (Var Malar ki- Slok Mohalla 1- 25.1, p-1289)
GURU TO SARSA:
From Kurukshetra the Guru passed through Jind where there is Gurdwara in his memory and then
reached
Sarsa. Here he met a Muslim saint. The Muslim Pir had great influence over his disciples and he had given
them the
guarantee of securing a place in heaven for them. In return of such a guarantee, the disciples would bring
big
offerings in cash and kind to the Pir. The Guru explained to them that in order to get salvation, they
should
worship One God, the mere offerings would lead them no where.
TO SULTANPUR:
Sultanpur was about 135 miles north east of Sarsa and after eight years and covering more than
six
thousand miles on foot, the Guru reached Sultanpur. The elder sister, Bibi Nanki and her husband, and other
acquaintances were overjoyed to see him back.
HOME COMING:
After staying sometimes at Sultanpur, the Guru started towards Talwandi. His father was about 75
years
old. There was no postal service in those days. The old parents were waiting for their son to return. At
last their
son reached home and their joy knew no bounds. People from far and near came to have holy sight of the Guru.
They
started rejoicing his company again. At that time the Guru's children and his wife were with his in-laws at
Pakhokey, a place about 110 miles towards Lahore. So he proceeded to see his wife and children.
Ajita was the Chaudhry (chief) of that village. He had heard about the Guru but he had never
met
him
before. Ajita was so much impressed with the first holy sight of the Guru that he immediately became his
disciple.
FOUNDATION OF KARTARPUR:
Some writers say that the Guru founded Kartarpur (city of the Creator) after his third Udasi. Others believe
that he started the habitation of Kartarpur in 1516 right after he came back from his first travel in 1515.
Although wherever he went, he set up the missionary centers, yet he wanted to set up a central place to co-
ordinate the efforts and activities of his mission. Therefore he chose this place near Pakhokey along the
bank
of the river Ravi. When he broke this news to Chaudhry Ajita, he immediately agreed with him. The Chaudhry
and
many other people of that village denoted their land for the new town. The foundation of Kartarpur was
started
immediately. The Guru brought his parents to Kartarpur and so did Mardana. Morning and evening religious
congregations were started.
SECOND UDASI:
After starting the habitation of Kartarpur, the Guru started his second travel towards north. He
made
his first stop at Sialkot, a city about 50 miles east of Kartarpur. After the Muslim invaders established
their rule
in India, many Muslim faqirs (saints and preachers) also came along with them and these faqirs set up their
own
centers at different places to preach Islam. Through their missionary work most of the Hindus were converted
to
Islam. Pir Hamza Ghons was one of those faqirs who set up his center at Sialkot. There lived a Hindu family
in that
city who did not have any children. Thinking that the Pir had miraculous powers, the head of this Hindu
family
begged the Pir to bless him with a son. He promised that if a son was born, he would offer him to the Pir.
By the
grace of God, a son was born, but the man shied away to keep his promise and did not offer his son to the
Pir. This
enraged the Pir so much that he branded the whole city as full of liars and wanted to destroy it in revenge.
In
order to accomplish the destruction of the city, he sat in seclusion and undertook a fast of forty days. The
people
became very frightened and his disciples would not allow any one to come near him.
The Guru sat nearby and asked Mardana to play his rebec and started the Divine Sabad. Upon this
the Pir
was so much shaken up that he was forced to break his fast. As he listened to the Divine praise and prayer,
he
calmed down and sat before the Guru. The Guru made the Pir understand that for the mistake of one person,
there was
no justification of destroying the whole city. Pir Hamza Ghons was touched with the reality and truth.Thus
he
abandoned his revengeful act of destruction. There is a Gurdwara in honor of the Guru in Sialkot.
From there the Guru proceeded to Jammu and the temple of Vaishnu Devi goddess. Preaching his
doctrine of
Truth, he passed through Vairi Nag, Kukar Nag and Anant Nag springs and reached Pehalgam and then Amarnath,
a place
about 90 miles east of Srinagar. The Hindus worshiped Shivling at Amarnath, but the Guru discussed the
uselessness
of idol worship and asked them to worship one and only one God. A few miles before Amarnath there is a
Gurdwara
called Matan Sahib.
There lived at Srinagar a very learned Pandit called Brahm Das who always had some camels
following him,
loaded with volumes of ancient wisdom. This meant that he had the mastery over the knowledge contained in
that load
of religious books. He learnt that a holy man and a great Teacher had arrived in the valley and that many
people had
gone to him for his blessing. He first decided to go to him (Guru), but then his pride of knowledge kept him
away.
One day however, he went to see his friend, Kamal and mentioned to him about a strange visitor (Guru Nanak)
in the
valley.
Kamal was a devout Muslim and a seeker of Truth. He went to see the Guru without any hesitation.
When
Kamal got the glimpse of the Guru, he fell on Guru's feet and fainted with joy. As he regained
consciousness, he
found in his own heart the Light he had been yearning for years. Kamal got the blessing and became Guru's
follower.
The Guru asked him to settle in the valley of Kurram from where he spread Guru's doctrine to Kabul, Qandhar
and
Tirah.
After that Brahm Das also came to see the Master. He entered into discussion with the Guru and
boasted
of his knowledge of ancient wisdom. Seeing his camels loaded with books, the Guru uttered the following
Sabad:
"One may read cartloads of books,
One may read caravan-loads of books,
One may study boatloads of books
Or fill cellars with volumes of his study;
One may read for years and years
And spend every month in the year in study only;
And one may study all one's life Right up to his last breath;
O Nanak, only One word, God's name, would be of account,
All else would be senseless discussion of pride." (Asa Mohalla 1- Slok Mohalla 1, 1.9, p-467)
On hearing this Brahm Das begged,"Forgive me, O holy Guru! I have read sacred books and have acquired academic knowledge of all the six schools of philosophy, but I must confess that I have attained no peace of mind. Pray tell me, how can I get it?"
The Guru explained,"Academic knowledge breeds pride and pride darkens man's vision. Ego is the greatest barrier and unless a man gets rid of it, he cannot grasp the Truth, and there can be no peace of mind." Brahm Das fell at the feet of the Guru and begged,"Save me O Lord! I was in the dark and I am a sinner; bless me with peace." Brahm Das got the blessing and became Guru's disciple. He was entrusted with the task of preaching Sikh faith amongst the people of Kashmir valley.