The couplet explains the prevalent environment at the time of birth of Guru Nanak Dev. Due to incessant foreign invasions, the Dharmic institutions of Bharat had been witnessing their diminishing role in guiding the society. The spirituality inherent in the cultural values of this country had started giving way to ritualistic traditions. It is noteworthy that the foreign raiders like Ghazanvi not only destroyed places of worship, they ransacked centres of knowledge also. The universities like Takshashila and Nalanda had been obliterated by the Islamic bigots. A vacuum in the field of knowledge and education had started building up.
There was a complete environment of despondency; masses were fearful, and the society had started resembling a rudderless ship. Centres of obscurity had started mushrooming up here and there. Bhai Gurdas had referred to that social environment as “Dhund” meaning fog in which hapless people were rendered directionless. In that background, Guru Nanak Dev, who was born in the year 1469 in Rai Bhoi ki Talwandi (presently Nankana Sahib) now in Pakistan, provided “Chanan” meaning light to the people who were struggling in darkness.
Guru Nanak Dev conceptualised an entire way of life which was based on Dharma and defined God in such simple terms which were understandable by every individual. In Mool Mantra he defined the almighty and his virtues and further established three pillars, Naam japo, Kirat karo and Vand chhako. These tenets are eternal and have universal appeal. Mool Mantra is “Ik Onkar Satnam, Karta purakh Nirbhau, Nirvair, Akal Moorat Ajooni, Saibangh, Gurparsaad Jap, Aadh sach, jugadh sach, hai bhi sach, Nanak hosi bhi sach.”
Guru Nanak Dev has defined all the attributes of the Almighty in the following way. God is one; His name is ever true and eternal, He is the prime doer and creator, He is fearless and without enmity towards anyone, He is of eternal form, He is without birth, uncaused, beyond reincarnation, self-existent and self-illuminating. He can be known with the grace of the enlightened teacher, the Guru. He (God) was true in the beginning; He was true in the primal age, He is true in the present and shall be true forever.
He exhorted humanity to always meditate on a supreme being. By doing so, humanity will be able to thwart the negative energies like Kaam, Krodh, Lobh, Moh and Ahankar (Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment and Pride or Ego). Singing devotional hymns glorifying the formless God cleanses and purifies human minds and creates virtues like love, compassion, kindness and forgiveness in the human society.
Kirat Karo Kirat karo means the human beings should earn their livelihood by doing hard work and should not become a burden on the society by becoming idle and inactive. Bhagwad Gita’s sermon of Karma has been put forward in very lucid and practical way for the masses. It is also noteworthy that in Guru Nanak Dev’s time, asceticism was on the rise and in pursuit of salvation, many people were abdicating social life and had been migrating to hills and jungles for meditation. Guru Nanak Dev was a staunch advocate of rightful family life and propounded that while remaining in Grahasth Jeevan (Family life), one should pursue the goals of spirituality. He got married to Mata Sulakhni at the age of 18 and had two sons, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Chand.
The effect of Guru Nanak Dev’s teachings can be found in practical terms today; the followers who are known as Sikhs are living example of his philosophy of earning one’s livelihood by doing “Kirat”. The community which is spread throughout the world is the epitome of self-respect, and hardly one can find any beggar in it. Most of the people in the north and north-western Bharat used to and are following his teachings. The millions who got displaced after the formation of Pakistan were rendered penniless, but due to their unflinching faith in the tenet of “Kirat” they resettled themselves and are again leading prosperous lives.
It is another tenet of the great teachings of Guru Nanak Dev which can be considered as a golden principle for blissful life. Vand Chhako means one should share its resources with fellow human beings. It is the principle of trusteeship in which the great Guru espoused that our material possessions have been bestowed upon us by the almighty and should be shared with those in need.
Another aspect of Langar reflects upon egalitarianism and equanimity; people from all castes, religions, faiths and classes sit together to take Prasaad (Food) in it. If the tenet of Langar is imbibed by the humanity at large, it can solve a whole lot of its problems; no individual will sleep on empty stomach and principle of trusteeship will go a long way in conflict resolution.
The Varna system, which was created to divide the duties among various segments of society, had degenerated into casteism and lives of the people belonging to lower castes were turned miserable by some inhuman and irrational elements of the society. The fault lines of the then society were exploited to the hilt by the invaders, and they started doing conversions with aplomb.
In this social background, Guru Nanak Dev rejected the casteist practices and as Bhai Gurdas wrote about him, “Charo varan it varan karaya”. That means Guru Nanak Dev amalgamated all four varnas into one and sermonised that all humans are equal and nobody should be discriminated against by caste, creed, religion or faith. He repudiated the Kshatriyas of that time for not protecting the society and the country from foreign raiders and wrote, “Khatriyan dharam chhadeya” means the Khatris (Kshatriyas) who were given duty of protection by the society abandoned it and allowed invaders to desecrate this land.
Guru Nanak Dev was fearless and taught his followers also to be brave and courageous. During his lifetime, Bharat had to witness numerous invasions by Babar who finally after defeating Ibrahim Lodhi in the year 1526, became ruler of this land. Babar and his army of plunderers had unleashed a reign of terror about which Guru Nanak Dev’s Babarvani appears in Asa di vaar in holy Guru Granth Sahib. He writes,” Khurasan khasmana kiya, Hindustan daraya, Aiti maar payi kurlane tain ki dard na aya” In this couplet, Guru Nanak Dev is asking from God that Babar after ransacking Khurasan had tormented Hindustan and when people were facing tyranny were you not moved?
He had addressed Babar as jabar; that means someone who was a tyrant and a terrorist. There was resurgence in the masses, and people started thronging the places where Guru Nanak Dev was doing Kirtan with two of his disciples, Bala and Mardana. He travelled far and wide and spread the message of humanity and non-duality of God.
Guru Nanak Dev travelled in all four directions to interact with people and clear confusion in respect of celestial as well as terrestrial matters. First Udasi was towards the east, and he travelled till Kamrup and Burma; second was towards south when he reached Sri Lanka; during third one, he traversed through Kashmir, Tibet and reached till Tashkent; in the fourth Udasi he went through most of the Arabian peninsula and stayed for some time at Mecca also. In the fifth and final travel, he visited most of the places in Sindh and undivided Punjab.
It is worth mentioning that wherever he went, he invited the intelligentsia to debate with him and presented his philosophy most scientifically and logically. That precisely is the reason Sikh faith does not believe in miracles, superstitions and obscurantism.
