Guru Nanak Dev Ji, who is also referred to as Baba Nanak, was the founder of one of the major religions in India, Sikhism. Nanak Ji is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. When going through the history of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, his story is spiritually as well as socially inspiring even among the non-religious groups. The 5 teachings of Guru Nanak dev ji are all about reforming the spiritual, social and political platforms on the basis of virtue, equality and fraternal love. But what was the history of Guru Nanak dev ji? How Guru Nanak died? With September 22, 1539, marking the end of his mortal life, let us look into the Guru Nanak dev ji story further explained in detail.
Birth And Early Life Of Baba Nanak – Guru Nanak Dev Ji Story
Nanak Ji was born on 15 April, 1469 at the village of Rai Bhoi Di Talwandi in Lahore, now known as Nankana Sahib, in Pakistan. According to the Hindu lunar calendar, his birth is recorded to be on the third day of the Shukla Paksha or the bright Lunar Fortnight in the Baisakh month.
He was born to his father, Kalyan Chand Das Bedi and his mother, Mata Tripta. They were both Khatris and his father was a local crop revenue account in the village of Talwandi. Since his childhood, Guru Nanak Dev Ji had been very bright and aware.
Many of the incidents from his early life demonstrate the touch of divinity in him. His intelligence, knowledge, and spiritual understanding at a tender age amazed his teachers. Later, in order to earn a living, Nanak Ji moved to Sultanpur, with his married sister and brother-in-law and soon enough, got married to Mata Sulakhni in the year 1487. He reportedly had two sons, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das.
History Of Guru Nanak Dev Ji – The History Of Spiritual Awakening
For years, Guru Nanak Dev Ji lived a simple family life, when in the first quarter of the 16th century, his religious devotion called him for a greater cause. There were four major journeys recorded in the history of Nanak Ji’s life. These journeys, over the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent for the spread of the teachings and message of his belief, came to be known as Udasiya in Sikhism.
During these journeys, he acquired a large number of followers and disciples, irrespective of their religious beliefs. This was highly due to the fact that Nanak Ji preached equality and brotherhood among all the existing religions, namely Hindus and Muslims. It was he who came up with the term, ‘Ik Onkar’, meaning ‘One God’s.
Guru Nanak Ji’s Udasiya, Or The Spiritual Journey
Although the places he visited during these journeys cannot be accurately identified in the present times, an overview can be drawn from the bits and snippets.
Journey 1
His first journey accounted for covering most of the area in India and Pakistan. It took him seven years, to preach and spread the words of wisdom in the subcontinent. One of the major reasons why his teachings were widespread is that he preferred to communicate in the local languages, in spite being proficient in many languages like Hindi, Sanskrit and Persian from a very young age.
Journey 2
His second journey took place for seven years as well, visiting and covering part of present-day Sri Lankan districts.
Journey 3
He even covered the mountainous regions of the Himalayas, including Tibet, Kashmir, Nepal and Tashkent in his third spiritual journey. This was comparatively for a shorter period of time and concluded in about five years.
Journey 4
The last of his major journey was to the middle eastern states including Mecca, which concluded in three years.
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The 5 Teachings Of Guru Nanak Dev Ji
The main mantra given by Guru Nanak Dev Ji is “Ik Onkar, Satnam, Karta Purakh, Nirbhau, Nirwair, Akaal Murat, Ajuni Saw Bham, Guru Prasad.” This translates to him telling us that there is only one God, our creator. He is shapeless, nameless, fearless and beyond life and death. He is immortal and only if he bestows his grace upon us can we humans chant his name.
Other than that, his numerous teachings and sutras or hymns are all collected into the form of religious scripture, Guru Granth Sahib Ji. This is a religious book for the Sikhs and has been passed on since the beginning in order to immortalize his work as a spiritual leader.
The 5 teachings of Guru Nanak dev Ji are given below:
- Naam Japo
Guru Nanak Dev Ji emphasizes meditating and chanting God’s name, in order to keep oneself harboured on the right path and not stray away with evil thoughts and deeds.
- Kirat Karo:
He teaches not to indulge in unfair practices or exploit others to earn a living and attain happiness. He says fraudulent means should never be adopted for gaining selfish peace and happiness.
- Vand Chakho
This basically means sharing is caring. Guru Nanak Ji says when God has given you enough, share it with others and help people in need to bring harmony and communal peace.
- Sarbat Da Bhalaa
He urges us to pray to the lord for not only one’s own happiness but for the wellness of the entire human race.
- Fearlessly speak the truth
He is a firm believer in fairness among people and thus, he teaches us to be truthful, and confident and fearless when standing by something that is right and true.
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How Guru Nanak Died? – Guru Nanak Dev Ji Attaining Moksha
Nanak Ji settled in Kartarpur, now in Pakistan, in the later years of his life. While there are some controversies regarding the date of his death, many believe that he shed his mortal body and died on September 22nd in the year 1539, aged 55.
The tale says that having a string of followers from various religions, everyone wanted to claim his body to perform his last rites according to their culture. But upon his death, his body was nowhere to be found the next day. Thus, it was done by everyone in their own ways.
So, this was the glorious life account of the greatest religious leader, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
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