The First Master Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji Part - II

The First Master Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji (1469 - 1539) contd……

Early one morning accompanied by Mardana, Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji Dev Sahib Ji  went to the river Bain for his bath. After plunging into the river, Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji did not surface and it was reported that he must have drowned. The villagers searched everywhere, but their was no trace of him. Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji was in holy communion with God. The Lord God revealed himself to Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji and enlightened him. 

In praise of the Lord, Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji uttered:

"There is but One God, His name is Truth, He is the Creator, He fears none, he is without hate, He never dies, He is beyond the cycle of births and death, He is self illuminated, He is realized by the kindness of the True Guru. He was True in the beginning, He was True when the ages commenced and has ever been True, He is also True now." (Japji)

These words are enshrined at the beginning of the Sikh Holy Scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib. 

Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji did not believe in a Trinity of Gods, or the belief that God can be born into human form.

After three days Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji appeared at the same spot from where he had disappeared. He was no longer the same person he had been, there was a divine light in his eyes and his face was resplendent. He remained in a trance and said nothing. He gave up his job and distributed all of his belongings to the poor. When he finally broke his silence he uttered;

"There is no Hindu, no Muslim". 

Daulat Khan asked what he meant when he said to Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji, "Perhaps the Hindus were no longer Hindus but the Muslims remain devout to their faith." Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji replied,

"Let God's grace be the mosque, and devotion the prayer mat. Let the Quran be the good conduct. Let modesty be compassion, good manners fasting, you should be a Muslim the like of this. Let good deeds be your Kaaba and truth be your mentor. Your Kalma be your creed and prayer, God would then vindicate your honour." (Majh)

Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji was thirty years old at this time in 1499. The next stage of his life began with extensive travels to spread the message of God. Accompanied by his Muslim rabab player Mardana for company, Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji undertook long journeys to convey his message to the people in the form of musical hymns. Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji choose this medium to propagate his message because it was easily understood by the population of the time. Wherever he traveled he used the local language to convey his message to the people. He traveled throughout the Indian Subcontinent and further east, west, and north to spread his mission. Wherever he went he set up local cells called manjis, where his followers could gather to recite hymns and meditate.

Once when Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji came to the small town of Saidpur in West Punjab he choose to stay there with Lalo, a low caste carpenter. At the same time the local chief of the town Malik Bhago, who was quite wealthy and a very proud man was holding a feast to which all holy men were invited. When Malik Bhago found out that Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji would not attend his feast but instead partook of the simple fare of his host Lalo, he was quite angry and had the Guru brought to him for questioning. When asked why he didn't join in the feast, the Guru sent for the meal served by Malik Bhago and also some of the simple meal served by Lalo. Holding these in separate hands he squeezed them, blood appeared out of the rich food of Malik Bhago, while milk oozed out of Lalos simple fare. Malik Bhago was put to shame and realized that his riches had been amassed by exploiting the poor, while what Lalo offered was the milk of hard earned honest work.

Two Friends

Another time while camped out at a town during the rainy season, several devotees would come to the Guru on a regular basis. One of them while on the way to see the Guru, came across a prostitute and was allured by her. Thereafter he would leave home on the pretext of going to see the Guru, but instead visited the prostitute. A few days later his friend who daily came to pay homage to the Guru was pricked by a thorn, while his neighbor, who visited the prostitute, found a gold coin in the street. The incident bewildered the Guru's devotee who came every day religiously. He mentioned it in the morning prayer meeting where Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji heard it and was amused.

He told the Sikh;

"Your friend was destined to come across a treasure but due to his evil ways, it has been reduced to a single coin. While on the account of your past karma you were to have been impaled with a stake, but having reformed yourself, you have been let off with the mere prick of a thorn." (Janamsakhi)

When the Guru visited Kurukshetra:

When the Guru visited Kurukshetra in Haryana, a big fair was being held at the holy tank to celebrate the solar eclipse. There were a large number of pilgrims all over the country. On his arrival at the fair, Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji had Mardana cook them a meat dish of a deer presented to them by one of his followers. Upon finding that meat was being cooked on the holy premises, a large angry crowd gathered in anger to attack the Guru for what they thought amounted to sacrilege (Bhai Mani Singh, Gyan Ratnavali, pg. 123). Upon hearing the angry crowd Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji responded;

"Only fools argue whether to eat meat or not. They don't understand truth nor do they meditate on it. Who can define what is meat and what is plant? Who knows where the sin lies, being a vegetarian or a non- vegetarian?" (Malhar).  

to be contd ……..

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