Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ), also known as (Father Nanak), was an Indian spiritual teacher, mystic and poet, who is regarded as the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh gurus.
Nanak is said to have travelled far and wide across Asia teaching people the message of Ik Onkar (), who dwells in every one of his creations and constitutes the eternal Truth. With this concept, he would set up a unique spiritual, social, and political platform based on equality, fraternal love, goodness, and virtue.
Nanak's words are registered in the form of 974 poetic hymns, or shabda, in the holy religious scripture of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib, with some of the major prayers being the Japji Sahib (; ji and sahib are suffixes signifying respect); the Asa di Var ('Ballad of Hope'); and the Sidh Gosht ('Discussion with the Siddhas'). It is part of Sikh religious belief that the spirit of Nanak's , divinity, and religious authority had descended upon each of the nine subsequent Gurus when the Guruship was devolved onto them. His birthday is celebrated as Guru Nanak Gurpurab, annually across India.
Biography
Birth
Nanak was born on 15 April 1469 at village (present-day Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan) in the Lahore province of the Delhi Sultanate, although according to one tradition, he was born in the Indian month of or November, known as Kattak in Punjabi. He was born into the Punjabi Khatri clan like all of the Sikh gurus, specifically, Guru Nanak was a Bedi Khatri. According to Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair, it is more likely that Nanak was born in his mother's home village, known as Nanake, hence why he and his elder sister were named Nanak and Nanaki, respectively, although the Janamsakhis claim he was born in his father's village. Kapur Singh notes that Guru Nanak was born in the Bar region of Punjab, historically an alluvial barren tract of the Punjab.
There are many supernatural narratives surrounding the birth of Nanak, such as that he was greeted by various Hindu deities after birth. Another tale claims he had the laugh of a full-grown adult, which surprised the Muslim mid-wife Daultan. Furthermore, it is claimed that astrologers predicted the child's future greatness.
Kattak birthdate Most janamsakhis (), or traditional biographies of Nanak, mention that he was born on the third day of the bright lunar fortnight, in the Baisakh month (April) of Samvat 1526. These include the Puratan janamsakhi (puratan meaning "traditional" or "ancient"), Miharban janamsakhi, Gyan-ratanavali by Bhai Mani Singh, and the Vilayat Vali janamsakhi. Gurbilas Patashahi 6, written 1718, also attributed to Bhai Mani Singh, contradicts Mani Singh's Janamsakhi as it instead says Guru Nanak was born on the full moon of Katak. The Sikh records state that Nanak died on the 10th day of the Asauj month of Samvat 1596 (22 September 1539 CE), at the age of 70 years, 5 months, and 7 days. This further suggests that he was born in the month of Vaisakh (April), not Kattak (November).
As late as 1815, during the reign of Ranjit Singh, the festival commemorating Nanak's birthday was held in April at the place of his birth, known by then as Nankana Sahib. However, the anniversary of Nanak's birth—the Gurpurab (gur + )—subsequently came to be celebrated on the full moon day of the Kattak month in November. The earliest record of such a celebration in Nankana Sahib is from 1868 CE.
There may be several reasons for the adoption of the Kattak birthdate by the Sikh community. For one, it may have been the date of Nanak's enlightenment or "spiritual birth" in 1496, as suggested by the Dabestan-e Mazaheb.
Some of the sources that support the Katak birthday incident include:
The Bala Janamasakhi supports the Kattak birth tradition. It is the only Janamsakhi that does. Bhai Bala is said to have obtained Nanak's horoscope from Nanak's uncle Lalu, according to which, Nanak was born on a date corresponding to 20 October 1469 CE. However, this janamsakhi was written by Handalis—a sect of Sikhs who followed a Sikh-convert known as Handal—attempting to depict the founder as superior to Nanak. According to a superstition prevailing in contemporary northern India, a child born in the Kattak month was believed to be weak and unlucky, hence why the work states that Nanak was born in that month.
Bhai Gurdas, having written on a full-moon-day of the Kattak month several decades after Nanak's death, mentions that Nanak had "obtained omniscience" on the same day, and it was now the author's turn to "get divine light."
According to eyewitness Sikh chronicles, known as Bhatt Vahis, Guru Nanak was born on the full moon of Katak.
The Gurbilas Patashahi 6, written in 1718 attributed to Bhai Mani Singh, says Guru Nanak was born on the full moon of Katak.
Meham Parkash written in 1776 also says Guru Nanak was born on the full moon of Katak.
Kesar Singh Chibber’s Bansavalinama Dasan Patashahia Ka, meaning genealogy of the ten emperors, written in 1769, also states that Guru Nanak was born on the full moon of Katak.
Gurpurnali written in 1727 and Guru Tegh Bahadur Malwe da Safar written in 1716 both mention Guru Nanak being born on the full moon of Katak.
Nanak Chandrodaya Sanskrit Janamsakhi from 1797 and Janam Sakhi Baba Nanak by Sant Das Chibber from the 18th century both mention Guru Nanak being born on the full moon of Katak.
Gurpur Parkash Granth, written by Sant Ren Singh based on a granth written by Binod Singh states Guru Nanak was born on the full moon of Katak.
According to Max Arthur Macauliffe (1909), a Hindu festival held in the 19th century on Kartik Purnima in Amritsar attracted a large number of Sikhs. The Sikh community leader Giani Sant Singh did not like this, thus starting a festival at the Sikh shrine of the Golden Temple on the same day, presenting it as the birth anniversary celebration of Guru Nanak.
Macauliffe also notes that Vaisakh (March–April) already saw a number of important festivals—such as Holi, Rama Navami, and Vaisakhi—therefore people would be busy in agricultural activities after the harvest festival of Baisakhi. Therefore, holding Nanak's birth anniversary celebrations immediately after Vaisakhi would have resulted in thin attendance, and therefore, smaller donations for the Sikh shrines. On the other hand, by the Kattak full moon day, the major Hindu festival of Diwali was already over, and the peasants—who had surplus cash from crop sales—were able to donate generously.
Family and early life
Narratives surrounding the birth and early life of Nanak show similarities to those told about Buddha, Jesus, and Krishna, although Nanak's birth was a natural one and not to a virgin. A common theme is Nanak's father wishing for his son to live an ordinary life marked by financial and social success, not understanding that the deeply contemplative young Nanak was more interested in spiritual affairs, which causes conflict between them. Meanwhile, Nanak's mother Tripta differs in her approach and recognizes early on the uniqueness of her son. Two persons are claimed in Sikh lore as recognizing the spiritual qualities of Nanak early on in his life, namely his elder sister Nanaki and the local Muslim landlord, Rai Bullar.
Nanak's parents, father Kalyan Chand Das Bedi (commonly shortened to Mehta Kalu) and mother Mata Tripta, were both Hindus of the Khatri caste who worked as merchants. His father, in particular, was the local patwari (accountant or revenue overseer) for crop revenue in the village of Talwandi. Nanak's father worked for Rai Bullar, who was a recent Bhatti Rajput convert to Islam from Hinduism. Nanak's paternal grandfather was named Shiv Ram Bedi and his great-grandfather was Ram Narayan Bedi. Nanak's mother, Tripta, had a Muslim mid-wife named Daulat who cared for her during her pregnancy, showing an affinity of Nanak's family to Muslims. Nanaki, Nanak's only sister, was four or five years older than him. At Talwandi, Nanak had a childhood friend named Mardana, who was a Muslim rababi.
According to Sikh traditions, the birth and early years of Nanak's life were marked with many events that demonstrated that Nanak had been blessed with divine grace. Daulat, the Muslim mid-wife who helped deliver Nanak, praised the baby as per the Janamsakhis. Commentaries on Nanak's life give details of his blossoming awareness from a young age. For instance, at the age of five, Nanak is said to have voiced interest in divine subjects. His father enrolled him at the village school (a pathsala) under a Brahmin teacher, as per custom. Nanak studied under a teacher named Gopal at the age of five, being an unusually fast-learner, surpassing what the teacher could instruct him in. Nanak learnt the subjects of arithmetic, book-keeping, mnemonic tables of accountancy, and the Devanagari script (known as Sastri script in the northwestern India at the time). Notable lore recounts that, as a child, Nanak astonished his teacher by describing the implicit symbolism of the first letter of the alphabet, resembling the mathematical version of one, as denoting the unity or oneness of God. At age seven, he was sent to study under Brij Nath, where he learnt about the Vedas and the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy. On the suggestion of Rai Bullar, Nanak's father sent his son at the age of nine to study at a maktab under a Muslim teacher named Saiyid Hassan, a maulvi, where he learnt Persian, Arabic, and studied Indo-Islamic literature. Nanak's father hoped his son would take up accounting or mercantile work but Nanak was more interested in religious pursuits, spending much of his time outside, often discussing subjects with sadhus and sufis or roaming the local wilderness. Nanak also spent much time taking care of the family's cattle in the fields, as his father noticed he seemed happier outdoors than indoors. Other stories of his childhood refer to strange and miraculous events about Nanak, such as the one witnessed by Rai Bular, in which the sleeping child's head was shaded from the harsh sunlight, in one account, by the stationary shadow of a tree, or in another, by a venomous cobra. The cobra version is sourced from the Bala janamsakhi tradition. An early miraculous story found in Sikh literature is one where Nanak was watching over his family's buffalos when they rampaged into a neighbouring field, destroying crops. However, when the condition of the crops was checked, they were mysteriously unharmed (the location of the field is now marked by Gurdwara Kiara Sahib in Nankana Sahib).At the age of nine, Nanak began composing his own poetry, being influenced by bhagats and Sufis. Nanak was especially close to his sister. In 1475, Nanak's elder sister, Nanaki, married at the age of 13 and moved to Sultanpur Lodhi. The departure of his elder sister was a source of sorrow for the young Nanak. Two years later, the village priest Hardyal attempted to confer the janaeu thread (a cotton-thread worn on the waist by dvija Hindu boys) on Nanak's body and shave his head to initiate him to the yajnopavitam (upanyana) custom at a local gathering but he rejected it and criticized the impermanence of such an item. This rejection caused controversy in the locality and was the beginning of Nanak's rejection of orthodox Vedic and Hindu traditions. After this event, Nanak became more deeply absorbed into spiritual matters when compared to before, with his father failing to try and find adequate employment to suit his son as Nanak was not interested. An episode of Nanak's early life, known as the sacha sauda, tells of him spending 22 rupees his father entrusted to him to buy goods at a neighbouring town, named Chuharkhana, to feed hungry sadhus, which angered his father and caused him to strike his son.