Guru Nanak: A King among saints
By Khushwant Singh

ON the night of the full moon in the month of Vaisakh in Samvat 1526, says the more authentic version, Mehervan’s Janam Sakhi — on the life of Guru Nanak — Tripta, the wife of Mehta Kalian Das Bedi of Talwandi Rae Bhoe, was in labour. Three-quarters of the night had passed. The morning star shone bright in the eastern sky; it was the hour of early dawn when she was delivered of her second child, a son.

Nanak’s birth was thus on April 15, 1469. However, in order to continue an old tradition, the event is celebrated on the full moon night in the month of November.As to the place of his birth, it is thought that the name Nanak was given to the child because he was born in the house of his maternal grandparents or Nankey, which was either in Kahna Kacha or Chalewal, two villages in the district of Lahore.

Nanak was a precocious child, smiling and sitting up in early infancy. When he was only five years old, people noticed that he did not play with other boys but spoke words of wisdom well beyond his years. The people’s reactions were interesting. Whosoever heard him, Hindu or Muslim, was certain that God spoke through the little boy and this belief grew stronger as Nanak grew older.

At the age of seven,Nanak was taken to a pandit to be taught. Nanak apparently turned the tables on his teacher and his discourse with his teacher is the subject of a beautiful hymn in Sri Raga.

The only real learning (says Nanak) is the worship of God; the rest is of no avail, and wisdom devoid of the knowledge of the creator is but the noose of ignorance about one’s neck. He that repeats the name of the Lord in this world, will reap his reward in the world to come.

Do you know (says Nanak) how and why men come into this world and why they depart? Why some become rich and others poor? Why some hold court while others go begging door to door, and even of the beggars why some receive alms while others do not? Take it from me, O pandit, that those who have enjoyed power and ease in this life and not given praise to the Lord will surely be punished. Just as the dhobi (washerman) beats his dirty clothes on slabs of stones, so will they be beaten; just as an oilman grinds oilseeds to extract oil will they be ground; just as the miller crushes grain between his millstones will they be crushed.On the other hand, those that are poor and those that have to beg for their living, who spend their lives in prayer will receive their honour and reward in the divine court of justice.

He that has fear of God (says Nanak) is free from all fears. But monarch or commoner, he that fears not God will be reduced to dust and be reborn to suffer the pangs of hell. That which is gained by falsehood becomes unclean. The only truth is God. Our only love should be for God who is immortal; why love those that will perish? Son, wife, power, wealth, youth — all are subject to decay and death. (Mehervan: Janam Sakhi)

A year later Nanak was sent to the village mosque to learn Arabic and other subjects.Here, too, Nanak astounded his teacher:

The mullah wrote down the Arabic alphabet from alif to yea. Nanak at once mastered the writing and the pronunciation of the letters, and within a few days had learnt arithmetic, accounting, and everything else the mullah could teach. The mullah marvelled: "Great God! Other children have been struggling for ten years and cannot tell one letter from another and this child has by thy grace learnt all within a matter of days." (Mehervan: Janam Sakhi.)

Nanak was a moody child and often refused to speak to anyone for days on end.He wandered about the woods absorbed in observing the phenomenon of nature: the advent of spring with its bees and butterflies, the searing beat of summer that burned up all vegetation followed by the monsoon which miraculously restored life and turned the countryside green; the ways of the birds and beasts of the jungle. All this mystery baffled young Nanak’s mind and he began to ponder over the character of the Creator Preserver and Destroyer — and to question the efficacy of ritual, both Hindu and Muslim.

When he was only nine, Nanak demanded of the Brahmin priest who had come to invest him with the sacred thread janeau: "Do the Brahmins and Kshatriyas lose their faith if they lose their sacred thread? Is their faith maintained by their thread or by their deeds?"

Nanak was the despair of his parents.He refused to do any kind of work. If he was sent to graze cattle, he let them stray into people’s fields; if he was given money to do trade, he would give it away to the poor and the hungry. He was saved from the wrath of his father by his mother and sister, and by the village folk who bore witness to the many miracles they had seen emanate fromNanak.

At the age of sixteen Nanak was married to Sulakhni, daughter of Mul Chand Chona of Batala. They had two sons, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das, and perhaps a daughter or daughters who died in infancy. Family life did not divert Nanak’s attention for too long. His moods would suddenly descend upon him and he would remain silent for many days and then become argumentative on subjects such as God, man, death, ritual and moral values. And he remained as indifferent to making a living as he had been before he became a husband and father.

One evening in July (says Mehervan’s Janam Sakhi), the skies over Talwandi were darkened by black monsoon clouds and it began to pour. At night the sky was rent with flashes of lightning and there was a fearful crash of thunder. Nanak began to sing hymns in praise of the Lord. His mother came to him and said: "Son, it is time you had some sleep". Just then the cuckoo called peeoh, peeoh, and Nanak replied: "Mother, when my rival is awake, how can I sleep".

It became evident to the people that it would not be long before Nanak took the hermits path in search of truth and, once when a group of holy men happened to pass through Talwandi on their way to a pilgrimage, Nanak’s mother expressed her apprehensions.

"Iknow," she said, "That one of these days you too will be leaving me to go on a pilgrimage. I do not complain but would like to know what is gained by going to holy places."

"Nothing ,"replied Nanak categorically. "It is in our own body that we have to build our temples, free our minds from the snares of maya, renounce evil deeds and given praise to our Maker. This is as good as going to bathe in the sixty-eight holy places of pilgrimage?.

"Then tell these holy men that pursue the path of error," said Nanak’s mother. "Tell them that God can be found in their own houses."

"Let each one find his own path" replied Nanak. "Why should I worry my head about their methods?" The beauty of the woodland in spring cast its usual spell. But, for Nanak, the beauty was now tinged with anguish for he needed to know the truth of the reality that did not change with the season. A beautiful hymn in Raga Basant sums up the feeling:

It was springtime. The trees were in new leaf; many wild shrubs were in flower. The woods around Talwandi were a beauteous sight. Young men of his village came to him and said: "Nanak, it is spring. Come with us and let us behold the wonders of nature."

"The month of Chaitra" said Nanak, "is the most beautiful of the twelve months of the year because all is green and every living thing seems to blossom into fullness. But my heart does not rejoice at the sight of the blossoming of nature until it is blessed with the name of the Lord. We must first subdue our ego, sing praises of the Lord and then our hearts too will be fragrant."

"We do not understand what you say," they protested, "We want to tell you that in the woods the trees are so green the we cannot find words to describe them; there are varieties of flowers whose beauty is beyond the speech of man; there are fruits whose lusciousness is beyond praise; and beneath them the shade is cool and fragrant. You should see these things with your own eyes."

"The Lord’s grace", says Nanak, "gave the trees their new foliage. His decrees covered them with blossoms of great beauty and filled their fruits with sweet nectarine. When they have their foliage the Lord makes their shade cool and fragrant.I have such foliage in my own heart with similar flowers, fruit and cool shade, and people seek shelter under it."

"The great God has given us eyes to see, ears to hear and a mouth to speak and eat the corn that grows. Why has he given us these things?"

"He has given you eyes not merely to gape at the woods but to behold. His creation and marvel at it; ears to hear Godly counsel; the tongue to speak the truth. Thereafter, whatever you receive is your true wealth and sustenance."

The young men did not understand all that Nanak said. They tried once more to persuade him to come out with them. "Spring comes but once a year and nature dons its garb of green but once. Then comes the fall. Trees lose their foliage and the woods are barren of beauty. If you want to see nature at its best, see it in the month of Chaitra."

As Nanak grew even more detached from the ties of living, he took no notice of his wife or children, of his goods or of the people about him. His life became one of prayer, almsgiving, ablution and the seeking after knowledge; nam, dan, isnan and gyan. Lust, anger and pride fell away as Nanak’s heart was filled with truth and blessed contentment. Nanak lived in this state ‘like one drunk’ for some years till his sister Nanaki, now married, took the situation in hand. She persuaded her husband, Jai Ram, to invite her brother over to Sultanpur, where they lived, and get him employment with his master, Nawab Daulat Khan Lodhi.

Nanak went to Sultanpur accompanied by a family servant, a Muslim named Mardana, who was to become his closest companion. Mardana, the Janam Sakhi tells us, came from the brewer caste, and was a gifted musician. Mardana played the rabab and also sang hymns.

Nawab Daulat Khan Lodhi was impressed with the integrity of his new storekeeper and accountant. Nanak would not accept bribes from agents and refused to follow the corrupt practices of the predecessors. The people in Sultanpur could not stop praising Nanak.

In Sultanpur, Nanak organised his daily life in an ideal manner. Every evening he and Mardana would sing hymns before retiring to bed. Nanak would wake up while it was still dark, and, after a dip in the river close by, sing hymns with the coterie of his followers.After which, at the appointed hour, Nanak would go to the court of the Nawab and apply himself to his work.

Though he won the approbation of his employer and those he dealt with Nanak was unhappy.

"This has been suddenly put around my neck like a noose," he said.He began to say to himself that if he had to serve anyone, wouldn’t it be wiser to serve his own Master who is within him instead of the poison without? It is all very well to seek knowledge and wisdom but one cannot escape the noose of maya without sowing seeds of good actions. One cannot earn wages without service and it is the love of the wage which stands in the way of renunciation. Why not then serve the great Master who is the Lord of all? Nanak postponed his decision with the thought" I, Nanak, am no better than others; others are no worse than I; what the Lord wills, Nanak will honour and obey." (Mehervan: Janam Sakhi)

It was, however, clear that the time of decision was at hand.

Nanak’s days were spent in nothing down receipts and expense.At the end of the day he added up the totals to make sure they tallied with the accounts. He often had to work late into the night adding up his figures under the light of the lamp. One night he got angry with himself and threw away his pen and account books. He asked himself: "Why have I got involved in these affairs and forgotten my Maker? Am I destined to spend my days and nights writing accounts? It is a vast net in which I find myself caught; if I let the days go by the noose will close tighter around me. If I have to burn the midnight oil, it should be something worthwhile."

Nanak pondered over these things late into the night and, instead of returning home, went to the stream to bathe. He prayed: "Lord send me a guru, a guide who will show me the path that leads to Thy mansion."

That very night God revealed Himself to Nanak. Nanak prayed fervently and begged the Lord to forgive him and remove him from the world which had so ensnared him. The Lord asked Nanak: "Why are you so agitated? You have done no wrong."

"Ihave let my mind turn from Thee"; replied Nanak, "To the petty trifles of the world."

"Your errors have I forgiven. The maya that you complain of is also a part of Me.What you see is but its shadow."

"Lord, destroy in me the longing for worldly gain."

"Nanak, you shall no more crave for worldly gain. I am pleased with you. On you be My blessing." (Mehervan: Janam Sakhi).

The mystic experience that finally made Nanak take up his mission is put at different times and is variously described. The incident took place in August, 1507, on the third night before the full moon.

The moon had set (says the Janam Sakhi) but it was dark and stars still twinkled in the sky when Nanak, followed by his servant, went to the river. Nanak took off his kurta and dhoti and stepped into the stream.

He closed his nostrils and ducked into the water. He did not come up. The servant waited a while and then, panicking, ran up and down the river bank crying for Nanak.A strange voice rose from the waters saying: "Do not lose patience."

Mardana, however, ran back to Sultanpur and sobbed out his story. A great commotion took place in the town because Nanak was loved by all — Hindus, Muslims, the rich and the poor.When Daulat Khan Lodhi heard of the mishap he was most distressed:"Friends," he said, "Nanak was a man of God. Let us dredge the river and rescue his corpse."

While the people of Sultanpur were dredging the river, Nanak was conducted into the presence of God.

The Almighty gave him a bowl of milk. "Nanak, drink this bowl". He commanded. "It is not milk as it may seem; this is nectar (amrit). It will give the power of prayer, love of worship, truth and contentment."

Nanak drank the nectar and was overcome. He made another obeisance. The Almighty then blessed him. "I release thee from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth; he that sets his eyes on you with faith will be saved; he that hears your words with conviction will be helped by Me; he that you forgive will be forgiven by Me. I grant thee salvation. Nanak go back to the evil world and teach men and women to pray (nam) to give in charity (dan) and to live cleanly (isnan). Do good to the world and redeem it in the age of sin (Kaliyuga)." (Mehervan: Janam Sakhi).

At dawn, three days later, on the full moon, in August, Nanak re-emerged. Nanak was thirty-six years old and now a changed and determined man. While the people clamoured around him acclaiming him a new messiah, he paid no heed. "What have I to do with men like these," he said to himself. He gave away all he had to the poor. He even cast off his clothes keeping for himself only a loin-cloth. He left his home and joined a band of hermits.

Soon people began expressing themselves loudly. "Nanak was a sensible man," some said, "but now he has lost his head." "He is stricken with the fear of the Lord", said other, "and is no longer himself."

"Something in the river has bitten him," the rest, were convinced, and took to calling him "mad, bewitched".

"It is the Lord who has possessed me and made me mad," explained Nanak. "If I find merit in the eyes of my Lord, then will I have justified my waywardness."

" Nanak, you are a different person today from what you were," the people exclaimed. "Tell us the path you intend to take.We only know of two ways; one of the Hindus and the other of the Mussalmans."

"There is no Hindu, there is no Mussalman," replied Nanak. "You talk in cryptic language," they said. "In this world we understand the two ways — of Hinduism and of Islam."

"There are no Mussalmans, there are no Hindus," repeated Nanak. (Mehervan: Janam Sakhi).

Nanak spent another two years in and around Sultanpur before he forsook the habitation of men and took to the forests and solitude. The faithful Mardana was his sole companion. He took on a strange dress: a cloth cap (seli topee), a long cloak worn by Muslim mendicants, a beggar’s bowl, staff and prayer mat. When asked why he wore this outlandish garb, Nanak replied: "I am dressed like a clown for the amusement of my Master. If my apparel pleases Him, I will be happy."

Nanak’s first journey took him eastwards to Hindu centers of pilgrimage. His biographies have fabricated many incidents based on Nanak’s hymns — many of which depict the Guru’s love for nature.

One day, says Mehervan’s Janam Sakhi, Nanak and Mardana, while travelling espied a flock of swans flying overhead. Nanak was bewitched and began to run after them with his eyes fixed on the birds. Mardana followed him. The flock descended in a field and let Nanak approach them without showing any sign of fear — for Nanak was a man of God, who harmed no one. Nanak admired the birds; their long slender necks, their luminous dark eyes and their silver-white plumage. He wondered whether these birds, who spanned the heavens, had ever cast their eyes on their Maker. Why, he asked himself, should such beautiful birds wander restlessly across the continents, from Khorasan in Central Asia to Hindustan and back again to Khorasan? He blessed the swans and bade them godspeed on their journey.

Another hymn illustrates the political and social conditions of the time through picturing an incident that occurred in the suburbs of the capital city,Delhi.

The city was at the time ruled by a bloodthirsty Pathan king (Ibrahim Lodhi). Nanak’s fame had preceded him and large crowds of citizens, sightseers and seekers after truth, Muslims as well as Hindus, came to see him. Near Nanak’s camp was a place where beggers and mendicants were fed free of charge by the wicked king. The people told Nanak of their king’s evil ways and how he expiated his sins by feeding beggers.

Nanak spoke to them: "Listen ye children of God! This charity of the king is of no consequence; it is the act of a blind man stumbling in the dark. He is worse than a blind man because even if his eyes lose their light, a blind man can hear and speak and comprehend, but one who has lost his mind has lost all. What avail is the giving of alms to one who sins by day and gives in charity at night? A stone dam can hold the flood but if the dam bursts you cannot repair the breach by plastering mud. Evil is like the flood, the stone dam like faith. If faith weakens, the dam will give way and the flood will sweep all before it. Its force is then so great that no boat nor boatman dare embark on it to save its victims. Then nothing abides save the Name of the Lord". (Mehervan: Janam Sakhi).

Nanak and Mardana stayed at Hardwar for some time in order to be present at the Baisakhi (March-April) fair. It was on this occasion that an incident, that made Nanak famous, took place.

There was a large crowd bathing in the river. Nanak saw them face eastwards and throw palmfuls of water to the sun. Nanak entered the stream and started throwing water westwards.

"In the name of Rama", exclaimed the shocked pilgrims, "who is this man who throws water to the west? He is either mad or a Mussalman". They approached Nanak and asked him why he offered water in the wrong direction. Nanak asked them why they threw it eastwards to the sun.

"We offer it to dead ancentors", they replied.

"Where are your dead ancestors?"

"With the gods in heaven."

"How far is the abode of the gods?"

"49 crore kos from here."

"Does the water get that far?"

"Without doubt! But why do you throw it westwards?"

Nanak replied: "My home and lands are near Lahore. It has rained everywhere except on my land. I am therefore watering my fields."

"Man of God. How can you water your fields near Lahore from this place?"

"If you can send it 49 crore kos to the abode of the gods, why can’t I send it to Lahore which is only a couple of hundred kos away!"

The people were abashed at this reply. "He is not mad," they said, "he is surely a great seer" (Mehervan: Janam Sakhi).

From Hardwar, Nanak and Mardana proceeded to Prayag (modern Allahabad) where the rivers Jamuna and the Saraswati join the Ganges. From Prayag, the Guru went to Banaras, the centre of Hindu learning and orthodoxy. The Adi Granth describes the many encounters Guru Nanak had with pandits who chided him for his unorthodoxy and probed his knowledge of the sacred texts.

Nanak was equally forthright about the pandits’ fetish of their cooking vessels and kitchens. He decided to draw their attention to this in his usual manner of highlighting the incongruous aspects.

Nanak went with them and saw with what care they bathed, scrubbed their utensils, swept the ground near the hearth, washed the vegetables and cooked the food. When one plate was laid before Nanak, he refused to eat from it. "I am not satisfied with the purity of the food you offer me. It is prepared by one who is full of sin and sins cannot be cleansed by washing the body."

The pandits did not fully comprehend the import of Nanak’s words and prepared the meal afresh. This time they dug up the earth and re-plastered it; they even washed the logs of wood before kindling them. Again Nanak refused to partake of the meal and continued his sermon."You err in believing that purity can be gained by scrubbing and washing. That does not apply even to inanimate things like wood, dung-fuel or water, much less to a human being. Man is unclean when his heart is tainted with greed, his tongue coated with falsehood, his eyes envious of the beauty of another’s wife or his wealth, his ears dirty with slander. All these can only be cleansed by knowledge. Basically all men are good but often they pursue a predetermined path to hell."

Piecing together evidence from other sources we find that the first journey apparently took the Guru as far east as Bengal and Assam. On his way back to the Punjab, he spent some days at Jagannath Puri. He travelled round the Punjab and visited the Sufi headquarters at Pak Pattan before he set out on his second long voyage, this time southwards. He is said to have travelled through Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Konkan and Rajasthan, though there is little evidence to show that he did so.

Nanak sojourned in the Himalayas for some time before he set out on his last and longest journey. This was westwards to the Muslims’ holy cities Mecca and Medina as far as Baghdad. It was on this journey that another incident took place. He was staying in a mosque and fell asleep with his feet towards the Ka’ba, an act considered of grave disrespect to the house of God. When the mullah came to say his prayers, he shook Nanak rudely and said:" ‘O servant of God, thou hast thy feet towards Ka’ba, the house of God; why hast thou done such a thing?’

Nanak replied:"Then turn my feet towards some direction where there is no God nor the Ka’ba."

By the time Nanak returned home, the Mughal Babar had invaded the Punjab. The Guru was at Saidpur when the town was sacked by invaders. Nanak makes many references to the havoc caused by this invasion.

Nanak was by this time too old to undertake any more strenuous journeys. He settled in Kartarpur village where he spent the last years of his life preaching to the people. His disciples came to be known as Sikhs (from the Sanskrit shishya or Pali sikkha). He built a dharamshala (abode of faith) whose inmates followed a strict code of discipline, rising well before dawn, bathing and then foregathering in the dharamshala for prayer and hymn-singing. They went about their daily chores and met again for the evening service. At the dharamshala was the guru-ka-langar (the guru’s kitchen) where all who came were obliged to break bread without distinction of caste or religion.

Among Nanak’s disciples was a man called Lehna whom Nanak chose in preference to his sons as his successor. Said Nanak to Lehna. "Thou art Angad, a part of my body," and asked another disciple to daub Angad’s forehead with saffron and proclaim him the Second Guru.

Nanak died in the early hours of the morning of September 22, 1539. He was a poet and lover of nature to the last. As he lay on his deathbed, he recalled the scenes of his childhood: "The tamarisk must be in flower now; the pampas grass must be waving its woolly head in the breeze; the cicadas must be calling in the lonely glades" he said before he closed his eyes in eternal sleep.

Mehervan’s Janam Sakhi records the manners his body was laid to rest. Said the Mussalmans: "We will bury him," the Hindus: "We will cremate him"; Nanak said:" You place flowers on either side, Hindus on my right, Muslims on my left. Those whose flowers remain fresh tomorrow will have their way".He asked them to pray. When the prayer was over, Nanak pulled the sheet over him and went to eternal sleep. Next morning when they raised the sheet they found nothing. The flowers of both communities were fresh. The Hindus took theirs; the Muslims took those that they had placed.

It is little wonder that Nanak came to be revered as the King or Shah of the holy men, the Guru of the Hindus and the Peer of the Mussalmans.

These extracts are taken from the book Japjee-Sikh Morning Prayer translated by Khushwant Singh and published by Picus Books, New Delhi.