Gurpurb celebrated with gaiety, fervour in Amritsar
Amritsar, November 27
The Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev was celebrated with fervour and gaiety as devotees thronged several historical gurdwaras related to Guru Nanak Dev here on Monday. While the gurdwaras in Kartarpur Sahib and Nankana Sahib in Pakistan and Sultanpur Lodhi in Punjab are significantly associated with Guru Nanak Dev’s life, historical places and gurdwaras in Amritsar and Tarn Taran find their connection with the first Sikh guru, documented by researchers and scholars as significant, before and during the guru’s ‘Udasis’ (historical journeys undertaken by Guru Nanak Dev across the continents).
As per Sikh historians, Guru Nanak Dev, along with Bhai Mardana, visited Goindwal Sahib during the ‘First Udasi’ (long journey), while Gurdwara Nanaksar Sahib in Verka got its significance as Guru Nanak Dev stopped here while on his journey to Batala. As he spent time near the pond at the gurdwara, a woman with a child, suffering from disease, visited Guru Nanak Dev. He asked her to bathe her child in the sarovar (pond), after which he was cured. Ever since, the devotees throng the gurdwara with a belief that bathing in the sarovar for five Sundays would cure them of diseases.
Another spots associated with Guru Nanak Dev is Tarn Taran and Ram Tirth in Amritsar as these places also find a mention as revered spots visited by Guru Nanak Dev, documented by the three-member committee, which was set up by the state government for identifying places where Guru Nanak Dev visited. The committee included historians from GNDU.
On the occasion, the Dharam Prachar Committee of the Chief Khalsa Diwan celebrated the 554th birth anniversary of the first Sikh master by organising prabhat feris, langars and religious events. Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjer addressed the students on Gurpurb and inspired them to adapt their lives according to the Guru’s teachings. Similarly, several schools and institutions also organised shabad and kirtan events to mark the day. GNDU dedicated its three-day inter-university youth festival to Guru Nanak Dev’s Parkash Purb.
