Guru Nanak and the relevance of interfaith dialogue

GURU Nanak, whose Parkash Utsav falls today, was born 554 years ago at a time when bloodstained swords of kings tore through the fabric of brotherhood, leaving behind trails of greed and hatred. Spiritual truths of religions were buried under empty rituals and society stood divided and demoralised. A young Guru Nanak rose up as a social reformer, speaking a straight and simple language of humanism as he journeyed to the farthest corners of the Indian subcontinent. He countered falsehoods with new truths about governance, environment and gender equality. He taught people that humans must be viewed as humans and not as members of a certain caste, creed, ethnicity or class because the persistence of hunger, desire to survive and dreams of a better life are universal. His life intersected with that of Mughal emperor Babur, whose tyranny he lamented before the Almighty: ‘Eti maar payi kurlane tain ki dard na aaya’, which is a question to God for his benign inaction in the face of mass slaughter.

Today, as we watch Gaza ablaze with saddening visuals of dead children and burnt homes, Guru Nanak’s emphasis on the need for interfaith dialogue comes to mind. That conflict started when the UN adopted a resolution to split Palestine into two independent states — a ‘Jewish State’ and an ‘Arab State’ with Jerusalem under UN trusteeship. Palestinians refused to recognise the resolution and a violent conflict erupted between them amid a desperate exodus of thousands of Palestinian families. The uprising of Palestinian forces, or Intifada, in their struggle for self-determination, began in 1987. In 2023, what the region is witnessing is a repercussion of a problem left unresolved over decades, a problem that could have been resolved through sincere interfaith dialogue.

In the times of Guru Nanak, a high government official of the city, Malik Bhago, threw a feast and welcomed him. However, Nanak refused the invitation, saying, “Look, Malik Bhago, wealth gathered by cruelty and corruption is like sucking poor people’s blood. You had invited me to partake of blood… How could I accept it?” Guru Nanak’s socialistic leanings reflect in the egalitarian practices Sikhism exhibits worldwide and, especially during times of war, the focus of Sikh volunteers has been to distribute relief and food among the victims, regardless of their faith.

Centuries after Guru Nanak left the earth with invaluable lessons, we see that nations take sides in a geopolitical battle even though human needs at the epicentre of the conflict are the same worldwide. This is the Guru Nanak school of thought that assesses human needs without the biases of politics. With the Russia-Ukraine conflict claiming thousands of innocent lives and creating differences that years altogether may not be able to bridge, Guru Nanak’s philosophy of seeing God within each human is all the more relevant. So, the need for reviving the spirit of interfaith dialogue as a serious recourse and not as a spiritual offshoot of a religion has become evident.

For instance, how often do we take notice of the environmental damage that wars and conflicts cause? High-intensity conflicts consume colossal quantities of fuel, leading to massive CO2 emissions that contribute to climate change. Large-scale vehicular movement, along with the intensive use of explosive ordnance, damage geo-diversity. The use of explosive weapons in urban areas creates huge debris, which causes air and soil pollution. Guru Nanak, in his teachings, had said that man is an inseparable part of nature: ‘Pawan Guru Pani Pitaa Maata Dharat Mahat; Divas Raat Dui Dayi Daya Khele Sagal Jagat’, ie, the elements of air, water and earth have been conferred the status of a guru, a father and a mother, respectively, underlining the relevance of paying obeisance to these elements as they provide not only sustenance but also spiritual nourishment.

Over 550 years ago, Guru Nanak had talked about the impact of a broken society on women and the need to give them equal representation in faith and progress. Today, the United Nations Development Programme estimates that in Afghanistan, 62 per cent of women have experienced all three forms of gender-based violence: psychological, physical and sexual.

In May, ethnic violence erupted in Manipur between the Meiteis and Kukis. Social media posts that managed to circumvent the Internet blackout were rife with hate. Religious leaders from the North-East have proposed a truth and reconciliation commission. The 60-odd cases registered with the Manipur State Commission for Women from September 2022 to September 2023 include incidents of rape and domestic violence.

Guru Nanak spoke at a time when war and its consequences were a lived reality. He said women could not be unequal to men, for they gave birth to warriors and kings. Sikhism encourages women to seek leadership roles within the faith, including leading congregations.

We must remember Guru Nanak’s message of ‘one universal God’ that underscores the concept that ‘religious paths ultimately lead to the same divine truth.’ When Guru Nanak said no one is a Hindu or a Mussalman, he was emphasising that we are human and whatever our path to God be, our destination is the same.

The Sidh Gosti or the ‘Dialogue with the Sages’, which recounts a meeting of Guru Nanak with Hindu ascetics (siddhs) who had renounced the world, is enshrined in the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak’s Gurbani reached both Mecca and Benaras, striking a syncretic chord with the teachings of Sufi saints and Hindu mystics, blending them into one rhythm — that of brotherhood.

Sikhs are uniquely positioned to play an instrumental role in leading interfaith efforts not just in India but also across the globe. In this polarised society, we should re-emphasise the need for a new and powerful platform for interfaith dialogue.

‘Sarbat da Bhala’ or ‘the well-being of all’ is a Sikh prayer that makes the idea of fraternity so powerful that it blurs individual differences. Where men and women, drawn from different castes, creeds and cultures, banish the differences of rich and poor and sit down together to break bread with gratitude in their hearts, that is the world that Guru Nanak envisioned for us — a world where people have a spirit for dialogue and where that dialogue is free of biases and boundaries.