Life and Teachings of Guru Nanak

Guru Nanak was born in the village called Rai Bhoeki Talwandi, now known as Nankana Sahib, near Lahore in present-day Pakistan. Born in 1469 to a Hindu family, Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism.  His father was Kalayan Das Mehta, also known as Mehta Kalu, and mother was Mata Tripta ji. They were both Hindus and belonged to the Vedic Brahmin caste. Guru ji had an older sister called Bebey Nanki, who was the first to recognise Nanak as an enlightened Soul.The young Nanak enjoyed the company of holy men and engaged them in long discussions about the nature of God. Guru Nanak from an early age seemed to have acquired a questioning and enquiring mind. He refused as a child to wear the ritualistic “sacred” thread called a Janeu, saying instead that he would wear the true name of God in his heart for his protection, as the thread which could be broken, soiled, burnt or lost could not offer any security at all.

Nanak married Sulkhni, of Batala, and they had two sons, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das. Guru ji's brother-in-law, the husband of his sister Nanki, obtained a job for him in Sultanpur as the manager of the government granary. One morning, when he was twenty-eight, he went as usual down to the river to bathe and meditate. It was said that he was gone for three days. When he reappeared, filled with the spirit of God,he uttered the words: "There is no Hindu and no Musalman." It was then he began his missionary work.

This pronouncement was substantial as it referred to the day and age in which Guru Nanak lived: Hindus and Muslims of India constantly and bitterly fought each other over the issue of religion. The Guru meant to emphasize that, ultimately, in the eyes of God, it is not religion that determines a person's merits, but one's actions.

As a householder, Nanak continued to carry out the mission of his life to lead people on the true path to God, to dispel superstition, to bring people out of ritualistic practises, to lead them directly to follow Gurbani without the need for priests and clergy, and to restrain and guard against the five thieves within – Pride, Anger, Greed, Attachment and Lust.

The Guru witnessed the Mughal invasion of India, and saw the horrors inflicted upon the common people by the invaders. Though a pacifist, Guru Nanak did not hesitate to speak up against injustice:

The kings are ravenous beasts, their ministers are dogs.

The Age is a Knife, and the Kings are Butchers
In this dark night of evil, the moon of righteousness is nowhere visible.

Guru Nanak was revered by both Hindus and Muslims. This is crystallised when on his deathbed they both quarreled about whether his body should be cremated as per the Hindu tradition or buried as per Islamic tradition.

The crux of his teaching was "Equality of Humans" without distinction of caste or creed. Guru Nanak preached against discrimination and prejudices due to race, caste, status, etc. He didn't only preached these concepts he also took practical steps to acheive it. He started the institution of langar. Where people have to sit together to eat without any distinction.

Guru Nanak beleived that men and women are equal. He elevated the position of women by spreading this message: "From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all. O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman."

Besides rejecting the Hindu caste system, idolatry, and ritualism, Guru Nanak preached universal equality. In consistence with his message of equality, Guru Nanak scorned those who considered women to be evil and inferior to men by asking:

Why should we call her inferior, when it is she who gives birth to great persons?

Guru Nanak has been documented to have traveled across India and the Middle East to spread his message. Once, at Mecca, the Guru was resting with his feet pointing toward the holy shrine. When a Muslim priest angrily reprimanded the Guru for showing disrespect to God, the Guru replied, "Kindly point my feet toward the place where God does not exist." Among the many philosophical foundations laid by Guru Nanak , his characterization of God, as illustrated by his visit to Mecca, is most recognizable. It forms the opening lines of the 1430 page Sikh holy scripture, Guru Granth Sahib. The translation is as follows:

There is but One God, The Supreme Truth; The Ultimate Reality, The Creator, Without fear, Without enemies, Timeless is His image, Without Birth, Self Created, By His grace revealed.

Like all the Gurus after him, Guru Nanak preached by example. During a time of great social disarray and religious decay, his message served as a fresh, uncorrupted approach toward spirituality and God. The message of the Guru took almost 240 years to unfold, and so, in accordance with the Will of God, the soul of Guru Nanak merged into the souls of his nine successors.