This auspicious day marks the birth of the founder and first Guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak who is known for spreading the unique concept of “ik onkar” which denotes the concept of “one god, one reality” throughout India, as well as foreign countries.
Guru Nanak in brief:
Saint Nanak was born on 15th April 1469 in Rai Bhoi Ki Talwandi, Delhi Sultanate which in present-day is known as Nankana Sahib, located in Lahore in Pakistan. Guru Nanak Jayanti is celebrated every year on the eve of Kartika Purnima, as he was believed to be born on the same occasion in the Punjabi month of Kattak.
Guru Nanak’s special abilities are said to be observed by people from a very early age. Just at the age of five, he showed interest in religious education and was even observed by a Muslim noble of his village Rai Bular, who claimed a venomous cobra protected the head of young Nanak from the scorching sun by its hood.
Saint Nanak’s journey is full of interesting anecdotes but one of them is his visit to Odisha.
Nanak’s arrival in Odisha:
Guru Nanak was born at the same time as the famous Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and both were equivalently engaged in the spreading of religious teachings.
In 1506, Guru Nanak visited Odisha on his way to Ceylon (present-day, Sri Lanka). As per the tradition, it is believed that Saint Nanak, after walking a long distance, rested at Mahanadi bank where the present-day Kaliaboda is located.
During his stay at Kaliaboda, Nanak attracted large crowds due to his religious preaching and divinity, which includes the then Governor of Odisha. This infuriated Chaitanya Bharti, who failed in his attempts to hurt Nanak with the curse of Lord Bhairva, and went by himself to harm Nanak with a twig of Sahada tree. Which dropped at the lotus feet of Nanak after his first sight.
The modern-day Dantun Sahib Gurudwara, located at Sikharpur, Cuttack, is located at the same place where Nanak brushed his teeth with a small twig of the tree and planted the same.
Nanak in Puri:
There are real-life pieces of evidence present in Puri which speak about Nanak’s presence. The famous Bauli Math or Bauli Math Gurudwara is believed to be the place where Nanak slammed his kamandal (divine staff) and advised his disciples to dig a hole from which fresh water emerged.
Nanak, composed his famous aarti prayer at the famous ‘Mangumath’ for removing the blind belief of locals regarding idol worshipping. Many anecdotes also state Guru Nanak was visited by the King of Puri, after being enlightened about his presence through the dream.
Nanak in Bhadrak:
There is a village in the Bhadrak district named “Sangat”, which also features a Gurudwara with the same name Sangat Sahib Gurudwara. It is believed that Nanak stayed in this village in the final course of his Odisha journey and spread holy messages through kirtans and satsangs.
The 18th-century poet Bansi Ballabh Goswami born in Sangat village composed poems and dramas in Odia, Bengali, Persian and Hindi that gave references to Nanak, Lord Shiva and the village deity.
India witnessed the emergence of Indian Saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in 1486-1569. At the same time, to protect religion, Saint Nanak emerged in the west during 1469- 1539. Hence, both Vaishnav Guru Chaitanya Dev and Sikh Guru Nanak were alike.
However, Guru Nanak brought Hindus and Muslims together. His preaching has had a great impact on people of both religions. Nanak's philosophy says that God is one. Even Hindus and Muslims are worshipers of a single God. Idol worship and worshipping multiple Gods are not required.
The teachings of Guru Nanak are preserved in ‘Granth Sahib’. Granth Sahib is worshipped and recited daily at Sikh Mutts or Gurudwara Sahib. Mr Macauliffe, a prominent scholar of Sikhism, defined the prime focus of Sikhism as: “The prime focus of Sikh religion was on worshipping idols, cheating, caste or religion-based distinctive, Sati pratha (burning widow), widows remaining a widow forever, consumption of alcohol, banning Hindu pilgrimage, philanthropy, lawful judgement, truthfulness, moral values, and domestic behaviour.”
During his lifetime, Saint Nanak travelled to several places. He travelled to Kurukshetra, Haridwar, and Assam’s Kamrup. He even travelled to Puri and Cuttack in Odisha on a ship. He also travelled to Lahore, Mecca, Madras, Kashmir, Brindaban, Peshwar, Kabul and Baghdad.
In 1508, Nanak travelled to Puri on a ship from Assam. During that time, Saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was also present in Puri. The information about Nanak’s meeting with Chaitanya and their religious discussions are scripted in Odia Chaitanya Bhagavata.
Upon the request of the servitors at Shri Jagannath temple during the aarati, Nanak watched the aarati of Lord Jagannath and his siblings. After watching the aarati, he described it in his own words: “Oh Lord! The sky is your aarati plate. While the sun and moon are the lamps on this plate, the stars are the pearls fitted to it. The ‘Malay Paban’ is your incense, the breeze is your ‘chamara’ fan, flowers in bloom in forests are yours and the infinite chant of Ajapa Gayatri emerging from the seven chakras inside the body is your trumpet. Such a type of aarati is always in practice. And this is the real aarati of Lord.”
From Puri, he went to Cuttack and before crossing the Mahanadi river, he rested at ‘Kaliaboda’. The Hindu rulers at that time in Cuttack came to take a glance at Nanak after listening to his unmatched personality. Getting annoyed over such behaviour of the Hindu rulers, religious leader Chaitanya Bharathi came to punish Nanak. He came to Kaliaboda with a branch of the Streblus asper tree (sahada). After learning about his miraculous powers, he felt ashamed and left the place. However, he left the branch of 'Sahada' at the same place.
After Bharathi left the place, Nanak picked up the branch and said the saint had brought the branch for him to use it as a toothbrush. Later, he broke apart the branch and used a stick from it as a toothbrush. After cleaning his teeth, he planted the stick. The stick grew to become a huge tree. Sikhs call the tree 'Datan Sahib' or respectable tooth stick. The associated mutt is popular as Gurudwara Guru Nanak Datan Sahib. This Gurudwara is located at Kaliaboda in Cuttack.
During his visit to Puri, one of the four religious pilgrimage sites or Holy sites of Hindus, and Mecca, the religious pilgrimage of Muslims, he preached the teachings of ‘One Supreme God’.
If Vishnu Sahasranama “Yatah sarani bhutani bhavantyadi yugagame, Yasminscha pralayam yanti punareva yugakshaye” is compared with Muslim prayers in Namaz, “Allahu Akbar” which means, “Allah is the only God of the universe, Nanak’s religious rules are equal to Hindu and Muslim which is 'Ekeshvaravad' or Monotheism or the belief that there is only one supreme God and is nothing else.
On today’s auspicious occasion of Nanak’s birth anniversary, his thoughts and values are being remembered. Undeniably, the seed of religious values he had planted has not only inspired Sikhs but also has a great impact on people across the globe.
(By Dr.Bijayalaxmi Dash)
At a bilateral meeting held here, New Delhi also urged Islamabad to take into consideration the sentiments of pilgrims to have smooth, easy, unrestricted access throughout the year for visiting the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, an official statement said.
A dossier was handed over to Pakistan to highlight India's concerns to which it assured the Indian delegation that no anti-India activity would be allowed.
In this context, concerns regarding individuals or organisations based in Pakistan who might try to disrupt the pilgrimage and misuse the opportunity to play with the pilgrims' sentiments were shared, the statement issued after the second round of discussions on the project said.
The Indian delegation has also sought consular presence in the gurudwara to be able to provide assistance to the pilgrims, if required.
The Indian side conveyed concerns regarding the possible flooding of the Dera Baba Nanak and adjoining areas on the Indian side as a result of earth-filled embankment road or a causeway that is proposed to be built by Pakistan on their side.
The Indian delegation shared detailed flood analysis with Pakistan to underscore these concerns.
It was clearly conveyed that an earth-filled embankment or a causeway will create problems for Indian people and should not be built even in the interim, the statement said.
Details of the bridge that India is building on its side were shared, and Pakistan side was urged to also build a bridge on their side.
This would not only address the flooding related concerns, but also ensure smooth, hassle-free, all-weather pilgrimage to the holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib throughout the year.
The Pakistan side agreed, in principle, to build a bridge at the earliest, it said. Pending the construction of the bridge over the old Ravi creek by Pakistan on their territory, India offered to make interim arrangements for making the corridor operational in November, given the historic importance of the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
The talks with Pakistan on the modalities for operationalisation of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor was held at the Pakistan side in Wagah for which an Indian delegation crossed over to the other side of the international border.
The Indian delegation was led by Home Ministry Joint Secretary S C L Das and comprised representatives from the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Defence, the Punjab government and the National Highway Authorities of India.
The meeting discussed the modalities and draft agreement for facilitation of pilgrims on the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, as also the infrastructure being developed for it.
The meeting reviewed the progress reached in the three rounds of technical meeting that were held in March, April and May 2019.
They endorsed the crossing point "zero point" coordinates that were agreed to at the technical level.
It was agreed to allow visa-free travel for the Indian passport holders and OCI card holders seven days a week.
Throughout the year, 5,000 pilgrims will be allowed to visit Kartarpur Sahib gurudwara per day.
The pilgrims will be allowed to travel as individuals or in groups and also on foot, the statement said.
Pakistan highlighted the infrastructural constraints on their side and conveyed that they might be able to accommodate many of India's proposals in a phased manner.
Pakistan was asked to reconsider its position as the corridor is a long pending demand of the pilgrims and there is expectation that Pakistan would be liberal in allowing more pilgrims and facilities for them.
Both sides have agreed to maintain a channel of communication and work towards finalisation of the agreement on the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.
The technical teams would meet again to ensure that seamless connectivity for the corridor is operational in time so the pilgrimage can begin in November.
In this context, they reiterated the following requests -- there should be no restrictions on the pilgrims in terms of their faith, provisions should be made for preparation and distribution of 'langar' and 'prasad' for the pilgrims. The importance for ensuring safe and secure environment for the pilgrims was also underscored.
Based on the representations that were received by the government, the issue of encroachment of land belonging to the gurudwara was once again raised and Pakistani authorities were asked to restore the land to honor religious sentiments.
The Pakistani side agreed to look at this issue.
Government of India has made significant progress in building a state-of-the-art infrastructure, including passenger terminal on the Indian side that can handle over 15,000 pilgrims in a day. This is targeted to be completed by October 31.
The work on the four-lane highway to the crossing point at the international boundary is progressing satisfactorily and is on schedule. It will be completed by September-end.
It has also been proposed to Pakistan to allow 10,000 Indian pilgrims to visit the country under the 1974 protocol on the auspicious occasion.
Progress was made in finalising the draft agreement with regard to the modalities.
Construction of around 4.2 km-long corridor is targeted to be completed by October 31, a week before the celebrations to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
The gurudwara is located in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province, near Dera Baba Nanak town in Punjab's Gurdaspur district. It is a highly revered Sikh shrine where Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years of his life and is his final resting place.
About 60 per cent work of the four-lane highway with service lanes on both sides has been completed, an official told IANS.
The corridor is intended to enable 5,000 Indian pilgrims to pay their obeisance daily at the revered Sikh shrine
Project implementation is "progressing with speed", the official said.
The entire corridor would cost approximately Rs 500 crore.
Sixty-two acres of land have been acquired in Punjab for the project at the rate of Rs 42 lakh per acre. Besides, civil works of Rs 90 crore are also under progress.
Fifty acres of additional land is also being acquired for the construction of an Integrated Check Post by the Land Port Authority of India.
"Of the eight culverts proposed on the corridor, seven have been completed," he said.
Devotees, especially the Sikhs, have been demanding for over 70 years a visa-free "khule darshan" (free obeisance facility) at the gurudwara for all faiths, from India and overseas, all seven days a week.
The proposal to open the corridor, first mooted 20 years back, saw progress last year when Pakistan agreed to go ahead with it. Subsequently, foundation stones were laid for the project on Indian and Pakistan sides in November last year.
On the Indian side, the foundation stone was laid by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on November 26.
On the Pakistani side, the foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa on November 28.
The two countries have also held a series of discussions on modalities for operationalising the project. The last one was held on July 14, when agreement was reached on almost all issues.
For India, there is a concern over the possible flooding of the Dera Baba Nanak and adjoining areas on the Indian side as a result of earth-filled embankment road or a causeway that is proposed to be built by Pakistan on their side.
Officials said the Indian delegation, at the last meeting, shared detailed flood analysis with Pakistan to underscore these concerns. And Pakistan agreed to build a bridge at the earliest.
Keeping in view the heavy movement of pilgrims, all approach roads to Dera Baba Nanak from Batala, Fatehgarh Churian and Ramdas are also being upgraded, a senior state government official said.
According to him, three technical meetings between both the sides were held to streamline priorities over the corridor laying.
Two days ago, the pilgrims entered Punjab province of Pakistan.
"I invite Sangat to join at Attari Border in maximum number to welcome the Nagar Kirtan from Sri Nankana Sahib today at 1.30 p.m.," tweeted Akali Dal MLA Manjinder S. Sirsa.
Sirsa, who is the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Committee President, is leading the pilgrims from India.
"Pakistan feels honoured that celebrations of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak are being started from Nankana Sahib," the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi said in a statement.
The Pakistan government is taking several initiatives to make the celebrations memorable and historic, it added.
The cross-border Kartarpur corridor will be inaugurated in November, during which thousands of pilgrims from India are expected to cross into Pakistan to visit the Kartarpur gurdwara where Guru Nanak spent his final days. A large portion of the corridor falls in Pakistan's territory.
The construction of the 4.2-km-long corridor will be over by end of September, well before the 550th birth anniversary celebrations in India and Pakistan.
These special passenger and express trains will facilitate devotees from Punjab and other regions, significantly Nanded and Patna Sahib, an official spokesperson said on Monday.
Earlier this month, the Centre had accepted the state government's proposal to announce a special express train connecting New Delhi with Sultanpur Lodhi.
The ongoing work to upgrade the Sultanpur Lodhi railway station would be completed by the Railways before the historic celebrations scheduled to be held in November, the spokesperson said.
As per the statement issued by the Northern Railway, the Amritsar-Dera Baba Nanak diesel multiple unit (DEMU) would ply 60 times, between November 1 and 16, starting from Amritsar at 9.10 p.m. to reach Dera Baba Nanak at 2.30 a.m.
Anticipating a heavy inflow of pilgrims, the Railways would also be running another train connecting the historic towns of Dera Baba Nanak daily and Sultanpur Lodhi, which would leave Dera Baba Nanak at 7.15 p.m. to reach its destination at 1.30 a.m. The frequency of the train would be doubled from November 4.
The Ferozpur-Patna Junction Express would run thrice between November 1 and 16, departing from Patna Sahib at 10.45 p.m. on November 6, 10 and 16. For the return journey it would start from Ferozpur at 12.40 a.m. on November 5, 9 and 14, to reach Nanded at 6.05 p.m.
The weekly Ferozpur-Nanded Express would start from Nanded on Saturday at 9 a.m. and reach Ferozpur via Bhopal, Agra and Bhatinda at 10.50 p.m.
It would depart for its return journey from Ferozpur on Thursday at 1.30 a.m. and reach Nanded at 1 p.m.
According to the Interior Ministry, the counters will speed up the clearance process and facilitate the large number of pilgrims who are expected to show up at one of the Sikh community's holiest site to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of the first Sikh Guru, The Express Tribune reported on Sunday.
The Immigration Department will handle a maximum of 5,000 pilgrims each day. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) will send a clearance list of the pilgrims to the Indian border force 10 days before their arrival.
The authorities have built three entry gates to facilitate the pilgrims from India. Pilgrims returning to India will be routed through a designated gate.
They will have their passports scanned on their arrival before they are transported to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in special buses with Pakistan Rangers squads deployed for their protection.
Pilgrims from both Pakistan and India will undergo biometric screening before being permitted to enter Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. They will be able to exit from the same gate which they used for entry while undergoing the verification.
To facilitate operations at the corridor, which is likely to be inaugurated on November 9, the Interior Ministry has appointed two assistant directors and a deputy director in addition to 169 inspectors and sub-inspectors, constables and female constables.
Pakistan Rangers officials will collect $20 from each pilgrim at Zero-Point, an issue which remains an issue with the Indian government.
An immigration hall has also been built at Zero-Point, 4 km away from Darbar Sahib, to facilitate the pilgrims.
The development comes after India and Pakistan on October 24 signed an agreement to operationalise the Kartarpur Corridor even as the ticklish issue of a $20 service fee imposed by Islamabad remained unresolved.
The agreement paves the way for devotees to visit the holy shrine located 4.5 km from the border in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province throughout the year.
The 4.2 km-long corridor from the Indian side in Dera Baba Nanak area in Punjab's Gurdaspur district will be completed by Thursday, a week before the celebrations are slated to begin.
Introduced by Republican Senator Todd Young from Indiana and Democratic Senator Ben Cardin from Maryland, the first of its kind resolution on Sikhism was passed by the US Senate on Thursday on the 550th birth anniversary of the first Sikh guru.
The resolution said Sikhs in the United States and around the world live as per the values and ideals of equality, service, and devotion to God, first preached by Guru Nanak.
The Senate resolution also mentioned four eminent Sikhs for their contribution to the US.
The Sikhs figured in the resolution included Dalip Singh Saund, the first Asian-American Congressman, elected to the office in 1957; Dr Narinder Kapany, the inventor of fiber optics; Dinar Singh Bains, the largest peach grower in the United States; and Gurinder Singh Khalsa, the recipient of the prestigious Rosa Parks Trailblazer Award.
The resolution also recognized the contribution of Sikh women Grammy-winning artist Snatam Kaur; New York Police Department police officer Gursoach Kaur; and the University of California, Berkeley professor Supreet Kaur.
Indiana-based Khalsa welcomed the passage of the resolution.
This is a historic moment for the global Sikh community. We Sikhs of America are grateful to the United States Senate and Senator Young for introducing the resolution," he said.
A similar resolution introduced in the US House of Representatives too is likely to be passed soon.
The two different House resolutions said Sikhs have been living in the United States for more than 120 years, and during the early 20th century thousands of Sikh Americans worked on farms, in lumber mills and mines, and on the Oregon, Pacific, and Eastern Railroad.
Congressman Greg Pence from Indiana, elder brother of US Vice President Mike Pence, is one of the sponsors of the resolution on Sikh.