Nanak: The Correspondent Of The Ultimate

By Sumeet Aurora

Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, walked the earth to restore love and humanity lurking in the doldrums. His early communion with the Ultimate drew him to far-fetched places to inculcate the scent of unity and equality among people. He sang the divine praises along the way and persuaded people towards the spiritual essence of the Lord. He made an intriguing manifestation that the Lord is One and there exists no other besides Him. Most of what Nanak professed was apparently derived from the Ultimate. As mentioned in the Janamsakhis, he often directed his companion Mardana to play on his rabab as he vividly sang the Bani or Divine Word descending upon him from the skies. With an unrelenting desire to spread enlightenment among the masses, he became an itinerant preacher to eradicate the upsurge of erroneous beliefs and the moss of differences propelled by caste and creed.
This exquisitely illustrated book explores the life of Guru Nanak at length and offers an insight into his timeless teachings which are marvelously ingrained in his divine hymns - the Japji, Asa di Var and Barah-maha.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Aug 25, 2017
• ISBN: 9789386349873

Book preview

2016

1.

The Birth of the Divine

The birth of Guru Nanak, Devender Singh, 2008

During the winter spell of 1469, out from the whites of dawn emerged an exquisite sheen to escort the newborn. By the time, the mist of the season had begun to shuttle away from the cold of autumn, enveloping along its path a small town situated on the banks of the river Beas. On this part of the earth, a saint was born. Nanak was his name.

In the early cockcrow hours, a five-year old is told that she is soon to have a brother. Dabbing her eyes in sleep, Nanaki woke up at once, much with curiosity to see how her little brother would look like. At the time, when she was awaiting to take the newborn into her arms, the aura stood to salute the divine in grasp of the gracious moment. The ascending streaks of illumination lay deputed in decoration at the entire edge of the divine, a bright sheen and crimson emerging from the centre and infusing the silhouette to the outer. Having beheld the great treasury of the universe, the billowy skies triggered to commemorate the day with a drizzle of warm shower. After all, the recipient of it was someone who had taken birth for a reason.

The birth of Guru Nanak Illustration by the Author, 2016

The dawn of the fifteenth of April rose auspicious. Tripta gave birth to an extraordinary child at Talwandi, now known as Nankana Sahib in the present district of Sheikhupura in Pakistan. A midwife, named Daulatan, turned up to lend her assistance. At the first appearance, the child drew an impeccable sheen emanating from the contours of his divine face, leaving everyone to ponder. It is said that the first ever word of the infant was as witty as that of any intellectual gentleman. Whenever he was interrogated, the response that came across from him was as ripe as that of a grown-up man.

As soon as the news was harbingered, the family and friends made their way to have a glimpse of the Divine. His father Mehta Kalu, a village accountant by profession, held the sighs that soared in elation as soon as he took the newborn to his bosom. Brimming with tears of glee, he would take him into his lap and fondle endlessly. So would the rest of the family.

The family and friends gathering around the newborn for his glimpse. Illustration by the Author, 2016

Being born into a Kshatriya caste of Bedi tribe, his father strictly adhered to the customs as most of the Hindus did. The first thing that flitted across his mind was to take advice of a Pandit, meanwhile endeavouring to find a suitable name that was to be given to the child. The family opined to have him named Nanak, after the name of his adorable sister, Nanaki.

Like everybody else, the discernable aura of the child had stunned the local astrologer too. Pandit Hardial, whom the parents had approached for the preparation of horoscope, declared that the child was not an ordinary one. Instead of blessing the child, the astrologer clasped his hands and began to pray upon him. Unfurling the astronomical account of his destiny, the astrologer affirmed that such a birth was ordained to lead the world and his eminence would be hailed in the heavens and beyond.

Guru Nanak walking the way to school with his father. Illustration by the Author, 2016

When Nanak reached the age of five, his father took him to a local school for primary education. Despite the best effort of the pandha or teacher Pandit Gopal to acquaint the child with arithmetic and language, Nanak showed a scarce interest in accumulating the worldly knowledge. However, the words of wisdom that flew from the little one’s mouth left an enormous impression on whom so ever he met. Apart from making everyone amazed with his expression of thought, it seemed that Nanak became well versed with the alphabet on the very first day of the school. He even scribbled his patti or tablet with some mysterious alphabets that turned out to be the following poem written in a kind of his own script. The acrostic formed over the writing of his teacher revealed an intricate metrical expression to each of its thirty-five letters, each representing an eloquent interpretation of the Ultimate. The first seven of them are the following:

Sassa: He who created the world is the One Lord of all.

Blessed is the origin of those who are ever delved in the service of the Ultimate

Why wander in wrong direction, O foolish mind!

When your account will be announced, then your acclaim shall be known.

Eevree: The Primal Lord is the Giver; He alone is true.

The pious man who can discover the Lord in these letters, no accounting shall be due to them.

Ooraa: Sing the praises of the Ultimate who is limitless.

Those inclined towards service and truth shall earn reward.

Nganga: He alone can be called a Pundit who is enriched with the spiritual wisdom.

The one who understands that there is One Lord in all beings, indulges not in ego.

Kakka: When the hairs are turned white, it does not require a soap to shine.

The hunters of death have come; the King has afflicted himself to the chain of Maya.

Khakha: The Ultimate, with whose creation the World has come to exist, issues the mode of sustenance to His living beings.

In His bonds, the entire world is bound; nobody else has received such an authority.

Gagga: The one whose lips have disengaged in singing the word of the Ultimate, his condition becomes miserable.

The One who has shaped the vessels (His creation), and established kiln (the world), appoints when to shuttle them in.¹

Nanak begins the first day of his school. Illustration by the Author, 2016

Nanak with Pandha Gopal, Devender Singh, 2016

Soon, Nanak turned suspicious that his teacher was not qualified enough and lacked the spiritual knowledge. He stated that the pandha had only accustomed the knowledge that intensified bondage. Out of disappointment, Nanak engaged his lips in reciting the following poem that spoke about the wonders of reality and truth.

Let your worldly attachment be burnt,

And its ashes become your ink;

Let your mind become the finest paper.

Let the Lord’s love be your pen, and the soul your scribe; and take directives of the Lord to deliberate thoughts.

Write His Name and praise Him, over and again

Write that He is without end and limitation

Such should be the account that one should know

So where and when it is asked for, there be the mark of truth prevail.²

Though highly impressed by his poetic prowess, the Pandit could seldom sustain the impending queries that the precocious child tended to present before him. The Pandit admitted that his knowledge was indeed impeccable and highly unusual for a child of his age. Thus, having dismissed the need to attend school, Nanak continued to astonish everybody else with his overwhelming talks that delved deep on divine subjects. At times, he would engage himself in giving a form to the thoughts that crowded his mind.

The pandha sharing the extra-ordinary spark of the young Nanak with Mehta Kalu. Illustration by the Author, 2016

As a young lad, Nanak liked to roam about in the vicinity of his town and explore things that piqued his curiosity. The advent of dawn and the sunset made him ponder the creativity of the Creator. Upon getting a chance to step out, he would dash his spirits and bring the existence of beauty-enriched floras to his careful notice, rather meticulously. While he sauntered amidst the bounties of nature, the sudden shift of the clouds and the pace of buffeting breeze held him in amazement. His inquisitive eyes would peer at the perching birds as they waved their plumes, the butterflies and the bees humming on the blooms, the squirrels dashing on the branches of the trees that bore assortment of fruits, etc. All that struck his attention became the subject of his contemplation. He used to try to examine everything that nature had to offer and ended up raising questions about their existence upon reaching home.

The young Nanak resting in the lap of nature. Illustration by the Author, 2016

What so ever Nanak spoke of or related to was spiritual. Even the ethos of his conversation was embedded deep in divine talks that he shared through his poetical knack. To give a direction to his inclination towards poetry, Nanak was put to learn Sanskrit with another scholar, Pandit Brij Nath. This time, Nanak’s determination was evident but it lasted only for about a month. In that period of time, the spiritual revelation and wisdom of Nanak seemed to challenge the traditional knowledge that the Pandit had acquired throughout his life. The consciousness and heavenly talks of Nanak had stunned his teacher who soon admitted that the exceptional child had nothing much to learn from him.

Two years had passed; Mehta Kalu’s worries had multiplied over the failed attempts his son had exhibited at education. He coveted to get him hooked to something, lest his son might remain illiterate in life. On the recommendation of the village chief and family-friend, Rai Bular, Nanak was at last sent to a teacher, named Rukn-ul-din, to have him introduced to the Persian language so that, in time he could take up the profession of his father, where the language was mandatory. Here too the divine talent of little Nanak could not remain concealed to his teacher who soon ended up declaring that his knowledge was indeed brilliant. While accumulating a grasp over the language, Nanak indulged in forming yet another acrostic, this time on the Persian alphabet and began to impart knowledge to his teacher instead.³ These thirty-one letters opened up with Alif, Be, Te, Se, Jim.

Nanak being introduced to Persian. Illustration by the Author, 2016

An early phase of mysticism let him evolve his poetic disposition over time. Even though Nanak was quite young, people listened to him carefully whenever and whatever his discourse divulged on. His remarks often supported a reasonable and logical claim that often compelled everyone to contemplate. Nanak’s youth revolved around the prevalence of rigid customs and traditions that people from different backgrounds were constrained to. He found little use in what all he witnessed. Such intricate hovering of misbeliefs that dominated the era made him associate with the holy ascetics. Apart from seeking answers to his spiritual proclivity, Nanak outwardly condemned the empty rituals that had apparently become the cause of suffering for people. The reasoning he proffered was embedded deep in the form of poetical formations, encapsulating the tenets that he deemed vital to amend.

Having attained the age of nine, it was now a suitable time for Nanak to wear Janeu or the sacred thread, privileged for the higher caste Brahmins to indicate the sign of rebirth. According to the custom, such an investiture was imperative to sanctify the life and prospect of the future. The family astrologer Hardayal was called to fix an auspicious day for the requisite Yajnopavitam ceremony in order to eliminate the probability of negative energy surrounding Nanak. Mehta Kalu made the requisite preparations and arranged a great feast for the occasion. On the day of the ceremony, the guests gathered to felicitate the parents. Little Nanak, suppressed his mysterious smile and watched patiently as the priest undefiled the ceremonial spot with cow-dung. Nanak was made to sit in front of the priest whose invocation had already begun to touch the nearby vicinity. When the time had come to perform the ceremony, the idea of adorning the thread hung beyond the comprehension of Nanak, leaving him to demand an appropriate reason. The priest delineated that the thread would bestow upon him a higher status among others.

Actions alone characterise men, replied Nanak.

When the matter was further pressed on him, Nanak refused to wear the thread unless it was the one which neither wears out nor gets burnt. The denial to abide by the ritualistic ceremony landed the whole assembly into utter disappointment.

An abstract depiction of Nanak refusing to wear the sacred thread. Illustration by the Author, 2016

The exasperated priest made incessant attempts to convince the boy that the thread would sanctify his body and thus, prosper happiness on him in this world and the next. But Nanak found no sagacity to listen to the irrational claim and said, This is merely a cotton thread, why should I adorn a thread that is certain to get soiled and prone to break any moment. How can it protect the wearer and curtail the adversity? I would wear a thread that could be carried to the next world. Nanak then uttered, "People practice countless deceits and bore malice towards their fellow beings. They are liable for countless thefts, countless falsehoods and countless abuses. Boarded with such devious plots, yet the thread is spun and the Brahmin is called to twist it. To accomplish the ceremony, the goat is killed for food and then everyone says, ‘Put on the sacred Janeu’ to bestow honour and discern them from the unprivileged. After the thread wears out, it is thrown and a new one takes its place. O Nanak, the thread would never break if it possesses the real supremacy."

Before the priest was rendered speechless, Nanak gave the following description of the thread he would like to wear:

"Let mercy be your cotton, yarn your contentment, stretch it into knots of continence, with the twist of truth; then it becomes a janeu for the soul. If you have such a knot, O Brahmin, put it across right away. Such a thread neither gets burnt nor soiled. Blessed is the man, O Nanak, who would embellish such a thread on his neck."⁴ Though the unfinished ceremony brought much despair to his father, the ripostes that Nanak made succeeded in convincing the assembled congregation.

What so ever Nanak endeavoured seldom pleased his father. Instead of playing with the children of his age, Nanak was rather occupied in keeping self to his daily adventures of wandering in the vicinity. He would avidly spend most of his time in meditation of the Ultimate Lord. Such behaviour baffled his father who could scarcely endure the looming prospect of his son becoming a brat. Having known that Nanak had an unmitigated inclination towards solitude, his father thought he might potentially do well at grazing the cattle. The following day, Nanak efficiently took charge in the pastures and began to muse in the lap of nature. He would wander through the blossoming meadows and satiate his endless pursuit of contemplating the Lord. The sprawling lushness would make him ponder as he ate the fruits hanging from the trees, relishing them more for them being the creation of the Lord than for its taste. The days began to pass peacefully sauntering amid the serene pastures until the day he fell asleep under the grove of a banyan tree. When Nanak woke up, his herds happened to have ruined the neighbouring verdures. The aggrieved owner of the field lodged a complaint, first with his father and then with Rai Bular. Unconvinced of the account, the latter vouched for Nanak’s divine adventures and left the call unheard. When he was proved wrong, Rai Bular sent his men to assess the damage but was stunned to find out the fields blossoming and intact.⁵

An abstract impression of young Nanak grazing cattle. Illustration by the Author, 2016

Rai Bular questioning Nanak about the destroyed fields, Devender Singh, 2011

The grazing of cattle continued for some time. So did his wandering that he undertook in pursuit of understanding the world. He would venture out at the beginning of dawn and hum praises of the Lord on his way. Every day, the herds were set free and as they inevitably destroyed whatsoever, the stalks of grass were subject to turn ripe the same day. While he himself took possession of the regular spot under the tree grove, the streaks of the scorching sun did