Guru Nanakji sporting a Chandan Tilak -Circa 1800 |
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਨਾਦੰ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਵੇਦੰ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਰਹਿਆ ਸਮਾਈ ॥ गुरमुखि नादं गुरमुखि वेदं गुरमुखि रहिआ समाई ॥ Gurmukh nāḏaʼn gurmukh veḏaʼn gurmukh rahi▫ā samā▫ī. The Guru's Word is the Sound-current of the Naad; the Guru's Word is the Wisdom of the Vedas; the Guru's Word is all-pervading. |
ਗੁਰੁ ਈਸਰੁ ਗੁਰੁ ਗੋਰਖੁ ਬਰਮਾ ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਰਬਤੀ ਮਾਈ ॥
गुरु ईसरु गुरु गोरखु बरमा गुरु पारबती माई ॥
Gur īsar gur gorakẖ barmā gur pārbaṯī mā▫ī.
The Guru is Shiva, the Guru is Vishnu and Brahma; the Guru is Paarvati and Lakhshmi.
Historic portrait of Guru Nanak Devji with red tilak, with Brahmin yogis Circa:1600 |
The first Guru Shri Guru Nanak Devji was born in April 1469 in Rae Bhoi di Talwandi, now known as Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, during the time of the Lodi Empire. His parents were Kalyan Das Mehta & Mata Tripta Deviji, who were Hindus belonging to the Vedic Brahmin varna [caste]. Guruji also had an elder sister Devi Nanaki, who was 5 years older than Guruji. Nanak Devji mastered the Vedas and the sacred language of Sanskrit under prominent Brahmin teachers of the time. He even studied Persian under Kashmiri Pandit teachers later on during his lifetime.
Janam Sakhis & Myths
Now a lot has been misinterpreted about Guru Nanak Devji's earlier life which has been written in the form of a collection of books known as Janam Sakhis which are short narratives of his birth & life. Janam Sakhis meaning 'Birth evidence/ stories'.The first set of Janam Sakhis was put into written form a hundred years after Guru Nanakji's death & cannot be considered as totally accurate since they were re-edited shamelessly by the Tat Khalsa to take out that which they disagreed with & whatever pleased them was re-written.The Sakhi tradition had existed & based an oral traditions which may have started during Nanakji's lifetime. These have changed over time as they passed from one person to another. Most of its content was put into written form during the 17th century upto the end of the 18th century, one transformed into the Puraatan Janam Sakhis (orthodox) while the other heterodox Janam Sakhis came into view upto the early 19th century. Many are full of mythological stories of miracles performed by Nanak Devji, such as the one found in Mirharban Janam Sakhi, of his travel to Mecca where he moves the mirhab or stone with his feet, which hardly lets one understand as to when he went to Mecca & for how long.
Guru Nanak Devji born a Brahmin
While some authors/ scholars of the Singh Sabha have mentioned his father's name as Kalu Mehta Bedi, others have mentioned his name as Mehta Kalu Sodhi, exposing the amount of inconsistencies to distort the truth about the fact that Guru Nanak Devji was indeed born a Brahmin. The controversy about Nanak Devji's rejection of the Janeu or sacred thread of Brahmins, again there are discrepancies & plenty of inconsistencies. One story mentions how the Guru's father had arranged for the family priest Haridayal Purohit to initiate a 9 yr old Nanak Devji into wearing the sacred thread when the latter rejected the thread by throwing it at the priest, therefore causing great anger to the priest, while W.H. McLeod claims :
Janam Sakhis & Myths
Nanak Devji & Brahmin priests |
Guru Nanak Devji born a Brahmin
While some authors/ scholars of the Singh Sabha have mentioned his father's name as Kalu Mehta Bedi, others have mentioned his name as Mehta Kalu Sodhi, exposing the amount of inconsistencies to distort the truth about the fact that Guru Nanak Devji was indeed born a Brahmin. The controversy about Nanak Devji's rejection of the Janeu or sacred thread of Brahmins, again there are discrepancies & plenty of inconsistencies. One story mentions how the Guru's father had arranged for the family priest Haridayal Purohit to initiate a 9 yr old Nanak Devji into wearing the sacred thread when the latter rejected the thread by throwing it at the priest, therefore causing great anger to the priest, while W.H. McLeod claims :
Later, when Babaji turned seven, all preparations had been made by his father & Sloka :
(From the) cotton (of) compassion (spin the) thread (of) tranquillity, knotting (it with) continence (and) twisting (it with) truth.
Babaji was bathed and robed, and (then the priest) invested (him) with the sacred thread. (As he did so) Babaji said (to him), "O Brahman, give me that indestructible sacred thread which never breaks and which retains its purity both in this world and the next." Then Babaji recited a Sloka:
If this is the thread which you have, O pandit, then bestow it (upon me).
(Such a thread) neither breaks nor becomes soiled ; neither burns nor goes astray.
Blessed is the man, O Nanak, upon whose neck (this spiritual thread) is laid.
The priest was speechless with delight. "Kalu," he cried, "your son is a mighty ascetic, the solace of the afflicted!
Historic portrait of Nanak Dev receiving Janeu -Circa :1600 |
Looking closely at the Sloka sung by Guruji, it has a great philosophical meaning which has been mostly manipulated to make it appear as a rejection rather than an acception of the spiritual kind. Nowhere in the Sloka does Nanakji mention to the family priest to stop with the ceremony but instead Guruji is requesting the Purohit gives him a sacred thread in the form of deep spiritual enlightenment that can never be broken nor tarnished - one that will remain forever in life as well as in the world after i.e. spiritual enlightenment that will transpass the material worlds of life & death. In an atmosphere when Brahmins were highly persecuted by the Muslim rulers, their sacred threads burnt by them, it would seem more sensible to assume that what Nanakji actually could have been referring to here is that a Janeu which can never be destroyed by the Maleshas [filthy barbarians] and one that would stay with him in this life as well as the next. So it is possible that NanakDevji indeed wore the Janeu. It also appears that this particular episode has been added in to further the anti Brahmin stance of neo Sikhs & a way forward to ridicule all Hindu practices which are millions of years older than even Guru Nanakji himself. So as a matter of arguement, Nanakji at the age of 7yrs would be ignorant of the ancient ways of Dharma & how on Earth can anyone believe how a 7yr old child would be in a position to ridicule this ancient sacred philosophy is truly beyond me. But to the more grown up neo Sikhs it is acceptable just because it represents their anti Hindu cause which I believe actually exposes them & their discrepancies in re-writing history by suppressing facts at the same time.
Twisting of facts by Neo Sikhs
Neo Sikhs led by Kahn Singh Nabha & Macauliffe, have used this particular Sloka of Guruji & turned it into some type of anti Brahmin statement & given a handy tool to the Sikhs to outwardly reject Hindu spiritual concepts just because according to them 'Nanakji rejected everything that was sacred to the Hindus'. Again they forgot that while twisting the facts of Nanak Devji who was a Brahmin boy at the time, they have painted a very arrogant child who takes great joy in insulting the family purohit who is many years wiser than him & his elder. In those days it was unheard of to insult one's parents & elders. This episode makes it difficult for one to understand how a 'great soul & saint' like Nanak Devji was indeed an arrogant & ill mannered 7yr/ 9 yr old child who lacked respect for his teachers & gurus. After all he required the help of these very Brahmin gurus to teach him the spiritual Dharmic values which he later on would promote in his life as well as his Banis.
'I am Not a Hindu - Not a Muslim' but did Nanakji say ' I am a Sikh'?
This is usually pushed in front of most of us who believe that we belong to our original Sanatan Hindu Sikh heritage when confronting the Talibani neo Sikhs. They love this particular incident in Guruji's life, which is
'I am Not a Hindu - Not a Muslim' but did Nanakji say ' I am a Sikh'?
This is usually pushed in front of most of us who believe that we belong to our original Sanatan Hindu Sikh heritage when confronting the Talibani neo Sikhs. They love this particular incident in Guruji's life, which is
A disciple of Guru Nanak Dev : 1800 |
Jo Na Koi hindu hai, Na Koi Mussalman,
verily meaning: 'There is no Hindu nor Muslim'. What he actually meant was :
Do not compare/label your material body with your religion, You are the Self & Soul only which is not affected by the colours of race nor creed.
It is in confines of the Vedic philosophy of Bhagavad Gita where Krishna says to Arjuna not to grieve nor identify with the material body but it is the soul which is free from all such bondages of 'Aham' or ego.This simple phrase which is at the same time highly spiritual has become twisted around to be magnified by neo-Sikhs in an attempt to declare the Guru as having said
' I am not a Hindu, nor a Musim' - giving a colour of rejection for Sanatan Hindu Sikh Dharma in order to support their separatist agendas. Had that been the case, then Guru Nanakji would have added : But I am a Sikh only! If he did say that, then it is certainly not found within any of his writings.Neo Sikhs always use this incident as an arguement when portraying a different image of our Gurus & Sikhism through twisting words & Banis of the Gurus. They have succeeded in conspiring & twisting the fact that the whole identity business of dividing mankind into Hindus/Muslims is actually a spiritual message of the Upanishads where the trap of human identity is rejected & is originally a Hindu one in the first place, which can be found severally in various Sanatan Dharmic scriptures.
Guru Nanak's message & Vedic philosophy
'I will not pray to Idols & will not say the Muslim prayer' is another favourite of Talibani Sikhs of today when quoting the Gurus. Well let us go deeper into this : For Hindus there are 2 forms of Vedic philosophies where one suggests it is NOT important & a must to worship idols; in other words the Nirguna Nirankar form of Paramatma is worshipped while the other Vedantic thought allows idol worship or murti puja to fix the mind on a subtle form basically representing Symbolism. Whilst it is a MUST to pray 5 times for Muslims, this statement is actually anti Islamic rather than anti Hindu.
Nanak Devji was a mystic & saint who didn't differentiate between different types of people & aimed at creating a spiritual movement for the unity of Mankind. Again, as it is a well known fact that most of Guru Nanakji’s life was spent on travels known as Udasi. It is during these Udasi one finds in real sense ‘dialogue in action’ where he visited many ashrams of Hindu saints from North to South India. He merely expressed himself through poetry to enlighten those around him on spiritual realisation through Jaap & Simran, a concept which had begun earlier than his birth during the Bhakti movement from South India spreading into the North. His thoughts were strongly influenced by the Hindu concept of Sant & Nirguna tradition of North India, though some neo Sikhs like to include the Sufi traditions also. The Sant traditions were a combination of pure Vaishnava philosophies which provided the basis of Guruji's thoughts, such as Karma, Dharma, Kaam, Lobh, Moha,Maya, Moksh, Bhakti & rebirth of the soul - all are Vedic concepts to be found within Sanatan Sikhi traditions. Jaap of name as well as Simran is mentioned in several chapters under Kaliyug in Veda Vyas' Shrimad Bhagavatam which Nanakji also took up to remind his people of the sage's message to counter the evils of Kaliyug. Everything which is found in Sikhism is actually sourced out from all Hindu scriptures.
Guru Nanakji makes specific references to Lord Rama and wrote several hymns about Lord Krishna. All throughout the Granth, praises are specifically addressed to the avatars of Vishnu, particularly to Rama and Krishna. A very interesting observation of the literature is the occurence and reference to the name "Bithal", which is found throughout the Adi Granth. Bithal is the Punjabi version of the Marathi name "Vithal" which is another name for Lord Krishna. Hardyal Singh M.A., a famous Punjabi revolutionary during the time of the British Raj, said that "if you were to remove every page that contained the name of Bithal or Ram from the Granth, you will be left with nothing more than a few pages and the book case." Shri Adi Granth clearly states that Bithal is the Lord.
Below: Shri Adi Granth sloka which is similar to the Sloka taken from the Bhagavad Gita where Krishna tells Arjun in the 15th Chapter, verses 1 & 2 the secrets of the Peepal Tree whose branches are below while roots face upwards:
This Tree has its roots above, and its branches below; the four Vedas
are attached to it. He alone realizes this tree with ease, O Nanak, who
remains awake in the Love of the Supreme Being ||2||. This Tree of the
Divine is inside me; in it are the flowers, leaves, elements, and branches.
Meditate on the self-existent, Pure Being, whose Light is pervading
everywhere; renounce all your worldly entanglements (Shri Guru Granthji 503)
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Vedic Gods of Shri Adi Granth
Neo-sikhs also argue that Guru Nanak Devji didn't worship Hindu Gods & make us believe that Sikhism is a monotheistic religion, to further their separatist agendas. Let us take a closer look at the Banis which are in the traditional Braj Bhasha with sanskrit words all dedicated to Shri Krishna, Lord NaraSimha ( Vishnu Avatar of half-man half lion), Lord Rama, Vamana Avtar of Vishnu, incarnated avatars of Vishnu etc:
ਮੋਹਨ ਮਾਧਵ ਕ੍ਰਿਸ੍ਨ ਮੁਰਾਰੇ ॥ मोहन माधव क्रिस्न मुरारे ॥ Mohan māḏẖav krisan murāre. The Enticer of Hearts, the Lord of wealth, Krishna, the Enemy of ego. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ਜਗਦੀਸੁਰ ਹਰਿ ਜੀਉ ਅਸੁਰ ਸੰਘਾਰੇ ॥ जगदीसुर हरि जीउ असुर संघारे ॥ Jagḏīsur har jī▫o asur sangẖāre. The Lord of the Universe, the Dear Lord, the Destroyer of demons. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ਜਗਜੀਵਨ ਅਬਿਨਾਸੀ ਠਾਕੁਰ ਘਟ ਘਟ ਵਾਸੀ ਹੈ ਸੰਗਾ ॥੨॥ जगजीवन अबिनासी ठाकुर घट घट वासी है संगा ॥२॥ Jagjīvan abẖināsī ṯẖākur gẖat gẖat vāsī hai sangā. ||2|| The Life of the World, our eternal and ever-stable Lord and Master dwells within each and every heart, and is always with us. ||2|| ਧਰਣੀਧਰ ਈਸ ਨਰਸਿੰਘ ਨਾਰਾਇਣ ॥ धरणीधर ईस नरसिंघ नाराइण ॥ Ḏẖarṇīḏẖar īs narsingẖ nārā▫iṇ. The Support of the Earth, the man-lion, the Supreme Lord God (Narasimha the half man - half lion avatar of Vishnu)
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(Shri Guru Granthji pg1082)
Modern day Sikhs are victims of fraud
Guru Nanakji has beautifully described the forms & avatars of Lord Vishnu in these verses which the neo Sikhs refer to as some other Ram or other Krishna when confronted with these facts...it couldn't get any worse when it comes to the logic of the neo Sikhs. I suggest they study Sanskrit first in order to understand fully the great Banis of our Gurus which were mostly in Braj Bhasha rich with Sanskritic thoughts- a dialect of North India at the time mainly for Vaishnava scriptures, kirtans & bhajans. Through twisting of the real facts, neo Sikh Talibanis have thrown out Sanskrit, Braj Bhasha, Sanatan Dharma , suppressed historical facts & the truth of what the Gurus all preached during their time - in a nutshell we have been made to blindly follow their version of the new Talibani Sikhism which was set up by Gorres ( British ) and their puppets of Tat Khalsa, to further weaken our original Hindu society, where we must not dare even ask any questions from them. Are we people who have become reduced to belonging to only 500 years of history or are we the proud inheritors of a great heritage that spans back milions of years way back to Shri Ram Chandra the Surya Vanshi King? They have managed to flood the internet with anti Brahminical & anti Hindu venom, with anti Brahmin myths such as the famous 'Gangu Brahman' myth which appeared during the 19th century. Shame on them!
Copyright©Arjan Singh Virdi 2012.
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