Local bands playing religious music form a special part
of the procession. Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of
the Sikh faith, was born in the month of Kartik (October/November),
and his birthday is known as Guru Nanak Jayanti. He was
born in 1469 A.D. at Tolevandi some 30 miles from Lahore.
The anniversaries of Sikh Guru's are known as Gurpurabs
(festivals) and are celebrated with devotion and dedication.
Free sweets and langar or community lunches are also
offered to everyone irrespective of religious faith.
Men, women, and children, participate in this karseva
as service to the community, cook food and distribute
it in the 'Guru ka Langar', with the traditional 'Karah
Prasad'.
Sikhs also visit gurdwaras where special programs
are arranged and kirtans (religious songs) are sung.
Houses and gurdwaras are lit up to add to the festivities.
Guru Nanak Dev's life served as a beacon light for his
age. He was a great seer, saint and mystic. He was a
prolific poet and a unique singer of God's laudation.
A prophet of peace, love, truth and renaissance, he
was centuries ahead of his times. His universal message
is as fresh and true even today as it was in the past
and Sikhs all over the world, practice what Guru Nanak
Dev preached, to reaffirm their beliefs in the teachings
of their founder.
Past The son of a Kshatriya (warrior) family, he studied
Hinduism and Islam. He got married but then he abandoned
his family and became an ascetic. Wandering for many
years he came under the influence of both Hindus and
Muslims (especially Sufi). The Muslim teacher Kabir
(died in 1398) made a deep impression on Guru Nanak.
He began preaching, "There is no Hindu, there is no
Mussulman." .
The Sikhs
Guru Nanak was succeeded by nine other Gurus. Guru Arjun
(1563-1606) the fifth Guru, compiled the "Granth Sahib"
(Noble Book) and the tenth Guru, Govind Singh, gave
it its final form. The two books are also known as "Adi
Granth" (Initial Book), and "Dasam Granth" (Book of
the Tenth Guru).
The Sikh temple is called "Gurudwara" (Gum's Gate).
A copy of the Granth is kept in every Gurudwara. After
the Tenth Guru, the Granth is worshipped as the mystic
personality of the Gurus.
The main shrine of the Sikhs is the Golden Temple of
Amritsar, in Punjab, where Sikhism has a real hold.
The Temple foundations were Laid by the Fourth Guru,
Guru Ram Das (1534-1581).
In 1699 Guru Govind Singh introduced the Initiation
Rite, drinking sugared water ("amrt"), and abolished
caste distinctions. Sikhs were to be distinguished by
their name, always with the suffix Singh (lion), and
by the five K's: unshorn hair and beard ("kes"), comb
in the hair ("kangh"), steel bangle on the right wrist
("kara"), short drawers ("kacch") and steel dagger ("kirpan").
Guru Govind Singh was also responsible for giving the
Sikh Religion a marked military character. The soldier-saint
became the ideal of the Khalsa or Sikh fraternity. "When
all other means have failed, it is righteous to draw
the sword", was one of the basic principles of Guru
Govind Singh.
Adi Granth
The Adi Granth teaches:
"There is one God, Eternal Truth is His Name; Maker
of all things, fearing nothing and at enmity with nothing;
Timeless is His Image; Not begotten, being of His own
being; By the grace of the Guru made known to men. As
he was in the beginning, the Truth; So throughout the
ages He ever has been, the Truth; So even now he is
the Truth Immanent; So for ever and ever, He shall be
Truth Eternal."
These words express the basic belief of Sikhs. Idolatry
is forbidden. True worship consists in singing God's
praises and in meditating on His Name. To realise Him
speculation is useless, and so are also all pilgrimages,
and ascetical practices like fasting and celibacy.
God is the Supreme Guru, "Satnam, Wah Guru" (The True
Name, The Wondrous Teacher). The Ten Gurus are reverenced
because God spoke through them. Nanak had no other Guru
but God. His followers, however, reach God through Guru
Nanak and the other nine. When the line ended, the God-given
"Word of the Gum", remained embodied in the Granth and
the temporal function of the Guru was bestowed on the
Khalsa.
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