GURU NANAK, HIS MESSAGE FOR HUMANITY AND THE SIKH FAITH
Prof. Jagmohan Singh (Retd)
(jagmohan46@gmail.com)
Guru Nanak, through his proclamations of oneness of God and a more distinctive oneness (equality) of
humans, together with his other views and expressions, became the founder of a way of life, for humans
to live as children of one God (Akaal Purakh – eternal entity). His birthday (this year on 30th November
2020), has been celebrated very enthusiastically, for very many years now, particularly by his followers,
worshippers and disciples (Sikhs). This description of his teachings should be useful to provide
information, to know his message for humanity and to create an improved understanding of the
distinctive features of the Sikh way of life, in the Society.
A) Guru Nanak and his message for humanity:
The first of the ten living Sikh Gurus (1469-1708), Guru Nanak was born in 1469, at Talwandi in North
India (now called Nankana Sahib and located in Pakistan). Hindus and Muslims dominated the religious
communities in the geographical environment of his place of birth. Guru Nanak’s thoughts and
comments in his early years, first impressed his elder sister, Nanaki and his father’s employer, Rai
Bulaar. They felt that Nanak was a man of high intellect and vision. They became his followers and are
said to be his first two disciples – Sikhs.
After his disappearance for a few days, Guru Nanak came out of the river Vein one day, in 1499 and
gave his message:
“Na Koi Hindu, Na Musalmaan” – No one is a Hindu, and no one is a Muslim.
Guru Nanak, in his above message planted the seeds of a social & religious revolution, at a time when
each faith claimed its franchise on God & there was a very serious & deep-rooted hatred between
different religions & castes. He first practiced & then preached, this message of “The Truth” – all
humans in this world are children of the same one Father (God), who is an eternal entity. Guru
Nanak preached 3 practices – Naam Japna, Wand Chhaknaa and Kirat Karni (meditate on His Name,
share what you eat with others, and work honestly with your hands to earn your livelihood), to establish
a conscientious, considerate and honest way of human life in the society. Further, in Mool Mantra, Guru
Nanak described the traits of the Perfect Eternal Entity (God), so that all humans may focus to acquire
those traits to be able to merge with Him at the end of life’s journey.
Guru Nanak’s virtuous messages were appreciated by many. They became his followers or disciples and
were called Sikhs. The word Sikh means, a disciple or a learner. The Sikh Faith is, unique in this respect
& offers a path towards a universal brotherhood. The followers of this path of life can and do feel proud
of being Sikhs and always remain ready to help out other humans as their brothers and sisters, in
difficult times, across the globe.
Guru Nanak established a chain of Gurus to continue and nourish these roots of the new Sikh way of
life. Fatherhood of one God & Brotherhood of humanity in the Sikh – way of life, was propagated
through a system of Sangat & Pangat (Congregations for bhajan & bhojan, i.e. for prayers & food – for
the soul & body, respectively) by the 2nd, 3rd & 4th Gurus. Everyone – Hindus, Muslims, high caste, low
caste, rich, poor, men, women were & are welcome to sit together as equals, without any kind of
discrimination,
The two terms::
i) SANGAT – to sit together as equals on the floor & remember God by any Name: Allah,
Ram, Gobind, ….
ii) PANGAT – to sit together as equals (in a row) & eat free vegetarian food (so that no
member of another community has any hesitation because of the nature of the food
served).
During the life of the 4th Guru Ramdas ji, the followers were required to use water from the common
source (well) & bathe in the common pool, to make them feel equal to one another. The 5th Guru Arjan
Dev ji compiled the hymns of: the earlier four Gurus, many other Muslim, Hindu & ‘low caste’ holy
persons; along with the hymns of his own, into a Granth Sahib – the holy book, to which the 10th Guru
Gobind Singh, later added hymns of the 9th Guru Tegh Bahadur, to complete the ‘Aadi Granth Sahib’
It is this compilation of the hymns of a mixed group of the Sikh Gurus and the holy persons, which is the
present eternal Guru of the Sikhs – Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS), on the basis of the orders of Guru
Gobind Singh (1708), to his followers to consider SGGS as their future Guru in every respect.. All these
holy persons preached the message that a reflection of God may be seen in every human being.
Since such a concept of equality amongst humans was not liked by people with vested interests & the
then Moghul emperors, from Babar to Aurangzeb, all the Sikh Gurus were harassed during their lives, in
various ways. The 5th & the 9th Gurus were in fact arrested, tortured & martyred under these rulers. No
one, however, deviated from the path of “The Truth” or of freedom to practice or preach this path.
B) The Sikh Faith and the Khalsa
The last Sikh Guru in person, Gobind Rai ji, chose the Baisakhi Day of 1699 to convene a special
gathering of his Sikhs at Kesgarh Sahib at Anandpur, in Punjab. He gave a call for those who would
fearlessly protect truth & live their faith & were ready to give their lives for the cause. One by one, five
persons offered their heads. They were baptized by giving “Amrit” – on this day & were called “Five
Beloveds”.
Following three observations and the analyses about the five persons who had offered their heads for the
cause, are very interesting & noteworthy:
1. Their names – Daya Ram, Dharam Chand, Mohakam Chand, Himmat Rai & Sahib Chand
represent the four of the important attributes in a person – Compassion, Duty & Responsibility,
Lesser attachment (to worldly materials) & Royal Courage to acquire the status represented by
the 5th name, ‘Sahib’ – Master.
2. These five persons came from Lahore, Delhi, Dwarka, Puri & Bidar. They, therefore, represented
different parts of the then India – from the North to the South.
3. All the five persons belonged to different castes – Khatri, Jaat, Washman, Water carrier, &
Barber, respectively.
Similarly, motivated male & female members of the Sikh faith were baptized and were collectively
designated as Khalsa Panth (The Pure Group / Fellowship / Organization). They were asked to adopt
‘Singh’ & ‘Kaur’ as suffixes to their names, respectively. They were given a Code of Conduct, which
included a ‘uniform’ of 5 articles of faith – 5 K’s (which are the identity & pride of the Sikhs, joining the
organization), together with a life of “simran” & wish-well for humanity. They were forbidden to
indulge in the four keep-aways – 4 H’s. Any Five members from this Group, in the presence of SGGS,
could also represent the Guru in person.
Because of the prevailing vested interests, obstinacies, excesses & exploitation of the masses, Sikhs as
members of the Khalsa Panth, had to continue to struggle a lot for securing human rights for the weak.
During most of the following 18th century, becoming a Sikh (member of the Khalsa Panth) was against
the law & prizes were awarded for the heads of the Sikhs. However, they did become the formal rulers
of Punjab, following the lead provided by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who co-ordinated different units of the
Panth (Missals) & took over Lahore 100 years later, in 1799 & became the first Sikh ruler of a truly
secular empire.
The reasons for their phenomenal growth & success: Universal appeal of the new religion (way of life),
protection provided to the poor at the cost of their lives and above all a very high character. Ironically
this can perhaps be best confirmed by the writings a Muslim historian Kazi Noor Mohammad, who had
an extreme hatred for Sikhs & referred to them as dogs (in Persian) instead of Singh, but still wrote the
following about the Sikhs:
“In no case would they slay a coward, nor would they put an obstacle in the way of a fugitive. They do
not plunder the wealth & ornaments of women, be she a well-to-do lady or a maidservant. There is no
adultery among these dogs nor are these mischievous people given to thieving. Whether a woman is
young or old, they call her ‘buria’ (mayee – old lady) & ask her to get out of the way. There is no thief at
all among these dogs nor is there any house breaker born among these miscreants. They do not make
friends with adulterers”
Guru Nanak not only founded a universal Sikh way of life to give and propagate his message, but also
ensured to firmly root the practices in the society. Sangat set up by the earlier Gurus was transformed
into Khalsa Panth, by the 10th Guru Gobind Singh who extended the invitation to all believers in
equality of humanity, to form part of the ‘”Army of the Lord”. Khalsa Panth became a fellowship of all
those who promised or pledged to live a pure saintly life but who were also ready to fearlessly struggle
for: achieving the universal brotherhood of humanity, freedom, fearlessness, self-respect, dignity,
protection of the weak and to fight & sacrifice one’s life for the cause, if necessary.
The author is an enthusiastic student of Sikh history and has been a 1st position holder for All India SGPC divinity
scholarship in his 6th standard. He is a retired senior scientist of the Department of Atomic Energy. Later, he was a
Professor at BITS Pilani, Goa campus and has also held senior academic positions in Universities in North India.