Guru Nanak

Biography

Early life
Guru Nanak Dev Jee was born on 15th april 1469[2][3], now celebrated as Prakash Dihara of Guru Nanak, into the Bedi Hindu Khatri family of the highest caste,[4] in the village of Rāi Bhōi dī Talwandī, now called Nankana Sahib, near Lahore, Pakistan.[5] Today, his birthplace is marked by Gurdwara Janam Asthan. His father, Mehta Kalyan Das Bedi, popularly short upp as Mehta Kalu[6], was the patwari (accountant) of crop revenue for the village of Talwandi in the employment of a Muslim landlord of that area, Rai Bular Bhatti [7]. Guru Nanak's mother was Tripta Devi and he had one elder sister, Bebe Nanaki.

The earliest biographical sources on the life of Guru Nanak recognized today are the Janamsākhīs (life accounts) and the vārs (expounding verses) of the scribe Bhai Gurdas. The most popular Janamsākhī are written by a close companion of the Guru, Bhai Bala.
Bhai Gurdas, a purported scribe of the Gurū Granth, also wrote about Nanak's life in his vārs. Although these too were compiled some time after Guru Nanak's time, they are less detailed than the Janamsākhīs. The Janamsākhīs recount in minute detail the circumstances of the birth of the guru. The Janamsakhis claim that at his birth an astrologer, who came to write his horoscope, insisted on seeing the child. On seeing the infant, he is said to have worshipped him with clasped hands and remarked that "I regret that I shall never live to see young Guru Nanak as an adult.

At the age of five years Nanak is said to have voiced interest in divine subjects. At age seven, his father, Mehta Kalu, enrolled him at the village school as was the custom.[8] Notable lore recounts that as a child Nanak astonished his teacher by describing the implicit symbolism of the first letter of the alphabet, which is an almost straight stroke in Persian or Arabic, resembling the mathematical version of one, as denoting the unity or oneness of God[9]. Other childhood accounts refer to strange and miraculous events about Nanak witnessed by Rai Bular such as a poisonous cobra being seen to shield the sleeping child's head from the harsh sunlight.

Marriage and family
Guru Nanak Dev was married to Mata Sulakhni. His marriage to her took place in the town of Batala. The marriage party had come from the town of Sultanpur Lodhi. He had two sons from this marriage; Sri Chand and Lakhmi Chand. Sri Chand founded a renunciate/ascetic sect known today as Udasis when Nanak did not choose him as his successor.

Foundation of Sikhism and travels
Rai Bular Bhatti, the local landlord and Nanak's sister Bibi Nanaki were the first people who recognised divine qualities in Guru Nanak. They encouraged and supported Nanak to study and travel. Around c. 1499 at the age of thirty, Sikh tradition stated that Nanak went missing and was presumed to have drowned after going for one of his morning baths to a local stream called the Kali Bein.
One day, he declared: "There is no hindu, there is no muslim" (in Punjabi, "nā kōi hindū nā kōi musalmān").The true meaning of this declaration was that "human being can not be bound by his religion because the Almighty is everywhere.He is in the soul of everyone."[10] The Universe is the Will of the Almighty. God is the absolute Truth, He can not be bound by a particular religion. If one looks in himself with deep insight and the condensed state of mind, this truth will be revealed itself.[11] It was from this moment that Nanak would begin to spread the teachings of what was then the beginning of Sikhism.

Although the exact account of his itinerary is disputed, he is widely acknowledged to have made four major journeys, spanning thousands of kilometres, the first tour being east towards Bengal and Assam, the second south towards Tamil Nadu, the third north towards Kashmir, Ladakh, and Tibet, and the final tour west towards Baghdad, Mecca and Medina on the Arabian Peninsula.[12].

Last years
As the end approached Guru Nanak would frequently test the devotion of his sons and nearest followers and in doing so demonstrate their state of mind to one another. There were numerous such occasions and one particular devotee, Baba Lehna, rose to eminence because he never faltered in his faith in Guru Nanak.

Guru Nanak appointed Baba Lehna as the successor Guru, renaming him as Guru Angad Dev, meaning 'one's very own' or 'part of you'. Shortly after proclaiming Baba Lehna as the next Guru, Nanak died on 22 September 1539 in Kartarpur, Punjab, Pakistan at the age of 70[13].