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{{Infobox ReligiousBio {{Infobox ReligiousBio
| background = #FFA600 | background = #FFA500
| name = Guru Nanak Dev | name = Guru Nanak Dev
| image = ]<BR>Guru Nanak Dev | image = ]<BR>Guru Nanak Dev
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| Period = ] - ] | Period = ] - ]
| Predecessor = | Predecessor =
| Successor = Guru Angad Dev 2<sup>nd</sup> of the ] | Successor = Guru Angad Dev 2<sup>nd</sup> of the ]
| ordination = | ordination =
| post = ] | post = ]
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'''Guru Nanak Dev'''<ref>Nanak may be referred to by many names and titles such as Baba Nanak or Nanak Shah.</ref> ({{lang-pa|ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇਵ}}, ''{{IAST|Gurū Nānak Dēv}}'') (Born in ], ], (now ]) on ] ] &ndash; ] ], ], ], ]), was the founder of ], and the first of the ten ]. '''Guru Nanak Dev'''<ref>Nanak may be referred to by many names and titles such as Baba Nanak or Nanak Shah.</ref> ({{lang-pa|ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇਵ}}, ''{{IAST|Gurū Nānak Dēv}}'') (Born in ], ], (now ]) on ] ] &ndash; ] ], ], ], ]), was the founder of ], and the first of the ten ].


Beside followers of ]''' Guru Nanak Dev''' is revered by ] and ] across the ].<ref>{{cite book | last=Duggal | first=Kartar Singh | year=1988 | title=Philosophy and Faith of Sikhism | publisher=Himalayan Institute Press | id = ISBN 0-89389-109-6 | pages=xxii}}</ref> His primary message to society was recorded to be "devotion of thought and excellence of conduct as the first of duties".<ref>{{cite book | last=Cunningham | first=Joseph Davey | authorlink=Joseph Cunningham | year=2006 | origyear=1853 | title=History of the Sikhs | publisher=John Murray | location=Albemarle Street. London | id = ISBN | pages= 43}}</ref> Beside followers of ], '''Guru Nanak Dev''' is revered by ] and ] across the ].<ref>{{cite book | last=Duggal | first=Kartar Singh | year=1988 | title=Philosophy and Faith of Sikhism | publisher=Himalayan Institute Press | id = ISBN 0-89389-109-6 | pages=xxii}}</ref> His primary message to society was recorded to be "devotion of thought and excellence of conduct as the first of duties".<ref>{{cite book | last=Cunningham | first=Joseph Davey | authorlink=Joseph Cunningham | year=2006 | origyear=1853 | title=History of the Sikhs | publisher=John Murray | location=Albemarle Street. London | id = ISBN | pages= 43}}</ref>


==Stories of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's life==


The stories of Guru Nanak's life are collected in writings known as the '''']''''. The most popular Janamsākhī purports to have been written by ] a close companion, before Nanak died<ref></ref>. However, the writing style and language employed have left scholars such as ] certain that they were composed after his death.<ref>{{cite book | last=Macauliffe | first=Max Arthur | authorlink=Max Arthur Macauliffe | year=2004 | origyear=1909 | title=The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors | publisher=Low Price Publications | location=India | id = ISBN 81-86142-31-2 | pages=lxxix}}</ref>

], the scribe of the ], also wrote about Nanak's life in his ''vārs''. However, these too were compiled after Guru Nanak's demise, and are less detailed than the Janamsākhīs. Sikhs tend to hold Gurdas's accounts in higher esteem because of the author's generally perceived trustworthiness.

Guru Nanak was born on ] ] in a ] family of the ] ] clan,<ref>{{cite book | last=Macauliffe | first=Max Arthur | authorlink=Max Arthur Macauliffe | year=2004 | origyear=1909 | title=The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors | publisher=Low Price Publications | location=India | id = ISBN 81-86142-31-2 | pages=1 | quote=The third day of the light-half of the month of Baisakh (April-May) in the year AD 1469, but, some historians believe that the Guru was born on April 15th, 1469 A.D.}}. Generally thought to be the third day of Baisakh (or Vaisakh) of Vikram Samvat 1526.</ref> in the village of ''Rāi Bhōi dī Talvaṇḍī'', now called ] (after the Guru), near ], ].<ref>{{cite book | last=Singh | first=Khushwant | authorlink=Khushwant Singh | year=2006 | title=The Illustrated History of the Sikhs | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=India | id = ISBN 0-19-567747-1 | pages=12-13}} Also, as according to the Purātan Janamsākhī (the birth stories of Nanak).</ref> Today, his birth place is marked by Gurdwara Janam Asthan. His father, Mehta Kalyan Das Bedi, also known as ], was the patwari (accountant) of crop revenue for the village of Talwandi under the ] landlord of the village, Rai Bular, who was responsible for collecting taxes. Guru Nanak's mother was ] and he had one older sister, ].
]
The Janamsākhīs recount in minute detail all the circumstances of the birth of the guru. They 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. The astrologer then remarked that he regretted that he should never live to see young Guru Nanak's eminence, worshipped as he should be, not only by Sikhs, but Hindus and Muslims as well.<ref>{{cite book | last=Macauliffe | first=Max Arthur | authorlink=Max Arthur Macauliffe | year=2004 | origyear=1909 | title=The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors | publisher=Low Price Publications | location=India | id = ISBN 81-86142-31-2 | pages=1}}</ref>

At the age of five years Nanak is said to have begun to discuss spiritual and ] subjects. At age seven, his father ] enrolled him at the village school.<ref>{{cite book | last=Macauliffe | first=Max Arthur | authorlink=Max Arthur Macauliffe | year=2004 | origyear=1909 | title=The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors | publisher=Low Price Publications | location=India | id = ISBN 81-86142-31-2 | pages=2}}</ref> Nanak left school early after he had shown his scholastic proficiency. He then took to private study and meditation.<ref>{{cite book | last=Macauliffe | first=Max Arthur | authorlink=Max Arthur Macauliffe | year=2004 | origyear=1909 | title=The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors | publisher=Low Price Publications | location=India | id = ISBN 81-86142-31-2 | pages=8-9}}</ref>

All the ] are unanimous in stating that Nanak courted the retirement of the local forest and the society of the religious men who frequented it. Several of them were profoundly versed in the ] of the age. They had also travelled far and wide within the limits of ancient India, and met its renowned religious teachers. Nanak thus became acquainted with the latest teachings of Indian philosophers and reformers.<ref>{{cite book | last=Macauliffe | first=Max Arthur | authorlink=Max Arthur Macauliffe | year=2004 | origyear=1909 | title=The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors | publisher=Low Price Publications | location=India | id = ISBN 81-86142-31-2 | pages=10}}</ref>


== Epiphany == == Epiphany ==
Sikh tradition states that at the age of thirty, Guru Nanak Dev ji went missing, and was presumed to have drowned after going for one of his morning baths to a local stream called the ''Kali Bein'' or the ''Humber Bain''. Three days later he reappeared and would give the same answer to any question posed to him: "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim" (in Punjabi, "''nā kōi hindū nā kōi musalmān''"). It was from this moment that Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji would begin to spread the teachings of what was then the beginning of Sikhism.<ref>{{cite book | last=Shackle | first=Christopher | coauthors= Mandair, Arvind-Pal Singh | year=2005 | title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures | publisher=Routledge | location=United Kingdom | id = ISBN 0-415-26604-1 | pages=xiii-xiv}}</ref> Although the exact account of his itinerary is disputed, he is widely acknowledged to have made four major journeys, spanning thousands of kilometers. The first tour was east towards ] and ], the second south towards ] via ], the third north towards ], ] and ], and the final tour west towards ] and ].<ref>{{cite book | last=Singh | first=Khushwant | authorlink=Khushwant Singh | year=2006 | title=The Illustrated History of the Sikhs | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=India | id = ISBN 0-19-567747-1 | pages=14}}</ref> Sikh tradition states that at the age of thirty, 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'' or the ''Humber Bain''. Three days later he reappeared and would give the same answer to any question posed to him: "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim" (in Punjabi, "''nā kōi hindū nā kōi musalmān''"). It was from this moment that Nanak would begin to spread the teachings of what was then the beginning of Sikhism.<ref>{{cite book | last=Shackle | first=Christopher | coauthors= Mandair, Arvind-Pal Singh | year=2005 | title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures | publisher=Routledge | location=United Kingdom | id = ISBN 0-415-26604-1 | pages=xiii-xiv}}</ref> Although the exact account of his itinerary is disputed, he is widely acknowledged to have made four major journeys, spanning thousands of kilometers. The first tour was east towards ] and ], the second south towards ] via ], the third north towards ], ] and ], and the final tour west towards ] and ].<ref>{{cite book | last=Singh | first=Khushwant | authorlink=Khushwant Singh | year=2006 | title=The Illustrated History of the Sikhs | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=India | id = ISBN 0-19-567747-1 | pages=14}}</ref>
Just before he died, he placed 2 different flowers on either side of him, one representing the Sikh religion and one representing the Muslim religion, he said "the one to stay fresh until tomorrow is the true religion" Both flowers stayed fresh and the people suddenly realised the Guru had planned to show them both religions were true.


Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji was married to Sulakhni, the daughter of Moolchand Chona, a rice trader from the town of ]. They had two sons. The elder son, ], was an ascetic and he came to have a considerable following of his own, known as the ]s. The younger son, Lakshmi Das, on the other hand was totally immersed in worldly life. To Nanak, who believed in the ideal of ''{{unicode|rāj maiṁ jōg}}'' (detachment in civic life), both his sons were unfit to carry on the Guruship. Nanak was married to Sulakhni, the daughter of Moolchand Chona, a rice trader from the town of ]. They had two sons. The elder son, ], was an ascetic and he came to have a considerable following of his own, known as the ]s. The younger son, Lakshmi Das, on the other hand was totally immersed in worldly life. To Nanak, who believed in the ideal of ''{{unicode|rāj maiṁ jōg}}'' (detachment in civic life), both his sons were unfit to carry on the Guruship.


{{Cquote2|'''Guru Nanak Dev Ji squeezing milk from Bhai Lalo's bread and blood from Malik Bhago's food.'''
'''The Three Pillars of Sikhism'''


After discovering Guru Nanak Dev Ji was dining with poor honest carpenter Bhai Lalo, a very wealthy government official named Malik Bhago invited Guruji to dine with him instead. Bhago could not understand why such an influential and holy man would want to eat with such a low caste and poor man. The guru declined but after being asked a second time, took Bhai Lalo's Chapati with him to Malik's house and held it in one hand and Malik's in the other. He squeezed them both and to the shock of onlookers, milk was seen trickling from Bhai Lalo's food, and blood from Malik Bhago's. The guru then gave his reason for declining the wealthy mans offer...“Look Malik Bhago, wealth gathered by cruelty and corruption towards the poor is like sucking their blood and sweat. You had invited me to partake of blood, leaving food pure as milk. How could I accept it?}}
It was in Sultanpur that Guru Nanak Dev formalised the three important pillars of Sikhism:


==The Three Pillars of Sikhism==
Naam Japna: Chanting God's name in a meditative manner.
Kirat Karō: Earning an honest living.


It was in Sultanpur that Guru Nanak Dev formalised the three important pillars of Sikhism:
Vaṇḍ Chakkō: Sharing with others.
*'']'': Chanting the Holy Name and thus remembering God at all times (often meditation).
*'']'': Earning an honest living.
*'']'': Sharing with others.

==Other beliefs and contributions==
Guru Nanak had many beliefs which were not popular at the time but are now widespread.

* '''Equality of Humans''': When throughout the East and West Slavery and race discrimination was rife, and disrespect amongst the different classes and castes was at its peak, Nanak preached against discrimination and prejudices due to race, caste, status, etc. He said: "See the brotherhood of all mankind as the highest order of Yogis; conquer your own mind, and conquer the world." (SGGS page 6); also "There is one awareness among all created beings." (Page 24) and finally "One who recognizes the One Lord among all beings does not talk of ego. ||4||" (page 432). He urges all the peoples of the world to "conquer" their minds to these evil practises. All human beings had the light of the Lord and were the same – only by subduing one's pride and ego could one see this light in all.

* '''Equality of Women''': In about 1499 when society offered little status or respect to women, Nanak Dev sought to elevat the position of women by spreading this message: "From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all. O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman." (Page 473). In so doing he promoted the equality of women in the 15th century. Nanak Dev also condemned the ritual of ] some 300 years prior to the British doing so.

* '''Universal message for all People''' It had been a custom at the time for religious leaders to address only their own congregation, and for segregation of the different religions – but Nanak Dev broke with tradition, and spoke to all of humanity. To the Muslim he said: "And when, O Nanak, he is merciful to all beings, only then shall he be called a Muslim. ||1||" (page 141"; to the Hindu, he said "O Nanak, without the True Name, of what use is the frontal mark of the Hindus, or their sacred thread? ||1||" (page 467); and to all he preached: "To take what rightfully belongs to another is like a Muslim eating pork, or a Hindu eating beef." (Page 141).

Upon being asked which religion, ] or ], was the true path to God, he replied that the true way to attain God was to worship Him who is eternal and contained in the whole Universe.

==Joti Jot Samaye==
Spending the last fifteen years of his life in ], the Guru would wake at dawn and recite his daily prayers. At daybreak, he would address his followers. He worked in the field and earned his livelihood. He worked in the ]; or community kitchen, where food would be partaken by Nanak's followers irrespective of their caste or creed.

On ] ], aged 70, Guru Nanak met with his demise, after he had requested his disciples to sing the ] (the praise of God).

There is a tale about his last time.It is said that when he laid on the bed of death,he was covered with a blanket.There was a quarell between Hindus and Muslims.The hindus claimed that he is our Rama and they wanted to cremate him and on the other side the Muslims claimed that he is the avatar of Allah and they wanted to bury him.But when they lifted the blanket over his corpse.It is said there were many brilliant flowers there.

== Folklore ==
According to Sikh history it says that when it became clear that the death of Guru Nanak Dev was near, a dispute arose. His Hindu followers wanted to cremate the remains while the Muslim followers wanted to bury the body following Islamic tradition. Nanak brokered a compromise by suggesting that each group should place a garland of flowers beside his body, and whoever's garland remained unwilted after three days could dispose of his body according to their tradition. However, the next morniing, upon raising the cloth under which the Guru's body lay, only the flowers shared between his followers were found. The Hindus cremated their flowers whereas the Muslims buried theirs.<ref>http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/252/258184/im_ch11_1.pdf</ref><ref></ref>

Please also look at ] - as such is also said about the time of his death. Possibly the stories have cross pollenated from on another?


==See also== ==See also==
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*] *]
*]


==Notes== ==Notes==
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==External links== ==External links==
*

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Revision as of 18:01, 29 November 2007

Guru Nanak Dev
File:Guru nanak.jpg
Guru Nanak Dev
Personal life
Other namesTemplate:Lang-pa
Gurū Nānak Dēv (by Sikh & Hindu Worshippers)
Baba Nanak (by Muslim Worshippers)
Nanak Shah (by Muslim Worshippers)
Religious life
ReligionSikhism
Religious career
PostGuru
Period in office1499 - 1539
SuccessorGuru Angad Dev 2 of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism
Part of a series on
Sikhism
Khanda
Sikh gurus
Selected revered saints
Philosophy
Practices
Scripture
Places and Takhts
General topics
Sikhism and other religions

Guru Nanak Dev (Template:Lang-pa, Gurū Nānak Dēv) (Born in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, (now Pakistan) on 20th October 14697 May 1539, Kartarpur, Punjab, India), was the founder of Sikhism, and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.

Beside followers of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev is revered by Hindus and Muslim Sufis across the Indian subcontinent. His primary message to society was recorded to be "devotion of thought and excellence of conduct as the first of duties".

Stories of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's life

The stories of Guru Nanak's life are collected in writings known as the 'Janamsākhīs'. The most popular Janamsākhī purports to have been written by Bhai Bala a close companion, before Nanak died. However, the writing style and language employed have left scholars such as Max Arthur Macauliffe certain that they were composed after his death.

Bhai Gurdas, the scribe of the Gurū Granth Sāhib, also wrote about Nanak's life in his vārs. However, these too were compiled after Guru Nanak's demise, and are less detailed than the Janamsākhīs. Sikhs tend to hold Gurdas's accounts in higher esteem because of the author's generally perceived trustworthiness.

Guru Nanak was born on 20 October 1469 in a Hindu family of the Bedi Khatri clan, in the village of Rāi Bhōi dī Talvaṇḍī, now called Nankana Sahib (after the Guru), near Lahore, Pakistan. Today, his birth place is marked by Gurdwara Janam Asthan. His father, Mehta Kalyan Das Bedi, also known as Mehta Kalu, was the patwari (accountant) of crop revenue for the village of Talwandi under the Muslim landlord of the village, Rai Bular, who was responsible for collecting taxes. Guru Nanak's mother was Tripta Devi and he had one older sister, Nanaki.

Gurdwara Nankana Sahib

The Janamsākhīs recount in minute detail all the circumstances of the birth of the guru. They 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. The astrologer then remarked that he regretted that he should never live to see young Guru Nanak's eminence, worshipped as he should be, not only by Sikhs, but Hindus and Muslims as well.

At the age of five years Nanak is said to have begun to discuss spiritual and divine subjects. At age seven, his father Mehta Kalu enrolled him at the village school. Nanak left school early after he had shown his scholastic proficiency. He then took to private study and meditation.

All the Janamsākhīs are unanimous in stating that Nanak courted the retirement of the local forest and the society of the religious men who frequented it. Several of them were profoundly versed in the Indian religious literature of the age. They had also travelled far and wide within the limits of ancient India, and met its renowned religious teachers. Nanak thus became acquainted with the latest teachings of Indian philosophers and reformers.

Epiphany

Sikh tradition states that at the age of thirty, 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 or the Humber Bain. Three days later he reappeared and would give the same answer to any question posed to him: "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim" (in Punjabi, "nā kōi hindū nā kōi musalmān"). 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 kilometers. The first tour was east towards Bengal and Assam, the second south towards Ceylon via Tamil Nadu, the third north towards Kashmir, Ladakh and Tibet, and the final tour west towards Baghdad and Mecca.

Nanak was married to Sulakhni, the daughter of Moolchand Chona, a rice trader from the town of Batala. They had two sons. The elder son, Sri Chand, was an ascetic and he came to have a considerable following of his own, known as the Udasis. The younger son, Lakshmi Das, on the other hand was totally immersed in worldly life. To Nanak, who believed in the ideal of rāj maiṁ jōg (detachment in civic life), both his sons were unfit to carry on the Guruship.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji squeezing milk from Bhai Lalo's bread and blood from Malik Bhago's food. After discovering Guru Nanak Dev Ji was dining with poor honest carpenter Bhai Lalo, a very wealthy government official named Malik Bhago invited Guruji to dine with him instead. Bhago could not understand why such an influential and holy man would want to eat with such a low caste and poor man. The guru declined but after being asked a second time, took Bhai Lalo's Chapati with him to Malik's house and held it in one hand and Malik's in the other. He squeezed them both and to the shock of onlookers, milk was seen trickling from Bhai Lalo's food, and blood from Malik Bhago's. The guru then gave his reason for declining the wealthy mans offer...“Look Malik Bhago, wealth gathered by cruelty and corruption towards the poor is like sucking their blood and sweat. You had invited me to partake of blood, leaving food pure as milk. How could I accept it?

The Three Pillars of Sikhism

It was in Sultanpur that Guru Nanak Dev formalised the three important pillars of Sikhism:

Other beliefs and contributions

Guru Nanak had many beliefs which were not popular at the time but are now widespread.

  • Equality of Humans: When throughout the East and West Slavery and race discrimination was rife, and disrespect amongst the different classes and castes was at its peak, Nanak preached against discrimination and prejudices due to race, caste, status, etc. He said: "See the brotherhood of all mankind as the highest order of Yogis; conquer your own mind, and conquer the world." (SGGS page 6); also "There is one awareness among all created beings." (Page 24) and finally "One who recognizes the One Lord among all beings does not talk of ego. ||4||" (page 432). He urges all the peoples of the world to "conquer" their minds to these evil practises. All human beings had the light of the Lord and were the same – only by subduing one's pride and ego could one see this light in all.
  • Equality of Women: In about 1499 when society offered little status or respect to women, Nanak Dev sought to elevat the position of women by spreading this message: "From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all. O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman." (Page 473). In so doing he promoted the equality of women in the 15th century. Nanak Dev also condemned the ritual of Sati some 300 years prior to the British doing so.
  • Universal message for all People It had been a custom at the time for religious leaders to address only their own congregation, and for segregation of the different religions – but Nanak Dev broke with tradition, and spoke to all of humanity. To the Muslim he said: "And when, O Nanak, he is merciful to all beings, only then shall he be called a Muslim. ||1||" (page 141"; to the Hindu, he said "O Nanak, without the True Name, of what use is the frontal mark of the Hindus, or their sacred thread? ||1||" (page 467); and to all he preached: "To take what rightfully belongs to another is like a Muslim eating pork, or a Hindu eating beef." (Page 141).

Upon being asked which religion, Hinduism or Islam, was the true path to God, he replied that the true way to attain God was to worship Him who is eternal and contained in the whole Universe.

Joti Jot Samaye

Spending the last fifteen years of his life in Kartarpur, the Guru would wake at dawn and recite his daily prayers. At daybreak, he would address his followers. He worked in the field and earned his livelihood. He worked in the Langar; or community kitchen, where food would be partaken by Nanak's followers irrespective of their caste or creed.

On 22 September 1539, aged 70, Guru Nanak met with his demise, after he had requested his disciples to sing the Sohila (the praise of God).

There is a tale about his last time.It is said that when he laid on the bed of death,he was covered with a blanket.There was a quarell between Hindus and Muslims.The hindus claimed that he is our Rama and they wanted to cremate him and on the other side the Muslims claimed that he is the avatar of Allah and they wanted to bury him.But when they lifted the blanket over his corpse.It is said there were many brilliant flowers there.

Folklore

According to Sikh history it says that when it became clear that the death of Guru Nanak Dev was near, a dispute arose. His Hindu followers wanted to cremate the remains while the Muslim followers wanted to bury the body following Islamic tradition. Nanak brokered a compromise by suggesting that each group should place a garland of flowers beside his body, and whoever's garland remained unwilted after three days could dispose of his body according to their tradition. However, the next morniing, upon raising the cloth under which the Guru's body lay, only the flowers shared between his followers were found. The Hindus cremated their flowers whereas the Muslims buried theirs.

Please also look at Kabir - as such is also said about the time of his death. Possibly the stories have cross pollenated from on another?

See also

Notes

  1. Nanak may be referred to by many names and titles such as Baba Nanak or Nanak Shah.
  2. Duggal, Kartar Singh (1988). Philosophy and Faith of Sikhism. Himalayan Institute Press. pp. xxii. ISBN 0-89389-109-6.
  3. Cunningham, Joseph Davey (2006) . History of the Sikhs. Albemarle Street. London: John Murray. p. 43. ISBN.
  4. Macauliffe, Max Arthur (2004) . The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. India: Low Price Publications. pp. lxxix. ISBN 81-86142-31-2.
  5. Macauliffe, Max Arthur (2004) . The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. India: Low Price Publications. p. 1. ISBN 81-86142-31-2. The third day of the light-half of the month of Baisakh (April-May) in the year AD 1469, but, some historians believe that the Guru was born on April 15th, 1469 A.D.. Generally thought to be the third day of Baisakh (or Vaisakh) of Vikram Samvat 1526.
  6. Singh, Khushwant (2006). The Illustrated History of the Sikhs. India: Oxford University Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 0-19-567747-1. Also, as according to the Purātan Janamsākhī (the birth stories of Nanak).
  7. Macauliffe, Max Arthur (2004) . The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. India: Low Price Publications. p. 1. ISBN 81-86142-31-2.
  8. Macauliffe, Max Arthur (2004) . The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. India: Low Price Publications. p. 2. ISBN 81-86142-31-2.
  9. Macauliffe, Max Arthur (2004) . The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. India: Low Price Publications. pp. 8–9. ISBN 81-86142-31-2.
  10. Macauliffe, Max Arthur (2004) . The Sikh Religion - Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. India: Low Price Publications. p. 10. ISBN 81-86142-31-2.
  11. Shackle, Christopher (2005). Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures. United Kingdom: Routledge. pp. xiii–xiv. ISBN 0-415-26604-1. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  12. Singh, Khushwant (2006). The Illustrated History of the Sikhs. India: Oxford University Press. p. 14. ISBN 0-19-567747-1.
  13. http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/252/258184/im_ch11_1.pdf

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