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Guru Nanak's 16th Century Inter-Faith Travels

INDER RAJ SINGH AHLUWALIA

 

 

 

Long before inter-faith meetings told us to be tolerant to different religions, Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, travelled great distances, propagating dharma and belief in one God.

Travelling broadens the mind and unifies people, they say, and Nanak was a great traveller. In fact, we can call him the most-widely travelled man of his time. He spent 25 years visiting places within and way beyond India. He is said to have covered about 28,000 kilometres in his five major udasis or tours of the world between 1500 and 1524.

Starting in the year 1500, Guru Nanak travelled widely throughout Asia. According to the Puratan Janamsakhi, he undertook a total of five journeys. His travels covered most of India, present-day Bangladesh and Bhutan, Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, south-west China, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Ceylon.

A great philosopher and thinker, Guru Nanak realised that the world was suffering because of hatred and fanaticism. He travelled because he wanted people to be humane and tolerant. He felt he was God's messenger and it was his duty to spread His message: the word of the gurbani, and the gospel of truth, heavenly love, peace and joy.

That was part of the invaluable legacy he left behind for humanity. He didn't wait for the world to come to him. He went out to touch the world.

Visiting various centres of significance to Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Jains, Sufis, Yogis and Sidhas, Nanak held discourses with priests and clerics. He tried his best to unite Hindus and Muslims. He urged everyone to live righteously and with love and affection. He preached and taught: 'Do Naam Simran' - 'Love and be devoted to God, the Almighty, and enjoy the bliss of union with Him'.

The Janamsakhi recounts an incident related to Guru Nanak's visit to Mecca.

Weary from his travels, Nanak decides to take a nap. The qazis were enraged when they found Nanak's feet were pointing towards the Kaaba. They accused him of dishonouring God's place.

Nanak softly replied, "I am tired. Turn my feet in any direction you want. Kazi Rukan-ud-din took hold of Guru Nanak's feet and moved them towards the opposite direction. The legend goes, the mosque also began to move, upon which the qazi recognised the spiritual powers and glory of Guru Nanak.

Legend talks of another miracle at Hassan Abdal in the North-West Frontier in 1520. One Vali Quandhari, a local mendicant jealous of Nanak who he took as an interloper into his "territory", hurled a big rock from the top of the hill down to the spot where Nanak was sitting. The Guru is said to have stopped the rock with the palm of his hand. There now stands a gurdwara called Punja Sahib.

Wherever he went, people were touched and swayed by Nanak's sermons and enormous spiritual power.

Today, when we talk of communal harmony, we should remember what Guru Nanak taught us.

 

[Courtesy: Times of India]

December 3, 2012

 

 

Conversation about this article

1: Dr Birinder Singh Ahluwalia (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), December 04, 2012, 5:58 AM.

Recently I returned from visiting India. It was a sad spectacle to see and feel what the land once described as "The Golden Bird" had become. It's the land that gave birth to at least 4 major religions of the world. Now, it has been reduced been reduced to ... very little. It was really sad. However, I still believe India and Indians have a bright future if indeed they start doing the right things for their beloved country. Please take up this challenge right away if you want coming generations to live and prosper. Don't do it for yourself ... please do it for your children and grand-children.

2: Aryeh Leib (Israel), December 04, 2012, 7:41 AM.

I keep looking - so far, unsuccessfully - for any evidence that Guru Nanak ever met any Jews. It seems unlikely that he could have missed the large, well-developed Jewish communities of Baghdad, Syria, Egypt, Israel(!), etc. I have yet to find so much as a mention of his name in any Jewish manuscript from the period.

3: Dr Birinder Singh Ahluwalia (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), December 04, 2012, 12:50 PM.

I am simply curious to know if Jewish texts contain any mention or reference to Buddhist, Jain, Hindu god(s) or deities or other holy people. Or to the great empires of, say, Ashok and Runjeet Singh.

4: Bisram Kaur (Kanpur, India), December 06, 2012, 6:11 AM.

I agree with Aryeh Leib ji: the myopic outlook of the Jewish perspective couldn't possibly refer to anything happening in the wider world. Not surprising you won't find any reference to Guru Nanak's travels in Jewish texts and literature. Or anything else, as Birinder Singh ji points out so deftly. If you live in the proverbial well and drug yourself into thinking that you are the "chosen people" and nobody else matters, then you're bound to find yourself surrounded by people who hate you and want to destroy you. H-E-L-L-O! - There's a whole world out there, and you could could learn a few things from it, trust me ...

5: Inderjit Singh (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), December 28, 2012, 11:06 AM.

Dear Ariyeh Leib: Old writings, often hand-written, are not always easy to find. Please keep looking. A good example is the handwritten manuscript of Taajudin, an Arabic author, who accompanied Guru Nanak in the Middle East for roughly 2 years. This manuscript remained unnoticed for four centuries, until it was discovered by Mushtaq Hussein, a young Muslim student from Kashmir studying at Medina. The book, which can be downloaded from the URL below, lists accounts from Taajudin and many other sources. You may find it useful. https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B39vxC8IGIWFbTlST1ctX2psdEk

6: Parbat (Birmingham, Alabama, USA), February 01, 2013, 1:51 AM.

It's perhaps worth looking at Baghdadi Jews, Jewish-Sufis or esoteric Shia leaders in the Middle-East area. I am almost convinced Guru Nanak would have had some exchange with the Jews. It simply doesn't make sense otherwise. Perhaps we aren't looking in the right places. So Persian Jewry would be a good place to start as Guru Nanak spent some time in both Iraq and Iran. Qabbalah scholars, mendicants or holy men would have left some evidence behind. Oh, and before I forget ... Jews have been part of the subcontinent scene for a little over a millennia. One of Akbar's chief courtiers was a Jew. Additionally, Karachi and various small holds in the Punjab before Partition had sizeable Jewish populations. As did Kabul and Qandahar, so its a positive sign that Guru Nanak interacted with the Jews! Aryeh ji, maybe you could get in touch with members of these former communities ... I do know that a lot of Jews from the subcontinent have relocated to Israel in recent years. Keep up the work, guys, it is out there!

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