From the Vedic age, we have seen our countrymen give into superstitions, outspread by the minister of the religions, influencing our beliefs of right and wrong, the manner of worship our Gods and Goddesses, and ways to cleanse ourselves from the paap we might have committed. In these modern times, we find ourselves surrounded by a lot of people, spreading the propaganda of atheism- scraping out the false belief in deities. Staunch devotees see atheism as a threat to pre-existing religious beliefs. In between these timelines of blind faith and atheism- lies a thin line of not letting these ministers (or, priests) spiral our minds with fallacious principles, drawn by the father of Sikhism, Guru Nanak.

Nanak’s journey towards enlightenment was set in motion from the very childhood. He was extraordinary- with a refreshing sense of coherence and gifted with a ruminative psyche. Growing up, he challenged the prevalent caste system and idolatry. And by the age of 16, he was a champion in Sanskrit, Persian and Hindi religious texts and compositions and started concocting his divine amalgam.

With his lovely wife, Sulakhni, and two beautiful children, Sri Chand and Lakshmi Das, he shifted to the town of Sultanpur Lodhi, accompanied by his faithful friend Bhai Mardana, in 1487. He took up the occupation of an accountant in charge of the stores of the local governor. Though he poured all his hard work during the day, he salvaged his soul into singing hymns in the early morning with the rhythms of Bhai Mardana’s rabab. On one such morning, he received an eternal message of surrendering himself to preach the words, “There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim”, to the world. The voice is accepted as God’s call to this day. These words later composed the doctrine of Sikhi.

Hence, Guru Nanak, chaperoned by Bhai Mardana, set out on a spiritual journey for the next 30 years. They covered four major ethereal expeditions around India, South Asia, Tibet, and Arabia.

Guru Nanak exhorted that we, the people, can bridge a connection with the Supreme without the intervention of the priests. He wanted to establish a spiritual and social ground- based on brotherhood and equality, with the view of upholding the poor and distressed. He denounced the false practices and hypocrisy reigning the Hindu Caste system and peeked into the Mughal times. He made the commoners aware of the evils like egotism or jealousy and asked them to submerge into worshipping by chanting the ‘Naam’, God’s name. He censured the idea of tyaga and taught others to focus on their lives as the family man in proper conduct, and selflessness while keeping an undisturbed fondness towards God. His words contributed to the empowerment of the position of women in society.