Guru Nanak Dev Ji
 
The third journey Guru Sahib Ji took was to the north, with his companion Mardana. They trekked towards Sirinagar. The historical gurdwaras at Anantag and Mattan indicate that Guru Ji went as far as Amarnath. At Sirinagar Guru Sahib Ji met a learned Hindu called Brahm Das. Brahm Das was very arrogant. Wherever he went he was followed by three camels carrying the ancient works that he had studied. He was fond of entering lengthy arguments with holy men he encountered.

When he met Guru Nanak he firstly objected to his dress. Guru Nanak Dev Ji happened to be wearing a fur cloak for protection against the Kashmir cold. The Guru ignored it. Braham Das then started displaying his learning and asked Guru Nanak about the creation of the world. Guru Ji replied :
 
  For countless ages their was utter darkness;
No earth, no sky, only God’s Will.
No day, no night, neither the Moon nor the Sun,
He sat in trance in the void.
There was no eating, no speaking.
There was no water, no air,
No creation no destruction,
No coming, no going,
There were no planets, no underworld,
None of the seven seas with rivers flowing into them.
There were no planes: higher, middle or lower.
Neither hell nor heaven, nor any hour of death.
No suffering, no bliss.
No birth, no death.
No entry, no exit.
There was no Brahma, no Vishnu, no Shiva.

With His order, the world was created.
It is maintained without any support.
He created Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
He created also the love of Maya.
Only a few are blessed with His Word.
He watches and rules over all.
He brought about the planets, the hemispheres and the underworld.
And became Himself manifest.
It is the true Guru alone who imparts this understanding,
Says Nanak, those who are truthful suffer no strain.
They are blessed with the recitation of God’s Name. (Maru Raag)
 
Hearing this the Pundit was enlightened, He was amazed at Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s vision and became his disciple.

Leaving Sirinagar Guru Nanak Dev Ji went up into the Himalayas and travelled towards Tibet. When he arrived at Lake Manasarover he came across a large contingent of Yogis who had escaped the oppression and chaos of the plains and had found shelter in faraway abodes in the mountains. The ascetics asked Guru Nanak about the conditions prevailing in the country. Guru Nanak Dev Ji chided them for running away from the hard realities of life. He, however told them that the times were not too pleasant:
 
  Kaliyug is like a dagger,
Kings are butchers.
Dharma has taken wing and disappeared
Into the black night of falsehood;
The moon of truth is nowhere to be seen.
I am lost in the search,
I find no way out of the darkness,
Afflicted with ego I wail with sorrow,
Says Nanak, how do I gain deliverance tomorrow? (Raag Majh slok)
 

The ascetics call Siddhas, entered into a long discussion with Guru Nanak. It started with prayers to the Almighty. Then followed a dialogue on how one attains union with God:

 
 
Siddhas:   Can one find God by wondering in search of Him?
Guru Nanak:   Without the true Word, there is no finding him.
Siddhas:   How does one cross the ocean of the world?
Guru Nanak:  

By living like a lotus or water-bird in water.
By meditating on His name and remaining free
from the snare of Maya.

 
 
Guru Nanak recorded his discourse with the Siddhas in the Siddha Gosht, a long composition in the form of a dialogue in verse. In is an interesting record of the intricate metaphysical issues discussed by them. Guru Nanak projects himslef in this long composition as a seeker of God. He had three major encounters with the Siddhas; at Gorakhmata (later known as Nanakmata), at Manasarovar and at Achal Batala.


Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s last journey, after a stay at home, was towards the west and his destination was Mecca. On their way they met Walli Qandhari, a dervish whose home was ona hilltop at Hasan Abdal near Taxila. At midday in the wilderness, Mardana felt very thirsty. Guru Ji explained to him that there was no water in the barren rocky plateau, but Mardana grew impatient. Guru Ji told him that the nearest place he could find water was on the hilltop at the home of Walli Qandhari.

Mardana went up the hill and asked the Muslim dervish for water, but the dervish discovering that he was a disciple of Guru Nanak refused him. When Guru Sahib Ji heard of this he advised Mardana to go again and make a request in all humility “Tell him, I am the companion of Nanak, a man of God” Guru Ji said. But Walli would not relent. At this Guru Ji asked Mardana a third time to go up the hill and make a request for water in the name of God. But the arrogant Walli taunted Mardana “He styles himself as a Guru and cannot get a drop of water for his disciple” he said.

Mardana returned, now very exhausted and thirsty. Guru Ji saw his plight and lifted a slab of stone which lay nearby, and crystal clear water gushed out. A little later when Walli Qandhari needed water he went to his well and found that it was fast emptying of water. Evidently the Yogi has played a trick on him. In fury, Walli rolled a boulder down the hill to crush Guru Nanak Dev Ji . As the boulder approached Guru Ji held out his hand and blocked it. The hand print of Guru Nanak Dev Ji can still be seen at the place now known as Punja Sahib.

Arriving at Mecca, Guru Nanak Dev Ji felt tired as it had been a long and arduous journey. He fell asleep and it so happened that he slept with his feet towards the Kaaba. A watchman on his rounds noticed this and was furious to find a pilgrim with his feet pointing to the house of God. A crowd had now gathered, “How dare you lie with your feet pointing towards the Kaaba” he shouted. Guru Ji awoke and said “Good man, I am weary after a long journey, kindly turn my feet in the direction where God is not.” The watchman was stunned “Where God is not?” he said. Still he did not understand, and in his fury he grabbed Guru Sahibs feet and turned them ninety degrees away from the Kaaba. To his utter surprise when he looked up Guru Ji’s feet were still pointing to the Kaaba. Again he swung Guru Sahib Ji’s feet away from the shrine. Again he looked up and Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s feet were still pointing to the Kaaba. He was stunned in realisation be bent down and this time placed his head on Guru Sahib Ji’s feet. “You see my friend” Guru Ji said “God is in all directions, you do not have to face one way or the other, He is everywhere.” The other pilgrims came to pay homage and asked many questions. “I am neither a Hindu or a Mussalman” Guru Sahib Ji said. “Who is superior of the two?” the pilgrims collected around and wished to know. Guru Nanak Ji replied “Without good deeds neither is any good” Guru Ji laid stress on love of God, humility, prayer and truthful living.

From Mecca, Guru Nanak Dev Ji proceeded to Medina where he had another debate with the head priest of the shrine. What impressed people about Guru Nanak was his emphasis on the unity of God and the brotherhood of man. He didn’t believe in rituals, only a mans good deeds and the Guru’s grace earned him liberation. In Baghdad Guru Nanak made one of his most ardent devotees who, it is said, sat for sixty long years at the food of the slab occupied by guru Nanak during his visit to the town.

On his way back from Mecca, Guru Ji visited Multan. It was an important centre for sufi’s. As Guru Ji camped outside the town the dervishes sent him a bowl of milk filled to the brim, indicating that the place was already overcrowded with holy people. Guru Nanak Dev Ji placed a jasmine flower in the bowl and sent it. The bowl did not overflow and the flower floated on the milk.

Guru Sahib Ji then travelled to Saidpur (present day Eminabad), by this time Babur had already entered the Punjab and laid waste the countryside. Guru Ji advised the people to leave the town and thus escape the tyranny of the marauding Mughals. Some listened while others did not. As feared the town was sacked by the invading forces and Guru Sahib Ji witnessed the heartless killings. Guru Sahib Ji writes :
 
  He occupied Khurasan and subdued Hindustan,
God! Don’t blame yourself for having sent the Mughals like a doom
Seeing such suffering and wailing,
Didn’t it hurt you O Lord?
You are the lone creator of all.
If an aggressor were to kill an aggressor, I wouldn’t complain.
Bur when a fierce lion falls upon a heard of poor cattle,
The master must take the blame.
The dogs have ruined the gem of my country,
When they die, none will ever notice them.
O God, You alone make and unmake, this is your greatness.
If anyone else was to style himself as great
And start doing as he pleases,
He would be like an ant feeding on a few grains in Your eyes.
He who dies in life, he alone lives,
Says Nanak, my meditating on the Name of God who gives. (Raag Asa)
   
 
Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Mardana were taken prisoner of Barbur. When the jailer heard the singing of the divine hymns from Guru Ji he hastened to report the matter to the king. Babur also came and listened and once his eyes fell upon Guru Ji he knew this was an enlightened soul. He asked for forgiveness, Guru Nanak Dev Ji told him to let the prisoners free and to be a just and tolerant ruler, this he promised.

At long last Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s journey ended and around 1520 Guru Ji settled down at a place called Kartarpur in the Punjab. He acquired a large piece of land on the banks of the River Ravi and wearing the garb of a normal Punjabi peasant started farming like everyone else. His wife and sons lived with him so did Mardana and several other devotees and soon a community grew up around Kartarpur. Everyone worked the fields and did the household chores and in the evening they partook in a community kitchen or Langar and sang the hymns of the Lord.

One day while working in the fields Guru Ji saw a horse rider approaching him “I am Lehna” said the stranger leaving his horse at a respectable distance and approaching the Guru in all humility. Guru Nanak Dev Ji looked at his face and said “So you have arrived Lehna, I have been waiting for you for all these days.” So Lehna, the future Guru became the disciple of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and served him with unquestioned devotion.

When the time came for Guru Sahib Ji to depart, he took his daily bath, said his prayers and lay down covering himself with a white sheet. The light that showed the path to millions then merged into the eternal light and became One


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