{"id":91964,"date":"2019-11-03T18:40:46","date_gmt":"2019-11-03T13:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/?p=91964"},"modified":"2019-11-10T11:20:07","modified_gmt":"2019-11-10T05:50:07","slug":"the-guru-and-the-sikhs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/india\/the-guru-and-the-sikhs","title":{"rendered":"The Guru and The Sikhs – 2\/11 on Guru Nanak Dev ji"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"550<\/a>
550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first Sikh Guru will be celebrated on November 12, 2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Guru Nanak<\/strong> Dev Ji<\/strong> was born in Nankana Sahib in 1469 in present Pakistan. He is the Founder and First Guru of the Sikh faith popularly referred to as Sikhi<\/strong> or Sikhism<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

There are over 22 million<\/strong> followers of the Sikh faith and is recognized as the 5th<\/sup><\/strong> most followed faith in the world.<\/p>\n

The Sikhs have earned a reputation for bravery, humility, selfless community service, and maintain a distinct identity while remaining very popular among all communities, wherever they live.<\/p>\n

Over time, the Sikhs have built a formidable reputation as a martial race, and this reputation, often, stands in contradiction to the image of a selfless humanitarian First Responder in any crisis.<\/p>\n

Why did Guru Nanak establish the Sikh faith?<\/h2>\n

To get a perspective into the mind of Guru Nanak during his early formative years, one has to understand the prevailing times when he was born (1469).<\/p>\n

It was a turbulent period when the power was shifting from the Sayyid Dynasty<\/strong> (1415 \u2013 1451) to the Lodhi Dynasty<\/strong>. A new power struggle began for control of the Delhi Sultanate, and people living between the north and north-western regions of present-day India had to bear the brunt of plunder, loot and forced conversion to Islam.<\/p>\n

The struggle extended beyond the control for power. The traditional Hindu religion was threatened continuously by different interpretations of Islam, based on who ruled which area. It was a constant fight for the survival of self and identity.<\/p>\n

Nanak Dev<\/strong>, as he was called during his growing years, was born in these conflicting times, where each religion was hardening its stance. Despite his soft-spoken, mild demeanor, young Nanak Dev questioned ritualistic practices of the Hindu religion and rigorous implementation of the tenets of Islam. He asked the rationale of both and refused to accept their existing practices.<\/p>\n

He expressed himself through singing poetic verses (Shabad), and soon those around him began to be drawn to his words and logic. Guru Nanak learned several languages at a very young age, including Punjabi, Sanskrit, Hindi, and Persian. He read various religious scriptures of Hinduism, Islam, and other faiths, and his views of life and faith developed as a rejection of the existing socio-religious order.<\/p>\n

Guru Nanak aimed to promote peace, universal brotherhood, and community service by practicing spirituality and self-improvement as a constant process. He believed all humans were equal and under the control of a single \u201cSupreme Being<\/strong>\u201d or \u201cIk Onkar<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

His teachings for a Sikhi <\/strong>way of life centered on the Three Pillars:<\/p>\n