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Guru Nanak Jayanti.- A short introduction
Guru Nanak Jayanti, also known as Guru Nanak Gurpurab or Guru Nanak’s Prakash Utsav, is a major Sikh festival that commemorates the birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sikhism’s first Guru (15th April 1469 to 22nd September 1539). It is the Sikh community’s most important festival, and it is observed with great devotion and reverence. The festival is held on Kartik Poornima (full moon day in Kartik month), which falls between October and November in the Gregorian calendar.
When is Guru Nanak Dev Ji Gurupurab 2021?
Guru Nanak Dev’s 552nd birthday will be celebrated on Friday, November 19th, 2021.
When does Guru Nanak Jayanti fall?
On Kartik Puranmashi – the full moon day in the Hindu calendar month of Kartik – Guru Nanak Gurpurab is commemorated. The festival takes place in Katak month, Nanakshahi Calendar’s eighth month, which corresponds to the months of October and November in the Gregorian calendar.
There is some debate about Guru Nanak’s birth date, as some claim he was born on Vaisakhi, which marks the start of a new year according to the traditional Sikh calendar. According to Bhai Bala, a childhood friend of Guru Nanak’s, he was born on Puranmashi in the Hindu lunar month of Kartik. While many religious clerics still believe that the Jayanti should be celebrated on Vaisakhi, which falls on April 14th according to the Nanakshahi calendar, this assertion has been generally accepted and Guru Nanak Gurpurab is celebrated on Puranmashi (full moon) in Kartik month.
Guru Nanak’s Teachings and Life
Guru Nanak was born on April 15, 1469, in Rai Bhoi Ki Talwandi, near Lahore, Pakistan, in the Sekhpura district. Today, Guru Nanak’s birthplace is known as Gurudwara Janam Asthan, and the city is known as Nankana Sahib, which is situated in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Kalyan Chand Das Bedi, Guru Nanak’s father, worked as a local accountant (patwari) for crop revenue in Talwandi. Mata Tripta was the name of his mother, and Mehta Kalu was the name of his father. Guru Nakak’s elder sister, Bebe Nanaki, was five years his senior. When his sister married in 1475, he moved to Sultanpur with her.
Nanak began working for Daulat Khan Lodi, the governor of Lahore during Ibrahim Lodi’s rule, when he was 16 years old. Several events in Guru Nanak’s early life indicate that he was endowed with divine favor. Guru Nanak had been profoundly influenced and interested in spiritual subjects since he was five years old. Nanak is said to have surprised his teachers by demonstrating spiritual insight and comprehension on many occasions. There are records of Guru Nanak’s out-of-the-box kindness in assisting the needy and helpless, sometimes miraculously.
On the 24th of September 1487, Guru Nanak married Mata Sulakkhani in Batala, Punjab province. Sri Chand (8 September 1494 – 13 January 1629) and Lakhmi Chand (12 February 1497 – 9 April 1555) were the couple’s two sons. Sri Chand, Guru Nanak’s elder son, established the Udasi sect, an ascetic sect for North Indian sadhus (ascetics).
Guru Nanak was a spiritual healer and religious guru who established Sikhism in the 15th century. He contributed 974 hymns to the Guru Granth Sahib’s composition. The Guru Granth Sahib’s key teachings are focused on the theory of one founder. Regardless of demographic disparities, it demonstrated selfless service to society, social justice, and prosperity for all. In Sikhism, the notion of reincarnation or God’s messenger is forbidden; however, the presence of a Guru as spiritual and social master is at the heart of the Sikh religion.
Guru Nanak emphasized that spiritual and social lives are inextricably linked. He preached living a socially active life based on integrity, purity, and selfless service to society, especially the poor and needy. Guru Nanak died on September 22, 1539, in Kartarpur, Pakistan.
Celebrations for Guru Nanak Jayanti
The Sikh community commemorates Guru Nanak Jayanti with great zeal and respect. With the exception of different hymns, the celebration is identical to other Sikh festivals. The festivities begin with prabhat pheri, or early morning processions, which start at Gurudwaras and include participants singing hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib. The Guru Granth Sahib is carried through the procession on a decorated palanquin.
At Gurudwaras, recitation of the Guru Grant Sahib begins two days ahead of time. Two days before Guru’s Jayanti, Gurudwaras hold a 48-hour akhand path (nonstop recitation). A procession known as Nagarkirtan is held the day before Guru Nanak’s birthday. The procession is led by panj pyare, who is carrying the Sikh triangular flag Nishan Sahib. Guru Grant Sahib is carried in the procession on a palanquin, as is customary. Participants were seen singing hymns and playing traditional musical instruments in groups. Sikh warrior groups such as the Khalsa clan also put on a display of martial arts and fighting skills. The procession passes along streets with flags and flowers adorning them.
Sikhs consider Amrit Vela, or the early morning before dawn, to be the most auspicious time for meditation and recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib. As a result, Guru Nanak Jayanti starts with the chanting of Asa di Var in Amrit Vela, a kirtan written by Guru Nanak himself (4 a.m. to 6 a.m.). After that, kirtan and katha in honor of the Guru are done. After the prayers, a communal free lunch known as langar is served. People from all walks of life, including the poor and wealthy, the young and old, and people of all religions, castes, and genders, queue side by side to eat the food. Even on days when there are no evening prayers, some Gurudwaras perform them.
The Importance of Guru Nanak Jayanti
Guru Nanak Dev Ji was the founder and first Guru of Sikhism. He is the most revered Guru of the Sikhs and is worshipped as if he were God. Guru Nanak Dev began writing the Sikh holy book, Guru Granth Sahib, which is the focal point of all Sikh festivals.
Nanak stressed the importance of a Guru or spiritual teacher and the doctrine of one God. He demonstrated how to achieve enlightenment through meditation and worship without jeopardizing one’s family or other earthly belongings.
People have a strong belief in Guru Nanak’s magical abilities, and many disciples regard his teachings as guiding principles in their lives. Furthermore, the festival of Guru Nanak Gurpurab is a symbol of communal unity, as other caste devotees, such as Muslims and Jains, also take part in the festivities.
The festival reaffirms the disciples’ faith in religion and Guru, as well as the fundamental principle of selfless service to mankind. The free community lunch sends the message that no religion is more important than serving others. The festival is important in many respects, and it must be observed with zeal and respect for Guru Nanak Dev year after year.
Guru Nanak Jayanti 2019
Guru Nanak Dev Jayanti in 2019 was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
The Indian government’s Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi, passed a resolution in November 2018 to commemorate Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s 550th birth anniversary in a grand and fitting manner both in India and abroad.
Sushma Swaraj, India’s External Affairs Minister, declared in Delhi on August 12 that Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s 550th birth anniversary will be commemorated in 2019 in all Indian missions and embassies around the world. In order to spread Guru’s message of harmony, compassion, and brotherhood, seminars and kirtans will be conducted in missions and embassies. The cabinet approved a number of projects to celebrate the festival. Creation of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor and Sultanpur Lodhi, issuing commemorative coins and stamps, and running special trains for pilgrims are just a few of them.