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Guru Nanak

First Sikh Guru and founder of Sikhism · Writers · Lived 1469 to 1539 · aged 70

Guru Nanak is read about 1,173 times a day, in 96 languages.

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He taught one God in everyone, walked across Asia to say it, and left 974 hymns that became the foundation of Sikhism - a faith built on equality, not caste or creed.

Religious FiguresWriter / AuthorLiteraturePoetryReligionMedieval Era

A life in dates

1539Died22 September 15391526“Nanak observed: “Justice hath taken wings and fled.” “This age is like a drawn sword, the Kings are butchers; goodness has taken wings and flown.’?”In their wordsin RC Majumdar, Volume 7: The Mughul Empire [1526-1707]

1521“Guru Nanak was also an eye-witness to the treatment meted out te the people by Babur when he invaded India in 1521.”In their wordsin RC Majumdar, Volume 7: The Mughul Empire [1526-1707]

1469“If Ganges water will reach your ancestors in heaven, why should the water I throw up not reach my fields in the Punjab, which are far less distant ?”In their wordsGuru Nanak Dev ji (1469 - 1539)

“O Lallo, as the words of the Lord come to me, so do I express them.”In their wordsGuru Nanak Dev ji (1469 - 1539)

“The sun and moon, O Lord, are Thy lamps; the firmament Thy salver; the orbs of the stars the pearls encased in it.”In their wordsGuru Nanak Dev ji (1469 - 1539)

Born15 April 1469

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Mural painting of Guru Nanak from Gurdwara Baba Atal RaiMural painting of Guru Nanak from Gurdwara Baba Atal Rai1830 CE Rani Jindan prayer book, Guru Granth Sahib Gutka Sikhism1830 CE Rani Jindan prayer book, Guru Granth Sahib Gutka SikhismA page from the original Pothi (book) of Guru Nanak 01A page from the original Pothi (book) of Guru Nanak 01A page from the original Pothi (book) of Guru Nanak 02A page from the original Pothi (book) of Guru Nanak 02A page from the original Pothi (book) of Guru Nanak 03A page from the original Pothi (book) of Guru Nanak 03A page from the original Pothi (book) of Guru Nanak 04A page from the original Pothi (book) of Guru Nanak 04A page from the original Pothi (book) of Guru Nanak 05A page from the original Pothi (book) of Guru Nanak 05A Sikh Nanakpanthi ascetic (left), Durbar of Akbar-II (top right), A syce leading a caparisoned horse (bottom right)A Sikh Nanakpanthi ascetic (left), Durbar of Akbar-II (top right), A syce leading a caparisoned horse (bottom right)

In their own words 10

,
Guru Nanak
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. Nanak observed: “Justice hath taken wings and fled.” “This age is like a drawn sword, the Kings are butchers; goodness has taken wings and flown.’?

    1526, in RC Majumdar, Volume 7: The Mughul Empire [1526-1707], Own words

  2. Guru Nanak was also an eye-witness to the treatment meted out te the people by Babur when he invaded India in 1521.

    1521, in RC Majumdar, Volume 7: The Mughul Empire [1526-1707], Own words

  3. If Ganges water will reach your ancestors in heaven, why should the water I throw up not reach my fields in the Punjab, which are far less distant ?

    1469, Guru Nanak Dev ji (1469 - 1539), Own words

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About this person

Born in 1469 in India, Nanak was a mystic and poet who broke with the hierarchies around him. He traveled widely across Asia, preaching Ik Onkar - the idea that one God dwells in all creation and is the only eternal truth. That concept became the spine of a new spiritual and social order: equality, fraternal love, virtue over ritual. His teachings, recorded as 974 hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib, include the Japji Sahib, the Asa di Var, and the Sidh Gosht. Sikhs believe his sanctity passed intact through the nine Gurus who followed. He died in 1539, and his birthday is still honored across India.

Category
Writers
Type
Writer / Author
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1469 to 1539 · aged 70

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