Guru Nanak

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 Indi…