FAQ Section

Why Sikhs wear a Turban( Dastaar) over their head?

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Shanti Kaur Khalsa explains the history, tradition, and practical reasons for wearing a turban.

Wearing a turban has always been in the Sikh tradition from the time of Guru Nanak, but it was formalized by Guru Hargobind in declaration of sovereignty and royalty despite the fact that only kings at the time wore turbans. We can see that turbans signify royalty.

Turbans are one way that Sikhs are recognizable and distinct (Niara). Guru Gobind Singh gives his blessings to his Sikhs who remain Niara.

The turban also houses and protects the uncut hair (Kesh) coiled on the top of the head. The hair is tied at an important spiritual center on the body – the Dasam Duar (7th Chakra), and the turban contains the hair. The turban also crosses pressure points on the temples which help a person to be calm and centered.

Shanti Kaur encourages women to wear turbans because this is a tradition not based on gender but on the human body, and yet most Sikh women don’t wear one. The turban is the insignia of a Sikh so that we have to stand out and be accountable for the values that we hold.

Why do Sikhs carry a small Sword (Kirpan) with them?

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A kirpan is a small sword, worn in a sheath on a strap or belt.  It is an article of faith that initated Sikhs are supposed to wear at all times.

The word kirpan comes from two words which translate as mercy and bless. The kirpan is supposed to be a weapon of defence only.

It is usually worn under clothes. The blade is typically about 8 centimetres long, but ceremonial kirpans are the length of a standard sword. Manvir Singh, a Sikh minister of religion in the U.K., told CBC News that there is no size requirement but the kirpan cannot be so small that it is merely symbolic. And the blade must be iron or steel.

The kirpan is one of the five Ks of Sikhism.

 

What are the five Ks?

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They are articles of faith for an initiated Sikh. There are no exceptions.

The five ‘kakar’ all begin with the letter ‘k,’ hence the name:

• kes: uncut hair
• kanga: a wooden comb worn in the hair
• kara: a metal bangle or bracelet worn on the wrist
• kachhera: loose, long underwear, about knee-length
• kirpan

The Sikh faith stipulates that from the time of baptism or initiation, Sikhs, male and female, must wear a kirpan and the other four Ks. They are known as Khalsa Sikhs and comprise an estimated 25 to 30 per cent of all Sikhs in Canada, Gian Singh Sandhu, the founding president of the World Sikh Organization of Canada, told CBC News.

A Sikh may become a Khalsa at any age.

 

Is Sikhism Monotheistic?

Sikhism as a religion is uncompromisingly monotheistic. The Gurus have described God in numerous ways in their hymns included in the Guru Granth Sahib, but the oneness of the deity is consistently emphasized throughout. Briefly, God for the Sikhs as described in the Mool Mantar, the first passage in the Guru Granth Sahib and the basic formula of the faith is:

ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮ੝ ਕਰਤਾ ਪ੝ਰਖ੝ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰ੝ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗ੝ਰ ਪ੝ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥ Ik oankar satinamu karta purakhu nirbhau nirvairu akal murati ajuni saibhan gurprasadi One Supreme Being, the Immutable and Eternal Name, the Creator Being, Without fear and Without Enmity, the Timeless Verity, Unincarnated and Self-Existent, known through His grace.

(GG. Pg 1)

 

Ik Oankar

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Oankar is a variation of the mystic monosyllable Om (also known as anahata nada, the unstruck sound) first set forth in the Upanisads as the transcendent object of profound religious meditation.

Guru Nanak prefixed the numeral one (ik) to it making it Ik Oankar or Ekankar to stress GOD’s oneness. GOD is named and known only through GOD’s Own immanent nature. Almost all names are attributive. The only name which can be said to truly fit GOD’s transcendent state is Sati or Satinam (Sanskrit ‘satya’ meaning TRUTH ), the changeless and timeless Reality. GOD is transcendent and all-pervasive at the same time.

Transcendence and immanence are two aspects of the same single Supreme Reality. The Reality is immanent in the entire creation, but the creation as a whole fails to contain GOD fully. As says Guru Tegh Bahadur, Nanak IX, “He has himself spread out His Own maya which He Himself oversees; many different forms He assumes in many colours, yet he stays independent of all” (GG, 537).

God is Karta Purakh, the Creator-Person. He created the spatio-temporal universe not from some pre-existing physical element, but from His own Self. Universe is His own emanation. It is not maya or illusion but is real (sati) because, as say Guru Arjan, “True is He and true is His creation [because] all has emanated from God Himself” (GG 294). But God is not identical with the universe. The latter exists and is contained in Him and not vice versa.

God is immanent in the created world, but is not limited by it. “Many times He expands Himself into such worlds but He ever remains the same One Ekankar” (GG, 276). Even at one time “there are hundreds of thousands of skies and nether regions” (GG, 5). Included in Sach Khand, the figurative abode of God, there are countless regions and universes” (GG, 8). Creation is “His sport which He Himself witnesses, and when He rolls up the sport, He is His sole Self again” (GG, 292). He Himself is the Creator, Sustainer and the Destroyer.

What is the Creator’s purpose in creating the universe? It is not for man to enquire or judge the purpose of His Creator. To quote Guru Arjan again, “The created cannot have a measure of the Creator; what He wills, O Nanak, happens” (GG, 285). For the Sikhs, the Creation is His pleasure and play “When the showman beat His drum, the whole creation came out to witness the show; and when He puts aside his disguise, He rejoices in His original solitude” (GG, 174, 291, 655, 736).

 

What is the meaning of Mool Mantra?

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Purakhu added to Karta in the Mool Mantar is the Punjabi form of Sanskrit purusa, which literally means, besides man, male or person, “the primeval man as the soul and original source of the universe; the personal and animating principle; the supreme Being or Soul of the universe.” Purakh in Mool Mantar is, therefore, none other than God the Creator. The term has nothing to do with the purusa of the Sankhya school of Indian philosophy where it is the spirit as a passive spectator of prakriti or creative force.

That God is nirbhau (without fear) and nirvair (without rancour) is obvious enough as He has no sarik or rival. But the terms have other connotations, too. Nirbhau not only indicates fearlessness but also the absence of fearfulness. It also implies sovereignty and unquestioned exercise of Will. Similarly, nirvair implies, besides absence of enmity, the positive attributes of compassion and impartiality. Together the two terms mean that God loves His handiwork and is the Dispenser of impartial justice, dharam-niau. Guru Ram Das, Nanak IV, says: “Why should we be afraid, with the True One being the judge. True is the True One’s justice” (GG, 84).

God is Akal Murati, the Eternal Being. The timelessness involved in the negative epithet akal has made it popular in Sikh tradition as one of the names of God, the Timeless One, as in Akal Purakh or in the slogan Sat Sri Akal (Satya Sri Akal). One of the most sacred shrines of the Sikhs is the Akal Takht, the Eternal Throne, at Amritsar. Murati here does not mean form, figure, image or idol. 

Sikhism expressly forbids idolatry or image-worship in any form. God is called Nirankar, the Formless One, although it is true that all forms are the manifestations of Nirankar. Bhai Gurdas, the earliest expounder and the copyist of the original recension of Guru Granth Sahib, says: “Nirankar akaru hari joti sarup anup dikhaia (The Formless One having created form manifested His wondrous refulgence” (Varan, XII. 17). Murati in the Mul Mantra, therefore, signifies verity or manifestation of the Timeless and Formless One.

God is Ajuni, Unincarnated, and Saibhan (Sanskrit svayambhu), Self-existent. The Primal Creator Himself had no creator. He simply is, has ever been and shall ever be by Himself. Ajuni also affirms the Sikh rejection of the theory of divine incarnation. Guru Arjan says: “Man misdirected by false belief indulges in falsehood; God is free from birth and death. . . May that mouth be scorched which says that God is incarnated” (GG, 1136).

The Mool Mantar ends with gurprasadi, meaning thereby that realization of God comes through Guru‘s grace. “Guru” in Sikh theology appears in three different but allied connotations, viz. God, the ten Sikh Gurus, the enlightened ones and enlighteners, and the gur-shabad or Guru’s utterances as preserved in the Guru Granth Sahib. Of God’s grace, Gurus’ instruction and guidance and the scriptural sabad (Sanskrit, sabda, lit. Word), the first is the most important, because, as nothing happens without God’s will or pleasure, His grace is essential to making a person inclined towards a desire and search for union with Him.

 

Different Aspects of God

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God in Sikhism is thus depicted in three distinct aspects, viz. God in Himself, God in relation to creation, and God in relation to man. God by himself is the one Ultimate, Transcendent Reality, Nirguna (without attributes), Timeless, Boundless, Formless, Ever-existent, Immutable, Ineffable, All-by Himself and even Unknowable in His entirety. The only nomenclatures that can rightly be applied to Him in this state of sunn (Sanskrit, sunya or void) are Brahma and Parbrahma (Sanskrit, Parbrahman) or the pronouns He and Thou.

During a discourse with Siddhas, Hindu recluses, Guru Nanak in reply to a question as to where the Transcendent God was before the stage of creation replies, “To think of the Transcendent Lord in that state is to enter the realm of wonder. Even at that stage of sunn, he permeated all that Void” (GG, 940). This is the state of God’s sunn samadhi, self-absorbed trance.

He becomes sarguna (Sanskrit, saguna, with attributes) and manifests Himself in creation. He becomes immanent in His created universe, which is His own emanation, an aspect of Himself. As says Guru Amar Das, Nanak III, “This (so-called) poison, the world, that you see is God’s picture; it is God’s outline that we see” (GG, 922). Most names of God are His attributive, action-related signifiers, kirtam nam (GG, 1083) or karam nam (Dasam Granth, Jaap Sahib).

God in the Sikh Scripturel, alhas been referred to by several names, picked from Indian and semitic traditions. He is called in terms of human relations as father, mother, brother, relation, friend, lover, beloved, husband. Other names, expressive of His supremacy, are thakur, prabhu, svami, sah, patsah, sahib, sain (Lord, Master).

Some traditional names are ram, narayan, govind, gopalah, khuda. Even the negative terms such as nirankar, niranjan et al. are as much related to attributes as are the positive terms like data, datar, karta, kartar, dayal, kripal, qadir, karim, etc. Some terms peculiar to Sikhism are naam (literally name), sabad (literally word) and Vahiguru (literally Wondrous Master).

While nam and sabad are mystical terms standing for the Divine manifestation and are used as substitute terms for the Supreme Being, Vahiguru is an ejaculatory phrase expressing awe, wonder and ecstatic joy of the worshipper as he comprehends the immenseness and grandeur of the Lord and His Creation.

 

Immanence and Transcendence

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Immanence or All-pervasiveness of God, however, does not limit or in any way affect His transcendence. He is Transcendent and Immanent at the same time. The Creation is His lila or cosmic play. He enjoys it, pervades it, yet Himself remains unattached. Guru Arjan describes Him in several hymns as “Unattached and Unentangled in the midst of all” (GG, 102, 294, 296); and “Amidst all, yet outside of all, free from love and hate” (GG, 784-85). Creation is His manifestation, but, being conditioned by space and time, it provides only a partial and imperfect glimpse of the Timeless and Boundless Supreme Being.

That God is both Transcendent and Immanent does not mean that these are two phases of God one following the other. God is One, and He is both nirguna and sarguna. “Nirguna sargunu hari hari mera, (God, my God is both with and without attributes),” sang Guru Arjan (GG, 98). Guru Amar Das also had said, “Nirguna sarguna ape soi (He Himself is with as well as without attributes) ” (GG, 128). Transcendence and Immanence are two aspects of the same Supreme Reality.

 

Creator and Creation

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The Creator also sustains His Creation compassionately and benevolently. “My Lord is ever Fresh and ever Bountiful” (GG, 660); “He is the eradicator of the pain and sorrow of the humble” (GG, 263-64). The universe is created, sustained and moved according to His hukam or Divine Will, and Divine purpose. “The inscrutable hukam is the source of all forms, all creatures. All are within the ambit of hukam; there is nothing outside of it.” (GG, p. 1).

Another principle that regulates the created beings is karma (actions, deeds). Simply stated, it is the law of cause and effect. The popular dictum “As one sows so shall one reap” is stressed again and again in the Guru Granth Sahib (GG, 134,176, 309, 316, 366, 706, 730).

The created world though real is not eternal. Whenever God desires, it merges back into His Timeless and Formless Self. Guru Gobind Singh calls this process of creation and dissolution udkarkh (Sanskrit, utkarsana) and akarkh (Sanskrit, akarsana), respectively:

“Whenever you, O Creator, cause udkarkh (increase, expansion), the creation assumes the boundless body; whenever you effect akarkh (attraction, contraction), all corporeal existence merges in you” (Benati Chaupai). This process of creation and dissolution has been repeated God alone knows for how many times. A passage in the Sukhmani by Guru Arjan visualizes the infinite field of creation thus:

Millions are the mines of life; millions the spheres;Millions are the regions above; millions the regions below; Millions are the species taking birth. By diverse means does He spread Himself. Again and again did He expand Himself thus, But He ever remains the One Ekankar. Countless creatures of various kinds Come out of Him and are absorbed back. None can know the limit of His Being; He, the Lord, O Nanak! is all in all Himself.

(GG. 275-76)

 

Man as God’s Creation

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Man, although an infinitesimal part of God’s creation, yet stands apart from it insofar as it is the only species blessed with reflection, moral sense and potentiality for understanding matters metaphysical. In Sikhism, human birth is both a special privilege for the soul and a rare chance for the realization of union with God. Man is lord of earth, as Guru Arjan says, “Of all the eight million and four hundred thousand species, God conferred superiority on man” (GG, 1075), and “All other species are your (man’s) water-bearers; you have hegemony over this earth” (GG, 374). But Guru also reminds that “now that you (the soul) have got a human body, this is your turn to unite with God” (GG, 12, 378).

 Guru Nanak had warned, “Listen, listen to my advice, O my mind! only good deed shall endure, and there may not be another chance” (GG, 154). So, realization of God and a reunion of atma (soul) with paramatma (Supreme Soul, God) are the ultimate goals of human life. The achievement ultimately rests on nadar (God’s grace), but man has to strive in order to deserve His grace. As a first step, he should have faith in and craving for the Lord. He should believe that God is near him, rather within his self, and not far away. He is to seek Him in his self.

Guru Nanak says: “Your beloved is close to you, O foolish bride! What are you searching outside?” (GG, 722), and Guru Amar Das reassures: “Recognize yourself, O mind! You are the light manifest. Rejoice in Guru’s instruction that God is always with (in) you. If you recognize your Self, you shall know the Lord and shall get the knowledge of life and death” (GG, 441). The knowledge of the infinitesimal nature of his self when compared to the immenseness of God and His creation would instil humility in man and would rid him of his ego (a sense of I, my and mine) which is “the greatest malady man suffers from” (GG, 466, 589, 1258) and the arch-enemy of nam or path to God-Realization (GG, 560).

Having surrendered his ego and having an intense desire to reach his goal (the realization of Reality), the seeker under Guru‘s instruction (gurmati) becomes a gurmukh or person looking guruward. He meditates upon nam or sabda, the Divine Word, while yet leading life as a householder, earning through honest labour, sharing his victuals with the needy, and performing self-abnegating deeds of service. Sikhism condemns ritualism. Worship of God in the Sikh way of life consists in reciting gurbani or holy texts and meditation on nam, solitary or in sangat or congregation, kirtan or singing of scriptural hymns in praise of God, and ardas or prayer in supplication.

• Concepts In Sikhism – Edited by Dr. Surinder Singh Sodhi

 

The Sikh view of God

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The Sikhs believe in one God who has existed from the begining of time, never dies and will exist for ever. He/She is genderless; without a body; fearless; without enemies; self sufficent; etc – Gods qualities are too many for people to narrate.

Many names are used for God:- Waheguru – The Wonderful Lord; Satnam – Thy True Name being TRUTH . Malik – Master; Karta Purakh – The Creator, etc

Below are the qualities that Sikhism attributes to God:

Compassionate & Kind:

• Blessing us with His Glance of Grace, the Kind and Compassionate, All-powerful Lord comes to dwell within the mind and body. (SGGS Page 49)

• The Cherisher Lord is so very merciful and wise; He is compassionate to all. (SGGS Page 249)

• The Lord is kind and compassionate to all beings and creatures; His Protecting Hand is over all. (SGGS Page 300)

• O Nanak, God has been kind and compassionate; He has blessed me. Removing pain and poverty, He has blended me with Himself. ||8||5|| (SGGS Page 1311)

God is everywhere

• Nanak is attuned to the Love of the Lord, whose Light pervades the entire Universe. (SGGS Page 49)

 

Who is the founder of Sikhism?

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Guru Nanak ([ˈɡʊɾu ˈnɑnək], pronunciation, IAST: Gurū Nānak) (29 November 1469 – 10 October 1539) was the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated worldwide as Guru Nanak Gurpurab on Kartik Pooranmashi, the full-moon day in the month of Katak, October–November.

Guru Nanak travelled far and wide teaching people the message of one God who dwells in every one of His creations and constitutes the eternal Truth. He set up a unique spiritual, social, and political platform based on equality, fraternal love, goodness, and virtue.

Guru Nanak’s words are registered in the form of 974 poetic hymns in the holy text of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib, with some of the major prayers being the Japji Sahib, the Asa di Var and the Sidh-Ghost. It is part of Sikh religious belief that the spirit of Guru Nanak’s sanctity, divinity and religious authority descended upon each of the nine subsequent Gurus when the Guruship was devolved on to them.

Family and early life

Guru Nanak was born on 29 November 1469 at Rāi Bhoi Kī Talvaṇḍī (present day Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan) near Lahore.His parents were Kalyan Chand Das Bedi, popularly shortened to Mehta Kalu, and Mata Tripta. His father was the local patwari (accountant) for crop revenue in the village of Talwandi. His parents were both Hindu Khatris and employed as merchants.

He had one sister, Bebe Nanaki, who was five years older than he was. In 1475 she married and moved to Sultanpur. Guru Nanak was attached to his sister and followed her to Sultanpur to live with her and her husband, Jai Ram. At the age of around 16 years, Nanak started working under Daulat Khan Lodi, employer of Nanaki’s husband. This was a formative time for Nanak, as the Puratan (traditional) Janam Sakhi suggests, and in his numerous allusions to governmental structure in his hymns, most likely gained at this time.

According to Sikh traditions, the birth and early years of Guru Nanak’s life were marked with many events that demonstrated that Nanak had been marked by divine grace. Commentaries on his life give details of his blossoming awareness from a young age. At the age of five, Nanak is said to have voiced interest in divine subjects. At age seven, his father enrolled him at the village school as was the custom.Notable lore recounts that as a child Nanak astonished his teacher by describing the implicit symbolism of the first letter of the alphabet, resembling the mathematical version of one, as denoting the unity or oneness of God.

Other childhood accounts refer to strange and miraculous events about Nanak, such as one witnessed by Rai Bular, in which the sleeping child’s head was shaded from the harsh sunlight, in one account, by the stationary shadow of a tree or, in another, by a venomous cobra.

On 24 September 1487 Nanak married Mata Sulakkhani, daughter of Mūl Chand and Chando Rāṇī, in the town of Batala. The couple had two sons, Sri Chand (8 September 1494 – 13 January 1629) and Lakhmi Chand (12 February 1497 – 9 April 1555). Sri Chand received enlightenment from Guru Nanak’s teachings and went on to become the founder of the Udasi sect.

The earliest biographical sources on Nanak’s life recognised today are the Janamsākhīs (life accounts). Bhai Gurdas, a scribe of the Gurū Granth Sahib, also wrote about Nanak’s life in his vārs. Although these too were compiled some time after Nanak’s time, they are less detailed than the Janamsākhīs. The Janamsākhīs recount in minute detail the circumstances of the birth of the guru.

Gyan-ratanavali is attributed to Bhai Mani Singh who wrote it with the express intention of correcting heretical accounts of Guru Nanak. Bhai Mani Singh was a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh who was approached by some Sikhs with a request that he should prepare an authentic account of Guru Nanak’s life.

One popular Janamsākhī was allegedly written by a close companion of the Guru, Bhai Bala. However, the writing style and language employed have left scholars, such as Max Arthur Macauliffe, certain that they were composed after his death. According to the scholars, there are good reasons to doubt the claim that the author was a close companion of Guru Nanak and accompanied him on many of his travels.

Sikhism

Nanak was a Guru (teacher), and founded Sikhism during the 15th century.The fundamental beliefs of Sikhism, articulated in the sacred scripture Guru Granth Sahib, include faith and meditation on the name of the one creator, unity of all humankind, engaging in selfless service, striving for social justice for the benefit and prosperity of all, and honest conduct and livelihood while living a householder’s life.

The Guru Granth Sahib is worshipped as the Supreme Authority of Sikhism and is considered the eleventh and final guru of Sikhism. As the first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak contributed a total of 974 hymns to the book.

Teachings

Nanak’s teachings can be found in the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib, as a collection of verses recorded in Gurmukhi.

There are two competing theories on Guru Nanak’s teachings. One, according to Cole and Sambhi, is based on hagiographical Janamsakhis,and states that Nanak’s teachings and Sikhism were a revelation from God, and not a social protest movement nor any attempt to reconcile Hinduism and Islam in the 15th century. The other states, Nanak was a Guru. According to Singha, “Sikhism does not subscribe to the theory of incarnation or the concept of prophet hood. But it has a pivotal concept of Guru. He is not an incarnation of God, not even a prophet. He is an illumined soul.”

The hagiographical Janamsakhis were not written by Nanak, but by later followers without regard for historical accuracy, and contain numerous legends and myths created to show respect for Nanak. The term revelation, clarify Cole and Sambhi, in Sikhism is not limited to the teachings of Nanak, they include all Sikh Gurus, as well as the words of past, present and future men and women, who possess divine knowledge intuitively through meditation.

The Sikh revelations include the words of non-Sikh bhagats, some who lived and died before the birth of Nanak, and whose teachings are part of the Sikh scriptures.The Adi Granth and successive Sikh Gurus repeatedly emphasised, states Mandair, that Sikhism is “not about hearing voices from God, but it is about changing the nature of the human mind, and anyone can achieve direct experience and spiritual perfection at any time”.Guru Nanak emphasised that all human beings can have direct access to God without rituals or priests.

The concept of man as elaborated by Guru Nanak, states Arvind-pal Singh Mandair, refines and negates the “monotheistic concept of self/God”, and “monotheism becomes almost redundant in the movement and crossings of love”.The goal of man, taught the Sikh Gurus, is to end all dualities of “self and other, I and not-I”, attain the “attendant balance of separation-fusion, self-other, action-inaction, attachment-detachment, in the course of daily life”.

Guru Nanak, and other Sikh Gurus emphasised Bhakti, and taught that the spiritual life and secular householder life are intertwined.In Sikh worldview, the everyday world is part of the Infinite Reality, increased spiritual awareness leads to increased and vibrant participation in the everyday world. Guru Nanak, states Sonali Marwaha, described living an “active, creative, and practical life” of “truthfulness, fidelity, self-control and purity” as being higher than the metaphysical truth.

Through popular tradition, Nanak’s teaching is understood to be practised in three ways:

• Vaat Karō: Earning/making a living honestly, without exploitation or fraud
• Naam Japna: Meditating on God’s name to control the five weaknesses of the human personality.

Guru Nanak emphasised Nam Japna (or Naam Simran), that is repetition of God’s name and attributes, as a means to feel God’s presence.

Influences

Nanak was raised in a Hindu family and belonged to the Bhakti Sant tradition.Scholars state that in its origins, Guru Nanak and Sikhism were influenced by the nirguni(formless God) tradition of Bhakti movement in medieval India.However, Sikhism was not simply an extension of the Bhakti movement.Sikhism, for instance, disagreed with some views of Bhakti saints Kabir and Ravidas.

The roots of the Sikh tradition are, states Louis Fenech, perhaps in the Sant-tradition of India whose ideology grew to become the Bhakti tradition. Furthermore, adds Fenech, “Indic mythology permeates the Sikh sacred canon, the Guru Granth Sahib and the secondary canon, the Dasam Granth and adds delicate nuance and substance to the sacred symbolic universe of the Sikhs of today and of their past ancestors”.

Journeys (Udasis)

Guru Nanak travelled extensively during his lifetime. Some modern accounts state that he visited Tibet, most of South Asia and Arabia starting in 1496, at age 27, when he left his family for a thirty-year period.These claims include Guru Nanak visiting the Mount Sumeru of Indian mythology, as well as Mecca, Baghdad, Achal Batala and Multan, in these places he debated religious ideas with competing groups. These stories became widely popular in the 19th and 20th century, and exist in many versions.

The hagiographic details is a subject of dispute, with modern scholarship questioning the details and authenticity of many claims. For example, Callewaert and Snell state that early Sikh texts do not contain these stories, and after these travel stories first appear in hagiographic accounts of Guru Nanak centuries after his death, they continue to become more sophisticated over time, with the late phase Puratan version describing four missionary journeys (udasis), which however differs from the Miharban version.

Some of the stories about Guru Nanak’s extensive travels first appear in the 19th-century versions of janam-sakhi in the Puratan version. Further, stories about Guru Nanak’s travel to Baghdad is absent from even the early 19th-century Puratan version. These embellishments and insertion of new stories, according to Callewaert and Snell, closely parallel claims of miracles by Islamic pirs found in Sufi tazkiras of the same era, and these legends may have been written in a competition.

Another source of dispute has been the Baghdad stone inscription in a Turkish script, which some interpret saying Baba Nanak Fakir was there in 1511-1512, other interpret it stating 1532 (and that he lived in the Middle East for 11 years away from his family), while others particularly Western scholars stating that the stone inscription is from the 19th century and the stone is not a reliable evidence that Guru Nanak visited Baghdad in early 16th century. 

Further, beyond the stone, no evidence or mention of Guru Nanak’s journey in the Middle East has been found in any other Middle Eastern textual or epigraphical records. Claims have been asserted of additional inscriptions, but no one has been able to locate and verify them. The Baghdad inscription remains the basis of writing by Indian scholars that Guru Nanak journeyed in the Middle East, with some claiming he visited Jerusalem, Mecca, Vatican, Azerbaijan and Sudan.

Novel claims about his travels, as well as claims such as Guru Nanak’s body vanishing after his death, are also found in later versions and these are similar to the miracle stories in Sufi literature about their pirs. Other direct and indirect borrowings in the Sikh janam-sakhis relating to legends around Guru Nanak’s journeys are from Hindu epics and Puranas and Buddhist Jataka stories.

Succession

Guru Nanak appointed Bhai Lehna as the successor Guru, renaming him as Guru Angad, meaning “one’s very own” or “part of you”. Shortly after proclaiming Bhai Lehna as his successor, Guru Nanak died on 22 September 1539 in Kartarpur, at the age of 70.