Guru Nanak Jayanti Significance & Importance

The birthday of the first Sikh guru is celebrated as Guru Nanak Jayanti in India and worldwide where Sikhs reside with immense fervor and gaiety. The Guru Granth Sahib, the holy Book of Sikhs, is read out continuously without a stop prior to the festival. Processions are carried out that consist of singing hymns and carrying the holy book on a float decorated with flowers. The main holy day is spent in reciting morning hymns and hymns from the Sikh scriptures. Guru Nanak Jayanti has a lot of religious and historical significance for the people of Sikh religion. Read through the following lines to know why Guru Nanak Jayanti is celebrated.

Guru Nanak Jayanti Significance & Importance

Guru Nanak Dev Ji is the founder of the Sikhism religion and the first of the 10 Sikh gurus. He was born in 1469 A.D. into a Bedi Kshatriya family in the village of Rai Bhoi di Talwandi, now known as Nanakan Sahib near Lahore in Pakistan. His father, Mehta Kalyan Das Bedi, better known as Mehta Kalu, was the accountant of crop revenue in the village, while his mother, Tripti Devi was a homemaker. He had one elder sister, Bebe Nanaki. Since childhood, Nanak was attracted towards spirituality, purity, justice, devotion and goodness. While his father used to give him money for buying goods from the marketplace, Nanak distributed all the money to a band of indigents he saw on the way or in the bazaar.

Though he was born in a Kshatriya (warrior) family, Nanak studied both Hinduism and Islam. He got married to Mata Sulakhani and had two sons. However, Nanak soon realized his real calling and abandoned his family and wandered in the forests to become an ascetic. While wandering in the jungles for years, he was highly influenced by both Hindus and Muslims, especially Sufis. He was highly impressed by Kabir‘s teachings. Nanak then started preaching “There is no Hindu, there is no Mussulman (Muslim)”. In a young age, he underwent a profound spiritual experience. While taking a bath in the river Baain, he disappeared and reappeared after three days. It is said that during that time Nanak came in direct communion with God.

Nanak used to sit with holy men, pandits and mullahs and spend hours with them in long discussions. Nanak was a great seer, saint, mystic, prolific poet and unique singer of God’s laudation. His only message was to spread love, peace, truth and renaissance. Even today, Sikhs all across the world practice Guru Nanak’s preaching to reaffirm their belief in the founder’s teachings. Guru Nanak Jayanti is celebrated with pride, honor and great respect. Processions are carried out and the gurudwaras are decorated and illuminated.