• 15^th-century inter-continental globe-trotter sans cash, credit/ATM-card & multi-million airplane
• Humble Tribute on the 553rd Anniversary of the Blessed Advent of Satguru Nanak Rai Sahibji

The Vision and Mission of Oneness, as enunciated by Guru Nanak Rai Ji (circa 1469 to 1539) The Prophet of Unification of Humanity, is as relevant now, as it was five centuries ago. It is based on the absolute premise: “There is One Light of Our Creator in All”.

God, Yahweh, Allah, Bhagwaan, Prabhu, Eeshwar, WaahGuru (the Wondrous Lord) Paarbrahm, Hari, AkaalPurakh (The Timeless One) Kartaar (The Creator) Raheem (The Merciful One) Kareem (The Empathetic One) are only some of the innumerable Hallowed Names of The Only Supreme One. Guru Nanak said such Holy Noumenon are meant to unify the masses rather and should never be made a reason for flowing rivers of blood.

The world is up in flames, today, even more than it was during the life and time of the Blessed Advent of the Divine Preceptor, Guru Nanak (1469-1539). In one verse, he laments and exclaims: “I can visualize the entire humanity engulfed in flames of hatred and bloodshed and righteousness has taken wings”. Guru Nanak Sahib saw in his deep, meditative trance that the entire earth was ablaze with the fires of hatred, prejudice, intolerance, bigotry, superstition, hollow ritualism, and so he set out on his world tour to remind humanity of the lessons of “Divinity in Humanity”. Guru Nanak was on a Divine Mission. He was a Spiritual Maestro, a Renaissance-Man, a Crusader for Interreligious Amity, an extraordinary social-reformist much ahead his era and yet he utters the absolute TRUTH that “he is, what he is, ONLY because of the Gracious Mercy of The Almighty and he is nothing without GOD”. In other words, Divine Guru is teaching humanity to embrace humility, by refraining from self-aggrandizement

DivineWisdom enabled Guru Nanak ji to say that there is an infinite expanse of galaxies and constellations in the multi-verse, created by The Almighty Creator.

The Sacred Anniversary of the Blessed Advent of Prophets, Seers, Dervishes, Sufis and Saints must certainly be celebrated but not merely on just one day. Their Divine Tenets are to be imbibed by us, every moment, thereby reminding ourselves to elevate thespirit and evolve the soul, by vanquishing the mind and keeping an anvil on the forehead of the wayward mind, which is perpetually drifting and is preoccupied 24/7, with myriad egocentric vices like cruelty, domineering, lust, greed, avarice, malice, hatred, jealousy, hypocrisy, sycophancy and self-aggrandizement, while devoting only a negligible percentage of energy and time towards creative, progressive, constructive, productive projects for self and for humanity.

Guru Nanak Ji represents the zenith of humility when he says that he’s a mere beggar, a watchman and a minstrel singing Divine Praise, at the door of The Almighty Majesty and a speck of dust at the feet of holy saints and devotees of God. Guru Nanak is an epitome of an exemplary balance between the life of an average householder and a mystic extraordinaire.He went on world-tours, visiting the Centers of Pilgrimage of various religions, and so he succeeded in reaching millions of folks, to convey his Vision & Mission of peace and harmony, without the usage of our contemporary communication, transportation, public-relations outfits and social-media and without hi-fi-tech gadgets as laptop and cell-phone or sans an ATM-card or credit-card.  The Divine Prophet traveled far and wide, in an era which travel was extremely hazardous and consumed months and years, as the only mode of travel was the waterways or horses and camels. Guru Nanak Ji facilitated the release of slaves in Europe and America. King James of Scotland minted a coin with The Guru’s image. For more on Holy Travels www.SATGURU,weebly.com

The Divine Preceptor of ONENESS of humanity traversed 27,000 miles, across various continents, in 25 years of his 70 years’ sojourn on this planet, during which he reformed several tyrannical rulers, vociferously advocated human rights and women’s rights, brought about social revolution, by speaking out against slavish mentality, superstitious belief system, hollow ritualistic practices, religious bigotry and suppression of the downtrodden social and economic classes. Guru Nanak Ji was the pioneer, enunciating the cause of Inter-Religious Peace and Harmony.

Guru Nanak Sahibji reminds us:“We humans are unaware of whether we would survive to inhale the next breath. Hence, we must restrain the wild horses of the mind and must refrain from any misdeed, such that would have given us pain, when perpetrated against us”.

He said without truly sincere devotion, everything is merely ritualistic and ceremonial worship. He said it’s an exercise in futility, terming it as a façade and a sham.

God, Yahweh, Allah, Bhagwaan, Prabhu, Eeshwar, WaahGuru (the Wondrous Lord) Paarbrahm, Hari, AkaalPurakh (The Timeless One) Kartaar (The Creator) Raheem (The Merciful One) Kareem (The Empathetic One) are only some of the innumerable Hallowed Names of The Only Supreme One. Guru Nanak said such Holy Noumenon are meant to unify the masses rather and should never be made a reason for flowing rivers of blood.

The teachings of Sree Krishna Ji, Sree Raam Chandra Ji,Prophets Abraham & Moses, Messiah Jesus of Nazareth, Hazrat Mohammed Sahib Ji, Prophet Bahaullah Ji, Prophet Zoroaster, Gautam Buddha Ji, Tirthaankar Mahavir Ji, Saint Kabeer Daas Ji, Sheikh Fareed Ji, Saint Ravi Daas Ji, Devotee Naam Dev Ji, Saint Parmanand Ji and innumerable others, are to uplift the entire humanity and are not restricted to a group or denomination because the Enlightened Ones are above any sectarian confines.

The Vision and Mission of Oneness, as enunciated by Guru Nanak Rai Ji (circa 1469 to 1539) The Prophet of Unification of Humanity, is as relevant now, as it was five centuries ago. It is based on the absolute premise: “There is One Light of Our Creator in All”.

Guru Nanak Ji emphasized upon the “Religion of Righteousness”, thereby implying that an ideal Divine-Life can be lived, only when humans are empathetic towards everyone in the world.

The history of Sikhism starts from the Blessed Advent of Sree Guru Nanak Sahib, in circa 1469, in Talwandi region, then part of a much larger India. His Tenets include Truthful living, humility, liberty, equality, justice, compassion, honest earning, serving the needy selflessly and protecting the weak and the meek. All this, he said would be tantamount to a Divine Life and real, true, actual worship and attainment of God and fulfillment of the purpose of human-birth.

For over a thousand years, this region was invaded by a small bunch of horse-rider marauders, from Mongolia, Persia, Afghanistan, and the like. Taimur, Ghazni, Ghori, Nadir Shah, Abdali are only a few of those invaders, who plundered Hindu Temples, looted gold, took women and children as slaves, killed everyone who crossed their path.

And then appeared a man on earth, the likes of whom are seen, only once in a millennium. Guru Nanak Sahib Jee confronted Babur, an invader who established his empire on Indian soil. Guru Nanak Ji’s Divine ambrosial words were adequate to transform a ruthless mass-murderer into one who fell at the Guru’s feet, pledging to rule with justice. Babur sought a boon of ruling for several generations and Guru Nanak Sahib Jee granted it and it came to fruition for seven generations, exactly during the lifetime of ten Divine Gurus.

During the current global pandemic, the Divine Guru’s teachings of compassionate sharing, came to the fore, when millions of people were served with edibles, medicines, clothing, shelter and all essential services. As a collective, during the unprecedented lockdown, several governments officially requested the Sikhs to prepare food in Gurdwaras, to be served to individuals, as well as to be sent to hospitals and other institutions for the old and the infirm, orphans, and economically weaker sections.

Guru Nanak reformed several tyrannical rulers, vociferously advocated human rights and women’s rights, brought about social revolution, by speaking out against slavish mentality, superstitious beliefs, hollow ritualistic practices, religious bigotry and suppression of the downtrodden social and economic classes.

Guru Nanak Sahib Jee says : “I do not know how and what to speak. I utter only that, which YOU, O’ GOD, command me to churn out”. Guru Sahib says GOD is the bestower of all blessings. Guru Nanak claims no credit, whatsoever and says, “the earth is ONE global family and all creatures and creations come from OUR CREATOR, The Only Omniscient One”.

(Amarjit Singh Anand is a writer and, promoter of interfaith dialogue, true to his Master, Guru Nanak’s philosophy.)