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Guru Nanak (1469-1539)

Guru Nanak's insights and message have fundamentally shaped the Sikh community. His insight and charisma are clearly evident after more than five hundred years, as one easily sees in his writings in the Guru Granth Sahib. According to one well-known formula, he summed up the his teachings by directing his disciples (Sikhs) to work hard, to remember God, and to serve others.

Historical details of Nanak's life are rather spare, and although this picture shows a common image, it is only a conventional depiction, since no contemporary likeness survives. The image of the old man with the tranquil face and half-closed eyes clearly corresponds with Nanak's stress on contemplation and inner realization. The cap, cloak, and frock coat were pieces of clothing associated with the Sufis (Muslim mystics), whereas the two rosaries (in the hand and on his cap) were Hindu religious objects. In his outer appearance as well as in his ideas, Nanak transcended both Hindu and Muslim identity.

This image shows Nanak with two of the disciples who reportedly went with him on his travels: on the left is Mardana (a low-caste Muslim musician), and on the right Bala (a Hindu)--showing again how Nanak's message transcended religious boundaries.

He is shown here with the Sufi fakir's patched cloak, and a Hindu ascetic's sandals and water-pot.

This image comes from Popular Sikh Art by W.H. McLeod (Oxford U. Press, 1991).

As with many religious founders, Nanak's youth is filled with stories in which he is shown as special or marked for greatness. In this common image the young Nanak fell asleep in a field, and was shielded from the sun by one of the nagas, spirit-beings that are particularly associated with being the guardians of water bodies.

This image comes from a series of paintings on the life of Guru Nanak found in Amritsar's Baba Atal tower; the originals probably date from the early 1800s, but they were comprehensively restored in 2016.

Another common story from Nanak's young adulthood highlights his compassion. His father had given Nanak some money to go to the market, but when Nanak met a band of wandering mendicants he used it to buy them a lavish meal (seen in the stack of vessels). When his father objected to this "waste" of money, Nanak cited the deed's religious merit. This story shows his compassion for others, and for Sikhs feeding the hungry is still a central commitment. Image Baba Atal tower.

Around 30, Nanak had a transformative religious experience. While bathing in the River Vein he disappeared under the surface (his feet are at center left) and was presumed drowned, only to reappear three days later. The story describes him as being conveyed (in the palanquin at center right) to the Divine Court (the glowing light at far right) and drinking the cup of the (Divine) Name, thus internalizing it. Image, Baba Atal Tower.

After his Divine meeting Nanak lived as a wanderer, singing hymns to convey his religious message and debating those with differing ideas. This painting shows him meeting tGorakhnath, founder of the Nath Yogis, whose practice focused on balancing energies within the human body. Guru Nanak critiqued them as parasitic because they did not work but lived by begging (taking from others, but giving nothing back). From the earliest times Sikhs have stressed the need to work and to serve others. Note: This was an imagined meeting, since Gorakhnath lived several centuries before Nanak.

Image: Baba Atal Tower

The tales of his wanderings include many events that could well have happened, and others that are harder to accept. This image depicts Nanak's visit to Kuaru-desh, identified with modern Assam. This land was inhabited soley by women sorceresses, who magically transformed any trespassing men into animals (note the sheep at Guru Nanak's feet, whose hands and head are clearly Mardana's). Guru Nanak (shown here in a younger, dark-haired form) defeated them using the power of the Divine Name (seen as the symbol in the sun) and they were forced to admit his spiritual superiority.

This image comes from Popular Sikh Art by W.H. McLeod (Oxford U. Press, 1991).

Another fabulous story is the encounter with a demon who kidnapped passing travelers, then cooked and ate them. Here the demon is poised to cook Mardana, who is crying to Nanak for help. Nanak did so by dipping his finger (here upraised) into the cauldron, at which it was immediately cooled, and remained cool no matter how much the demon stoked the fire.
Image Baba Atal tower

The Janam Sakhi stories highlight Guru Nanak's spiritual mastery and his superiority over all other sorts of religious adepts. This image shows the miracle at Pir Panja in modern Pakistan, where Guru Nanak bested an arrogant Sufi. After thrice refusing to let Nanak and Mardana drink from his hilltop spring, Nanak created a spring at by striking a stone at the base of the hill, after which the Sufi's spring dried up. The enraged Sufi rolled a huge boulder down the hill, but Nanak stopped it with his hand, leaving a print in the stone that is reportedly still visible. The Sufi admitted his error and apologized

Guru Nanak was just as concerned with social and economic issues as with religious issues. After wandering for 20-odd years he and his followers settled at Kartarpur on the Ravi River, where they farmed the rich alluvial soil. The Sikh stress on honest work is shown by Nanak's preference for Bhai Lalo, a humble carpenter, over the landowner Malak Das. When asked why, Nanak squeezed a flatbread from each man's meal. The wealthy man's dripped blood, signifying that he lived off the sufferings of others, whereas Bhai Lalo's dripped milk, bearing witness to his honest labor.

This image comes from Popular Sikh Art by W.H. McLeod (Oxford U. Press, 1991).

Nanak and his followers were well settled in Kartarpur, with a way of life that meshed labor with individual and communal religious practice. This picture shows Nanak's first meeting with Bhai Lahina, who would eventually succeed him as guru. According to tradition Lahina was on pilgrimage to a Goddess temple, but when he heard of Guru Nanak asked a passerby where he could find him. The man pointed him to a house, and Lahina entered only to discover that very same man inside! Note: The story of how the Tibetan yogi Milarepa met his guru Marpa tells this same story of miraculous recognition and direction.

Image Baba Atal Tower.

Shortly before his death Guru Nanak formally installed Bhai Lahina as his successor, renaming him Guru Angad ("part of my body"). In doing so he passed over his sons, whom he judged less worthy to lead. This image show Angad receiving the tika of office from Baba Budha, who anointed the 2-6th gurus. According to tradition Nanak gave Angad a book of hymns and a coconut to show his spiritual authority over the community, and five coins to show his material authority. Nanak's unequivocal succession was a clear strategy help the community survive his demise, although after Nanak's death Guru Angad and the community had to resettle at Khadur, since Nanak's biological sons inherited his property.