Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

RELIGIONS

and took spiritual initiation from Ishvara Puri, a Vaishnava Sariyasi. Upon his return to Nadia, Nimai Pandita became a religious preacher. He swooned at the name of Krishna. He opened a kirtana school where he preached, danced and sang. In his 24th year he took monastic

He preached the oneness of all religions and tried to bring Muslims and Hindus together. He criticised the meaningless rituals of both religions, attacked the caste system and spoke against idol worship. He endeavoured to combine the strict monotheism of Islam with its abhor- rence of idolatry with the best in Hinduism. He expressed himself through hymns and poems. He was no doubt the greatest lyric poet and mystic of early Hindi literature. He may rightly be regarded as the creator of sacred literature in Hindi. He was a mystic whose God transcends both Islamic monotheism and Hindu polytheism. GURU NANAK (1469-1539) Bom of a small Hindu farmer-trader and village revenue official named Mehta Kalu or Kalyan Rai in Rai Bhoe-Ki-Talvandi (later called Nankana Sahib after him) not far from Lahore in Central Punjab (now in Pakistan), Guru Nanak is stated to have been of a contemplative cast of mind from early childhood. He sought the company of the holy and of mystics of various orders as he grew up. He was married around the age of 18 and he had two sons from his wife Mata (Mother) Sulakhani. For some time he served as a keeper of the grain store of the Khan of Sultanpur Lodhi, which is in the Kapurthala district of Punjab. Here Nanak is said to have been increasingly absorbed in meditation on the Divine Being. The work of the store appears to have been neglected. the rivulet Bein, flowing by Sul- tanpur, Divine Revelation came to him. Emerging from the rivulet he went into the town and the first words he uttered were, "There is no Hindu and no Mussalman". Soon he had an increasing number of followers and was accepted as the Guru or Divine Teacher. He travelled all over India to preach the non-sectarian creed of universal goodwill. He visited both Hindu centres of pilgrimage and Muslim holy places both in India and abroad like Mecca and Baghdad. He urged Hindus and Muslims to look upon each other as brothers. The cardinal principles of his teachings are a strict monotheism and the immonence of God in all creation. The last days of Guru Nanak's life were spent in his ashram at Kartapur. Before the end came he appointed as his successor a devoted disciple known as Lehna to whom he gave a new name Angad (bom of my limb). CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU (1486-1534) Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was bom in 1486 in Mayapur in the town of Nadia in Bengal. He was called Gaurahari on account of his golden complexion and his mother called him Nimai because he was bom near a nimba tree. At the age of 15 he was married to Lakshmipriya. He was considered one of the best scholars of Nadiar. He went to East Bengal where his wife died from the effects of snake bite. On returning to Nadia he married Vishnupriya. At the age of 16 or 17 he went to Gaya Some people complained to the Khan who ordered an enquiry, but the store showed no deficit, everything was intact. One morning while bathing in

vows at the hands of Keshava Bharati. After his initiation Chaitanya set out for Puri. He toured Southern India. He also visited Brindavan where Krishna had performed His divine pastimes with the cowherd boys and cowherd girls. His last days were spent in Puri. At the age of 48 he entered a temple and came out no more, simply disappearing. Chaitanya founded Vaishnavism in Bengal. For him God was Krishna, the

God of love. He was a leader of the Bhakti Movement. According to the Bhagavata Purana, he is an incarnation of Krishna who specifically came to teach namasankirtana of chanting Hare Krishna Maha Man- tra. GURU GOBIND SINGH (1666 - 1708) The Tenth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh was born at Patna in Bihar in 1666. When he was seven years old he was taken to Anandpur Sahib with all the other family members as desired by his father Guru Tegh Bahadur, the Ninth Guru. While he was there, a deputation of Kashmir Pandits came to Anandpur Sahib, met Gum Tegh Bahadur and narrated the cruel acts of injustice of the Mughal rulers towards the Hindus. They sought his help. The Guru became silent and was absorbed in thought. Gum Gobind Singh, then only nine, was playing nearby. He asked his father the reason for his silence. He was told that these helpless people had come from Kashmir and had no one to protect their religion. The sacrifice of a great and brave soul was called for. The child immediately said, "Who could be braver and greater than you. Please have mercy on them and do whatever is nec- essary to protect the Hindu Dharma". Guru Tegh Bahadur was pleased to hear this and went to Delhi to meet the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb who told him either to embrace Islam or face death. The Guru replied, "No prophet on earth could convert the entire world to his religion. My religion is the most dear to me. I am not afraid of death." He was executed at the Chandni Chowk in Delhi where the Gurdwara Sri Sis Gang Sahib now stands. When Guru Gobind Singh was told that no one came forward to take charge of the martyered body openly on the day of execution because of the fear of death, he declared that he would one day lay the foundation for the Khalsa Panth and would train them in such a way that its members would be ready to sacrifice everything for the right cause. Gum Gobind Singh told the devotees to assemble at Anandpur Sahib on the occasion of Baisakhi in 1699. At his call five came forward ready to sacrifice their lives. Gum Gobind Singh baptised them by administering Amrit, sugar mixed in water with a double - edged sword. They were given a common surname Singh (lion) and were called the Khalsa (the pure) of the Lord God, the Sikh brother- hood. Their distinguishing features were their uncut hair ( Kesh ), a comb in the hair -knot ( Kangha ), an iron bangle {Kara), a sword hanging from