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RELIGIONS
Eternal India
encyclopedia
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.
Some people complained to the Khan
who ordered an enquiry, but the
store showed no deficit, everything
was intact.
One morning while bathing in
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
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
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