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Guru Nanak Dev () ( 15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539 ), was the founder of Sikhism and the first of the Ten Gurus of the Sikhs. Background Guru Nanak Dev was born at Rai Bhoi Di Talwandi , now called Nankana Sahib , a town located near the city of Lahore in present-day Pakistan . His father was Kalian Das Bedi also known as Kalu Mehta and mother was Mata Tripta . His parents were Khatri Hindu s. The Guru had an older sister called Bibi Nanki , who was the first to recognise Nanak as an Enlightened Soul . Guru Nanak from an early age seemed to have acquired a questioning and enquiring mind and refused as a child to wear the ritualistic “sacred” Thread called a Janeu and instead said that he would wear the true name of God in his heart for his protection, as the thread which could be broken, be soiled, burnt or lost could not offer any security at all. As a householder, Guru Nanak continued to carry out the mission of his life – To lead people to the True Path of God ; to dispel Superstition ; to bring people out of ritualistic practises; to lead them directly to follow Gurbani – without the need for Priests and Clergy ; restrain and guard against the five thieves within – Pride, Anger, Greed, Attachment and Lust. Guru Nanak Dev continued his religious pursuits as always. Nanak married Sulakhni, daughter of Moolchand Chona, a trader from , there is no Muslim ". It is this secularist, humanitarian principle that governed his thought. It was then that he began his missionary work. Early Sikh Guru's perception of the Mughal Empire Travels Tradition states that Guru Nanak Dev made four great journeys, traveling to all parts of India , and into Tibet and Arabia and visiting Mecca and Baghdad . He spoke before Buddhists , Hindus , Jains , Muslim s, and Zoroastrians . He spoke in the temples and at various pilgrimage sites. It was during this period that Guru Nanak Dev met Kabir ( 1441 - 1518 ), a saint revered by followers of many faiths. Wherever he went, Guru Nanak Dev spoke out against empty Religious Rituals ; Pilgrimage s; the Caste System ; the practise of Sati , wherein a widow immolates herself on their husband's funeral pyre; of depending on Books to learn the true religion; and of all the other tenets that were to define his teachings. Guru Nanak never asked anyone to follow him. He asked that people remain true to their beliefs. After the last of his great journeys, Guru Nanak Dev settled in the town of Kartarpur (literally ''the abode/town of God'' - 'Kartar' is the Punjabi word for God and 'Pur' is the word for 'town' in Punjabi as well as most other North Indian languages), in the Punjab on the banks of the Ravi (This Kartarpur is different from the town of Kartarpur in the Jullundur Doab , built by the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev )where he taught for another fifteen years. Followers from all over came to settle in Kartarpur to listen, and sing, and be with him. During this time, although his followers still remained Hindu, or of the religion to which they were born, they became known as the Guru's disciples, or Sikhs . It was here that his followers began to refer to him as teacher, or Guru . It was here that the Guru told his followers that they were to be Householders and could not live apart from the world—there were to be no Priests or Hermits . Here is where the Guru instituted the Common Meal , requiring the rich and poor, high caste and low caste, and various faiths to sit together while eating. Here is where Lehna, renamed as Guru Angad , came to be with Guru Nanak Dev. Guru Nanak's days before his passing away, installed Guru Angad as the second Guru of Sikhs. Death The last part of his worldly life, Guru Nanak spent in Kartarpur . The Great Guru would wake at dawn and recite his daily prayers. At daybreak, he would address his followers. He worked in his free kitchen, which even today is popularly known as 'langar'. This food would be partaken by Hindus, Muslims, rich, poor, high or/and so called low castes. Guru Nanak worked in the field and earned his livelihood. On 22 September of the year 1539 , at the age of 70 years, Guru Nanak gave up his body after he had requested his disciples to sing the Sohila (the praise of God). Once when Guru Nanak was asked which religion, Hinduism or Islam was the true path to God, Guru Nanak replied that the true way to attain God was to worship Him who is eternal and contained in the whole Universe. When Guru Nanak merged into the eternal light( Jyoti Jyot ), the Hindus wanted to cremate him while the Muslims wanted to bury the body. However on raising the sheet under which the Great Guru's body lay, both found nothing but fresh flowers which were divided between themselves. The Hindus cremated the flowers whereas the Muslims buried theirs. See also External links
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