~ 🄽🄾🅅🄴🄼🄱🄴🅁 19, 2021 ~

“Haatho me jinke har taale ki chabi hai,
Boli me unke gud si meethi vaani hai,
Shiksha mein jinke satkarmo ka gyaan hai,
Waheguru Guru Nanak Ji ka aisa hi naam hai...”

"Guru is the voice of God, the true source of knowledge & salvation. There is only one God who is the supreme truth and ultimate reality. He knows no fear and does not have any enemies."
~ Guru Nanak Dev Ji

Today, as we celebrate the auspicious occasion of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's Gurpurab or most commonly known as Guru Nanak Jayanti, we commemorate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder and first Guru of the religion of Sikhism. This is one of the most sacred festivals in Sikhism or Sikhi. Most of the festivities in the Sikh religion revolve around the birth or crowning anniversaries of the 10 Sikh Gurus. These Gurus were responsible for shaping the beliefs of the Sikhs and hence, their birthdays are also known as Gurpurab, the occasions for celebration and prayer among the Sikhs.

Guru nanak Dev Ji was the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. This year is the 552nd birth anniversary of the first Sikh Guru. According to the Bikrami calendar, he was born on Puranmashi of Kattak (Kartik) month in 1469. And as per Bhai Bala Janamsakhi, he was born on the full moon of the Indian lunar month Kartik. Therefore, Sikhs celebrate Guru Nanak Dev Ji's birthday or Gurpurab around October-November. At the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, a Gurudwara was built in Nanakana Sahib and is now located in the Punjab province of Pakistan.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji's methods of teachings and his way of devotion to the almighty were different from the preachers of all other religions and people of all religions, cast and class respected him a lot. When everyone was focusing on spreading and expanding their own religion, he was the one who took the job of spreading the message of humanity and mankind. He focused on the rights and equality of women and the lower caste. His teachings were passed to further generations through his successors and were included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the holy book of Sikhs that consists of all the teachings of Sikh Gurus and other spiritual leaders from different religions too.

One of the most famous teachings attributed to Guru Nanak Dev Ji is that "There is only one God, and all human beings can have direct access to God through three ways of living, namely- 'Kirat Karo', 'Naam Jappo' and 'Vand Chhako'. That is, earn an honest living, without exploitation of poor or fraud; chant the name of the true lord with utmost sincerity and share with others, help those who are in need, so you may eat together.

This special occasion is celebrated very spiritually among the Sikhs. The celebrations of the day begin in the early morning with Prabhat Pheris at the Gurudwara and in the colonies. Two days prior to Guru Nanak Dev Ji's Gurpurab, Akhand Path Sahib, i.e. the 48 hours non-stop reading of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji is held in the Gurudwaras.

One day prior to the birthday, or on the day of Gurpurab, a procession, referred to as Nagarkirtan, is organised. This procession is led by the Panj Pyaras (The Five Beloved Ones). They head the procession carrying the Sikh flag, known as the Nishan Sahib and the Palki (Palanquin) of Guru Granth Sahib Ji follows it. They are followed by teams of singers (Ragi Sahib) singing hymns and devotees sing in the chorus. There are brass bands playing different tunes and 'Gatka' teams display their swordsmanship through various martial arts and as mock battles using traditional weapons.

The procession pours into the streets of the city. The passage is covered with banners and gates are decorated flags and flowers, for this special occasion. The leaders spreading the message of humanity Guru Nanak Dev Ji also join the procession. On the day of the Gurpurab, the celebrations begin early in the morning at about 4 to 5 am (before sunrise). This time of the day is referred to as Amrit Vela. The day begins with the singing of Asaa Di Vaar (morning hymns). It is followed by any combination of Katha (exposition of the scripture) and Kirtan (hymns from the Sikh scriptures), in the praise of the Guru. Following that is the Langar, a special community lunch, which is arranged at the Gurudwaras by volunteers. The idea behind the free communal lunch is that everyone, irrespective of gender, caste, class or creed, should be offered food in the spirit of seva (service) and bhakti (devotion).

Night prayer sessions are also held in Gurudwaras, which begin around sunset when Rehras (evening prayer) is recited, followed by Kirtan till late at night. The congregation starts singing Gurbani at about 1.20 am, which is the actual time of birth of Guru Nanak. The celebrations culminate at around 2 am.
Guru Nanak Gurpurab is celebrated by the Sikh community all over the world and is one of the most important festivals in the Sikh calendar. The celebrations are especially colorful in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and many more location which includes some parts of places in Pakistan and England and Canada.

“Din-raat ka saath ho,
diye sang baati jaisi baat ho,
Har saans sang satguru ka ehsaas ho,
Chahe din ho ya raat ho,
waheguru ji ka har pal ehsaas ho,
Gurpurab ka yeh din aap sabke liye khaas ho..”

━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━

𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝙱𝚢: mahi2325
𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝙱𝚢: its_rithya (Annie)
𝙴𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙱𝚢: pahul_gpk
𝙱𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝙱𝚢: RRao_13