Guru Nanak Jayanthi 2024
November 30, 2020, Monday
November 30, 2020, Monday
01:31 PM to 02:41 PM
08:49 AM to 09:59 AM
11:10 AM to 12:20 PM
Begins on 2019-Nov-11 at 06:01 PM
Ends on 2019-Nov-12 at 07:04 PM
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Guru Nanak Jayanti is a popular and a sacred Sikh festival, to commemorate the birth of the Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak. He was born on 16th April 1469 A.D at Lahore, Pakistan, in a Kshatriya (warrior) family. He is the founder of Sikhism and was instrumental in creating unity between Hindus and Muslims. This festival is celebrated for four days with great zeal and enthusiasm, not only in the regions of Punjab but across the globe where Sikhs are found in large numbers.
Even at a small age, he was seeking truth and knowledge. He led the people in the path of enlightenment, and became one of the widely accepted Gurus of the nation, and is celebrated worldwide by his followers. The contributions of the Sikh community in our nation deserve a special mention. Even now, there are many people in Pakistan following the teachings of Guru Nanak. He is the first Guru, among the ten gurus of Sikhism. He traveled across the globe to educate people about the unity among all men and spread the word of peace and compassion among various people.
Guru Nanak was instrumental in uniting Hindus and Muslims. He was a great religious leader, who brought about the unification of different cultures and diversity, which has revolutionized the world. Through meditation and penance, he invoked special powers of mysticism. Though he got married, he left his family and indulged in seeking the truth. His Guru was Kabir, who brought enormous changes in Guru Nanak. His associations with holy men led to major changes in his life.
He became closely associated with various Sages, which made him understand the deep-rooted philosophies from different faiths. He had various spiritual experiences when he was young. He went missing for more than three days and was later found near the river banks Baa in, where he was doing penance for a long time.
There are various rituals associated with the Guru Nanak's Jayanthi, which are Prabhat Pheris, Akhand paths (continuous recitation of sacred religious texts), distribution of Langar (free meals in community kitchen) and Nagar Kirtans (singing sacred hymns by going in a procession). The word Prabhat refers to morning and Pheris means rounds. This signifies that devotees took early morning rounds while singing hymns of the guru. This festival starts many days before the actual date of Guru Nanak’s birthday. Once they gather around the Gurudwara, they make huge processions and finally invite all the people of the village for Sangat, a large gathering which is usually celebrated with lots of music and dance. The word Akand Path means the way of enlightenment, which is wide and prosperous. During this festival, they read the holy book of Guru Granth Sahib for 48 hours, continuously.
Langar is a special feast, where people have lunch together as one big community, without any cultural and economic differences. This is one of the greatest ways of contributing back to society. Many people sought refuge in various Gurudwaras across the world.