THE 553rd anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak is being celebrated today. The first Guru, he was born in 1469 in the historic city of Nankana Sahib, which is part of Pakistan. The Sikh community generally gathers at either Nankana Sahib (pictured below) or Kartarpur where devotees from all over the world come for the event, called ‘Guru Nanak Jayanti’, where the ‘Akaal Takht’ is illuminated, which is a sight as beautiful as it is spiritual.

The celebrations usually start a couple of days before the actual day in different gurdwaras, marked by the recital of ‘Akhand Path’ (the unimpeded prayer) for a non-stop session lasting 48 hours.

On the day, early morning processions, or ‘Prabhat Pheris’, are taken out, followed by ‘Nagarkirtan’, which is a march led by five people with swords and the triangular Sikh flag in their hands.

At the ‘Langar’, food is served to everyone without any discrimination, with the main attraction being the ‘Kada Parsad’.

The concept of this free kitchen is to warmly welcome anyone and everyone. Gurdwaras across the world provide shelter and food to those in need all year long because it is considered ‘Seva’, a service, to the larger community.

The main purpose of all gatherings related to the ‘Guru Nanak Jayanti’ event, however, is to remember the teachings of Guru Nanak Sahib and his services for the community in the hope of being able to follow the path defined by him.

He was a spiritual existence all his life, and that includes even his childhood.

The man was able to convince a lot of people to move away from the path of negativity with his spiritual teachings.

Ajeet Kumar Tarachand Talreja
Karachi

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2022