Guru Nanak(1469 — 1539)
Gurū Nānak Dev
5 min read
Gurū Nānak (1469-1539) was an Indian mystic and poet, the founder of Sikhism. He preached the oneness of God, the equality of all human beings, and the rejection of castes and formal rituals. The first of the ten Sikh Gurus, his hymns lie at the heart of the sacred book, the Gurū Granth Sahib.
Frequently asked questions
Famous Quotes
« There is no Hindu and no Muslim. »
Key Facts
- Born in 1469 at Talwandi (today Nankana Sahib, in Pakistan), in the Punjab.
- Underwent a foundational spiritual experience around 1499 marking the beginning of his preaching.
- Undertook long journeys (udasis) to spread his teaching across India and beyond.
- Founded the community of Kartarpur, where he established the langar (communal kitchen open to all).
- Died in 1539 after appointing Gurū Angad as his successor.
Works & Achievements
A foundational composition placed at the opening of the Gurū Granth Sahib, recited every morning by Sikhs. It sets out the essence of Nanak's thought.
A ballad sung at dawn, a collection of hymns that denounce ritual hypocrisy and celebrate equality and service.
A set of hymns composed after Babur's invasions, bearing witness to the suffering of the people and questioning divine justice.
A poetic dialogue with yogi ascetics (the Siddhas), in which Nanak defends a spirituality lived in the world rather than in renunciation.
A major social achievement: an egalitarian community founded on honest work, sharing, and meditation.
Choosing a disciple rather than a son, establishing the principle of the lineage of the ten gurūs and the continuity of the teaching.
Anecdotes
According to Sikh tradition, the young Nanak refused at the age of nine to wear the *janeu*, the sacred thread that Brahmins tie around high-caste Hindus. He declared that he would prefer a thread woven from compassion and truth, marking very early on his rejection of formal rituals and caste distinctions.
Tradition tells that one day, while he was working as an accountant at the governor's granary, Nanak was counting the sacks of grain and, having reached the number thirteen (“tera” in Punjabi), began repeating “tera, tera” — which also means “yours, yours” when addressing God — falling into mystical ecstasy.
Around 1499, Nanak is said to have disappeared for three days in the Bein river. Upon his return, he uttered his famous sentence: “There is no Hindu and no Muslim,” affirming the oneness of God beyond religions and the beginning of his mission as a preacher.
Nanak undertook long preaching journeys called *udasis*, which, according to tradition, are said to have taken him as far as Mecca, Baghdad, and Tibet. He travelled accompanied by Mardana, a Muslim who played the rebab while Nanak sang his hymns.
At the end of his life, Nanak founded the town of Kartarpur, where he established the *langar*, a free community kitchen where everyone, regardless of caste or religion, sat on the ground side by side to share the same meal — a practice still alive in Sikh temples today.
Primary Sources
There is but one God, whose name is Truth, the Creator, without fear, without hatred, immortal, unborn, self-existent.
There is neither Hindu nor Muslim; so which path shall I follow? I shall follow the path of God.
Traditional accounts recounting the birth, travels, and miracles attributed to the first gurū, composed and transmitted from the 16th-17th century onward.
Key Places
Nanak's birth village in the Punjab, today in Pakistan. A great gurdwara there commemorates his birth.
Town where Nanak worked as an accountant and where he lived his mystical experience on the Bein river.
Community founded by Nanak on the banks of the Ravi, where he established the langar and spent his final years. Place of his death in 1539.
According to Sikh tradition, Nanak travelled there during his great preaching journeys, holding dialogue with Muslim religious scholars.
Hindu holy city on the Ganges where, according to the Janamsakhis, Nanak challenged a ritual by throwing water in the opposite direction to show the absurdity of certain practices.
