“There is no need to leave your home or become a sannyasin to find God” – Guru Nanak.
According to the English calendar, his date of birth is 15 April 1469. But his birthday is celebrated as the festival of lights on Kartik Poornima, which falls 15 days after Diwali in October. He is the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs.
Guru Nanak had a keen interest in religion, spirituality and indifference towards worldly matters from his childhood. They had two sons after marriage, after which he handed over his family to his father-in-law and went on a pilgrimage. He undertook five journeys spread over 24 years, called Udasi, before returning to settle in Kartarpur in present-day Pakistan. Covering several present-day countries during his five Udasi, Guru Nanak traveled 28,000 km, mostly on foot.
What was the objective?
The purpose of these Udasi was to spread their religious and spiritual knowledge to the masses. They wanted to explain the true nature of religion and God, to eliminate the false customs and evils prevalent among the people and to inspire and encourage them to love, sacrifice and abstinence.
Guru Nanak’s sadness
Between 1499 and 1509, he visited Sayyidpur, Talumba, Kurukshetra, Panipat, and in Delhi, Sayyidpur, Talumba, Talwandi, Pehowa, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Delhi, Haridwar, Gorakh Matta, Banaras, Gaya, Bengal, Kamrup (Assam) . At places like Sylhet, Dhaka, and Jagannath Puri etc. From Puri, he returned to Punjab via Bhopal, Chanderi, Agra and Gurgaon. During his travels he influenced many nobles, saints etc. and at many places broke the superstitions of the people.
Guru Nanak began his second Udasi (1506–1513) at the age of 37 and traveled for seven years. During this he traveled through Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad to Rameswaram and Sri Lanka, after which he influenced many people and came back via Cochin, Gujarat and Sindh.
The third Udasi of Guru Nanak took place between 1510 and 1515 and the fourth Udasi from 1517 to 1521. In the third sadness, he went to Kangra, Chamba, Mandi Nadaun, Bilaspur, Valley of Kashmir, Mount Kailash and Lake Man Sarovar. It is believed that he also went to Tibet and from there he returned to Punjab via Ladakh and Jammu.
In the fourth Udasi, he traveled to Mecca, Medina and Baghdad and returned via Iran, Kabul and Peshawar.
After this Guru Nanak traveled to many areas of Punjab, which are believed to be part of the fifth Udasi.
Wherever he went, he influenced people, worked to break their superstitions, and also discussed pilgrimages with pundits. He did not oppose any religion, but he continued to influence people by rejecting his teachings and fundamentalism.
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