Guru Nanak Jayanti — Birthday of Guru Nanak (08/11)

The birthday of the creator of the teachings of Sikhism, the first Sikh Guru Nanak Jayanti, falls on the full moon of the month of Kartik. According to the Gregorian calendar, the holiday is celebrated in November, but the date changes from year to year according to the dates of the traditional Indian calendar.

Guru Nanak was born in Talwandi near the city of Lahore (now located in Pakistan) in 1469. Nanak's views were influenced by the Hindu reform teachings of «bhakti» and Sufism (a mystical-ascetic movement in Islam) and reflected the protest of urban artisan traders against the caste system and feudal oppression.

Nanak strongly opposed caste feuding, caste discrimination, and the complex religious ritual of Hindus, as well as the fanaticism and intolerance of Muslim rulers. The basis of his teaching was the non-recognition of the division of people into castes and the preaching of their equality before God, which immediately attracted peasants to the new creed and turned Sikhism into a powerful force.

Nanak asserts the idea of the existence of one God, acknowledges the Hindu doctrine of the transmigration of souls, but condemns idolatry. Therefore, there are no sculptural images of people or gods in Sikh temples. However, unlike Islam, Sikhism allows the drawing of both deities and people for decorative purposes.

The main center associated with the memory of Nanak is the small town of Dera Baba Nanak, located 56 kilometers north of Amritsar, on the border with Pakistan. Here Guru Nanak lived, preached his teachings and died in 1539. Local gurudwara (Sikh temple) — is an object of pilgrimage for Sikhs arriving here on Nanak's birthday.

The celebration of Guru Nanak's birthday begins with a three-day ceremony «akhand path» (reading from beginning to end without interruption the holy book of the Sikhs «Granth Sahib»). On the third day (birthday) «Granth Sahib» is carried out in procession through the city streets on a large platform. The five armed guards leading the procession carry the Sikh flag. The women accompanying the procession sing hymns from «Granth Sahib». Schoolchildren march, grouped into small detachments. The procession ends at the gurudwara, where a joint meal is organized.

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