.jpg?width=1200)
Sikhism is a faith, a way of life, a religious philosophy and a set of practices based on belief in One God, known as Waheguru. The teachings of the ten great Gurus, or teachers, of the faith, starting with Guru Nanak Dev up to Guru Gobind Singh; the Adi Granth, or Primary Volume, which is revered as the Guru Granth Sahib, which is also thought of as the last and eternal Guru. It is not without significance that the word ‘Guru’ should occur so often when we talk of Sikhism; the word ‘sikh’ is derived from Punjabi (the original Sanskrit sishya) and means a ‘disciple’ or a learner.
A beautiful story is told to us of Guru Nanak—the Great Master of the Silent Way. Lehna is a wealthy merchant. One day, as he is on his way to the shrine of Durga to make his annual pilgrimage, he sees Guru Nanak. Lehna comes under the magnetic spell of the Master. He stays with Guru Nanak, with a humble prayer in his heart, “Master, accept me as thy disciple!”
Lehna begins to serve Guru Nanak. The rich merchant becomes a labourer on the Guru’s farm. Lehna walks the way of obedience. His wealth and riches, his servants and business are all forgotten. The Master is everything to him.
The word ‘lehna’ in Punjabi means: “What is due to one from another”. One day, Guru Nanak, calling Lehna near, says to him, “Your lehna is from me; you have to receive from me!” And enfolding him in a warm embrace, the Guru says, “From today, you are Angad—a limb of my body, a breath of my being, one with me in spirit, blended with my soul!”
Thus does it happen in the case of every disciple who walks the way of implicit obedience and loving devotion. His bonds are broken, and he is born anew!
*November 5 is sacred as Guru Nanak Devji’s Birthday.
Dada J P Vaswani was a humanitarian, philosopher, educator, acclaimed writer, powerful orator, messiah of ahimsa, and non-sectarian spiritual leader.
