Sachahu orai sabh ko aupar sach aachaar/ Truth is high but higher still is truthful living.
– Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Page 62
Kartarpur, the village on the banks of the River Ravi in Pakistan is where Guru Nanak Dev ji settled after his long Udasis, journeys. It was here that he spent the last decades of his life with his wife, children and his Sikhs. Kartarpur was also where Guru Nanak Dev ji met Bhai Lehna ji. He appointed Bhai Lehna ji as the next spiritual leader of the Sikhs. Guru Nanak Dev ji proclaimed that Bhai Lehna ji will be called Angad, a part of the Guru’s body, henceforth was known as Guru Angad Dev ji.
Kartarpur became the centre for the Sikhs, where ‘Truthful Living’ was the essence of life. It was a place where a caste-free and class-free society existed. The daily routine of the Sikhs was as per the Guru’s philosophy of Naam Japo, Kirat Karo, Vand Chako. The two institutions of Sangat and Pangat (partaking food as equals) became the foundational pillars of Sikhism. Guru Nanak Dev ji passed away on 7th September 1539.
The message of universal harmony of Guru Nanak Dev ji remains relevant even today and will remain so forever.
(Dr. Rishi Singh, PhD in South Asian History from the world-renowned School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, is the author of SIKH HERITAGE: HISTORY OF VALOUR AND DEVOTION, Published by ROLI BOOKS, New Delhi)