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Guru Nanak Quotes (1469-1539)
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About Guru Nanak
Guru Nanak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539) also addressed as Baba Nanak or Nanak Shah founded the religion of Sikhism. He was the first of the ten Sikh Gurus, while the Guru Granth Sahib is considered as the eleventh guru. He travelled widely through out the country propagating the message of one God who dwells in every one of God's creations and constitutes the eternal Truth. His birth is celebrated world-wide on Kartik Puranmashi, the full-moon day which falls on different dates each year in the month of Kartik, October–November.
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“You shall everywhere mind the book of the Granth-Sahib as your Guru; whatever you shall ask it will show you.”
“Make compassion the cotton, contentment the thread, modesty the knot and truth the twist.
This is the sacred thread of the soul; if you have it, then go ahead and put it on me.”
This is the sacred thread of the soul; if you have it, then go ahead and put it on me.”
“Nanak observed: “Justice hath taken wings and fled.” “This age is like a drawn sword, the Kings are butchers; goodness has taken wings and flown.’? “There is no one who receiveth or giveth not bribes; the King administers justice only when his palm has been greased (filled).’(306)”
“The one Lord who created the world is the Lord of all.
Fortunate is their advent into the world, whose hearts remain attached to God's service.
O foolish man, why hast thou forgotten Him?
When thou adjustest thine account, my friend, thou shalt be deemed educated.
The Primal Being is the Giver; He alone is true.
No account shall be due by the pious man who understandeth by means of these letters.”
Fortunate is their advent into the world, whose hearts remain attached to God's service.
O foolish man, why hast thou forgotten Him?
When thou adjustest thine account, my friend, thou shalt be deemed educated.
The Primal Being is the Giver; He alone is true.
No account shall be due by the pious man who understandeth by means of these letters.”
“The impurity of the mind is greed, and the impurity of the tongue is falsehood. The impurity of the eyes is to gaze upon the beauty of another man's wife, and his wealth. The impurity of the ears is to listen to the slander of others. O Nanak, the mortal's soul goes, bound and gagged to the city of Death. All impurity comes from doubt and attachment to duality. Birth and death are subject to the Command of the Lord's Will; through His Will we come and go.”
“They who wore beautiful tresses
and the partings of whose hair were dyed with vermillion
Have their locks now shorn with scissors,
And dust is now thrown upon their heads.
….Eating coconuts and dates they sported on their couches,
But now chains are on their necks and broken are their
String of pearls.
The wealth and beauty which afforded them pleasure
have now become their bane.
The order was given to Soldiers to take and dishonour them.”
and the partings of whose hair were dyed with vermillion
Have their locks now shorn with scissors,
And dust is now thrown upon their heads.
….Eating coconuts and dates they sported on their couches,
But now chains are on their necks and broken are their
String of pearls.
The wealth and beauty which afforded them pleasure
have now become their bane.
The order was given to Soldiers to take and dishonour them.”
“Of a woman are we conceived,
Of a woman are we born,
To a woman are we betrothed and married,
It is a woman who keeps the race going,
Another companion is sought when the life-partner dies,
Through a woman are established social ties.
Why should we consider woman cursed and condemned,
When from woman are born leaders and rulers.
From woman alone is born a woman,
Without woman there can be no human birth.
Without woman, O Nanak, only the True One exists.
Be it man or be it woman,
Only those who sing His glory
Are blessed and radiant with His Beauty,
In His Presence and with His grace
They appear with a radiant face.
”
Of a woman are we born,
To a woman are we betrothed and married,
It is a woman who keeps the race going,
Another companion is sought when the life-partner dies,
Through a woman are established social ties.
Why should we consider woman cursed and condemned,
When from woman are born leaders and rulers.
From woman alone is born a woman,
Without woman there can be no human birth.
Without woman, O Nanak, only the True One exists.
Be it man or be it woman,
Only those who sing His glory
Are blessed and radiant with His Beauty,
In His Presence and with His grace
They appear with a radiant face.
”
“The sun and moon, O Lord, are Thy lamps; the firmament Thy salver; the orbs of the stars the pearls encased in it.
The perfume of the sandal is Thine incense, the wind is Thy fan, all the forests are Thy flowers, O Lord of light.
What worship is this, O Thou destroyer of birth ? Unbeaten strains of ecstasy are the trumpets of Thy worship.
Thou has a thousand eyes and yet not one eye; Thou host a thousand forms and yet not one form;
Thou hast a thousand stainless feet and yet not one foot; Thou hast a thousand organs of smell and yet not one organ. I am fascinated by this play of 'l hine.
The light which is in everything is Chine, O Lord of light.
From its brilliancy everything is illuminated;
By the Guru's teaching the light becometh manifest.
What pleaseth Thee is the real worship.
O God, my mind is fascinated with Thy lotus feet as the bumble-bee with the flower; night and day I thirst for them.
Give the water of Thy favour to the Sarang (bird) Nanak, so that he may dwell in Thy Name.”
The perfume of the sandal is Thine incense, the wind is Thy fan, all the forests are Thy flowers, O Lord of light.
What worship is this, O Thou destroyer of birth ? Unbeaten strains of ecstasy are the trumpets of Thy worship.
Thou has a thousand eyes and yet not one eye; Thou host a thousand forms and yet not one form;
Thou hast a thousand stainless feet and yet not one foot; Thou hast a thousand organs of smell and yet not one organ. I am fascinated by this play of 'l hine.
The light which is in everything is Chine, O Lord of light.
From its brilliancy everything is illuminated;
By the Guru's teaching the light becometh manifest.
What pleaseth Thee is the real worship.
O God, my mind is fascinated with Thy lotus feet as the bumble-bee with the flower; night and day I thirst for them.
Give the water of Thy favour to the Sarang (bird) Nanak, so that he may dwell in Thy Name.”
“Guru Nanak was also an eye-witness to the treatment meted out te the people by Babur when he invaded India in 1521. Nanak was at Sayyidpur, now called Eminabad, 80 kilometres from Lahore, in the Gujranwala District Babur ordered a general massacre of the people and thousands of persons were taken prisoners. The barbarous treatment of prisoners, in the camp, particularly of women, broke the tender heart of Nanak In his agony he even took God to task. He said:
“Thou, O Creator of all things,
Takest to Thyself no blame;
Thou hast sent Yama disguised as the great Moghal, Babar.
Terrible was the slaughter,
Loud were the cries of the lamenters.
Did this not awaken pity in Thee, O Lord?
Thou art part and parcel of all things equally, O Creator:
Thou must feel for all men and all nations.
If a strong man attacketh who is equally strong,
Where is the grief in this, or whose is the grievance?
But when a fierce tiger preys on the helpless cattle,
The Herdsman must answer for it.” (306-7)”
“Thou, O Creator of all things,
Takest to Thyself no blame;
Thou hast sent Yama disguised as the great Moghal, Babar.
Terrible was the slaughter,
Loud were the cries of the lamenters.
Did this not awaken pity in Thee, O Lord?
Thou art part and parcel of all things equally, O Creator:
Thou must feel for all men and all nations.
If a strong man attacketh who is equally strong,
Where is the grief in this, or whose is the grievance?
But when a fierce tiger preys on the helpless cattle,
The Herdsman must answer for it.” (306-7)”
“Praise Him whose limit cannot be found.
They who practise truth and perform service shall obtain their reward.
He who knoweth divine knowledge is the learned pandit.
He who knoweth the one God in all creatures would never say 'I exist by myself '.
When the hair groweth white, it shineth without soap.
King Death's hunters follow him who is bound by the chain of mammon.
The Creator, Lord of the world, giveth sustenance to His slaves.
All the world is bound in His bonds; no other authority prevaileth.
He who hath renounced the singing of God's word, is arrogant in his language.
He who fashioned vessels made kilns in which He put them and burnt them.
The servant who performeth the Guru's work, who remaineth obedient to His commands,
Who deemeth bad and good as the same, shall in this way be absorbed in Him.
He who made the four Veds, the four mines, and the four ages
Hath been in every age a Jogi, a worldly man, or a learned pandit.”
They who practise truth and perform service shall obtain their reward.
He who knoweth divine knowledge is the learned pandit.
He who knoweth the one God in all creatures would never say 'I exist by myself '.
When the hair groweth white, it shineth without soap.
King Death's hunters follow him who is bound by the chain of mammon.
The Creator, Lord of the world, giveth sustenance to His slaves.
All the world is bound in His bonds; no other authority prevaileth.
He who hath renounced the singing of God's word, is arrogant in his language.
He who fashioned vessels made kilns in which He put them and burnt them.
The servant who performeth the Guru's work, who remaineth obedient to His commands,
Who deemeth bad and good as the same, shall in this way be absorbed in Him.
He who made the four Veds, the four mines, and the four ages
Hath been in every age a Jogi, a worldly man, or a learned pandit.”
Guru Nanak Quotes by Topic
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Guru Nanak on Sikhism 3 quotes
“God is every where. He has created us all. He who realizes this is true Hindu or a Muslim….Although threre are two paths, the Hindu and the Muslim … there is only one God.”
Guru Nanak on Hindu temple
“[Thanks to Babur's destruction mania,] temples as strong as a thunderbolt were set on fire.”
Guru Nanak on Ayodhya
“Mardana! this Ayodhya city belongs to Sri Ramachandra Ji. So let us go for his darshan [visit with God].”
Guru Nanak on Janamsakhis
“Mardana! this Ayodhya city belongs to Sri Ramachandra Ji. So let us go for his darshan [visit with God].”
Guru Nanak on Pattern
What Guru Nanak Said About Others
Discover personal opinions Guru Nanak shared regarding contemporaries.
Guru Nanak on Babur 3 quotes
“[Thanks to Babur's destruction mania,] temples as strong as a thunderbolt were set on fire.”
Quotes About Guru Nanak
Gain deeper perspective through quotes about Guru Nanak from others.
Gurwin Ahuja on Guru Nanak
Dr H.R. Gupta on Guru Nanak 2 quotes
“Nanak's religion consisted in the love of God, love of man and love of godly living. His religion was above the limits of caste, creed and country. He gave his love to all, Hindus, Muslims, Indians and foreigners alike. His religion was a people's movement based on modern conceptions of secularism and socialism, a common brotherhood of all human beings. Like Rousseau, Nanak felt 250 years earlier that it was the common people who made up the human race. They had always toiled and tussled for princes, priests and politicians. What did not concern the common people was hardly worth considering. Nanak's work to begin with assumed the form of an agrarian movement. His teachings were purely in Punjabi language mostly spoken by cultivators. He appealed to the downtrodden and the oppressed peasants and petty traders as they were ground down between the two mill stones of Government tyranny and the new Muslims' brutality. Nanak's faith was simple and sublime. It was the life lived. His religion was not a system of philosophy like Hinduism. It was a discipline, a way of life, a force, which connected one Sikh with another as well as with the Guru.”
Shri Shastriji about Haidakhan Babaji on Guru Nanak
“Shri Babaji shows us the practical side of the teachings of great saints like Guru Nanak, who did not preach a particular religion or cult. He gave teachings of spiritual perfection, valid for all mankind. To follow these teachings is to realize good for all humanity and the unity of all humanity and the unity of the individual soul with the universal Soul.”
Kshitish Vedalankar on Guru Nanak
“Guru Nanak 'called himself a Hindu. According to Janamsâkhî, he wore a sacred thread (yajñopavît) and had a lock of hair (chotî) on his head. After him till the fifth Guru, each had his sacred thread ceremony performed, were married according to Vedic rites, used to apply tilak and used to hear tales from Vedas and Puranas.'”
W.H. McLeod on Guru Nanak
“Guru Nanak's principal inheritance from the religious background of his period was unquestionably that of the Sant tradition, and evidence of other independent influences is relatively slight."... [And for the Sant tradition and itself, it] 'owes none of its basic constituents to the Sufis. For Sant beliefs the major source is to be found in the Bhakti movement, with Nath theory entering as a significant source.'”
Ram Swarup on Guru Nanak
“We are also told that the Gurus repudiated pilgrimage to holy places. Is it true? Though as a “knower”, Nanak was above pilgrimage, yet he went on an extended pilgrimage, as his Udasis tell us, to Hardwar, Prayag, Varanasi, Gorkhmat (near Pilibhit), Ayodhya, Jagannatha Puri, Rameshwaram, Ujjain, Kurukshetra, Hinglaj, Gorakh-Hatri (a great Natha center near modern Peshawar). At Mathura, he visited Keshaav Rao Temple and bathed in the Yamuna.”
Disputed Quotes
Quotes attributed to Guru Nanak that are questionable.
“I have seen the light of Muhammad (with my mind's eye). I have seen the prophet and the messenger of God, in other words, I have understood his message or imbibed his spirit. After contemplating the glory of God, my ego was completely eliminated.”
About Guru Nanak
Guru Nanak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539) also addressed as Baba Nanak or Nanak Shah founded the religion of Sikhism. He was the first of the ten Sikh Gurus, while the Guru Granth Sahib is considered as the eleventh guru. He travelled widely through out the country propagating the message of one God who dwells in every one of God's creations and constitutes the eternal Truth. His birth is celebrated world-wide on Kartik Puranmashi, the full-moon day which falls on different dates each year in the month of Kartik, October–November.