Guru Nanak Jayanti
festival
About Guru Nanak Jayanti
festival ...Guru
Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh faith, was born in
the month of Kartik (October/November), and his birthday
is known as Guru Nanak Jayanti. He was born in 1469 A.D.
at Tolevandi some 30 miles from Lahore. The
anniversaries of Sikh Guru's are known as Gurpurabs
(festivals) and are celebrated with devotion and
dedication.
GurPurabs
mark the culmination of Prabhat Pheris, the early
morning procession that start from the gurdwaras (Sikh
temples) and then go around localities singing 'shabads'
(hymns). The celebrations also include the three-day
Akhand path, during which the holy book, the Guru Granth
Sahib is read continuously, from beginning to end
without a break. On the day of the festival, the Granth
Sahib is also carried in a procession on a float,
decorated with flowers, throughout a village or city.
Five armed guards, who represent the Panj Pyares, head
the procession carrying Nishan Sahibs (the Sikh flag).
Local bands playing religious music form a special part
of the procession.
Free
sweets and langar or community lunches are also offered
to everyone irrespective of religious faith. Men, women,
and children, participate in this karseva as service to
the community, cook food and distribute it in the 'Guru
ka Langar', with the traditional 'Karah Prasad'.
Sikhs
also visit gurdwaras where special programs are arranged
and kirtans (religious songs) are sung. Houses and
gurdwaras are lit up to add to the festivities. Guru
Nanak Dev's life served as a beacon light for his age.
He was a great seer, saint and mystic. He was a prolific
poet and a unique singer of God's laudation. A prophet
of peace, love, truth and renaissance, he was centuries
ahead of his times. His universal message is as fresh
and true even today as it was in the past and Sikhs all
over the world, practice what Guru Nanak Dev preached,
to reaffirm their beliefs in the teachings of their
founder.
