Demand to Declare Guru Nanak’s Birth Anniversary as ‘World Pedestrian Day’

Why is Guru Nanak Dev considered the world’s most notable and revered pedestrian?

• Guru Nanak Dev travelled far and wide during the 15th and 16th centuries to spread the message of oneness and to break barriers across faiths by engaging in spiritual dialogues.
• He travelled in all directions to show the path of love, equality, humanity, and selfless service to mankind. 
  • From Mecca to Haridwar, from Sylhet to Mount Kailash, Guru Nanak visited hundreds of interfaith sites related to Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Jainism throughout his journeys (also called udaasis). 
  • He made walking an integral part of the “Sikh culture”. Each gurdwara now has “parikrama”
• Most of his journeys were made on foot with his companion Bhai Mardana. He travelled in all four directions. 
• At some sites, gurdwaras were constructed to commemorate his visit. 
• Later his travels were documented in texts called ‘janamsakhis’. 
• These sites are now spread across nine nations as per current geographical divisions — India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, China (Tibet), Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan — and some are even inaccessible due to travel restrictions or being located in conflict zones.

• [Present-day countries where Guru Nanak Dev is believed to have travelled.]

Image Courtesy: IE

About Guru Nanak Dev:

• Early Life– He was born on April 15, 1469, at Rai Bhoi Ki Talwandi, near Lahore, which is in the Sheikhpura district of modern-day Pakistan.
• He was born into a middle-class Hindu family and raised by his parents, Mehta Kalu and Mata Tripta. 
• Founder of Sikhism- He was the first of the 10 Sikh Gurus and the founder of Sikhism in the 15th century.
• He started writing the Guru Granth Sahib and completed 974 hymns.
• His Teachings– He advocated the ‘Nirguna’ (devotion to and worship of formless divine) form of bhakti.
  • Advocated the existence of one God and taught to reach out to God through meditation and other pious practices.
  • He set up rules for congregational worship (Sangat) involving collective recitation. 
  • His verses also preach selfless service to humanity, prosperity and social justice for all, irrespective of differences. 
    • Guru Nanak travelled across South Asia and the Middle East to spread his teachings. 
• A Gurdwara was built at his birthplace in the city now known as Nankana Sahib which is located in the Punjab province of Pakistan. 

• Guru Nanak Jayanti-It is also known as Gurpurab, is the most important festival for the followers of the religion of Sikhism.
  • The festival is celebrated on the day of Kartik Poornima, which is the fifteenth lunar day in the month of Kartik according to the Hindu calendar, and usually falls in the month of November by the Gregorian calendar.

• Kartarpur corridor: The corridor was built to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikhism on 12th November 2019.

• It is one of the holiest places for Sikhs where Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji settled and preached for the last 18 years of his life.

Image Courtesy: TOI