Nanak: An Introduction

In the 15th century, Indian society was a disturbing picture of rank ritualism, superstition, bigotry and social decay. The birth of Nanak in 1469 in the little village of Talwandi near Lahore, however, came as a miracle. The deteriorating Indian society had now found a redeemer.Nanak grew up in the midst of this orthodox society, more as a victim than as an observer and questioned its merits to the highest source. Intense and spiritually-driven even as a school boy, Nanak emerged as the Guru to lead the existing wayward thought to believe in one God and to embrace amore practical approach to living through his simple philosophy.Hailed as one of the greatest spiritual leaders of mankind, Guru Nanaks message shook all corners of India and beyond, and resulted in the formation of Indias youngest religion, Sikhism.What is most inspiring about Nanaks teaching is the timelessness of his philosophy that is as relevant today as it was more than five hundred years ago. This is because of its uncomplicated nature which disentangles the path to fulfilled life. Nanaks deep insights on life carry seeds of solution to many issues faced by humanity as a whole. This book is an earnest attempt to celebrate his thought.To make the introduction more valuable to its readers, an English rendition of the entire Japuji(the morning prayer of the Sikhs that present Nanaks vision of God and his cosmic ideas) along with the original Punjabi text and Devanagari transliteration, has also been added.