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Guru Nanak Jayanti or Gurpurab was celebrated on November 8, 2022. It will be observed as the 553rd birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev

Highlights

• He was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.
• His birth is celebrated worldwide as Guru Nanak jayanthi or Gurpurab on Katak Pooranmashi
• Nanak’s words are hymns, or shabda, in the holy text of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib, with major prayers being the Japji Sahib (signifying respect), the Asa di Var (‘ballad of hope’) and the Sidh Gosht (‘discussion with the Siddhas’).
• The concept of man as elaborated by Guru Nanak, states Mandair , refines and negates the “monotheistic concept of self/God”
• Biographical sources on Nanak’s life janamsakhis (‘birth stories’ ).
• Bhai Gurdas, a scribe of the Guru Granth Sahib, also wrote about Nanak’s life in his vars (‘odes’), which were compiled sometime after Nanak’s life, though they are less detailed than the janamsakhis.
• The fundamental beliefs of Sikhism, include faith and meditation on the name of the one creator, unity of all humankind,  engaging in selfless service, striving for social justice for the benefit and prosperity of all; and honest conduct and livelihood while living a householder’s life.
• His resting place is Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, in Pakistan
• His successor is Guru Angad

Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur

• Gurdwara in Kartarpur, located in Shakargarh, Narowal District, in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
• It is built on the historic site where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, settled and assembled the Sikh community after his missionary travels (udasis to Haridwar, Mecca-Medina, Lanka, Baghdad, Kashmir and Nepal)
• It is one of the holiest sites in Sikhism, alongside the Golden Temple in Amritsar and Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib
• The gurdwara is also notable for its location near the border between Pakistan and India.
• The Kartarpur Corridor was opened by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on November 2019, the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and just days before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak
• It is also claimed to be the largest gurdwara in the world.
• The Shrine is located at Kartarpur, a small town beside the River Ravi in Punjab