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Faith & Religion |
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Some Famous Sikh Shrines
By Maj. Gurmukh Singh Sikh history originates from Nankana Sahib. Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikh faith, was born here in 1469. The name of the place at that time was "Rai Bhoi di Talvandi". The landlord contemporary of Guru Nanak Dev was Rai Bular, who himself became a devotee of the Guru. It was renamed Nankana after the Guru. It is located in what is called Nilanwali Bar (forest where nilgais abound), and is about 75 kilometres west-south-west of Lahore. Nankana Sahib is in Sheikhupura district of Pakistan and is connected to the district town by rail and road. There are several shrines connected with the memory of Guru Nanak Dev's childhood and early youth here. Later Guru Arjan Dev and Guru Hargobind also visited Nankana Sahib and a Gurdwara was also raised subsequently in their honour.
"O Merciful and Bounteous God, ever helpful to your panth, do grant to your Khalsa ji the boon of seeing, serving and protecting Gurdwaras at Nankana Sahib and other places from which the Panth has been separated.". In these simple words the community, a minute minority in the populous Indian subcontinent, expresses its loss, its grief, its pangs of separation from its venerable, sacred, historical shrines left behind when they left their homes and hearths in circumstances beyond their control. Also, at the same time, by these words the Sikhs reaffirm their allegiance in other tenets of their faith expressed in Guru Nanak Dev's words: "Union and separation have been created by my Lord, who having created Universe gave it pain and pleasure; but the Guru-oriented ones wearing the armour of faith are indifferent to pleasure and pain." (Adi Granth 1032)
Gurdwara Panja (Palm) Sahib was established during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The foundation of the beautiful three-storey building, designed after the samadh of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore, was laid on 14th October, 1932, by five eminent holy men, Panj Piyare. Built with grey sandstone, its exterior is spotted with protruding domed bay windows. The central fluted dome is surrounded by several symmetrically placed big and small domes. Unlike the Maharaja's samadh in Lahore, it has porches covering entrances to the sanctum which stands within the sarovar that receives water gushing forth from around the rock bearing the sacred Panja Sahib or the palm-imprint of the Guru. Several other buildings for staff and pilgrims and other ancillaries were added subsequently. Guru Ka Langar at Panja Sahib was famous for the quality of food and service at all hours of day and night. Congregational fair used to be held on Baisakhi (mid-April) and on 30th October until 1947. Now only organised bands of pilgrims occasionally visit Panja Sahib with the permission of the Pakistan government. One of such regular visits coincides with the Baisakhi festival. Baghdad, capital of Iraq, was visited by Guru Nanak Dev on his way back from Mecca and Madina. He stayed outside the city to the west of Dajala (Tigris) River, about two kilometres north of Baghdad West railway station. He held discourses with Sajjadanashins (caretaker) of the mausoleums of Abdul Qadir Gilani and Bahlol the Wise, who were greatly imp,ressed by his views on God and religion. After the Guru's departure, they raised a memorial in the form of a platform where the Guru had sat and discoursed. After some time when a room was constructed over the platform, a stone slab with the following inscription in Turki was installed in it. "Lo! The Great God hath fulfilled the wish. A new building for Baba Nanak Darvesh has been constructed. Seven holy men extended their help in the construction. Its date as reckoned comes to 927. The lucky disciple caused a new current of water from the earth." The last sentence is the customary phrase to work out the date according to alphabetical key. The date is 927 A.H. which corresponds to A.D. 1520. This inscription was first noticed by Swami Anandacharya who mentioned it in his book Snow Birds. Sikh soldiers who went to Iraq during the First World War, 1914-18, raised a Gurdwara here, but now only the room exists which is visited by Sikh and non-Sikh Punjabis who work in Iraq. However, as it is located within the graveyard, visitors are banned from staying overnight, cooking meals or holding Langar and Kirtan. Guru Nanak Dev on his way back from Mecca travelled through Afghanistan. At Kabul, the capital city, he held discourse with several Muslim holy-men. They cautioned him to be careful because he was travelling in a predominantly Muslim land. The Guru told them that God's light shines alike in all; even their bodies He made alike. A Gurdwara dedicated to Guru Nanak Dev was established in Kabul but it was demolished during the reconstruction of the city because it stood in the way of a new road. In Jalalabad too (northeast of Kabul on the road to Peshwar), Guru Nanak Dev stayed on his return from his western udasi. Gurdwara Choha Sahib, also called Chashma Sahib Patshahi Pahili commemorates that visit. Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Tegh Bahadur had travelled extensively through Bangladesh. Following the footprints of the first Guru, Udasi priests had established a number of Sikh shrines notably at Dacca, Sylhet and Chittagong. But only a few exist now. |
During the Sikh rule, these Gurdwaras were
richly endowed with liberal land grants (over 7,000 hectares). The
management was in the hands of Udasi and Nirmala priests until the
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee took over during the Gurdwara
Reform Movement of 1920-25. The Gurdwaras had to be abandoned in the
aftermath of the partition in 1947. They are now looked after by the
Government of Pakistan. Nankana Sahib is one of the three places which
can be visited periodically by bands of Sikh pilgrims with the approval
of the Government of Pakistan, the other two being Panja Sahib near
Hasan Abdal and Lahore. Since 1947 the traditional Sikh ardas
(supplicatory prayer) has been supplemented by a single
sentence:
Among the historical Sikh shrines in Pakistan,
Gurudwara Panja
Sahib at Hasan Abdal has an importance of its own. Hasan Abdal is a
small town and a railway station along the main Lahore-Peshawar railway
line in Campbelpore (or Attock) district. Close to it is a spring of
cool, clean water which according to tradition was created by Guru Nanak
Dev. It is said that the Guru arrived here at the end of his tour of
West Asia. At that time the only source of water near this place was a
reservoir at the top of the nearby hill where lived a Muslim divine Wali
Kandhari. The Guru sent Mardana thrice to the Wali in order to drink and
fetch some water, but every time the latter refused to oblige saying
that he would not help a Muslim (Mardana was a Muslim) who followed a
'Hindu' Guru. Guru Nanak then asked Mardana to remove a stone nearby
from where water sprang forth. At the same time water in Wali Kandhari's
reservoir began to ebb until it was completely dry. Wali Kandhari,
infuriated by the 'Hindu's' miracle, rolled down a rock towards the latter.
Guru Nanak Dev, sitting unruffled, merely extended this right arm
towards the rolling rock and not only the rock stopped dead, but his
open palm made an imprint on it as if it was made of molten wax. Wali
Kandhari, impressed by the miracle came down and bowed to the Guru
asking his pardon and blessing.