Page 4 - Gurmat Book 4

Lesson 1: Guru Nanak’s Impact on the World

Guru Nanak Dev Ji was a divine teacher, who came to the world to give the
message of unity to all humanity.

At the time he was born, India was going through turmoil. On one side was

the Hindu religion that divided the society into the castes. Higher caste

people mistreated people of lower castes even though they belonged to the

same Hindu religion. The people were segregated based on which family

they were born. If a child was born to the family who cleaned for others,
that child would grow up to be a cleaner. If a child was born to the family

that made shoes for others, that child would only make shoes when he grew

up. If a child was born in a Brahmin’s house who was served by others, that

child would grow up to be a Brahmin who will be served by others. It

wouldn’t matter how smart or good or bad anyone was, they were treated
like their families were treated. The Brahmins confused people with rituals.

They even did not allow the lower cast people to enter the temples.

On the other side were the Muslim rulers who did not want people to

believe in any other religion, but Islam. They did not care for the needs of

the poor people. The world was a terrible place to live.

In this terrible period with sadness and darkness all around for common

people, God sent Guru Nanak to this world. Bhai Gurdas, a Sikh scholar,
wrote a poem describing how the birth of Guru Nanak affected this world.

ੁ
ਸਤਿਗਰ ਨਾਨਕ ਪ੍ਰਗਤਿਆ, ਤਿਿੀ ਧੁੁੰਧੁ ਜਤਗ ਚਾਨਣ ਹੋਆ ।
ੂ
ੋ
ਤਜਉ ਕਤਰ ਸਰਜ ਤਨਕਤਿਆ, ਿਾਰੇ ਛਪ੍ੇ ਅੁੰਧੇਰ ਪ੍ਿਆ ।
As Guru Nanak made his appearance in the world there was light everywhere
As when the Sun rises, the stars vanish and darkness retreats

Guru Nanak Dev Ji lived from 1469 to 1539. Guru Nanak Dev Ji introduced

the concept of one God for the whole humanity and whole universe. He
started the institution of Guru Ka Langar. Langar is the common kitchen

Stepping Stones Gurmat Sikhia Book 4G 2023 Edition Page 2