Knowledge sharing session on Guru Nanak Dev, Sikhism

On the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti, Apeejay School International, South Delhi held a gathering and invited Mr. Khushwant Singh Chadha and Ms. Harsimran Kaur, who guided students about the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and Sikhism as a culture or religion.

The event began with the prayer ‘Ik Onkar’ which was enlightened by Ranbir Singh Dua from Primary Year Programme. At the assembly, Mr. Kushwant Singh Chadha gave an in-depth speech about Guru Nanak Jayanti and how his birthday is celebrated on 15 November.

Every year, the day is celebrated in honour of Guru Nanak’s birthday. Though, he was born on 15th April but we celebrate his birthday on 15 November because this was the day when he got enlightened as a guru.

Guru Nanak Dev was born on 15th April, 1469 and spent most of his life travelling. He had travelled all over the world including Egypt, Iran, China and much more. He was a rebel and was born into a wealthy Hindu family. He didn’t believe in superstitions, fasts and animal sacrifices. So he decided to spread this by teaching his disciples that partaking in rituals would not do anything and that Sikh people should live a simple life.

The Sikh religion was originated in Northern India in the 15^th century by Guru Nanak Dev. Sikhism is monotheistic and stresses the equivalency of all men and women. Sikhs believe in the three introductory principles: praying in the name of god, earning a living by honest means as well as sharing the fruits of one’s labour with others. Sikhism rejects caste system and emphasises service to humanity

Fun fact: Do you know how most Sikhs wear turbans and do not cut their hair? Well, this actually has nothing to do with religion. During the reign of the 10th guru, Gobind Singh ji was accumulating and forming an army to fight the Mughals who had invaded India at that time. He guided his army to follow a strict dress code, wear a turban and never cut their hair. Over time, this practice grew and became the identity of the Sikh religion.

It was also the 10th guru who finalised Sikhism into a religion. Until now they had been spreading their teachings as wanderers, he did not wish to pass his enlightenment down to a disciple or his son. So he decided to create a book ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ which became the 11th and final guru.

Now, people go to a gurdwara and find solutions to their problems by reading the teachings of this book, the guru granth sahib contains all the teachings of all the gurus. Over 80 percent of the book is Guru Nanak Dev’s teaching.

The assembly continued with an in-depth session of Questions and Answers, where students asked the questions on the history of guru nanak jayanti and the guests answered them effectively.

Lastly, the assembly ended with Ms. Harsimran Kaur giving a speech about the beliefs of Sikhism and explaining the meaning of the 5 teachings of Guru Nanak Dev: Vaand Chhako, Kirat Karo, Naam Japo, Sarbat daa bhalaa, Speak the truth without any fear.