Guru Nanak

Guru Nanak Dev (born 1469 at Rāi Bhoi kī Talwandī, present-day Nankana Sahib in Pakistan; died 1539 at Kartarpur) was the founder of Sikhism and the first in the line of ten Sikh Gurus. Emerging within the broader Bhakti and Nirguna sant tradition of medieval North India, he rejected ritualism, caste hierarchy, idol worship, and religious formalism of both Hinduism and Islam. His central theological assertion, encapsulated in the Mūl Mantar that opens the Guru Granth Sahib, is Ik Onkar — the oneness of a formless, eternal God (Nirankar). His celebrated declaration "Na koi Hindu, na koi Musalman" ("There is no Hindu, no Muslim") signalled a path transcending the sectarian divisions of his age. His compositions, including the Japji Sahib, Asa di Var, and Sidh Gosht, were later incorporated into the Adi Granth compiled by Guru Arjan in 1604.

Guru Nanak's teaching rested on three practical pillars that remain foundational to Sikh practice: Naam Japna (meditative remembrance of the divine name), Kirat Karo (earning an honest livelihood through labour), and Vand Chhako (sharing earnings with the needy). He undertook four long journeys, the Udasis, traversing India, and reaching Mecca, Baghdad, and Sri Lanka, accompanied by his Muslim companion Mardana, the rabab-player. At Kartarpur he established the first organised Sikh community, instituting the egalitarian institutions of Sangat (congregation), Pangat (sitting in a row without caste distinction), and Langar (the free communal kitchen) — all radical assertions of social equality. Before his death he designated his disciple Bhai Lehna as his successor, Guru Angad, establishing the principle of succession that sustained the Sikh Panth.

Guru Nanak's emphasis on the dignity of women, his condemnation of sati and the seclusion of women, and his rejection of the caste system place him among the foremost social reformers of medieval India. His thought is distinguished from the wider Bhakti movement by its institutional consolidation — he did not merely preach devotion but founded an enduring community with its own scripture, practices, and line of succession. The 550th anniversary of his birth, the Prakash Purab, was commemorated in 2019, including the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor between India and Pakistan, a development of continuing relevance for India–Pakistan relations and pilgrimage diplomacy through 2026.

For the UPSC examination, Guru Nanak appears principally in the Art and Culture segment of General Studies Paper I, under the Bhakti and Sufi movements and medieval socio-religious reform. The typical question angle requires distinguishing the Nirguna (formless) school of Nanak and Kabir from the Saguna Bhakti of Mirabai, Surdas, and Tulsidas; identifying his contributions to social equality through Langar and Sangat; and recalling factual anchors such as his birthplace, his companion Mardana, and his nomination of Guru Angad. Prelims often tests the Mul Mantar concept of Ik Onkar and the sequence of Sikh Gurus, while Mains may demand analysis of how the Bhakti saints fostered composite culture and challenged orthodoxy.