Guru Nanak Teachings Quotes

For each and every person, our Lord and Master provides sustenance. Why are you so afraid, O mind? The flamingos fly hundreds of miles, leaving their young ones behind. Who feeds them, and who teaches them to feed themselves? Have you ever thought of this in your mind?

All dishonest earnings are the blood of the innocent. Honest earnings are like sweet milk and make the mind pious.

Today, 500 years since Guru Nanak began to preach, it is still common to find families with both Sikh and Hindu members.

His monotheism left no place for apparent polytheism. We know that a fundamental Hindu teaching is that God is one: Truth is One; sages call it by many names such as Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Yama, Garutman, or Matarishvan. (Rig Veda: 1:164:46) The Yajur Veda, another important scripture, expresses the same truth as follows: For an awakened soul, Indra, Varuna, Agni, Yama, Aditya, Chandra – all these names represent only One spiritual being. (32:1) These words lie at the heart of the religion but for many devotees and non-Hindu observers the reality seems to be polytheistic. The pictures and images which may be seen in a mandir, ranging from Rama and Hanuman, to Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Guru Nanak and Gandhi, might convey this message to the uninformed, rather than one of diversity within unity which is at the heart of Hinduism. Certainly that seems to have been true of the village Hinduism that Guru Nanak experienced.

Guru Nanak asked those who considered women impure and incapable of spiritual liberation, mukti: Why do you condemn woman, the one from whom great men and kings are born? It is through despised woman that we are conceived and born; it is to woman that we become engaged and married; woman is our lifelong companion who perpetuated the race. (AG 473)

Sometimes it is said that Guru Nanak attempted to blend the best of Hinduism and Islam in a new religion that would appeal to both communities and bring them together. A moment’s reflection will enable us to realize the inadequacy of this suggestion. Who is to define the ‘best’ of any religion, first of all? (Usually a Westerner using liberal Christianity as the criterion.) Secondly, there was no possibility of bringing together those who followed the teachings of the Vedas and the ministry of the brahmins, with those for whom the Qur’an was authoritative. It is, in fact, unlikely that Guru Nanak wished to create a religion at all, bearing in mind his comments on the inadequacy of religion!

For God there is no Hindu and no Muslim; all of us are His children, equal human beings.

Guru Nanak taught his lesson in a simple way. He gave Duni Chand a needle and told him that he would take it from him in the next world. This made the merchant think and realise that he could not take any of his worldly possessions with him to a life after death. He asked for the Guru’s advice about what to do with all his material wealth. “If you give in the name of God and put food into the mouths of needy persons, only then will you have credit to take with you in your next life,” replied Guru Nanak.

If you give in the name of God and put food into the mouths of needy persons, only then will you have credit to take with you in your next life,

He is beyond need and desire; He cannot be appeased, because He is never angry. Those who understand and remain in His Will are happy.

At Mecca, Guru Nanak lay down to rest. He fell asleep and at some point, his feet happened to point in the direction of the Kaaba. A Qazi admonished Guru Nanak: “Who is this sleeping infidel? Why have you, O sinner, turned your feet towards God?” he said. To this Guru Nanak retorted: “Turn my feet in the direction where God is not.

Religion consists not of mere words. He who looks upon all men as equal is religious,” says Guru Nanak.

This God was not to be found in remote temples or far away places. He is immanent, thus found everywhere.

When Guru Nanak reached Multan, the local pirs, or holy men, gave him a bowl of milk which was full to the brim indicating that the town was already full of holy men and that it did not have space for another. The Guru took a jasmine flower and put it on the bowl of milk. The flower floated, without the milk spilling over. The traditional interpretation of this is that Guru Nanak had shown that one more man of God would only add to the fragrance of the garden. However, it can also be seen as saying that the milk of knowledge, if contained in a bowl, can go bad whereas the fragrance of knowledge, unfettered in any way, spreads far and wide.

Shah Fakir, Hindu Da Guru, Musalman Da Pir.” It means Guru Nanak Dev was a saintly person whom both, the Hindus and the Muslims, claimed as their own religious leader.   Teachings: Guru Nanak Dev taught us that there is only one God, free from the bondage of birth and death. He is omnipresent and omnipotent. We should always remember God. Repetition of His Name is cure for all ailments. God is not to be degraded by making images of Him and worshipping them. To be one with God is the aim of life and to attain