Nanak’s Corridor: Striding across the Ravi

As before, ever since the partition, twenty-seven million plus Sikhs kept up the Ardas, daily prayers, for unfettered access—Khulley darshan didaar—to the holiest of their shrines. It was in 2019 that the proposal was revived, on the eve of the 550th birth anniversary of the Guru, and the unfathomable happened. It came through. That the prayers were answered was nothing short of miraculous. As the world watched this incredible happening unfold, much as it belied expectation, the global interest was almost comparable to the breaking of the Berlin Wall.

The corridor to Nanak is a befitting ode to His message to humanity, of universality, of uniting all in thought and action. Incomprehensible as it may have seemed, two arch-enemy nations had agreed to think as one and open borders for the faithful amid continued adversity and strife on other borders that separate them.

Kartarpur is the place where Guru Nanak settled for the longest period of his life after enlightenment. In his 18 years of residence at the banks of the Ravi, the Guru tilled this land and eventually passed, leaving behind millions of followers that span and bridge many a religious divide. This place of his final rest on the Western side of the river became known as Kartarpur, the land of the Lord Almighty, and the village on the eastern bank as Dera Baba Nanak. While the former now lies in Pakistan, the latter is in India.

Guru Nanak started his journeys, called “Udasiyan”, after he emerged enlightened from the Kali Bein rivulet in Punjab. His extensive travels are believed to have covered 28,000km and took him to Persia, Mecca in the Middle East and beyond. Guru Nanak’s pathways further meandered through the Indian peninsula, eventually reaching Sri Lanka. On one of his five journeys, he spread his message of universality, equality and oneness to southwest China, Tibet, and central Asia as well. During his sojourns, Guru Nanak countered the illogical in many faiths and rituals and blind beliefs with tolerance and equanimity. His message was for all and is as pertinent today as was then.

On one of his journeys, he was presented a Chola, a robe of reverence, by the governor of Baghdad. At Dera Baba Nanak lies this divine robe of Guru Nanak, upon which can be seen written texts believed to be Quranic verses. Legend has it that the robe was retrieved by Baba Kabli Mal, ninth descendant from the First Master, after he dreamt of its placement in a cave at Balkh Bokhara in Afghanistan. It was then brought to Dera Baba Nanak amid much fanfare. Alongside lies the exquisitely hand-embroidered kerchief (rumaal) presented by his sister Bebe Nanaki to Nanak upon his betrothal. There are other sacred artefacts displayed by the present generation of the Bedi progeny who, despite repeated attempts, have been unable to get all the family members to accede to restoration and conservation as well as an aesthetic display of these priceless assets.

His followers—called “Nanak Panthis” or “Guru Nanak Naam Leva,” those who recite his name—are believers in one God and the goodness of humankind. His most ardent faithful, the ones who believe in him as the First Master, are the Sikhs. To this day they are one of the most spirited philanthropists, extending assistance in free food and service, kindness, and support to the needy. They are the first aiders in any calamity across the globe bringing with them a spirit of giving that is unmatched. Hear their stories from places affected by famine, drought or deluge, earthquake or places ravaged by war. This is a community that lends its hand to the worst sufferers in India or any place across the seven continents, without selective religiosity.

The believers of Guru Nanak’s teachings have today adopted the global village truly as their own. The assimilation of Guru’s faithful in nations, such as Canada, the United States, and Australia, in Africa and the Middle East, or in the farthest corners of the world, is indeed remarkable. As they were contained from a large kingdom that spanned the Indus valley and more to a shrivelling Punjab, they explored the worlds beyond and adopted distant lands. In their belief in the Master’s philosophy and teachings, they are joined by many others. While he is revered to this day as Guru Nanak by most, to others he is their Baba Nanak, Pir Baba, Guru Nanak Dev, Nanak Lama, Guru Rinpoche, Nanak Rishi, Nanak Vali, Nanak Acharya, Baba Foosa, Nanak Peer and more. And yet His message is shared by humanity as a common bond of reverence.

The shrine of Kartarpur has an incredible history from the time when Nanak settled down after his travels to the time when he gave up his physical self. His Muslim faithful wanted to bury his remains, while the Sikhs and Hindus wanted to cremate them. They decided to calm the atmosphere and return the next morning for a final decision. However, as the day dawned, Nanak’s body was nowhere to be found. All that could be found was a sheet of white cloth that had covered him and rose petals under it. Eventually, the two sides divided these articles and constructed, adjacent to each other, a samadh and a mazaar—a mausoleum and a tomb. It is said that a major storm ensued, and the Ravi broke its bank, levelling these structures and washing them away as if in consonance with the indivisive thought of Nanak. The shrine of Kartarpur, thence reconstructed, is indeed a lasting icon of interfaith understanding of Guru Nanak’s message.

The restoration works this time around divulged an old well that provided water to the fields then. The sacred well and the fields that were sown by Guru Nanak have been preserved as a part of the gurdwara periphery now.

As I drive the few miles from Amritsar, I pay my respects at Chola Sahib in Dera Baba Nanak, and to the divine robes worn by Baba Nanak himself. Deeply moved by the experience, I proceed for the even shorter drive to the place where begins the Kartarpur Corridor.

“Khushamdeed,” says the immigration officer across the border when I share with him my emotive feelings. “Welcome”. After a cordial send-off from the Indian side, one had walked through the galleries set up on the other side. I noted that the Muslim artists had painted perceptions of Guru Nanak and his message with understanding, aesthetics and reverence. In my heart, I compared these artworks to the makeshift paintings that depicted wonder-what on the ceiling of our own immigration area. The Pakistanis had indeed thought this through and heeded sensible advice in creating structures and embellishing them in a befitting manner.

But then this is not about nationalities, but about commonalities, about universal messages, of brotherhood and kindness that talk of humanity as a whole, with one true creator sans boundaries and barriers of faith. This is beyond the materialistic and about bonds of humanity.

Electric golf carts take you to the spot where buses await to carry you across the riverine belt to the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib itself. I walk through to the circumambulatory in the inner confines, where I touch my forehead onto the cool stone of the samadh built to commemorate His final moments. I find a quiet corner and lose myself for forty-five minutes. I am told that a gentleman who knew me came and sat next to me and touched my knees. I was in no state to acknowledge anyone and had succumbed completely to the august moment and its colossal spiritual magnitude. As I emerged from this deep meditative state, I had goosebumps from the vivid positive vibrations, and my eyes were flowing with tears. After collecting myself, I walked to the gurdwara above and listened to the hymns from Guru Granth Sahib.

The ethereal voyage to visit the final resting place of Guru Nanak culminates in paying obeisance to both the samadh and the mazaar that celebrate his journey beyond as well as his message that lives on.

As I emerged from the inner sanctum, I encountered an aged Muslim faithful and his young grandson. The old man was wearing an ancient turban with a flowing end towards the rear, a “turrey-wali” pagri with gold embroidered inner topi. He was struggling to read the words written on the mazaar in Urdu, perhaps because of his thick glasses.

“Aval Allah noor upaayaa kudrat key sab bandey…”, he had read ever so slowly, and I went on to complete the hymn for him with an arm around his shoulder and eyes locked onto his grandchild,”…. ek noor say sab jag upjaya, kaun bhaley ko mandey.”

We are all created equal onto this world from one single source, it said. He nodded his gratitude, and gave me a warm hug, while the child paid his respects by touching my feet. Such is the bonding at Kartarpur, between faiths and cultures, through a common vocabulary of spiritual oneness and inclusion as imbibed from the unifier of faiths and minds.

Dhan Guru Nanak!

(Gunbir Singh is an environmentalist, philanthropist and historian who loves all things Amritsari)