Celebrating faith in Guru’s spirit of sharing
We have a tendency to turn something regular into historic by marking it as a jubilee at 25, 50, 100 and 150 years and so on. As we are all set to usher in the sacred occasion of the 550th Prakash Utsav of Guru Nanak Dev on November 12, there is an air of enthusiasm, religious fervour and excitement among people of all faiths and nations.
A series of celebrations, including shabad kirtans and nagar kirtans, seminars and conferences, along with the issuing of commemorative coins and mementos are underway; the apotheoses being the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor for the sangat (community) and setting up of universities in the name of the first Sikh Guru in different countries; though the real tribute is understanding and following his teachings.
Earlier this year, we observed the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, remembering and paying tribute to those who laid down their lives for the nation; and then we celebrated the 150th birth anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi, organising functions all over the country. Though no two years are different from each other, we tend to give significance to a day with our faith. We consider ourselves lucky to be part of such occasions.
The first such occasion I witnessed was in 1969 when we celebrated the 500th Prakash Utsav of Guru Nanak Dev, along with the birth centenary of Mahatma Gandhi. Very young at that time, we participated in every congregation, every Gurbani recital samagam; and joined every nagar kirtan that passed through the length and breadth of Chandigarh. Family members got scattered; no one knew where the other was; we boarded a number of special buses and trucks to move from one place to another; partook of the langar wherever we could, in some gurdwara, on the ground or at the roadside. As we reached home by evening one by one, each one had an exciting story to narrate. This went on days, culminating in Gurpurb.
Then came the tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa Panth in 1999. Things were organised by the government in the big way. The whole town of Anandpur Sahib was painted white, and a number of functions were organised on a large scale. As college teachers, we were deputed to attend the function at Anandpur Sahib. Though free transport had been arranged, no vehicles were available due to the rush of devotees. We were a group of 30 teachers and had to take lift from any vehicle we could get. Even at the venue, we could not catch up with each other and attended the function separately. Nevertheless, it was a divine experience, seeing a sea of people attending the holy proceedings. The rendition of Gurbani by Jagjit Singh from the stage made us forget the troubles we had encountered earlier in the day.
Now again, the sacred occasion of the 550th anniversary has brought the whole world on one platform; and we are witnessing and attending a number of functions every day. Today, the Guru, his life, his bani and his teachings take centrestage. May his message of ‘Kirat karo, vand chhako, naam jappo (Work hard, share everything with others and pray)’ become the guiding light to take us through the journey of life.
WE BOARDED BUSES AND TRUCKS, PARTOOK OF THE LANGAR WHEREVER WE COULD AND RETURNED HOME TO NARRATE OUR STORIES