Guru Nanak (1469-1539) was the founder of Sikh Religion.
Guru Nanak was born in present day Punjab in Indus Valley Civilization in South Asia. He saw the pitiable condition of his people. He briefly worked for the government of the time, and witnessed the greed, sheer indifference, and brutality of the administrators and governors at every level.
Leaving comfortable government employment, he traveled with his companion Mardana through most of the known world of the time. His travels are known as Udasis and serve as source of knowledge and inspiration for the Sikhs.
He participated in philosophical discourse with people of diverse backgrounds and faiths in the Udasis (travels) and at home. He conquered hearts and minds with his revelations in simple local language that everyone could understand.
He publicly, logically, and dramatically showed the absurdity of people’s fundamental cultural beliefs. He is publicly respected but privately hated by many to this day.
Guru Nanak blamed people’s beliefs and values for their misery and pitiable condition, and their weakness in the face of external threats. Invaders from Central Asia raided these lands several times, and no one put up any resistance before Sikhs arrived on the scene.
He finally came home after several years – one of the most traveled men of his time. He settled down on the banks of River Raavi in his native land of Indus Valley Civilization in present day Punjab, and revealed to the world a philosophy for prosperity and security. He founded the Sikh religion – the word Sikh refers to his disciples who live their life guided by his teachings.
In spite of so many natural riches and its geopolitical advantage, this part of the world was a low achievement culture. Guru Nanak showed that this was due to bad cultural and religious traits.
Guru Nanak’s philosophy was based on love and wisdom. He believed that love and wisdom can empower and uplift those who had been demoralized, disenfranchised, and disillusioned for generations. Instead of contempt and manipulation, he spread love and wisdom. This empowered the community and gave it both the knowledge and confidence to act.
He asked his followers to learn from the source rather than rely on manipulative elite who keep the masses distracted, mis-informed, dis-informed, un-informed, divided, insular, selfish, and engaged in trivial pursuits which leads them nowhere. Guru Nanak blamed the manipulative elite as well for creating a low achievement culture.
More than just ideas and words, Guru Nanak created Sikh institutions and community practices which still thrive today not just because of tradition but also because of their practical relevance. Examples are 'Sangat and Pangat': congregation of people, and eating food cooked in community kitchen sitting down in rows. This institutional practice is still cherished today as social security model of the Sikhs. All are welcome, fed, enlightened, protected, and embraced into the community.
Another example is of core Sikh values of 'Honest work, private community funded social security, and to acquire knowledge yourself'. This is the basis of Libertarian capitalism economic model of the Sikhs, private social security (no welfare state), and to acquire knowledge yourself rather than relying on high priests or elite or the well-connected for guidance.
Guru Nanak’s Way of reason (awareness, knowledge, wisdom), courage to act (hard work, daring, tenacity), and Love, lit the spark in people. It led to flourishing of human endeavor in every domain. Simple hard-working folk who were manipulated by an extreme Machiavellian (Chanakyaniti) elite wizened up and rejected their absurd, regressive, eroding, and enfeebling ideology propped up by State violence.
People who were once demoralized and atomized now competed to be the first to serve. Men who had been trampled for hundreds of years became legendary warriors who were feared from Afghanistan to Delhi and militarily dominated South Asia from 1700-1850.
"Sikhism, a revelatory religion, originated in the 16th century as a new revolutionary force, aimed at the spiritual rejuvenation, moral upliftment and the social emancipation of peoples. On the one hand, it confronted the dogmatism and religious formalism of the priest-dominated and caste-ridden society and on the other it challenged the political oppression of the contemporary rulers." (Prof. Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon, ‘Religion and Politics: The Sikh Perspective’, p. 2).
Every Sikh today during their prayers remembers these times when Love Triumphed, and Guru Nanak’s Way brought a Golden Age to the descendants of Indus Valley Civilization in present day Punjab.