Guru Nanak Dev in Sultanpur

Guru Nanak Dev ji started towards the city  Sultanpur. 

Sultanpur is the city where his sister Bebe Nanaki was married. In the last moments of his depart, Guru Nanak Dev ji met Rai Bular, he give him a banquet. Rai Bular requested Guru ji to give him any advise, that is, to state what favour he might grant him. 

Guru Nanak Dev Ji said to Rai Bular, "I give you one advice if you will follow it. At that time your own might avails not, clasp your both hands and worship The Lord."' 

Guru Nanak Dev Ji start Job

It was the time of in the end of 1484 A.D. After few days his arrival at Sultanpur, Diwan Jai Ram took Guru Nanak Dev Ji to  Daulat Khan and introduced with him (Daulat Khan was the Governor).  Jai Ram told Dault Khan about Nanak. Daulat Khan was pleased at the learning, manner, and bearing of Guru Nanak.

Daulat Khan gave him a dress of honor, it was official uniform in token of having engaged him in his service and put him in-charge of his Modikhana. It was the State Granary of that time. Guru Nanak Dev ji start his new duties in right good earnest. 

Guru Nanak Dev Ji was admirably suited to the inclinations of his temperament. He had to deal out provisions. He had good opportunities to serve the people with great passion, that. But he was very careful not to give away more money or food grains than what his own pay and allowance’s range. His good dealings with all clients who got or bought food grains from the Modikhana, won for him the good opinion of all.

 All praised him very much who came in touch with him. By discharging his duties efficiently and to the satisfaction of all clients, Guru Nanak Dev Ji removed the wrong impression of his previous conduct. 

Nawab came to have full confidence in the Storekeeper about whom all spoke so highly. While executing so well the duties of his Modikhana, Guru Nanak Dev Ji did not neglect or forget his spiritual duties. He was in tune with the God now as in Rai Bhoe di Talwandi. He would get up early in the morning and go out into the  forest to enjoy uninterrupted meditation. He would bathe in the little stream called the Vein. Then, sitting on the bank of Vein, Guru ji would dive deep into the ocean of ecstasy, and fly on the wings of the soul to the lotus feet of the Blissful God. He would sit there for a long time in meditation. Then the bliss that filled him, through and through, would break forth into heavenly music of God. He would sing the praises of the Almighty. These songs of God continued till the rise of the sun. Then Guru Nanak Dev ji would return to Modikhana. In the Modikhana while his body was engaged in performing his work, his heart and soul were with the Almighty. 

Spiritual Number 13

When Guru Nanak Dev ji in weighing out rations and reached the number 13 of grain weight, which in the Persian language was call Terha, which means 'Yours' in Panjabi language, he would pause, his face would assume a look of strange intoxication, and he would several times repeat, in his sweet, melodious voice. “mei tera han mei tera”If the persons to whom the grain had to be dealt out happened to be poor customers, he would go on weighing it out to them and count each weighment as tera or thirteen, which was the symbol “Oh God all is Yours.” 

Those customers were lucky; they came of grain but also got the divine food for the soul. These songs of dedication sung by Guru Nanak Dev Ji charmed the customers. When Guru Nanak Dev ji sang the songs of God’s grace, they all stood mute and hear the words of Guru Ji. 

Evening Prayer by Guru Nanak Dev Ji

In the evening Guru Dev Ji would free again to give himself up to divine communion with the Almighty, whom Guru ji beheld embroiled in Nature and pervading everywhere. His love for the company of religious men was fresh and strong as ever in childhood. He loved to feast all ascents and wandering faqirs who came to Sultanpur. His open-handed charity won him the love and affection of the poor and the needy people. But his sister Bebe Nanaki and brother-in-law Jai Ram felt sad; because he was not saving much out of his earnings. They knew that his father (Maheta Kalu) would be distressed to learn that his son was throwing away his earnings on Sadhu and Faqirs. After some time Bebe Nanaki and her husband Jai Ram put their heads together and made a plan whereby he could probably be induced to be less free with his earnings. They decided to marry him. They feared lest the religious thinking which by then was clearly visible in his nature should become too strong and lead him to renounce the world and become an ascetic. Finally they decided to indulge him to family life. They believed that marital affection would cure him of the slight insubordination which his daily meetings with Sadhus and Faqirs had produced in his nature. All that love and affection which, till then, he had been wasting on Sadhu and Faqirs would be diverted towards his family. 

He would become a prudent man according to his responsibilities, laying by a good part of his earnings for the preservation of his family. They knew that how happy Mehta Kalu would be on hearing the good news of his son. 

Planing of Marriage of Guru Nanak Dev Ji

All the relatives of Guru Nanak Dev Ji expected him to get rid of the ascetic life in which he came to lead all the people. In this way the relatives together will imprison Guru Nanak Dev Ji in the family circle. In this way they thought that they would bind the Guru in worldly bonds, which came into the world to break the chains from the necks of millions of his fellow beings.

 Still, Guru Nanak's was to be a path different from the paths of this materialistic world known to the world before. He was to show how a true life of actual religion could be lived amid the ties and responsibilities of family life. So, Guru Nanak Dev ji agreed to get married. 

Marriage of Guru Nanak Dev Ji

In Sultanpur Lodhi, after his appointment, it was the time of  June in the year of 1487A.D. Guru Nanak Dev Ji was married to a decent girl Named Sulakhni ji. She was the daughter of Baba Mula, a resident of Batala Nagar in the present district of Gurdaspur(In Indian Punab). 

There was no effect on Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The marriage was also powerless to divert his heart and soul from the path that he had come to lay down for the welfare of humanity. All the same, he tried to be as thoughtful a husband as was reliable with his life of the spirit. 

Meeting of Guru Nanak Dev Ji with His Parents

His parents had cane to see him married. They were pleased to hear that their son had doing his duties very well, earned a good name and was to all appearances on a good way to riches. 

Parents of Guru Nanak Dev Ji were happy and hope that, thenceforth, he would give up his passion for Sadhus and Faqirs, and diver that love to his wife and family. His best friends of his native place Rai Bhoe di Talwandi, who had become enamored of him, had also come. The  first among them was Mardana (Friend Guru ji Belongs to Marasi Cast). He was a good musician. He asked the Master for a wedding gift and got a Rebab(a musical instrument). With this Rebab Mardana’s own inborn aptitude for music, and what with the loving favour of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Mardana turned out to be a matchless musician and singer. He would play on the rebab as the Guru Nanak Dev Ji sang his impulsive divine songs in a sweet melodious voice, or he would himself sweetly sing those songs stored in a persistent memory, as the Master sat in mute adoration. Others also came.

 A regular sarsang gathered there. Guru Nanak Dev Ji fed them all out of the rations that were permitted him with his salary. He had no desire for hoarding. He distributed all he had. To many of the persons who had followed him from Rai Bhoe Di Talwandi they procured some employment at Sultanpur Lodhi. They all were his disciples. They adored him very much.

Satsang By Guru Nanak Dev Ji

In the evening they came and sat down with Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Thus assembled they listened devoutly to the divine songs and discourses of the Guru. Two other persons Bhai Bhagirath and Bhai Mansukh are still remembered for their love for and devotion to the Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Mansukh was the first person to record the spiritual Songs of the Master as they were sung by him. Time passed, Guru Nanak seemed, to have found a profession that fully satisfied him. He seemed to have grown up in world affairs from his initial battle. He seemed to have made a compromise between his love of solitude and his desire for a busy, worldly life. He was an honest and capable worker, a loving and generous friend, an active sympathizer, a free and generous philanthropist, a good householder, and a religiously pious man.

Marriage Life of Guru Nanak Dev Ji

 There is not much information about his married life except that two sons were born to him- Baba Sri Chand in the month of July 1494A.D., and Lakhmi Das in the month of February 1497A.D. According to story of Janam Sakhi, on the thirteenth day of the birth of his first son, Guru Nanak Dev Ji came home from his duty, he was surprised to find elaborate arrangements for purify the house supposed to have been impure by the birth of the child. Guru Nanak did not believe in this Hindu religious superstition that is called sutak. He ridiculed the superstitious Hindu belief, endorsed to the Shastras, that the birth of a child or the death of any member of the family polluted the house, and special purification rites had to be performed to remove the impureness. 

On this occasion Guru Nanak Dev Ji composed the following Salokos found in  Aasa Di Vaar:- 

“According to this ritual the idea of impurity of birth or death as described in religious books, 

Impurity will be found in everything of this earth.

There are worms in cow-dung and same way in woods. 

Gains of corn also have life. 

In the starting, there is life in water by which everything is made. 

How can we keep away this impurity? 

It enters into our kitchens. When we burn woods and cow-dunk in kitchen, the worms die. So the kitchen is impure everyday So Oh Nanak, impurity cannot be removed in this way of purification, it can be removed away by the knowledge of True Path of God.

Heart gets polluted with greed feeling, and the tongue is polluted with lying to people.

 The eyes get impure by staring at another's wealth and females.

 Nanak these impurities lead our soul to hell.

'All other impurity is meaningless. Birth and death are certain; 

we come and go by His Will. Things for Eating and drinking in daily life which God gave as sustenance is pure. Oh Nanak the persons who know God and his love have no impurity. 

The family of Bebe Nanaki and wife of Guru Nanak Dev Ji bowed before his wishes and gave up such superstitious beliefs and rites. 

Mission of Guru Nanak Dev Ji

All the people who came into the contact of Guru Nanak Dev Ji were felt very happy and satisfied. This seemed to be the ideal life for Guru Nanak Dev Ji. But Guru Nanak had a higher mission of welfare of the society. 

The longing for the remembrance of God, the soothing voice of suffering humanity, which Guru Nanak heard in his soul, would make them sad. Tears flowed down their cheeks. Logic would be out of his body. At such times humanity wants to respond immediately to the call. He wants to calm the world down soon. But we still had time. The divine call had not yet come. He had to wait. He was to wait for that.

 Many disciples gathered round him at Sultanpur Lodhi and he contented himself, for the time being, with kindling their spirits with the heavenly spark which he had got as a gift from God. 

Haters of Guru Nanak Dev Ji

As we know evil natures discover faults even in the faultless people. The fame of Guru Nanak excited jealousy in some people. Some did not like his act of charity; others disliked his free association with people of all castes and creeds; while others did not like his questioning religious views, which he disseminated with effective zeal; others could not bear to hear him praised by Hindus and Muslims alike; some were jealous because of his being held in high esteem by the Nawab. They did what they thought would ruin his credit with the Nawab put an end to his charities, and thereby, push him to the background. They reported to the Daulat Khan that the storekeeper was squandering away the contents of the Modikhana. It would be empty in no time. After some time on the basis of such reports, the Dault Khan checked the accounts. Some balance was found due to Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

When haters were busy to complain, Guru Nanak was even kept confined in a room, pending the examination of his accounts. That room where Guru Nanak spent his time is now called the ‘Gurdwara Kothri Sahib’.