Guru Nanak was born in 1469 at Talwandi, now Nankana Sahib. As a young man he worked as a storekeeper at Sultanpur Lodhi and bathed each morning in the river Bein.
Around 1499 he went into the river and did not come out. The town searched for three days. When he reappeared he stayed silent for a day, and then said: there is no Hindu, there is no Musalman. Sikh tradition holds that in those three days he stood in the presence of the One, and that the opening words of the Japji Sahib, Ik Onkar, come from that experience.
The janamsakhis, the traditional accounts of his life, describe some twenty years of travel on foot: east to Assam, south to Sri Lanka, north into the Himalaya and west to Mecca and Baghdad, with Mardana, a Muslim musician, at his side. He then settled at Kartarpur and farmed.
His teaching fits in three phrases: remember the Name, earn an honest living, share what you have. At Kartarpur he began langar, a free kitchen where everyone sits in the same row whatever their caste, faith or rank. Gurdwaras around the world still serve it every day.
What it gave the world
One Creator, honest work, and langar, the kitchen where all sit and eat as equals.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Sikh
- Place
- The Kali Bein at Sultanpur Lodhi, Punjab. Gurdwara Ber Sahib stands there today
- Date
- About 1499, at the age of thirty
- First words
- There is no Hindu, there is no Musalman
- Text
- The Mul Mantar, beginning Ik Onkar
Why it is part of Enlightenment Day 2026
The theme of the 2026 conference is celebrating enlightening experiences, and the question it puts to every speaker is how enlightenment connects with an awakening of consciousness that brings good to the world. This account is one of eight the day starts from. The conference is online on Saturday 10 October 2026.
The teacher named here is a subject of the day's talks. Naming them does not mean that they, or any institution that carries their work, take part in or endorse the event.