Baba Guru Nanak (1469-1539) was born in a Hindu merchant family in a village called Nankana Sahib near the river Ravi in the predominantly Muslim Punjab. He trained to be an accountant and studied Persian. He was married at a young age but he spent most of his time among Sufis and bhaktas. He also traveled widely. The message of Baba Guru Nanak is spelled out in his hymns and teachings. These suggest that he advocated a form of nirguna bhakti. He firmly repudiated the external practices of the religions he saw around him. For Baba Guru Nanak, the Absolute or “rab” had no gender or form. He proposed a simple way to connect to the Divine by remembering and repeating the Divine Name, expressing his ideas through hymns called “shabad” in Punjabi, the language of the region. Baba Guru Nanak would sing these compositions in various ragas while his attendant Mardana played the rabab. Baba Guru Nanak organized his followers into a community. He set up rules for congregational worship (sangat) involving collective recitation.

What is the name of the book compiled by Guru Arjan Dev Ji?

Adi Granth Sahib

Adi Granth, the holy book of Sikhs was compiled by Guru Arjan Dev. The fifth preceptor, Guru Arjan, compiled Baba Guru Nanak’s hymns along with those of his four successors and other religious poets like Baba Farid, Ravidas (also known as Raidas), and Kabir in the Adi Granth Sahib. These hymns, called “gurbani”, are composed in various languages.