Identify the correct statements about Baba Guru Nanak from below:
(A) Guru Nanak (1469-1539) was born into a Hindu merchant family in a village called Nankana Sahib.
(B) Guru Nanak trained to be an accountant and studied Persian.
(C) Guru Nanak advocated a form of saguna bhakti.
(D) Guru Nanak rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship, austerities and the scriptures of both Hindus and Muslims.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A), (B) and (D) only
(A) Guru Nanak (1469-1539) was born into a Hindu merchant family in a village called Nankana Sahib. Correct. Nankana Sahib lies near the river Ravi in the Punjab.
(B) Guru Nanak trained to be an accountant and studied Persian. Correct. He was born in a Hindu merchant family, and he trained to be an accountant and studied Persian, as the statement says.
(C) Guru Nanak advocated a form of saguna bhakti. Incorrect. His hymns and teachings show that he advocated a form of nirguna bhakti: for him the Absolute, or “rab”, had no gender or form. Saguna bhakti is the worship of a god with attributes, in a particular form such as Shiva or Vishnu.
(D) Guru Nanak rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship, austerities and the scriptures of both Hindus and Muslims. Correct. He firmly repudiated these external practices and proposed a simple way to connect to the Divine, by remembering and repeating the Divine Name.
NCERT (2025-26): “8.2 Baba Guru Nanak and the Sacred Word … 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 travelled widely. The message of Baba Guru Nanak is spelt 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. He rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship, austerities and the scriptures of both Hindus and Muslims.…” |