12 Facts About Nanak Dev

1.

Nanak Dev is said to have travelled far and wide across Asia teaching people the message of ik onkar, who dwells in every one of his creations and constitutes the eternal Truth.

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2.

Nanak Dev's words are registered in the form of 974 poetic hymns, or shabda, in the holy text of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib, with some of the major prayers being the Japji Sahib ; the Asa di Var ; and the Sidh Gosht.

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3.

The Sikh records state that Nanak Dev died on the 10th day of the Asauj month of Samvat 1596, at the age of 70 years, 5 months, and 7 days.

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4.

Nanak Dev's parents, including father Kalyan Chand Das Bedi and mother Mata Tripta, were both Hindu Khatris and employed as merchants.

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5.

For instance, at the age of five, Nanak Dev is said to have voiced interest in divine subjects.

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6.

Notable lore recounts that, as a child, Nanak Dev astonished his teacher by describing the implicit symbolism of the first letter of the alphabet, resembling the mathematical version of one, as denoting the unity or oneness of God.

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7.

Nanak Dev moved to Sultanpur, and started working at the modikhana around the age of 16.

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8.

Guru Nanak Dev appointed Bhai Lehna as the successor Guru, renaming him as Guru Angad, meaning "one's very own" or "part of you".

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9.

Second theory states that Nanak Dev was a Guru, not a prophet.

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10.

Guru is God, and God is the Guru, O Nanak Dev; there is no difference between the two, O Siblings of Destiny.

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11.

Guru Nanak Dev described living an "active, creative, and practical life" of "truthfulness, fidelity, self-control and purity" as being higher than the metaphysical truth.

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12.

Many Sikhs believe that Guru Nanak Dev's message was divinely revealed, as his own words in Guru Granth Sahib state that his teachings are as he has received them from the Creator Himself.

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