Guru Nanak Jayanti
Holiday
Guru Nanak Jayanti, also known as Guru Nanak's Prakash Utsav, Guru Purab, and Guru Nanak Dev Ji Jayanti, will be celebrated on November 27 this year. This is an important festival for Sikhs as it celebrates the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
Guru Nanak Jayanti is celebrated on the full moon day of Kartika which usually falls in the month of October or November in the Gregorian calendar.
It is a public holiday in many states such as Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
About Guru Nanak
Guru Nanak was born on April 15, 1469, in Talwandi currently known as in the Punjab province of Pakistan. However, the reason Guru Nanak Jayanti is celebrated in November is because many Sikh communities believe that he was born on the full moon day of Kartik.
He was an ordinary storekeeper who worked for a local Muslim Governor until a religious awakening changed the course of his life. It happened while he was bathing in the river.
Guru Nanak was around thirty at the time and gave away all his worldly possessions and left his marital life to embark on a new spiritual journey. He even had two sons at the time- Sri Chand and Lakshmi Das but this was not enough to hold him back.
He traveled for nearly thirty years throughout India, Arabia, and Tibet. During his spiritual journey, Guru Nanak met and debated with a lot of learned men which largely shaped his views.
"He who has no faith in himself can never have faith in God"
-Guru Nanak
Guru Nanak did not believe in caste, creed, and other distinctions which divided men and treated everyone equally. He would often dine with people from lower castes.
Guru Nanak decided to culminate all the good qualities of other religions such as Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism into Sikhism. This translates to (a) The Personal God in Hinduism, (b) the Spiritual equality of Buddhism, and (c) the Congregation of Islam.
Guru Nanak Jayanti Celebration
- On this day, Sikhs read Guru Granth Sahib, the holy religious scripture of Sikhism with a lot of devotion. It is also known as Akhand Path where the holy book is recited for 48 straight hours.
- People decorated the Gurudwaras with flowers, lights, flags, and so on.
- Before the actual day of Guru Nanak Jayanti, a Nagarkirtan procession takes place. This procession is led by five men known as the Panj Pyare, who carry the holy flag of Sikhism, known as the Nishan Sahib.
Guru Nanak Jayanti in the Upcoming Years
| Year | Date | Day of the Week |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | November 15 | Friday |
| 2025 | November 5 | Wednesday |
| 2026 | November 24 | Tuesday |
| 2027 | November 14 | Sunday |
| 2028 | December 2 | Saturday |
| 2029 | November 21 | Wednesday |
| 2030 | November 10 | Sunday |
