Gagan Mein Thal: Guru Nanak at Puri, Odisha
Lord Jagannatha and Guru Nanak
After attaining enlightenment, Guru Nanak proceeded on his first udasi (long travel) to eastern India during which he visited Kamrup (Assam), Bengal, and Odisha. Guruji is believed to have walked 50000 miles to visit not only all over India but also Sinhaladvipa (Sri Lanka), Mecca-Medina, Afghanistan, and China. Some assert that he also visited Rome.
Like the
holy men of previous eras – Mahavira Jain, Buddha, Adi Shankara, Ramanuja, and
others; Nanak travelled far and wide to share with people his simple methods of
realising the divine in human life.
Bhai Mardana,
Guru Nanak’s disciple and closest associate, accompanied Guruji. After a long
and tiring journey, they reached Puri on a summer evening. It was a full moon
night.
Let us spend
the night on the sea-shore under the sky, said the Guru.
But this is
a cremation ground, said Mardana, pointing at the still smouldering piles at a
distance. Why don’t we find some other place?
Are you
afraid, Mardana? This is Swargadvara in Purushottam Kshetra, and Yama is prohibited
from entering this place by order of Vishnu. Have you also forgotten that your
name is Mar-Da-Na (one who will not succumb to untimely death)?
But I am
hungry, and so you must be. Go and get Jagannatha prasad. That will be our meal
for tonight. Tomorrow morning, we will go for darshan.
After
sometime, Mardana returned empty-handed. The temple is far away, and no prasad
was available around here, he said.
No problem.
Maybe, Jagannatha wishes us to keep a fast tonight. Jaise prabhu ki marzi. Let
us have a drink of water and sleep, said Nanak. He dug with his bare hands a
small hole on the sands, and they drank to their fill the clean, sweet water
that the little ‘well’ offered.
An hour or
later, they were gently nudged awake. Here is prasad for you, said the courier,
and placed before each of them a thali and a few katoris, and bhog in a few
earthen pots.
But who are
you, and how did you know that we are here, asked Mardana?
I am a
sevak, you are our guest, and how could you sleep hungry at Sri Kshetra? said
the sevak and hurried away.
Guru and
chela relished the delicious, aromatic, and soul-satisfying prasad, after which
they cleaned the utensils under the moonlight since it is inauspicious to keep
jhootha vartan overnight.
Next
morning, the temple store-keepers came looking for the golden utensils for
serving meals to Jagannath which had been ‘stolen’ at night. They found all the
utensils neatly stacked, and more sparkling and shining than ever before. One
look at the meditating Guru with a halo around his head, and the chela singing
soft, soulful bhajan; and they realised these were no thieves.
At this
time, the king, Jagannatha’s first sevak, arrived with his entourage. Last
night, Jagannatha had spoken to him in his dream, and had asked him to personally
look after ‘my two devotees who have come from afar and are presently on the
sea-shore.’ The king had come to ceremonially welcome the ‘special devotees’
and to take them to Sri Mandira for the morning darshan.
Gagan Mein Thal
After
witnessing the morning aarati and puja, Guru Nanak composed Dhanaasaree Mahalaa
1 Aarati (Ang 663, Adi Granth) which begins with -
ੴ सतिगुर प्रसादि ॥ (Ik-oamkkaari satigur prsaadi), and proceeds to sing the
glory of the spectacular celestial aarati
offered by the sun, the moon, and the stars to the Supreme Being:
‘गगन मै थालु रवि चंदु दीपक बने तारिका मंडल जनक
मोती ॥
सम्पूर्ण गगन रूपी थाल में सूर्य व चंद्रमा दीपक बने हुए हैं, तारों का समूह जैसे थाल में मोती जड़े हुए हों।’[i]
Rajni Sekhri Sibal in
her book ‘The Guru - Guru Nanak’s Saakhis’ has beautifully translated this hymn,
of which the first stanza is:
“Ikk Onkar – O luminous
stars
I offer this ode to the one True One:
The cosmic plate is thy
prayer-platter
The radiant lamps are
the sun and the moon –
Stars and planets are
like offerings of pearls
And thy incense is the
aroma of sandalwood
The winds become tender
like a gentle breeze
And the Earth offers all
the plants in the woods
Fragrant blooms flower
and fall at your feet
A veneration exquisite, majestic and sweet…”[ii]
Bauli Math Sahib
Years later, Guru’s devotees constructed a proper well at the very spot where Nanak had dug his ‘well.’ In Odia, a 'well' is called 'bauli', and hence, it was fondly named Bauli Math, now known as Gurudwara Bauli Math Sahib, and a place of pilgrimage for Sikhs and others. It is not far from Adi Shankara’s Govardhan Math near Swargadvara, and can be easily located on Google Earth or Google Map.
Mangu Math, also associated with
Guru Nanak, is near the Sri Mandira.
Janam Sakhi
Janam Sakhi
is the life history of Guru Nanak, of which there are various versions by the
compilers. Guru Nanak’s visit to Puri,
as well as Bauli Math and Mangu Math, are mentioned in the Janam Sakhi by Bhai
Bala.
A detailed
account of Guru Nanak’s visit to Puri, and the related janamsakhi are available
at sikhiwiki.org[iii]
Panj Pyare
Puri has
another connect with Sikhism. Bhai Himmat Singh of Puri offered his head to
Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur Sahib in 1699 AD, at the time of creation of
Khalsa Panth as one of the Panj Piaras.
Jayadeva
Jayadeva,
the composer of the famous Gita Govinda, and an earnest devotee of Krishna and
Jagannatha, is one of the 15 Bhagats (Sant Kavis) whose hymns and songs are
included in Adi Granth, also known as Guru Granth Sahib. Two of Jayadeva’s
shlokas are in the Granth.
Koh-i-Noor: Mountain of
Light
In 1838 when
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was critically ill, he decided to gift Koh-i-Noor to
Jagannatha of Puri, as suggested by his astrologer. Many Hindus believed that
the Koh-i-Noor was in fact the Syamantak mani that Krishna wore, and hence it
was fitting to return it to Jagannatha. However, Beliram, the royal custodian
did not comply with the Maharaja’s wishes, and he and his family soon met a
tragic death.
‘When the
British learned of Ranjit Singh’s death in 1839, and his plan to give the
diamond and other jewels to a sect of Hindu priests, the British press exploded
in outrage. “The richest, the most costly gem in the known world, has been
committed to the trust of a profane, idolatrous and mercenary priesthood,”
wrote one anonymous editorial. Its author urged the British East India Company
to do whatever they could to keep track of the Koh-i-Noor, so that it might
ultimately be theirs.’[iv]
By the
Treaty of Lahore, signed on 29 March 1849 between the East India Company and
the Maharaj of Lahore Duleep Singh, then a child of 10, the Sikhs lost their
kingdom. By Article III of the Treaty, the Maharaj ‘surrendered’ the Koh-i-Noor
to the Queen of England!?
The British displayed
the diamond at the Great Exhibition at London in 1851 as a symbol of their
conquest of India, and later fitted it on the crown of their Queen. It was ‘the
single most famous object of loot from India.’[v]
The British
lost India in 1947. Maybe, the diamond is indeed cursed!
Nirakar brahma
For Guru
Nanak, the Supreme Being is formless and attribute-less. He is represented by
Ik Onkara, the primal sound, and that is why the Mool Mantra is repeated
several times in the Adi Granth. In the ancient times, Vedic religion also
contemplated the divine as formless, and the major deities that Hindus worship
today became popular only during the later puranic period.
The
Upanishads used OM, correctly pronounced as AUM, as a mystic monosyllable at
the beginning of mantras, and the three sounds of which it consists – A, U, and M symbolised the union of the Hindu triad: A for Vishnu, U for Shiva, and M for
Brahma.
Shunyavadi Bhakt Kavis of Odisha
Bhakti poets
of Odisha concurrently composed devotional songs - prarthanas, jananas, and
bhajans – for Lingaraj, Jagannatha, and the other puranic gods and for nirakar
brahma. The notable shunyavadi bhakta kavis of Odisha; Achyutanada, Jashobanta,
and Shishu Anant; were Nanak’s contemporary, and their bhajans sang of nirakara,
nirguna brahma.
Jagannatha Culture
At Puri, as
in the rest of Odisha, places of worship for tribal deities, temples, mosques,
churches, and gurudwaras co-exist in peace and harmony. Since ancient times,
Odisha has been home to practitioners of diverse faiths – the tribals,
Buddhist, Jain, Shaiva, Shakta, Saurya, Ganapatya, Vaishnava, Tantric, Muslim,
Christian, Sikh, and others. Not surprisingly, several faiths claim Jagannatha
as their Supreme Being.
एकं सद् विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति । ऋ. 1.164.46
TRUTH is ONE, though wise men call it by various names.
The Divine is
worshipped under different names and forms, but it is ultimately the same
reality. All spiritual paths are valid ways of seeking the same truth.
एको देवः सर्वभूतेषु गूढः
सर्वव्यापी सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा।
कर्माध्यक्षः सर्वभूताधिवासः
साक्षी चेता केवलो निर्गुणश्च ॥ ११॥
(श्वेताश्वतरोपनिषत्)
Meaning:
This verse
emphasizes the singularity of the Divine that resides in every being and
pervades the entire cosmos. Various paths and practices ultimately lead to the
same Divine One.
Postscript
[ii] The full text of her translation along with her wonderful recitation is is at link: https://youtu.be/ocxwnHKpraQ
[iii]https://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak_at_Puri#:~:text=In%20the%20Janam%20Sakhi%20of,is%20mentioned%20in%20great%20detail
[iv] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-koh-i-noor-diamondand-why-british-wont-give-it-back-180964660/
[v]
Kohinoor: The Story of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond – William Dalrymple
and Anita Anand.
Such a wonderful piece - very informative; I never new, Guru Nanak visited Puri.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful account of interesting episodes in the life of the great saint with forays into the essence of religion and spirituality. Well done! Thanks for your excellent post!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent piece of research Prasanna babu. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
ReplyDelete