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Where the Land lies green on fertile ground,
At the bend of the river, Goindwal is found,
In the humble village lived three Gurus;
Amar Das and Ram Das, and Arjan, too

But up in the village of Goindwal,
In a sacred house with a peg in the wall,
Lived Guru Amar Das, the third Guru,
In the place where Arjan was born and grew.

I walked those streets to find that place
Where Guru sat in his sacred space,
Each step brought me closer to understand
That this path was carved by Guru’s hand.

For against that wall Guru would sit
And fate and destiny he would knit
Together in his meditations deep,
with his hair tied so that he wouldn’t sleep.

Around that peg his hair was tied,
To wake him up whenever he tried
To sleep, instead of meditate;
It pulled him up to stay awake.

And I understood, when I saw the wall,
That this path is the same for us all,
That only when we sit and meditate
Can we find the substance that makes us great.

It is the same for me, the same for you
As it was the same for the Guru;
That day by day we must sit and grind
ourselves slowly, slowly but exceedingly fine.

That wooden peg is smooth and worn
In the house where Arjan was born,
For the Guru was a man like you or me
Who followed this path to Victory.

Four hundred years later, here in the West,
Each new day we rise and face the test
To identify ourselves and stand our ground,
In this land where demons are found.

The course hasn’t changed since Guru’s time,
We all must bow low to be divine,
Japa and Tapa we must combine,
To give the light to shunya’s shine.

Guru has walked this way before,
As I walk it now to find his door
And it gives me hope when I recall
that humble peg in Goindwal.

-Guru Tej Singh Khalsa

Where the Land lies green on fertile ground,
At the bend of the river, Goindwal is found,
In the humble village lived three Gurus;
Amar Das and Ram Das, and Arjan, too

But up in the village of Goindwal,
In a sacred house with a peg in the wall,
Lived Guru Amar Das, the third Guru,
In the place where Arjan was born and grew.

I walked those streets to find that place
Where Guru sat in his sacred space,
Each step brought me closer to understand
That this path was carved by Guru’s hand.

For against that wall Guru would sit
And fate and destiny he would knit
Together in his meditations deep,
with his hair tied so that he wouldn’t sleep.

Around that peg his hair was tied,
To wake him up whenever he tried
To sleep, instead of meditate;
It pulled him up to stay awake.

And I understood, when I saw the wall,
That this path is the same for us all,
That only when we sit and meditate
Can we find the substance that makes us great.

It is the same for me, the same for you
As it was the same for the Guru;
That day by day we must sit and grind
ourselves slowly, slowly but exceedingly fine.

That wooden peg is smooth and worn
In the house where Arjan was born,
For the Guru was a man like you or me
Who followed this path to Victory.

Four hundred years later, here in the West,
Each new day we rise and face the test
To identify ourselves and stand our ground,
In this land where demons are found.

The course hasn’t changed since Guru’s time,
We all must bow low to be divine,
Japa and Tapa we must combine,
To give the light to shunya’s shine.

Guru has walked this way before,
As I walk it now to find his door
And it gives me hope when I recall
that humble peg in Goindwal.

-Guru Tej Singh Khalsa

Guru Nanak Dev Ji returned from his mission tours and lived in Kartarpur until the end of his days. The guru became widely renowned and respected for his humble service to humanity. Newly founded Sikh, Hindu and Muslim devotees all claimed the guru as one of their own prophets.

When it became apparent that Guru Nanak Dev ji’s end was imminent, an argument ensued as to who would claim the guru’s body for funeral rites. The Muslims wished to bury him according to their customs, while the Sikhs and Hindus wished to cremate his body according to their beliefs. To settle the matter, Guru Nanak Dev himself was consulted as to how his remains should be disposed of, and by whom. He explained the concept of joti jot, that only his mortal body would expire, but that light which illumined him was divine light, and would pass to his successor.

The guru requested his devotees to bring flowers and instructed the Sikhs and Hindus to place flowers on his right side and the Muslims to place flowers to his left side.

Guru Granth Sahib

He told them that permission for funeral rites would be determined by whichever set of flowers remained fresh through out the night. After he had departed his body whoever had brought flowers which did not wilt should have the honor of disposing of his mortal remains in the manner they deemed fit. Guru Nanak then requested that the prayers of Sohila and Japji Sahib be uttered. After the prayers had been recited, the guru requested that those present arrange a sheet over his head and body, and then he instructed everyone to leave him. With his last breath, Guru Nanak infused his spiritual light jot into his successor Second Guru Angad Dev.

The Sikh, Hindu and Muslim devotees returned the following morning on September 22, 1539 A.D. They carefully lifted and removed the sheet which had been placed over the guru’s body. All were amazed and astonished to discover that no trace at all remained of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s mortal body. Only fresh flowers remained, for not a single bud had wilted of any blossom which had been left by either Sikhs, Hindus, or Muslims, the night before.

The Sikhs, Hindu and Muslim devotees responded by erecting two separate memorials in order to commemorate Guru Nanak Dev and revere him as their own. Two shrines, one built by Sikhs and Hindus and the other by the Muslims, were placed side by side on the banks of the River Ravi in Kartarpur, a part of Punjab located in modern day Pakistan. Over the centuries, both of the shrines have each washed away twice by flooding, and been rebuilt.

Guru Nanak is considered by Sikhs to have departed his body only. His illumined spirit jot is believed to be immortally divine and to have been passed on through each of the succeeding Sikh gurus, to now and forever reside with Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism as the eternal guide to enlightenment.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji returned from his mission tours and lived in Kartarpur until the end of his days. The guru became widely renowned and respected for his humble service to humanity. Newly founded Sikh, Hindu and Muslim devotees all claimed the guru as one of their own prophets.

When it became apparent that Guru Nanak Dev ji’s end was imminent, an argument ensued as to who would claim the guru’s body for funeral rites. The Muslims wished to bury him according to their customs, while the Sikhs and Hindus wished to cremate his body according to their beliefs. To settle the matter, Guru Nanak Dev himself was consulted as to how his remains should be disposed of, and by whom. He explained the concept of joti jot, that only his mortal body would expire, but that light which illumined him was divine light, and would pass to his successor.

The guru requested his devotees to bring flowers and instructed the Sikhs and Hindus to place flowers on his right side and the Muslims to place flowers to his left side.

Guru Granth Sahib

He told them that permission for funeral rites would be determined by whichever set of flowers remained fresh through out the night. After he had departed his body whoever had brought flowers which did not wilt should have the honor of disposing of his mortal remains in the manner they deemed fit. Guru Nanak then requested that the prayers of Sohila and Japji Sahib be uttered. After the prayers had been recited, the guru requested that those present arrange a sheet over his head and body, and then he instructed everyone to leave him. With his last breath, Guru Nanak infused his spiritual light jot into his successor Second Guru Angad Dev.

The Sikh, Hindu and Muslim devotees returned the following morning on September 22, 1539 A.D. They carefully lifted and removed the sheet which had been placed over the guru’s body. All were amazed and astonished to discover that no trace at all remained of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s mortal body. Only fresh flowers remained, for not a single bud had wilted of any blossom which had been left by either Sikhs, Hindus, or Muslims, the night before.

The Sikhs, Hindu and Muslim devotees responded by erecting two separate memorials in order to commemorate Guru Nanak Dev and revere him as their own. Two shrines, one built by Sikhs and Hindus and the other by the Muslims, were placed side by side on the banks of the River Ravi in Kartarpur, a part of Punjab located in modern day Pakistan. Over the centuries, both of the shrines have each washed away twice by flooding, and been rebuilt.

Guru Nanak is considered by Sikhs to have departed his body only. His illumined spirit jot is believed to be immortally divine and to have been passed on through each of the succeeding Sikh gurus, to now and forever reside with Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism as the eternal guide to enlightenment.