By Karminder Singh Dhillon | The Sikh Bulletin |
Guru Nanak was born on the 1st of Vesakh 1469. Bhai Gurdas provides the evidence when he writes about the advent of Guru Nanak. In Paurri 27 of his first vaar he writes:
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਨਾਨਕ ਪ੍ਰਗਟਿਆ ਮਿਟੀ ਧੁੰਧ ਜਗ ਚਾਨਣ ਹੋਆ॥
ਜਿਉਂ ਕਰ ਸੂਰਜ ਨਿਕਲਿਆ ਤਾਰੇ ਛਪੇ ਅੰਧੇਰ ਪਲੋਆ॥
Satgur Nanak Pargateya Mitee Dhund Jug Chanan Hoa.
Jion Kar Suraj Nikleya Tarey Chapey Abdher Paloa.
Meaning: The Advent of Guru Nanak Was the Lifting of the Fog of Spiritual Un-enlightenment. His Coming was the Rising of the Sun, meaning it was the Dawn of Enlightenment that led to the Removal of Inner Darkness.
One couplet later, he writes:
ਘਰ ਘਰ ਅੰਦਰ ਧਰਮਸਾਲ ਹੋਵੈ ਕੀਰਤਨ ਸਦਾ ਵਿਸੋਆ॥
Ghar Ghar Ander Dharamsaal Hoveiy Kirtan Sda Vasoa.
Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha defines Vasoa in his Mahan Kosh – the Encyclopedia of Sikhi – as the 1st day of the month of Vesakh. Vasoa is what we call Vesakhi these days.
Yet, the Sikh world celebrates the birthday of Guru Nanak in the month of Katak which corresponds to October or November. How did Sikhs get something as basic and as crucial as the birthdate of their founder Guru so terribly wrong? The correct word for the falsification of the date of birth of Guru Nanak is conspiracy. The fabricating of the birthdate of Guru Nanak to Katak from Vesakh is akin to the hijacking of Guru Nanak’s birthday.
Two other documents that were composed prior to the writings of Bhai Gurdas – namely the Sakhi Mehlay Pehla Ki by Sheehan Upal and Janam Patri Babey Ki by Bhai Boola Pandhay Di say that Guru Nanak was born in Vesakh. These documents were composed in 1570 and 1597 respectively – during the era of the third and fourth Gurus.
There is no denying that the 6 basic Janam Sakhis that the Sikh world has inherited are deeply flawed; presenting narratives that are distorted, corrupted and concocted even. Unfortunately for the Sikh world, such is the reality of a large plethora of what call our “classical texts” – a large majority of which were written, sponsored or inspired by anti-Sikh elements, in particular the Benares-based and educated nirmlas. But on the issue of Guru Nanak’s birthdate – 5 of the 6 Janam Sakhis – namely the Meharban Vali Janam Sakhi, Bhai Mani Singh Vali Janam Sakhi, B-40 Janam Sakhi, Puratan Janam Sakhi, and the Pathar Day Chapay Vali Janam Sakhi say that Guru Nanak was born in Vesakh. Only one Janam Sakhi – the Bala Janam Sakhi – which is not just fraudulent, but deeply blasphemous – says Guru Nanak was born in Katak.
FOR MORE REPORTS ON GURU NANAK’S BIRTHDAY, CLICK HERE
Then we have seven prominent Sikh and non-Sikh historians who say that Guru Nanak was born in Vesakh. They are Karam Singh Historian, Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, Dr. Ganda Singh, Principal Satbir Singh, Prof Sahib Singh, Dr. Hari Ram Gupta and M.A. Macauliffe.
Back to the Janam Sakhis – there are two things that they agree upon. First that Guru Nanak lived a total of 70 years, 5 months and 7 days. And two that his demise happened on Assu 10, 1596 (1539 AD). This date is recorded in documents that were composed during the Guru period such as the Kartarpuri Beer.
PAL SINGH PUREWAL
Pal Singh Purewal, the inventor of the Nanakshahi Solar based calendar, has made this straightforward but startling revelation and calculation. He says – since everyone agrees on the date of passing, and on the exact age of Guru Nanak right down to days – then what we need to do is to subtract 70 years, 5 months and 7 days from the date of passing to get the birth date. In a paper presented by Purewal at the International Seminar on Sikh History in 1995 and published by the SGPC, Guru Nanak Dev University and Punjabi University – he worked out the date. He subtracted 70 years, 5 months and 7 days – Guru Nanak’s age – from the date of passing – and arrived at 1st of Vesakh 1469 which corresponded with the 27th of March 1469. (The Punjabi version of Purewal’s paper is published in this issue.)
READ ALSO: 13 Questions on Guru Nanak’s Birthday
Of the 6 Janam Sakhis, five state Guru Nanak’s birth date as 3rd of Vesakh – which means they were off by 2 days. The sixth one – Bala Janam Sakhi – pushed Guru Nanak’s birth date 7 months down to Katak di puranmashi. While an error of 2 days can be accepted as genuine, seven months is something else altogether.
KARAM SINGH HISTORIAN & BIG BALA BLUFF
In 1930 – Karam Singh Historian wrote his most complete and thoroughly researched book titled Katak Kay Vesakh. He answered the question in favor of Vaisakh and put the primary blame for the seed of the Kathik conspiracy on the Bala Janam Sakhi.
This Janam Sakhi beats virtually everything that has ever been concocted, fabricated and manufactured against Guru Nanak. It is downright blasphemous. Prof S. S. Padam has labelled it as the Big Bala Bluff. The bluff is that Bhai Bala was a companion of Guru Nanak, and that he narrated the entire Janam Sakhi to Guru Angad, who had it scribed. Guru Nanak had no companion by the name of Bala. His companion was Bhai Mardana. So basically then, the so called companion and narrator of this Janam Sikhi never existed. He is a concoction.
RELATED ARTICLE: 555th Parkash Purab of Guru Nanak
Additionally, the Bala Janm Sakhi was written 120 years after the demise of Guru Nanak. There was no Guru Angad to narrate it to. In any case, Guru Angad had spent 12 years in the company of Guru Nanak. He needed no narration of any tales about Guru Nanak. He was the Jyot of Nanak.
The truth of the Bala Janam Sakhi is that it is the handiwork of the anti-Sikh and heretic sect led by Bidhi Chand who became its leader in 1648 after the demise of his father Handal – a masand of Jandiala. The Bala Janm Sakhi was compiled by Bidhi Chand Hindali to belittle Guru Nanak. The narrator of this Janm Sakhi is therefore Bidhi Chand himself – who makes his elder brother Bal Chand into Bhai Bala – the fake and non-existant companion of Guru Nanak. The author is Gorakh Das and publisher Lala Pannu. The first copy was published in Lahore in 1658. This is the final verse of this Bhai Bala Janam Sakhi reads: ਸਮੰਤੁ॥ 1715॥ਮਾਘ ਸੁਦੀ॥6 ਪੋਥੀ ਲਿਖੀ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ਗੋਰਖ ਦਾਸ ਸੰਗਤ ਗੁਰੂ ਕਾ ਜਾਚਕ॥ Sammat. 1715. Magh Sudi 6. Pothi Likhi Gurparsad Gorakh Das Sangat Guru Ka Jachik. Translation: Magh 6th, Year 1715 (1658 AD). Book written with the blessings of the Guru by Gorakh Das, disciple of the sangat of the Guru. The Guru here is Handal – the masand of Jandiala.
The Bala Janam Sakhi contains blasphemous stuff such as Guru Nanak’s past life as a “low caste Tayli.” It states the reason for Guru Nanak’s birth in “Kalyug” was to allow him to cleanse his sins. It refers to Guru Nanak’s father as a “chandal” (low born, demonic person). The self-promotion is equally blasphemous – that Guru Angad promises whoever who reads the Bala Janam Sakhi a place in heaven.
This Bala Janm Sakhi was distributed widely to nirmla controlled gurdwaras where it was propagated widely by the nirmlas to become the most prominent of the 6 Janam Sakhis.
This is what Karam Singh Historian writes about the Bhai Bala Janam Sakhi: “The Bhai Bala Janam Sakhi Is a Totally False, Fraudulent Book from Start to Finish. It’s Full of Vilification of the Sikh Gurus Through the Creation of Fake Stories, Concocted Narratives, and Totally Unbelievable Tales. This Book Should Be Buried Miles Deep, So Deep That It Is Never Found Again”
Essentially then, Historian Karam Singh’s book Katak Kay Vesakh was the first complete, compelling and thoroughly researched work that established convincingly with facts and data that Guru Nanak’s birthdate had been hijacked from Vaisakh to Katak.
GYANI GYAN SINGH & BHAI VEER SINGH
It was expected that the nirmlas, dera sants and taksali babas were upset over Karam Singh’s book. This is what the leading nirmla writer Gyani Gyan Singh wrote to Karam Singh to include in his book. “Your effort is praiseworthy but I fear that a critique of classical texts that are accepted within the Panth will result in a dispute that will have no real long term benefits.” Readers will note that the so called classical text that is being critiqued by Karam Singh is the Bala Janam Sakhi. Nirmla Gyani Gyan Singh continues: If a critic and atheist claims that the narratives within the Janam Sakhi are baseless lies, then he should read the Hindu Purans, the Islamic Hadiths, Christian Bible and Jewish Torah – there is plenty of darkness in everyone’s home. Therefore, everyone has to accept both the right and the wrong things.”
The logic of this top notch nirmla writer Gyani Gyan Singh is astounding indeed: If there is darkness in everyone else’s home, we too should blow out our candles and switch of our lights.
The other leading nirmla writer of the era Bhai Veer Singh displayed a shrewdness that defined him. He praised the book: “Sardar Karam Singh has made extremely valuable contributions to Sikh history by including content that relies on the truth, stays within the confines of compassion and in fear of injustice.”
Yet immediately after going on sale, the publisher Chief Khalsa Diwan stopped the sale, distribution and publication of Karam Singh’s book. Singh Sabha International Canada has made the assertion that nirmla Bhai Veer Singh was behind this act. Bhai Veer Singh had considerable influence over the Chief Khalsa Diwan as he had played a crucial role in its founding.
Hira Singh Dard, Editor of Phulvari magazine, obtained a copy from the personal library of one Gurbax Singh of Bagbanpura and republished it three years after it disappeared from the shelves. Singh Sabha International Canada, under the leadership of Gurcharan Singh Brar Jeonwala re-published it in 2019.
SRI CHAND INFLUENCE
It is not just the date that the Sikh world got wrong. They got the celebration wrong, too.
For some 62 years after the defeat of Banda Singh Bahadur’s defeat and massacre, and in light of the fact that genuine Sikhs had a hefty price on their heads, the Sikh Gurdwaras in Punjab were controlled by udasis – followers of Baba Sri Chand – the eldest but disowned son of Guru Nanak. The udasis claimed that Sri Chand was the rightful second Guru of the Sikhs. Given that they had control of major Sikh Gurdwaras they started celebrating Guru Nanak’s birthday in Katak di Puranmasi – which was actually the birthday of Sri Chand – who was their Guru.
The evidence of Sri Chand’s birthday falling on Katak di puranmashi is contained within the udasi text Nanak Bans Parkash. This was written in 1815 by Baba Sukhbasi who was the 8th generation offspring of Baba Lakhmi Dass – Guru Nanak’s younger son. He writes: ਸੁਭ ਨਖਯਤ੍ਰ ਸੁਭ ਲਗਨ ਬਰ ਕਾਤਕ ਮਾਸ ਪੁਨੀਤ॥ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਚੰਦ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਗਟੇ ਅਦਭੁਤ ਨਿਰਮਲ ਚੀਤ॥ Shubh Nakhiyatar Shubh Lagan Bar Katak Mas Puneet. Sri Chand Satgur Pargtay Adbhut Nirmal Cheet. Meaning our Satgur Sri Chand was born on the puranmashi of Katak. Now, this same udasi text states that Guru Nanak’s birth was in the month of Vaisakh. The verse is: ਸੰਬਤ ਬਿਕ੍ਰਮ ਨ੍ਰਿਪਤ ਕੇ ਪੰਦ੍ਰਹ ਸਤਿ ਖਟਿ ਬੀਸ॥ ਅਖਯ-(ਸੁਦੀ) ਤੀਜ ਤਿਥਿ ਮਾਸ ਬਰ ਮਾਧਵਿ(ਵੈਸਾਖ) ਪ੍ਰਗਟੇ ਈਸ॥ Sambat Bikram Nripat Kay Pandhreh Sat Khat Bees. Akiyey (Sudi) Teej Teth Mas Bar Madhav (Vaisakh) Pargtay Aiye. Meaning: The Year was 1526. The date was the 3rd and the month of birth was Vaisakh. So it was clear that the udasis knew the truth. Katak di puranmashi was all about giving reverence to Sri Chand as their Guru.
Historian M.A McAuliffe has said that the Sikh world had the date of Guru Nanak’s birth correct till 1816 – a year when the political leader of the Sikhs was Maharaja Ranjit Singh and their religious leader nirmla Gyani Sant Singh as head granthi of Darbar Sahib. The nirmla convinced the Maharaja to use his office to have Nankana Sahib celebrate Guru Nanak’s birthday in Katak – November – for the first time in 1816. It would take another hundred years before the Katak date would become acceptable to the Sikh world at large. So that’s 200 years of celebrating it on the wrong date after 346 years of celebrating it on the correct date.
WHY ARE WE STUCK?
The question then is: why can’t the Sikh world revert to celebrating Guru Nanak’s birthday in Vesakh?
Three major reasons can be advanced. One, the Hijackers of Sikhi – the nirmlas – are still very much in control of the Sikh psyche. After they were removed from our Gurdwaras in 1925, they moved into deras and taksals and became sants and babas. Virtually all deras, taksals and sampardas of today are seeped into nirmla thought. This means 16 thousand deras and their sants and babas continue to peddle the big lie of Katak and continue to celebrate the birthday of Guru Nanak in Katak – and not Vesakh. Two, the Sikh leadership – the SGPC, our takhats, universities, and institutions – right down to our gurdwaras – comprises mainly of people who are either dera or taksal trained or aligned with nirmla thought. Three, the Sikh masses are mostly unaware, un-concerned, and oblivious. Most Sikhs don’t really care and don’t want to know. Exceptions – if any – are few and far in between. It is sad, pathetic indeed, that we have got the most basic thing – the birth date – of our founder Guru wrong, and proudly become part of the crowds that gather on the wrong date to celebrate the event.
This does not mean there aren’t Sikhs – intellectuals included – who are not bending over backwards to prove that the correct date is Katak. They quote the 345th Kabit of Bhai Gurdas – a poem that mentions Katak but has nothing to do with the birth of Guru Nanak. The context of this Kabit is something else altogether. They also quote a whole host of literature that is written in the post – Bala Janam Sakhi period by authors who were already influenced by the Hindali conspiracy.
What can we – ordinary, lay or common Sikhs do about it? We can bring to ask ourselves three simple basic questions: One, will we get the birthdates of our loved one’s off by 7 months? If such an error is unacceptable under the norms of basic courtesy and foundational decency – then why is the birthdate of Guru Nanak held to a much lower standard – to be tossed around at the whims of the hijackers of our faith. After all, he was the man who brought us Sikhi, our spirituality and our divinity.
Then we can ask ourselves a second question. If someone organized a grand celebration for the birthday of our father – a majestic celebration – but on a date that was seven months off – would we strive to get the date corrected? Would we say we will not attend unless the date was righted? That we would not be made a fool of something as basic as getting the date right? Or would we attend anyway – just grateful that someone was having a celebration for our dad. Attend anyway because if we didn’t, then someone else may get the honor?
Now, when our institutions – the SGPC, the takhats right down to our local gurdwaras – are told that we have got the date wrong – their response is: but thousands of Sikhs are attending and they keep attending, thousands are giving us money and support to make it even grander the next year – surely we must be doing the right thing – the crowds and the collections speak for themselves. Why must we change anything in the midst of such support?
Here we can ask ourselves a third question. Am I one of these thousands who is providing the hijackers of Guru Nanak’s birthday, the conspirators, and our lazy, corrupted and decrepit leadership the license, support, the crowd, and money to carry on making a mockery of our Guru, and ungrateful fools of us Sikhs.
One wonders if there is any community in the world – other than ours – who is foolish enough to have got the birthdate of its founder wrong? It may be excusable if the founder was born thousands of years ago. But Guru Nanak is merely 555 years ago. Is there any community in the world – other than ours – whose collective conscience is so dead- that after being told and proven to that the date is wrong – carries on celebrating the wrong date as if it didn’t matter?
Sikh thinker, writer and parcharak Karminder Singh Dhillon, PhD (Boston), is a retired Malaysian civil servant. He is the joint-editor of The Sikh Bulletin and author of The Hijacking of Sikhi. This article appeared in the The Sikh Bulletin – 2024 Issue 2 (April-June 2024). Click here to retrieve archived copies of the bulletin. The author can be contacted at dhillon99@gmail.com.
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