Biographical narratives of Guru Nanak Sahib.
Multan is one of the oldest towns of Panjab. After the arrival of Muslims in India, Multan became a major center of Islam. Shams Tabrizi, whose real name was Shamsuddin, came from Sabzevar, Afghanistan, and settled here in the 17th century. Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya came and settled here in the 12th century. After their death, people from far and wide used to visit the tombs of these two Muslim saints. Due to the presence of these two tombs, Multan became a major center for the Muslim saints. At the time of Guru Nanak Sahib, there were many Muslim saints of different sects living in Multan. -Kirpal Singh, Janam Sakhi Parampara: Itihasak Drishtikon Ton, page 120-121.
There are different opinions about when Guru Nanak Sahib went to Multan. According to Bhai Gurdas, the Guru resided at Kartarpur Sahib after completing his travels.
The journeys (udasis) undertaken by Guru Nanak Sahib to distant places, to dialogue with people of other faith traditions, and to convey the message of Sikhi.
jiṇi melā sivrāti dā khaṭ darsan ādesi karāī….
melioṁ bābā uṭhiā multāne dī jārati jāī. -Bhai Gurdas, Var 1, Pauri 44.
Based on the vars of Bhai Gurdas, Prof. Sahib Singh and Dr. Trilochan Singh also mentioned the Guru’s visit to Multan during his stay at Kartarpur.
Prof. Sahib Singh, Jivan-Britant Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, page 202-207; Dr. Trilochan Singh, Jivan Charitar Guru Nanak Dev, page 362-363.
Quoting an old janamsakhi, Fauja Singh and Kirpal Singh have written that Guru Nanak Sahib went to Multan during his second udasi… According to the Meharban Janamsakhi, the Guru went to Multan during the udasi to the west, which according to Fauja Singh and Kirpal Singh, is the second udasi.
Fauja Singh and Kirpal Singh, Atlas Travels of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, page 44-46; In Puratan Janamsakhi, the second udasi of Guru Nanak Sahib is towards the South. In story number forty-five, the possibility of the Guru’s meeting with Makhdum Bahavadi is mentioned. There is no mention of any place in this story. But in the abovementioned atlas, Fauja Singh and Kirpal Singh have written about the Guru’s visit to Multan during this udasi as per the details available in Puratan Janamsakhi.
According to Bhai Gurdas, when Guru Nanak Sahib reached Multan, the Muslim saints from there sent a bowl of milk to the Guru:
agoṁ pīr multān de dudhi kaṭorā bhari lai āī.
bābe kaḍhi kari bagal te cambelī dudh vici milāī.
jiu sāgar vici gaṅg samāī. -Bhai Gurdas, Var 1, Pauri 44.
Describing the incident in ‘Guru Nanak Chamatkar,’ Bhai Vir Singh writes that the pirs brought a bowl of milk. Guru Nanak took a flower of jasmine; he placed it on the milk and indicated that his presence should be seen as that of a flower. It does not intend to give any pain. The Divine is without enmity. Let’s seek saints who are without enmity. There should be love among all beings:
duddha dā kaṭorā āyā pīrāṁ dī sugāt bhārī, vekh gurū nānak us duddha tāīṁ hassiā.
phulla lai cambelī sandā malakṛe ṭikāṁvadā nī, duddha ute phulla suhṇā baiṭh ke sarassiā.
phullāṁ vālā mel sāḍā, dukhṇā dukhāvaṇā nā, pīrāṁ tāīṁ gurū jī ne bhāv aiuṁ dassiā.
rabba nirvair, rahit sant vair loṛīe jī, jīv jīv vic payār cāhīdā hai rassiā.
Bhai Vir Singh Rachnavali, (volume four), part two, Guru Nanak Chamatkar, page 765.
According to Prof. Sahib Singh, sending a bowl of milk meant that the wisdom of the saints taught to live a life as pure and spotless as milk. The Guru placing the jasmine flower on the milk was meant to convey that to live a spotless life, one ought to rise above worldly attachment, like the flower floating on the milk.
Prof. Sahib Singh, Jivan-Britant Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, page 206.
According to Kirpal Singh, one of the messages of the saints sending a bowl full of milk was that there were already enough saints in Multan, so there was no room for another one. The jasmine flower that the Guru placed on the milk meant that no matter how many saints there were, he would still be able to settle among them. Kirpal Singh is of the opinion that the incident of sending a bowl of milk by the saints has been shown (along with references) to have happened with many other saints. It is also possible that this incident may have been repeated several times. According to the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, when Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani, the founder of the Qadri sect of Sufis, went to Baghdad, the saints of Baghdad sent him a bowl full of milk, and Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani placed a rose on the milk. Page 288 of the Multan District Gazetteer states that when Shams Tabrizi came to Multan, the saints of Multan also sent a bowl of milk to him, and he placed a rose petal on it.
Kirpal Singh, Janam Sakhi Parampara: Itihasak Drishtikon Ton, page 155.
Dr. Trilochan Singh writes that when the Sufi saints of Multan wanted to ask a great man to leave Multan, they would send that message through a gentle gesture. When Sheikh Farid’s spiritual teacher, Bakhtiar Kaki came to Multan, his shoes were pointed outwards as a hint to him to leave Multan.
Dr. Trilochan Singh, Jivan Charitra Guru Nanak Dev, page 362.
According to Meharban Janamsakhi, the Guru met the grandson of Pir Bahawadi
‘Pir Bahawadi’ refers to Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya (a Sufi saint who was a contemporary of Baba Farid). He was a resident of Multan. He was born in Kot-Karor, District Multan (Pakistan), in 1170 CE. He was the son of Qutbuddin Muhammad and the grandson of Jamaluddin Qureshi. After receiving religious education, he moved to Baghdad and became a follower of Sheikh Shahabuddin Suhrawardi. After that, he returned to Multan. Here, his following increased quite a lot. He died on 7 November 1266. -Dr. Kirpal Singh (editor), Sri Gur Nanak Parkash, Utarardh (part two) Krit Kavi Churamani Bhai Santokh Singh Ji, page 27.
The name of the grandson of ‘Pir Bahavadi’ is not mentioned in the Janamsakhi of Meharban. But Kirpal Singh writes on page 155 of the book ‘Janamsakhi Parampara: Itihasak Drishtikon Ton’ that the Guru met Sheikh Bahauddin Makhdum in Multan, who was a contemporary of Guru Nanak Sahib. In a footnote on page 120 of the same book, he writes, “In Valait Vali Janamsakhi, he is described as the grandson of Pir Bahawadi. But he was the fifth-sixth generation from Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya.”
Kirpal Singh, Shamsher Singh Ashok, (editor) Janamsakhi Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Likhat Sri Meharban Ji Sodhi, page 434-435.
Kirpal Singh, Sakhi Parampara: Itihasak Drishtikon Ton, page 155.
Sheikh Bahau-din Makhdum was very impressed after listening to the Sabad. He said to the Guru, you are a great and aware person who has made us see the Divine. In reply, the Guru said, you inherit the grand legacy of the great saint Bahawadi, and you too are great.
Kirpal Singh, Shamsher Singh Ashok, (editor), Janamsakhi Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Likhat Sri Meharban Ji Sodhi, page 438.
In the Meharban Janamsakhi, the utterance of the second Sabad is also associated with Multan. In this Janamsakhi, the preface of this Sabad is associated with social dealings. According to this preface, Guru Nanak Sahib was in Multan and observed a woman was going to her in-laws from her parental house. Her aunts, sisters, sisters-in-law, and other women from her neighborhood were crying while embracing her. The Guru looked at them and began to think. Bhai Mardana asked the Guru, what is the purpose of their crying? The Guru said they are crying because of love and attachment at the time of their parting. But if such crying is for the Divine, then it has significance. The relationships with sisters and sisters-in-law are of no use in the spiritual life. Only the truth-oriented companions, who are pleasing to the Guru, can be useful in spiritual life. Here, the Guru uttered the following Sabad: nā bhaiṇā bharjāīā… sace jehaṛā soi. -Guru Granth Sahib 1015.
No historical information could be found regarding the third Sabad ‘nā jāṇā mūrakhu hai koī,’ under the title of ‘Maru Kaphi Mahala 1.’
