Dr Sarbpreet Singh

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 1

Writer Sarbpreet Singh explored a less widely understood aspect of Guru Nanak Dev’s personality as he interpreted his point of view from his book ‘When the Lion Roared’ at a web session held by Majha House. The session marked the 551st birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and talked about the lesser known aspects of his personality. Throwing light on different traits of the first Sikh Guru’s personality, while interpreting verses and instances from Guru Granth Sahib, Sarbpreet said Guru Nanak had always been depicted as immersed in meditation in most commercial and popular spiritual art. “However, it sometimes seems that he has been reduced to a caricature of himself, characterised by the bazaar art that depicts him as a greybeard in a white or saffron turban, deep in meditation with heavy lidded eyes that are intended to convey a sense of spiritual immersion. It is absolutely true that Guru Nanak was defined by his spirituality and his devotion to the divine. He was a beacon of compassion who spent his entire life emphasising equality and tolerance, attributes that are rightly celebrated today. And yet, there were aspects to his personality that are no less significant, which have been eclipsed by this reductionist view,” he said. He has resonated this point of view in his book as well, comparing the Guru’s Bani (holy words) to a lion’s roar. He asserted that even now, we only have a passing sense of who Guru Nanak was as we try to understand the relevance of his teachings and philosophy.

He said that Bhai Gurdas, a 17th-century Sikh poet, one of the earliest biographers of Guru Nanak, too refers to him as a roaring lion in one of his ballads.

“Similarly, Guru Gobind Singh has always been portrayed as a fierce warrior whereas another aspect of his personality was that he was also a sensitive poet. Sikh Gurus have always stood against the atrocities and social injustice and raised their voice against evil that is no less than a lion’s roar,” he said.