Nanak

Nanak

(born April 15, 1469, Rai Bhoi di Talvandi, near Lahore, India—died 1539, Kartarpur, Punjab) Indian founder of Sikhism. Born into a Hindu merchant caste, he worked as a storekeeper until a spiritual experience incited him to leave his job and family and begin a 20-year phase of travel. He eventually settled in Kartarpur, a village in Punjab, to which he attracted many disciples, and he became the first Guru of the Sikhs. His doctrine stressed the unity and uniqueness of God and offered salvation through disciplined meditation on the divine name. It stipulated that meditation must be inward and rejected all external aids such as idols, temples, mosques, scriptures, and set prayers. After his death the stories told of his life were collected in anthologies called the Janam-sakhis.