Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Historical Gurdwaras of India and Pakistan Yatra Part 9: Chuna Mundi and Kartarpur

Moving on to the next part of our yatra, we visited Chuna Mundi and Kartarpur.

Day 13
GURDWARA JANAM ASTHAN SRI GURU RAMDAS 
This Gurdwara is in Chuna (Choona) Mundi Bazaar in Lahore. Due to the location, the bazar can get extremely busy and it is best visited during certain times of day when there is less traffic. This is where Guru Ram Das Ji was born on September 24, 1534 to parents Sodhi Hardas Ji and Mata Daya Kaur. Maharani Nakain asked her husband, Maharaja Ranjit Singh to rebuild this Gurdwara Sahib in celebration of the birth of her son, as the original home of Guru Ji was small. Maharaja Ranjit Singh purchased some surrounding land and the Gurdwara was made in a similar style to Harmandir Sahib. This is where the Singh Sabha movement started, and the Gurdwara was under the control of the Shiromani Committee from 1927 to partition in ’47, when 18 Sikhs were martyred there. It has all been subsequently repaired. We got the Hukamnama on Ang 728, "Bhanda thoee bais thoop."









On the way to Kartarpur:






Our bus driver brought some amrood (guava) for us. They were DELICIOUS! We miss them now because the India ones and Canada ones didn't taste as good.



GURDWARA KARTARPUR SAHIB 
Gurdwara Kartarpur is in Kartarpur city, only 3 km from the border with India. Karori Mal (aka Duni Chand) was jealous that the Guru Ji was attracting so many followers. He was the governor of Kalanaur and went to arrest Guru Ji, but fell off his horse onto the ground and his turban rolled to the ground. The second time, he became blind. Finally he apologized to Guru Ji, and became a Sikh of Guru Ji. He gave Guru Nanak Dev Ji 100 acres of land on the bank of the Ravi. Guru Ji then settled here, made a hut and laid the foundation of Kartarpur in 1515. He stayed here for 18 years as a householder, cultivating the land with his parents, wife, and sons. Kartarpur became the first Sikh center. Guru Ji started langar here using locally grown food served by the sangat. Sarans were built, and Guru Ji sang Gurbani and delivered katha. This was also where Guru Ji appointed Bhai Lehna (Guru Angad Dev Ji) as his successor. Guru Ji also merged with God at Kartarpur. After this, Hindus and Muslims argued about what should be done with Guru Ji’s body (cremation or burial). They decided that flowers would be placed on Guru Ji’s body, whoevers were found to be withered the next day would lose but when the sheet was removed, the body was missing and the flowers were all fresh. The communities divided the sheet, and the Muslims buried it while the Hindus cremated it. Thus per Hindu tradition there is a Samadh in the Gurdwara, and a grave as per Muslim tradition. The original hut was washed away by floods. This site is therefore an important location for celebrating that Guru Ji was loved by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs alike, and a message of peace for all. The current Gurdwara Sahib was built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. 

 Here I read the shabads "Har ras peevai" and "Re man aiso kar sanyasa." Then we did ardas and the Hukamnama on Ang 615 “Prabh ke saran sagal pei lathe” was read. There are currently attempts to make a corridor between Pakistan and India to allow people to come visit on Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s 550th Parkash Divas. There was a lot of construction happening in the area and we got to eat langar which was locally grown... Again the rotis were like 4 times the size of ours!  






















We joked that these trucks look like they're going to get married! They were carrying just dirt







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3 comments:

  1. River OCeanJuly 8, 2019 at 4:31 AM

    Regular Punjabi folks are now talking about Big Fat Punjabi weddings - Those who have the money can do it - but why should regular folk take loans to do it - what a waste of money and envoirnment for an Ego trip

    https://www.facebook.com/Bharowal1/posts/2340434769545941?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBNrFve8mHbzL21yCIAhSqtAlDak_plu677-YzKYRfs0jvvfhKM2W1JeXXybkBgfdTkP5OMSjgFJynhi6WVJbRQdvegWADMTZELQ4tE8t-zfWJAY5DmdaQPqOVYCe078R8OaLszhnXNe7q7TYV9NdhKfA_1lyaYS5yyZwsGvIv-GU8hWnF7qjloxWVObRISXbfJD61sfzqjLDoqPKVpt72zxk1-l5r6e5C6NvjN5aZBoSSWka_STZxZ4m9gA9hJ-gWG-FtHr05gvF67tZXTxIsmK3Hw0z56Svy1MLrP77H5iNE3QZ0aJ2UNcQMiQoGmAF2kBF-xmyjDpDf6wzW61jTMl2Po&__tn__=K-R

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  2. River OCeanJuly 10, 2019 at 11:14 AM

    Idea of Democracy is said to have sprung up in the UK and United States - John Locke, John Stuart Mill and the Founding fathers of the U.S Constitution. Shri Guru Baba Nanak and other Bhagats talked about this earlier - perhaps other religious figures like Jesus

    This guy was alive during the time of Shri Guru Teg Bhadur sahib ji and Shri Guru Gobind Singh ji
    JOhn Locke on Religious tolerance, Liberty, justice
    John Locke FRS (/lɒk/; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism".[9][10][11] Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Sir Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social contract theory. His work greatly affected the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence.[12

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke

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  3. River OCeanJuly 12, 2019 at 4:49 AM

    Good story out of Quebec. During 1990 there was a Stand off between Quebec govt and the Native Indians west of Montreal toward Ottawa border. The local municipality wanted to develop it as a golf resort. The Natives said it's their sacred forest planted by their elders long hundreds of years ago. The Quebec govt even called the Military to take over it. But later the Courts halted the process. Now a businessman who owns it wants to GIVE IT BACK to the Natives. What a heart warming gesture

    Developer offers to give land back to First Nation where Oka Crisis happened
    Social Sharing
    Land is a part of The Pines, a forested area important to the Mohawks of Kanesatake

    A Quebec developer is offering to give back to the Mohawks of Kanesatake part of a forested area of land that was at the heart of the Oka Crisis.

    Grégoire Gollin said he's committed to transferring around 60 hectares of the forest known as The Pines in the spirit of reconciliation, through a federal ecological gifts program.

    "As a citizen, I don't have to wait for the government to do my contribution to reconciliation," he said.

    "My concrete gesture is to initiate giving back to the Kanesatake this piece of forest I own and they value a lot in their heart because it has been planted by their ancestors."
    https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/kanesatake-pines-gregoire-gollin-1.5204242

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