Impact of Guru Nanak's Teachings on Society

Guru Nanak occupies a high place among the sages and seers of the world. He spent his whole life in preaching a religion based on all that was beneficial to all human beings - to the Hindus as well as Muslims. His philosophy was simple but very meaningful and impressive.

The teachings of Guru Nanak had a great impact on the society. Guru Nanak discovered that the root cause of all the ills of the society was the moral degradation of people.He felt that the root cause of all the ills of the society steeped in ignorance and corruption nothing could be done for them.He preached against idol worship and caste distinctions both by percept and example.He chose to dine with persons of low castes and classes.He freed them from the bondage of worshipping many gods and goddesses and led them to accept one Supreme Being as the creator and sustainer of all, no matter by what name they called him.

Guru Nanak aroused the spirit of patriotism among the people.He vehemently protested against the invasions of the foreign invaders and atrocities of the kings. His heart bled to see the sufferings of his countrymen.He called upon them to fight for the country’s freedom from the tyrants. For his bold challenge to the tyrannical rule and oppression, he was arrested by the agents of Sikander Lodhi. But the high handedness of the rulers of the time could not detract him from the path of truth.

Guru Nanak was the first popular leader of the Punjab in the recorded history. And even though the number of his actual disciples was perhaps not very great, the number of those who paid homage to the ideal of “there is no Hindu, there is no Musalman” was remarkable. It was this ideal which gave birth to Punjabi consciousness and to Punjabi nationalism.

Guru Nanak stood for the emancipation of women. He declared that women were in no way inferior to men but had equal responsibilities. He sympathised with the suffering womanhood and gave it a full share in the goodness of God. Religious congregations were thrown open to them. They were to partake freely in the secular and religious observances and no social custom was to hinder them in doing so.

Guru Nanak’s contribution in improving the moral and spiritual tone of the people was indeed commendable. His work in the field of social and religious reform was equally great. Gokal Chand Narang beautifully sums up the impact of his preachings on society in these words, “Guru Nanak left the Hindus of the Punjab immensely better than he had found them.Their beliefs had been ennobled, their worship purified, their rigidity off caste considerably relaxed, their minds greatly emancipated and they had now become more fit to enter on the carrer of natural progress to which Nanak’s successors were destined to lead them.”

It goes to Guru Nanak’s credit that, “No one before him and no one after him in the Punjab had commended such a profound respect and deep love of the people, as was enjoyed by this great ‘beloved of God’ , the ‘hero of humanity’. Millions of the people of Punjab-Hindus, Sikhs and even Muslims-daily recite his hymns (Jupji and Asa Di War) in the morning before even starting their work”.

By: Harman Sandhu