The origins of Sikhi are very much based in notions of exploration, discovery, and curiosity. Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of the Sikh faith, spent most of his life traveling by foot throughout Asia and surrounding areas to have conversations about life, creation, and purpose with anyone who was willing to engage with him. Writing about some of these encounters in Sidh Gosht, Guru Nanak Dev Ji demonstrates for Sikhs how we must constantly question and challenge the ways in which we have been taught to seek piety or a higher consciousness. Can this actually be found through secluding ourselves in meditation? Removing ourselves from all worldly interaction and practicing supernatural powers? Guru Nanak Dev Ji, and the remainder of the Sikh Gurus, said no, instead preaching that we must pursue the Truth—our universal Creator—by freeing ourselves from the evils of this world (attachment, greed, anger, ego, lust) while living in it.
As a child, I was perhaps more taken by Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s travels than the ideas he discusses in Sidh Gosht. I heard countless bedtime stories about the people, good and bad, that Guru Nanak Dev Ji would meet, the ways in which he impacted them through his wisdom, and all the markers he left behind in these lessons. I heard about Bhai Mardana, Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s travel companion, a rababi born to a Muslim family who would accompany Guru Nanak Dev Ji as they shared poetry and Gurbani (Sikh scripture) with those they encountered. Tracing beautiful portraits of these two enjoying the shade of a tree while reciting the praise of the Creator, I felt transported to another time when one could just walk and walk, find someone new, and share ideas over tea and food. As a young girl, I was learning from his travels nearly 500 years later.
But I know the inspiration of his travels did not stop with me nor in my youth. This past summer, I spent about a month in India with my family, taking the opportunity before I started graduate school to visit historical and religious sites together. Upon arriving at one gurdwara, we noticed this large, extensive map on the wall of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s travels. The four of us stood in front of the map for some time, commenting on the variations in nations that existed then versus now, the great distances that Guru Nanak Dev Ji traveled to have these conversations, and all the iterations of his travels (known to Sikhs as udaasis) that occurred. We were enchanted with the idea of Sikhi being the guiding light that took Guru Nanak Dev Ji across the world and allowed him to share his wisdom, which then allowed Sikhi to be framed by the practices of those around him.
As I looked at the map, I couldn’t help but remember my own travels and how they developed my own ideas of Sikhi and religion. In addition to growing up in a Sikh household, I was raised by parents who took a Sikh approach to every aspect of life. Whether it was in small interactions at school or large life choices, my parents modeled and taught me to put Sikh ideology at the forefront of each and every decision. So, as I traveled, Sikhi was at the forefront. It guided my approaches to new environments and new interactions, it encouraged me when I ran into inevitable travel snafus, and it strengthened me when I felt that my path—whether literal or metaphorical—during my travels was unclear. Looking back, I feel that Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s spirit and his udaasis were actively guiding me as I partook in my own travels and months of self-discovery.
If I had to pick the one aspect of my travels that I feel nostalgic for in this moment, I would choose the ability to have intellectual conversations that challenged worldviews. When I re-read Sidh Gosht recently, I was struck by the ways in which Guru Nanak Dev Ji so eloquently and sharply answers the Siddhas questions about his faith and way of life by asking a question of his own. Through question and answer, back and forth, he brought this group to an understanding with him—a strange, unheard-of, enlightened individual. While my journey is miniscule compared to that of the great Guru Nanak Dev Ji, I feel a nostalgia for the ways in which travel facilitates engagement with complete strangers whose worldviews and experiences are completely different than our own. Now, in the US, I find myself screaming into the abyss of sociopolitical dialogue, hoping for some change or response from all the people who agree with me. With no chance to engage with anyone from a different perspective, I feel as though we’ve lost any chance to salvage ourselves from the growing divide. As a young woman of color, I also think about the ways in which I shield myself from conversations or interactions that could lead to something harmful—either emotional, or even physical. Yet, as I reflect on Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s udaasis and my own travels, I think about the courage that Sikhi gave me to pursue new paths and people, ideas and communities, all in order to challenge that which already exists inside of me. If I expect any sort of movement in the outside world, I have to be the first ripple.
As I move towards the summer holidays, journeying to spaces and places both new and old, I’ll be thinking about how Sikhi travels with me and encourages me to have difficult conversations and to challenge my existing knowledge. How can I open myself up to brave conversations? How can I protect the Divine within me while searching for it in others? I will look to Guru Nanak Dev Ji and my Sikh faith to guide the way on this long and exciting path.