Appendix II

Summary of the Book
Bhai Gurdas, a great Sikh Savant stated in his fIrst Var: “On
hearing the cries of the suffering Humanity, the Merciful Creator
Lord sent Guru Nanak Dev to this Earth to convey His Message of
Hope for all.” Guru Nanak was Qorn on April 15,1469 in Sheikhupura
district of Punjab, now part of Pakistan State. Nine Gurus followed
Guru Nanak Dev, one after the other. The successor Guru was
always commissioned by the Guru in office, sufficent time before
his death. The Gurus claimed that the Divine Light, which illumined
the person of Guru Nanak Dev, as the Guru, was passed on the
succeeding Nine Gurus. There was, therefore, one Guru in Ten
Human Forms. The Gurus gave their Teachings to the people in the
form of their Compositions, which they said, were not their own,
but God’s Word or Messege. God’s Word as revealed through the
Gurus is His Essence. It is through His Word we meet with Him.
The Fifth Guru, Arjan dev, engaged himself in compilation ofthe
Compositions of the First Four Gurus along with his own
Compositions in the form of a Book during 1602-1604 A.D. at
Amritsar. Guru Nanak Dev, during his Missionary Tours had
collected sotne Compositions of earlier Bhagats (Saints), through
whom God’s Word had also been revealed. Guru Nanak Dev
maintained a record of his Compositions and also of the Compositions
of the Bhagatshe collected. He passed on the Book of all the
Compositions, recorded, to his Successor, Sri Guru Angad Dev.
The oldest book on the life of Guru Nanak Dev is “Puratan
Janamsakhi”, which was written during the time of Guru Arjan
Dev, the 5th Guru, or soon thereafter. This Janamsakhi states that
under Guru Nanak Dev’s instructions, at the time of his Demise,

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