Artist: Kulwinder Kulss
Title: Dakhni Oankar
Medium: Watercolours on Paper
Commissioner: Satnam Singh & Gurmit Kaur, UK
Sultanpur Lodhi to Varanasi: 1006km
After leaving Ayodhya, Guru Nanak travelled to Varanasi (Kashi), a centre of learning filled with scholars and ancient spiritual schools. There he met Pandit Chatur Das, a respected Brahmin teacher, who was curious about Guru Nanak’s clothing, which was neither that of a Sadhu or a householder.
Chatur Das asked what purpose the Guru repeated God’s Name instead of following caste duties and rituals as taught by his school from the scriptures. Guru Nanak replied that only the service of others matters and that true wisdom came from living truthfully, not from ritual. Here he composed Dakhni Oankar (Raag Ramkali, Ang 929), an abecedarian style of poetry, explaining the divine Oankar that pervades all creation. Enlightened by this teaching, Pandit Chatur Das became Guru Nanak’s disciple, and a Sikh community emerged in Varanasi.
