Joti Jot Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji: the last days at Kartarpur

The Joti Jot Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji remembers the day in 1539 when the founder of the Sikh faith completed his life on earth at Kartarpur, on the right bank of the Ravi, and merged with the Divine Light. Sikhs speak of the passing of a Guru as joti jot, light merging into light.

Kartarpur, the town of the Creator

After more than twenty years of travelling on his udasis, Guru Nanak Dev Ji settled at Kartarpur, a town he founded, and spent about eighteen years there. He took off the dress of a traveller and worked the fields himself, showing that a spiritual life is lived in the middle of ordinary work and family. The day began before dawn with Japji Sahib and kirtan, and closed with Sodar and Arti; in between, everyone who came ate together in the langar. Here Bhai Lehna Ji served him and was chosen as Guru Angad.

The sheet of flowers

Sikh tradition remembers that as the Guru's end drew near, his Hindu followers wished to cremate him and his Muslim followers to bury him. The Guru asked each group to place flowers on either side of him, and said that those whose flowers were still fresh in the morning could perform the rites. In the morning both sets of flowers were fresh, and when the sheet was lifted the body was gone. The sheet was divided, and today a samadh and a grave stand side by side at Kartarpur.

How the day is observed

Sangats remember the day with kirtan, katha and Ardas in Punjab and around the world. Since the Kartarpur Corridor opened in 2019, pilgrims from India can visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur, without a visa, and many make the journey on or near this day.