Guru Nanak was a sixteenth-century reformer and the founder of Sikhism. He was the first
of the ten Sikh Gurus. He was born in Talwandi, near Lahore, during a time of political and
religious discord and disharmony. Right from an early age, he displayed a deep knowledge of
divine subjects and spirituality. He challenged ritualism and shows of piety and attacked the
citadels of the caste system. He taught that the core tenets of living a good life were helping
those less fortunate, making an honest living and meditating on the name of the Lord so as
to overcome human weaknesses. He travelled extensively—from Mecca to the Himalayas to
central India—with his faithful disciple Mardana, teaching about love, one God and Truth and
oneness with the Lord. He propagated the philosophy of salvation through meditation and
rejected all forms of idolatry. His travels have been chronicled in the Janamsakhis, written
decades after his death. His teachings have been immortalized in the form of 974 verses that
form part of the holy text of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib.
Translated and edited by Navkirat Sodhi, the aphorisms in ‘The Light in All is One’ contain
some of Guru Nanak’s greatest teachings. These wise lessons about living a fulfilling life are
timeless and universal.