The Book of Nanak

by Navtej Sarna

Born into a society caught in the throes of orthodoxy and ritualism and further crippled by child marriage, infanticide, and a rigid caste system, Guru Nanak was deeply spiritual from an early age. The outpouring of Nanak's faith evolved into the universal message of the omnipresence and existence of one God, of true love, equality and compassion, which appealed to Hindus and Muslims alike. Drawing upon the various myths and legends contained in anecdotal biographies and placing them in as precise a historical framework as possible, The Book of Nanak traces the chronology of the main events of Nanak's life.

Genres: Religion

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2005

About the author

Navtej Sarna is an Indian author-columnist, and diplomat, who is the present Indian Ambassador to Israel.
He was born in Jalandhar, India to noted writer in Punjabi, Mohinder Singh Sarna, and passed out of the 1980 Class of Indian Foreign Service. Before holding this post, he was Joint Secretary for external publicity at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) , since October 2002, and holds the distinction of being the longest-serving spokesperson of the ministry, and served two prime ministers, three foreign ministers and four foreign secretaries, till the end of his term in September, 2008.
Previously as a diplomat served in Moscow, Warsaw, Thimphu, Geneva, Teheran and Washington, DC .
He also writes short stories, and book reviews. His first novel published was 'We Weren't Lovers Like That' in 2003, followed by 'The Book of Nanak' in the same year, his latest,' The Exile', published in 2008, is based on the life of Duleep Singh, the last Maharaja of Lahore, and son Raja Ranjit Singh. Currently, 'Zafarnama', an epistle of victory written to Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, by the Tenth Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, has been translated by him into English from Persian.

Reviews

[HadiDee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author is very clear this is not an academic work but a summary of the life, travels and teaching of Nanak. It's simply written and relates all the stories I know from childhood and some that were new to me. Similarly although I knew Nanak traveled extensively in the Middle East I was unaware of his travels to South India, Sri Lanka, Nepal or Tibet.
I enjoyed reading this immensely. There is so much written on sikh history and on the martial aspects of the faith, so it's very refreshing to read a gentle account of its founder.

[Aown Kaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt it was a mediocre attempt at capturing Nanak's life. Even though the information was sound yet more often it felt like one was reading a hastily compiled article online as opposed to a well composed book.

However the hymns were potent and quite thought provoking and their well placement in the storyline was the only redeeming quality.

Unfortunately as a whole I was thoroughly disappointed by Navtej Sarna's book and would be looking for a better piece of literature on the life of Guru Nanak.

[Pri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A summary of Guru Nanak Ji’s life with most major incidents and chronology. If you aren’t a punjabi by ethnicity or a Sikh by religion and don’t know anything about Sikhism and the guru, you can definitely pick it up. But for punjabis, having done essays on all the gurus till class 10 as a part of curriculum, I don’t think you’d need to buy it because you already know more. Anyone who wants to have a light, refreshing read can read this if they have absolutely 0 knowledge related to the subject.

[Shamsher Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humbled.

I am an ordinary man, not even an iota of the divine figure of whose life this book talks about, yet I am extremely happy to say that this book is very well written and takes the reader back in time to the days when Sikander Lodhi, Ibrahim Lodhi and Babur ruled over the Indian hinterlands and amidst the darkness of superstition and debauchery, a beacon of humility and hope arrived for the upliftment of the masses !

[BG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much in the way of a biography. Mainly just retelling legends