Review of “Into the
Great Heart” – Kamla K. Kapur
When the people were undecided as to what to follow and how to be united
with God, the religion was given a new meaning by the proponent of Sikhism,
Guru Nanak. He preached the people to love and live in the light of God and be the
God as well as his follower themselves. He promoted ‘word’ as the lord and that
one true power was the essence of all things living and divine. His first words
‘Ek Onkar’ laid emphases on this very fact.
This volume by Kamla K. Kapur delves deeper into the life and endeavors of
Guru Nanak. Through the words of his beloved companion and musician Mardana in
the first part of the books and by using the voice of Bebe Nanki, Guru Nanak’s
sister who raised him as her own son but was in fact his first and foremost
disciple. The book also introduces Bhai Lehna, who later would go on to become
the second Sikh Guru by the name of Guru Angad, the dancing Guru as the author
so lovingly puts. This volume covers the latter half of the live of Guru Nanak
and what makes him choose his disciple Lehna as his heir instead of his two
sons.
It is stressed that everything happens according to the will of the Akal Purakh, the timeless being, and by
his/her will he/she bestows the earthly beings with the power to think and take
actions. The word of the Akal Purakh
is the hukum. The author sums the whole
life story of Guru Nanak into these words:
“Burn worldly knowledge, grind its
ashes into ink, make your intellect the paper, divine love your pen, then
write, writer, what the Guru, the Arch Writer, writes through you.”
My take: Also read the first book by the author in this series to
comprehend the meaning in the life of Guru Nanak.
Book Courtesy: WritersMelon
