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The Evening of Life
On the 22nd of September in the year 1539 Guru Nanak was sitting under a tree in Kartarpur in his ashram. His face was radiant and peaceful and all his disciples were chanting spiritual hymns in devotion and great ecstasy. The sound of a special Sikh hymn called Japaji infused the whole ashram. At that time Guru Nanak drew a sheet over his body and began chanting. Reciting the glory of Guru he left this body and merged into the Divine forever.
After the shock of realizing what had transpired his followers began to consider the funeral arrangements. There was a considerable and heated debate between his disciples as to whether the rites should be Hindu or Muslim because all considered him to be their guru and master. It is said that after some time spent in this heated debate, the sheet covering Guru Nanak's body was lifted. To everyone's amazement Guru Nanak's material body had disappeared. The disciples were humbled, and they divided the sheet, giving one piece to the Muslim followers and one piece to the Hindu followers. The funeral rites were duly performed for the respective traditions using the sheet in place of the missing body of the great sage.
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