Trilok Singh Artist - Three Gurus

‘ DIFFRENT BODIES OF THE GURUS BUT HAD THE SAME SOUL’

In this beautiful painting prepared in 1969, the first Guru, the fifth Guru and the Tenth Guru have been shown, meaning they may have different bodies but had the same soul. Their mission of life was the same.
At the time of Guru Nanak’s birth the condition of the common man was in a sorry state. They had to face many hardships due to caste system, falsehood, tyranny of the Mughal rulers. So Guru Nanak decided to strike at the root cause of the social evils. But the work of uplifting the masses would not be completed in one life time. So the system of succession of Guru till the work was completed. Succeeding Gurus were taking forward the work started by Guru Nanak till the Tenth Guru. All the Gurus may have taken different body incarnation but in spirit they were one.
Guru Gobind Singh himself says ’The generality of people take them as different from one another. Very few recognize them as one in spirit. But only those realize perfection that recognises them as one.’ Guru Gobind Singh considered the mission of his previous Gurus to be one and the same and regarded his own as the completion of the work.
The idea of one soul in all the Gurus has been beautifully depicted in the painting. Guru Nanak Dev in the centre means the soul of Guru Nanak is present in all the other Gurus. He is the central point.
Below Guru Nanak photo, the Artist has shown shell having three pearls. It is the symbolic of the fact as the three pearls are in one shell, so the soul of Guru Nanak is the same in all the Gurus. Guru Nanak wrote ‘Japji Sahib’ which is the ‘Mool Mantra’ and is at the beginning of the Holy’ Granth’. Guru Arjan wrote ‘Sukhmani Sahib’ which is recited every day by the Sikhs. Guru Gobind Singh wrote ‘Chandi di war’ to infuse courage, bravery and confidence in the Sikhs. It is rightly said by one historian that the harvest which ripened in the time of Guru Gobind Singh had been sown by Nanak and watered by his successor.