Oldest Picture of Guru Nanak Ji FOUND

[dalsingh101]

Thing is, younger, intelligent educated people will better appreciate how the image we have of our Gurus will have been seriously influenced by interpretations of the past - especially the all powerful Singh Sabha views. Visually we'd have been influenced by Sobha Singh.

That being said, to try and 'fix' the form of our Guru's based solely on our own intellectuals interpretations obviously has it's own flaws, as they too were human and prone to error and misconceptions.

I mean look at the near and contemporary imagery of Guru Tegh Bahadhur - it presents him as a meditating ascetic type, whereas older imagery portray him in a more regal light.

[VanHelsingh]

^^^ I've always wondered why in nearly every picture I've seen of Guru Tegh Bahadur, there's always an - for want of a better word - area of grey hair right underneath the bottom lip leading down to the chin. In old frescos to the Sobha Singh paintings it's the one constant that's prominent like an identifying feature.

[Wicked Warrior]

We all need to keep an open mind. I reckon if Guru Ji revealed himself in the form Guru Nanak again, many wouldn't recognise him. We build up images and expectations in our minds because we focus on drawings and paintings instead of Guru Ji's teachings. If he wanted us to worship his form, there would have been statues all over India. Guru Ji wanted us to worship the Formless One. This is the pictures we should be hanging on our walls.

[GyanParbodh]

Gur murat gur shabad hai sadh sangat vich pargat aeiaa... - Bhai Gurdas Ji

[chatanga]

Is that the sakhi where Bhai Sahib got ego when he thought Guru Sahib couldn't make a mark on a wooden post he'd made? Then Bhai Sahib got stressed when Guru Ji told him to hold it up whilst Guru Sahib took aim?

yes bhaji.

That being said, to try and 'fix' the form of our Guru's based solely on our own intellectuals interpretations obviously has it's own flaws, as they too were human and prone to error and misconceptions.

we need to avoid going down the same road the Ravidasias have going in declaring and adopting an official portrait of Bhagat Maharaj. They dont like any other versions being used or promoted.But they like us, have no idea what he actually looked like.

[ASinghKhalsa]

This is great stuff - thank you, BhagatBalmik for sharing.

The inscription reads as Mehtab Singh has already translated. However the script appears to be of Nastaliq Persian type and of a much later period than the 15th century. The gaps between the words (like most old scripts gaps were not left between words of Arabic or Persian - nor were they with Gurmukhi for that matter) make me suspicious this is a later addition and probably penned in by William Ouseley himself who would annotate such items himself in Persian that he had learnt. Being a westerner at that time (early 19th century), he would have left gaps between individual words.

Art and percieving what our Gurus looked like is a natural curiosity. However if you want to have the true darshan of their images all you need to do is open up and look at the pages of the Guru Granth Sahib...

you mean read bani from angs of the 11th Guru Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj

[S1ngh]

See the last picture and try to read the caption:

http://www.maskeensahib.com/?p=p_31

http://www.maskeensahib.com/window.php?p=showPhoto&adresFoto=files/Guru%20Nanak%20Authentic.jpg&sPageTitle=%20Painting%20made%20in%20Baghdad

Above is also the picture of guru sahib jee that was kept by Bhai Sahib Bhai Randhir Singh ji.

[SunSingh]

http://www.maskeensahib.com/window.php?p=showPhoto&adresFoto=files/Guru%20Nanak%20Authentic.jpg&sPageTitle=%20Painting%20made%20in%20Baghdad

i have heard that sant jagjit singh ji researched and confirmed this portrait to be authentic.

[Sherdil]

Other 15th century Arabic paintings match closely with the style of OP's picture.

[jang123]

http://www.maskeensahib.com/window.php?p=showPhoto&adresFoto=files/Guru%20Nanak%20Authentic.jpg&sPageTitle=%20Painting%20made%20in%20Baghdad

i have heard that sant jagjit singh ji researched and confirmed this portrait to be authentic.

Thanks SunSingh! I was hoping for your input.