Guru Nanak (1469-1539) represents the highest point of Punjabi literature, it has reached so far. Not because he is the first preceptor of the; religion of the Sikhs who are to this day staunch champions of Punjabi literature, the excellence in its own right, though it is available to us as an influential part of the canon of the Guru Granth, the holy scripture of the Sikhs. Guru Nanak was born on 16 April 1469 that is the second of Baisakh, 1526 of the Vikrami era, in a village in those days called Talwandi Rai Boi, later called in the province of Lahore. Since the days of the ascendancy of the Sikhs, it has been known as Nankana Sahib which is now a major town in the district of Sheikhupura in Pakistan.
KARMA, THE DOCTRINE OF, closely connected with the theory of rebirth and transmigration, is basic to the religious traditions of Indian origin such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. The term karam, as it is spelt in Punjabi and as it occurs in Sikh Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, has three connotations. As an inflection of Sanskrit karman from root kri (to do, perform, accomplish, make, cause or effect) it means an act, action, deed. It also stands for fate, destiny, predestination inasmuch as these result from one`s actions or deeds. Also, karam as a word of Arabic origin is synonymous with nadaror Divine grace or clemency.
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