DEATH, the primordial mystery and one of the cardinal conditions of existence. Scientifically, death is defined as "the permanent cessation of the vital function in the bodies of animals and plants" or, simply, as the end of life caused by senescence or by stoppage of the means of sustenance to body cells. In Sikhism the universal fact of mortality is juxtaposed to immortality (amarapad) as the ultimate objective (paramartha) of life. As a biological reality death is the inevitable destiny of everyone. Even the divines and prophets have no immunity from it. Mortality reigns over the realms of the gods as well.
DIPALPUR (30° 40`N, 73° 32`E), tahsil (subdivision) town of Montgomery (or Sahiwal) district of Pakistan, was, according to Miharban Janam Sakhi, visited by Guru Nanak (1469-1539) on his way back from Pakpattan to Talvandi. According to local tradition, the Guru sat under a dead pipal tree on the southeastern outskirts of the town. The tree foliated. Guru Nanak is also said to have cured a leper named Nuri or Nauranga.
GHUMAN, village 10 km west of Sri Hargobindpur (30°41`N, 75°29`E) in Gurdaspur district of the Punjab. Namdev (1270-1350), the muchrevered saint of Maharashtra, some of whose hymns are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, lived in this village for a considerable time. Most of his years until the age of 55 were spent at Pandharpur, in Sholapur district of Maharashtra. Then he journeyed extensively through north India and returned to Maharashtra after 18 years. During this period, he also visited the Punjab and, according to tradition, made Ghuman his seat of residence.