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Over five centuries ago, during his fourth great journey (udasi), Guru Nanak Dev Ji and his companion Bhai Mardana arrived in Baghdad, then the vibrant heart of the Islamic world.

 

Outside the city walls, under the vast desert sky, Guru Nanak sat in deep meditation and sang praises of the One Creator. The sound of Mardana’s rebab carried through the evening air, its divine notes floating into the city. The melody was so pure that mystics, merchants, and wanderers all paused in awe.

 

“Who is this man who sings of One God beyond all names?” they asked among themselves.

 

Word spread quickly, and soon the city’s most respected Sufi master, Pir Bahlol Dana — guardian of Baghdad’s spiritual heritage, came to meet the traveler from the East.

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When the Pir met Guru Nanak, light met light.

 

The Pir asked, “Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?”

 

Guru Nanak replied gently, “I am neither. I walk the path of Truth. There is only One, and all are His children.”

 

Their conversations stretched for days, about divine love, compassion, and the unity that underlies every faith. The Pir listened with reverence, his heart moved by the Guru’s wisdom. Nearby, his young son watched with curiosity and wonder.

 

The Pir’s son approached and said, “You speak of countless worlds, can you show them to me?”

 

Guru Nanak smiled. Placing his hand upon the boy’s head, he closed his eyes in silent prayer.

 

In that moment, the boy’s consciousness lifted beyond the Earth. He saw galaxies upon galaxies — radiant realms of light, universes within universes, all sustained by the same Divine Power. He witnessed creation without end, each world glowing in the same sacred brilliance.

 

When his soul returned to his body, tears streamed down his face. He turned to his father and said, “Father, this man is no ordinary traveler, he is the voice of the Infinite.”

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The people of Baghdad, deeply moved by the Guru’s message, built a small shrine on that sacred spot. An inscription in Arabic from 1511 CE still reads:

 

“This is the building of Baba Nanak, the fountain of grace, built by the will of seven saints.”

 

Centuries later, Sikh soldiers stationed in Iraq rediscovered the shrine, still known among locals as Baba Nanak’s place. Though time and conflict have touched the land, the memory of that meeting between saints endures.

 

Today, the site stands as a symbol of unity and cosmic wonder, where a saint once revealed the Infinite to a seeker’s eyes.

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Guru Nanak Dev Ji later described this vastness of creation in Japji Sahib:

 

“ਪਾਤਾਲਾ ਪਾਤਾਲ ਲਖ ਆਗਾਸਾ ਆਗਾਸ ॥

ਓੜਕ ਓੜਕ ਭਾਲਿ ਥਕੇ ਵੇਦ ਕਹਨਿ ਇਕ ਵਾਤ ॥

ਸਾਹਿਬੁ ਵਡਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾ ਨਾਵੈ ਵਿਸੋਥ ॥

ਨਾਨਕ ਜੇ ਕੋ ਆਪੌ ਜਾਣੈ ਅਗੈ ਗਇਆ ਨ ਸੋਥ ॥”

(Japji Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Ang 5)

 

Translation:

 

“There are countless worlds below and countless above;

the seekers grow weary in search, yet find no end.

Great is the Master, whose creation is vast beyond measure.

O Nanak, whoever claims to know His limit,  shall find there are none.”

 

These divine lines echo the very vision revealed in Baghdad, that creation is infinite, and the Divine pervades realms far beyond human comprehension.

 

It was this truth the Pir’s son witnessed: a glimpse of the endless cosmos, illuminated by the One Light that shines through all.

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Today, the shrine of Baba Nanak in Baghdad still stands quietly amid the city’s old wall, a humble structure holding a story that transcends religion, geography, and time. Beneath the desert sky where Guru Nanak once sat in meditation, one can still feel the stillness of that divine meeting, where a saint from Punjab spoke of One Creator to the seekers of the West.

 

This sacred spot is more than a historical site; it’s a living reminder that truth knows no borders. It marks the place where the message of unity first bridged East and West, where Guru Nanak Dev Ji revealed that the same Light shines in every heart, and the heavens above are infinite in their wonder.