Guru Angad Dev Joti Jot Diwas 2023, March 25th marks the 471st anniversary of the day when Guru Angad Dev Ji left his physical body. Joti Jot means immersed in the Eternal Light. This phrase used in Sikhism to describe the physical passing (death) of the Sikh gurus and other spiritually liberated individuals. The Sikh gurus and the Sikh scriptures teach that if someone is immortal or attained immortality during the course of their life, when they leave this existence they have not died but rather they have rejoined with God, as someone who is an immortal cannot die. This special condition is given the word ‘Joti Jot’.

Guru Angad Dev Ji, the second Sikh Guru, was not only a spiritual leader but also a visionary. After meeting Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism he became a Sikh. He served & worked with Guru Nanak ji for many years. Guru Nanak gave him the name Angad ("my own limb") and chose Angad as the second Sikh Guru.

As Guru Nanak passed his spiritual throne to Guru Angad before ascending the physical world, following the tradition Guru Angad ji passed Guruship to Guru Amar Das ji. He breathed his last on 1609 Bikrami Chet Sudi 4th (29th March 1552) at Khadur Sahib, Punjab. He presented all the manuscripts and other holy scripts he had received from Guru Nanak to the nominated Guru Amar Das Ji. Guru Angad’s greatest message to humanity is, “You should endure what is unendurable, suffer what is insufferable. You should have endurance like the earth, steadfastness in joy and sorrow like a mountain, and have a pardon in the heart like the river.”

He recognized the importance of preserving the teachings of the previous Sikh Gurus and started the tradition of collecting and preserving Bani and Sakhis. Guru Angad Dev Ji was also a leader who believed in a meritocracy. Like his predecessor, Guru Nanak Sahib, he made his sons and Sikhs go through a rigorous test when appointing the heir to the throne.