Gurū Nanak — Life Teachings & Hymns (Equality, Honest Living, One Humanity)

N=1 fine-grained distillation. Source: Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion, vol. I (1909), Life of Gurū Nanak and his hymns, archive.org. Quote anchors are working text pending Phase 7 char-for-char verification. Methodology & tags: ../00-methodology.md. Reverence note: see README. *Some items here are Macauliffe's summary/narrative of the Gurū's teaching rather than direct Gurbānī quotation; these are marked [narrative] vs [hymn].*

Composition role

Macauliffe's narrative of Gurū Nanak's life and his hymns carry the social core of Sikhī that the liturgical banis state more abstractly: the abolition of caste, the equality and dignity of all (women included), the insistence on honest labour over exploitation, and the rejection of religious tribalism ("I belong to no caste"). These are foundational to Sikh practice — langar (the free communal kitchen where all sit and eat as equals) and seva (selfless service) are their institutional expression.

Atomic statements

NT-C1: The four castes of the Hindus were reduced to one; in the society of the holy, caste does not distinguish a Sikh. (FOUNDATIONAL / EQUALITY) [narrative]

• Vol. I (p.195, summary of Nanak's teaching): "The four castes of the Hindus he reduced to one. Whether a Sikh had a caste or not, he was distinguished in the society of the holy."
• Stance: assert (and deny caste) · Importance: core

NT-C2: Setting aside both the Veds and the books of Islam, Nanak taught his followers to repeat the Name of the infinite God; humility and falling at one another's feet mark his Sikhs. (FOUNDATIONAL / NAAM+EGO) [narrative]

• Vol. I (p.195): "Setting aside the Veds and the books of Islam, he taught his sect to repeat the name of the infinite God… By falling at one another's feet and by practising humility are the Guru's Sikhs recognized. They live as hermits among their families."
• Stance: assert · Importance: core · Note: "hermits among their families" — the householder-saint ideal.

NT-C3: Before creation there was no female or male, no caste or birth, no Brahman or Khatri, no Veds or Muhammadan books — only the One God. (FOUNDATIONAL / EQUALITY+GOD) [hymn]

• Vol. I (the casteless-creation hymn, p.~? / Macauliffe's "Then was not…"): "Then was not female, or male, or caste, or birth… There was no caste or religious garb, no Brahman or Khatri… Then were not Veds or Muhammadan books… No one existed but the One God."
• Stance: assert (denying caste/gender hierarchy as ultimate) · Importance: core

NT-C4: Asked his caste at a feast, Nanak replied he belonged to none of the four castes. (FOUNDATIONAL / EQUALITY) [narrative]

• Vol. I (p.~? feast episode): the Gurū "replied, 'I belong not to any of the four castes.'"
• Stance: assert · Importance: core

NT-C5: Nanak chose the low-caste Lalo's honest bread over the rich Malik Bhago's, because Lalo's was earned by honest labour and Bhago's by bribery and oppression. (FOUNDATIONAL / ETHICS+EQUALITY) [narrative]

• Vol. I (the Lalo / Malik Bhago episode): "Lalo's bread had been obtained by honest labour and was pure, while Malik Bhago's had been obtained by bribery and oppression and was therefore impure. The Guru hesitated not to accept the former." (Milk issued from the honest bread, blood from the bribed.)
• Stance: assert · Importance: core · Note: the foundational Sikh teaching of kirat karnī — honest livelihood — and the rejection of exploitation.

NT-C6: The Sikh religion prohibits idolatry, hypocrisy, caste-exclusiveness, sati (concremation of widows), the immurement of women, infanticide, and intoxicants; and inculcates loyalty, gratitude, philanthropy, justice, impartiality, truth, and honesty. (FOUNDATIONAL / EQUALITY+ETHICS) [narrative]

• Vol. I (p.~ summary, Macauliffe's "To sum up… the moral and political merits"): "It prohibits idolatry, hypocrisy, caste exclusiveness, the concremation of widows, the immurement of women… infanticide, slander… and it inculcates loyalty, gratitude for all favours received, philanthropy, justice, impartiality, truth, honesty, and all the moral and domestic virtues."
• Stance: assert · Importance: core · Note: Macauliffe's own summary; included as a faithful inventory of the tradition's social ethic, flagged [narrative].

NT-C7: There is but one Bestower on all living beings; "may I not forget Him." (FOUNDATIONAL / GOD+EQUALITY) [hymn]

• Japjī V–VI (pp.199): "That there is but one Bestower on all living beings; may I not forget Him!"
• Stance: assert · Importance: core · Note: the single Giver of all beings grounds the equality of all — included here as the doctrinal root of NT-C1/C3.

Step 4 — Clusters

Cluster	Atomic statements	Intent
Casteless equality	NT-C1, NT-C3, NT-C4, NT-C7	One God of all beings → no caste, no gender hierarchy, no religious tribe
Honest living	NT-C5	Honest labour is pure; exploitation defiles
The social ethic	NT-C6	Against sati, female immurement, hypocrisy; for justice, philanthropy, honesty
Humility & the householder	NT-C2	Repeat the Name, practise humility, live as a saint within family life

Step 5 — Internal tensions

None. These narrative and hymn sources cohere around the equality-and-honesty ethic that flows from one God of all beings.

Step 6 — Synthesized chapter principles

NT-P1: All people are equal — caste, gender, and religious tribe are abolished before the one God

The four castes are reduced to one; before creation there was no caste, no male or female, no Brahman or Khatri, no Veds or Quran — only the One; "I belong to no caste." The one Bestower of all beings grounds the dignity of all.

• Tier: FOUNDATIONAL · Domain: EQUALITY+GOD · Covers: NT-C1, NT-C3, NT-C4, NT-C7 · Evidence: vol. I p.195, casteless-creation hymn, feast episode, Japjī V–VI · Untranslatable: institutionalised later as langar, sangat, pangat (all sit in one row to eat)

NT-P2: Honest livelihood is sacred; exploitation defiles

Nanak chose the poor man's honestly-earned bread over the rich man's bread of bribery and oppression — earning by honest labour (kirat karnī) is pure, gain by exploitation is impure.

• Tier: FOUNDATIONAL · Domain: ETHICS+EQUALITY · Covers: NT-C5 · Evidence: vol. I, Lalo / Malik Bhago episode

NT-P3: A concrete social ethic — protect the vulnerable, reject hypocrisy

The tradition forbids sati, the immurement of women, infanticide, hypocrisy, and caste-exclusiveness, and enjoins justice, philanthropy, gratitude, truth, and honesty.

• Tier: FOUNDATIONAL · Domain: EQUALITY+ETHICS · Covers: NT-C6 · Evidence: vol. I, Macauliffe's summary [narrative]

NT-P4: The way is humility, the Name, and the householder-saint life

Repeat the Name of the infinite God, set aside sectarian books, practise humility (falling at one another's feet), and live as a "hermit among the family" — holiness within ordinary life, not withdrawal from it.

• Tier: FOUNDATIONAL · Domain: NAAM+EGO · Covers: NT-C2 · Evidence: vol. I p.195

Step 7 — Traceability

Principle	Atomic statements	Locus
NT-P1	NT-C1, NT-C3, NT-C4, NT-C7	vol. I p.195; casteless-creation hymn; feast episode; Japjī V–VI
NT-P2	NT-C5	vol. I, Lalo / Malik Bhago
NT-P3	NT-C6	vol. I, Macauliffe summary
NT-P4	NT-C2	vol. I p.195

Step 8 — Quality

• Coverage: the principal social teachings of Nanak's vol. I biography & hymns captured.
• Orphaned: <10%.
• Principles: 4.
• Traceability: 100%.
• Provenance caveat: NT-C1, C2, C4, C5, C6 are Macauliffe's narrative/summary of the Gurū's teaching (some paraphrasing the Janamsākhī traditions and Macauliffe's own assessment), not verbatim Gurbānī. They are retained because they faithfully convey load-bearing, lived Sikh principles; Stage B should anchor each to the corresponding Gurbānī verse (e.g., the casteless-creation hymn's aṅg) and re-verify.

Step 9 — Validation

• Standalone comprehension (frame-independent): NT-P1 (radical equality — caste and gender hierarchy abolished) and NT-P2 (honest livelihood, anti-exploitation) are among the strongest cross-tradition convergence candidates in the whole corpus and also among the most socially distinctive: the claim (the equal dignity of all persons) converges with the Catholic human dignity principle and prophetic justice, while the warrant (one God who is the single Bestower of all beings, expressed institutionally through langar where all castes eat together) is concretely Sikh. NT-P4 (the householder-saint — holiness within family and work, not monastic withdrawal) is a sharp, load-bearing divergence from renunciant traditions and a natural anchor for a family compass. These map closely onto the Christian dignity / dignity-of-work / family-primacy themes — a key Atlas finding for the union compass.