The Life of Guru Nanak

III

Oh Lord! No longer can I live in this separation the night of remembrance and waiting for Thee is past, Thou knowest how my soul thirsts for Thee and how my heart aches, please come and save me now.

Guru Nanak

One morning Nanak left for the Ravi River, at whose banks He sat lost in meditation. It is said that He attained to His supreme realisation here and saw what His worldly mission was to be: to serve the poor and needy, dedicate Himself to the Name of God – Sat Naam – and bring men nearer to God.

For three days He remained within a glorious vision, and on the fourth He broke His silence, declaring,

There is neither Hindu nor Muslim.

This simple message spread through the town and left people in bewilderment. When the town qazis – Muslim priests – heard it, they approached Nanak and asked Him its meaning. They received no reply; but both curious and offended, they invited Him to pray with them: to prove they were indeed Muslims. Nanak accepted and entered the Mosque with them. When all others knelt for prayer, Nanak remained standing. The prayers finished and the qazis lept up in outrage that a Hindu should pay such disrespect to their religious practices.

Nanak replied:

You were not praying but thinking of your mare who had just given birth. 

And then referring to the qazi beside Him, He added,

And you were in Kabul buying horses.

Both men were ashamed; they bowed their heads admitting that Nanak had spoken the truth. Now they further questioned Him as to who He was and Nanak replied:

If I say I am a Hindu, you kill me, and Muslim I am not. I am a puppet made up of five elements in which something invisible plays. That something invisible is what I am.

– What is True Religion? How can one live by it?

pressed the qazis.

Nanak replied in verse:

Make Mercy thy mosque; Faith, thy prayer mat; and righteous life, thy Qur’an. Make modesty, thy circumcision; and piety thy fasts. In this way wouldst thou become a True Muslim. Right deeds are the Kaaba¹; and the True Pir², the Kalma³; and to live in His will, thy rosary saith Nanak, such a Muslim will the Lord preserve.

Guru Nanak, Rag Magh Ki Var M1

Leaving the qazis, Nanak gave away most of His possessions and left for a secluded place just outside of Sultanpur. With His faithful disciple, Mardana, He awaited the Inner Command which was to start Him on the first of a series of long travels to remote and strange lands. During His stay in Sultanpur, a second son was born to Him – Lakhmi Das. The Birth was a final prompting for His family to dissuade Him from His renunciation. Each for His own reason remonstrated with the Guru for renouncing His worldly ties: as a family man He was told it was His duty to maintain His household; as a son, He should not forget His parents; and as a husband, how could He leave His wife and children?

When all had finished their words, He replied in a tone bespeaking His heart – unshakably strong but gentle and filled with understanding:

All humanity is my family, and the Lord overhead is our One Father. I leave you all in the care of Him who cares for us all. The world is in the grip of deadly flames and I go to extinguish the invisible flames which envelop all mankind.

As though mesmerized by the music of His voice, each one silently acceded and stepped back.

Then, knowing the burden of what His wife had yet to face, He gazed upon Her with eyes that could hold the sorrows of the world and placed His hand upon Her head.

Your love has been great, Sulakni, and great too is the sacrifice you must make; but be rest assured that He Whose work I do shall reward you greater still.

Finally the Master turned to His sister, who all the while looked on silently, holding back the tears in Her eyes. She had long since ceased to consider Her brother as merely another man but saw Him as a Divine Incarnation.

Nanaki, that Love and devotion is the greatest in which one asks nothing for himself but remains silently content in the Will of the Lord. Know that I am forever residing with you and when you turn your attention within, there will you find me. But many are my sisters in this world who suffer pain and I am called forth to go.

He then blessed them all and took His leave.

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Explanations: 1) Kaaba – a place of pilgrimage to Muslims, considered to be the house of God. 2) Pir – a Spiritual Guide. Same as Guru. 3) Kalma – lit. Word. A holy recitation, proclaiming: There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is His messenger (Rasul).