“Every morning, Nanak got up early and went to take a bath in the river. Then, when he felt clean, he said his prayers. Nanak loved to pray.
One day, as the twilight was just giving way to the dawn, Nanak’s friend Mardana was sitting by the river. He saw Nanak stripping to bathe as usual; leaving his clothes on the river bank, Nanak waded out into the deep, clear river water and dipped his head beneath the cool, flowing stream. Mardana sat on the bank.
Time passed.
Suddenly Mardana was aware that the small pile of clothes had been by the bank a long time – and Nanak had not come out of the river. He ran to the bank, and scanned the still waters, calling his friend’s name. No reply broke the quiet morning air. The river flowed calmly, unbroken by any swimmer’s movement. Mardana was worried, and the people of the village came running as they heard his urgent shouting, his voice full of the fear that Nanak had drowned. They searched all morning, bringing nets to drag the river, going several miles downstream and searching the opposite bank for any sign of Nanak at all. Nothing.
One by one, some sooner than others, they went back to the village. Nanak must have drowned. Mardana and Nanak’s sister waited, watching the river flow by, with tears flowing down their own faces.
The next day, nothing. But amazingly, on the third day, without fuss or surprise, Nanak came back out of the river alive and well. He sat on the bank, dripping, quiet, contemplating. He seemed absorbed by some mystery or secret, and spoke not one word. Mardana and his sister, and other friends and villagers gathered at the bank as word spread quickly round the village: ‘Nanak’s back’. The crowd wondered if he was injured – brain damaged perhaps, or mad? After a long silence, Nanak spoke: “There is no Muslim. There is no Hindu. God is not a Hindu or a Muslim. Whose path shall I follow? I will follow God’s path.”
Some of the crowd drifted away, shrugging, going back to work. Others were puzzled about Nanak’s disappearance, and his words. Mardana was just glad to see his friend alive again.
Nanak could not speak to them about where he had been for the three days, or what he had experienced, but he was different – he had changed. He went to his house, and took most of his possessions to give away to poorer people. ”
What Does This Story Mean?
Before you read on I’d like to invite you to spend a moment answering that question in your own mind.
People often give a range of responses, from unsure and questioning the validity of the story through to interpretations of a more transcendental and etheric nature.
But pause. Please.
What does this story mean to you?
The Guru’s Interpretation
Guru (‘teacher’) Nanak was the first of the Sikh Gurus, born around 500 or so years ago. If you’re new to Sikhism, there is a nice summary of the basics that you can access by clicking –>here<–
Some time after this experience, Nanak wrote the following poem:
“I was a minstrel, out of work.
The Lord gave me employment
The Mighty One instructed me
Night and day, sing my praise.
The Lord summoned his minstrel to his high court.
On me he placed the robe of honour, singing His praise.”
As Cole comments, “The imagery is that of a royal court where the king would appoint people to various posts and give them a robe of office.”*
From his poem, it seems, Nanak interpreted his experience as a spiritual journey through which he received instruction to honour God and sing divine praises. Yet, from the Gurus’ words to the villagers we see the birth of the Sikh rejection of all discrimination and a complete orientation towards God. The concept of Seva, or community service, is a reflection of the Sikh desire to serve God demonstrated through service to other people.
Are You Hung Up On The Details?
Many people, especially children who have not yet moved beyond a view of the world in a literal sense, get hung up by asking how the story can be true. A mystical story, such as that of Nanak and the River, challenges the human being to consider the purpose of a story and not just the facts.
How is a man missing in a river for three days, without food and air and water? This is the most common question, even from adults. The truth is that we don’t know… and that it really isn’t important.
The story is about a spiritual truth, not about factual detail.
The Difference Between Truth and Fact
One of the best reasons for talking about this story is, in my view, the challenge that it poses to the Western rationalist mind.
For a culture that claims to have such high standards of rational thought we Brits (and Yanks, and Aussies, and Germans, and… you take my point?) are surprisingly confused about the concept of Truth.
A story can be True without being factually correct.
Guru Nanak went missing from his village for several days, causing local panic; when he returned, he was a changed man. From this point forward, Nanak began to teach what was to become known as the Sikh (‘disciple’) way of life. These, perhaps, are the facts.
The truth of the story, however, is contained in the idea that Nanak received a powerful insight into the nature of religious experience:
“There is no Muslim. There is no Hindu. God is not a Hindu or a Muslim. Whose path shall I follow? I will follow God’s path.”
Story, as a powerful vehicle of truth, is given detail so that the message can more easily travel past the logical, literally guarded mind and connect with the holistic, imaginative ‘heart’. In neuro-psychology terms, story helps the left-brain dominated West to connect with a right-brain idea. (I’m going to leave the neuro-science for a later article).
Bottom-line: truth is not necessarily interested in facts.
What Might Nanak Being Saying To You Today?
If you are a person of faith I believe that Nanak’s story and statement challenges you to question the barriers that you place around your faith. Is God really interested in labels such as Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Jew?
While it is true that there are many valuable differences between the world’s religions, and I would never seek to undermine that truth, it is also important to remember that there are many more similiarities.
If Nanak truly had an experience of God then his insight is valid.
Of course, if you have chosen to reject the very concept of God then you might be impatiently asking what this can mean for you. Before you poo-poo the ‘truth’ out of hand, consider this: Is there any substantial difference between atheist and theist? For the betterment of humanity, does it matter if you do your work in the name of God or your own sense of the value of other human beings?
Nanak lived at a time when Muslim and Hindu were fighting over which religion held the truth. You are living at a time when these debates, often flaring into open violence, continue… and into which the atheist has also been tempted to become the militant.
Is there really a need to fight, or could we all not learn something of Seva from this story?
- Cole, O. (2010) Sikhism: An Introduction. London: Hodder.
Author’s Note: The story of Nanak and the River is an adapted version which has been borrowed from an RE worksheet created by Mr. P. Anderson. I am grateful for his sharing of the text.
