NANAK AND RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION

(Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo)

According to the Hindu custom of His time, at the age of thirteen, after having been completely schooled in the Hindu tradition, Nanak was to receive the "Sacred Thread," that would identify him as a Hindu. At the ceremony, which was attended by family and friends, Nanak refused to take the sacred, Cotton thread from the Priests, offering why way of explanation the following poem:

"Let mercy be the cotton, contentment the thread, Continence the knot and truth the twist. O priest! If you have such a thread, Do give it to me. It'll not wear out, nor get soiled, nor burnt, nor lost. Says Nanak, blessed are those who go about wearing such a thread" (Rag Asa)

Sometimes the Universe demands of us that we take on distinguishing markings, and at other times that we blend. This is a time of blending. Those in the world that are committed to divisiveness on any level are swimming against the Universal current. satnam

YBSK