Story - Guru Nanak Devji's Thread Ceremony

Guru Nanak Devji was nine years old, the parents decided to do the ceremony of sacred thread called 'Janaeu'prescribed by Manu, the originator of Hindu rituals and the caste system.. Great preparations were made by his father for this ceremony. His father called the whole family and their friends and guests. Everyone came to participate in this special ceremony. It was a very important occasion. Nanak always wondered why people do different ceremonies and rituals when God is inside of everyone. When all the guests had gathered, the family priest named PanditHardyal, started chanting Mantras (Hindu hymns) and explained, "Now you will be a true high-caste Brahman. This thread, this ‘Janaeu’, is the foundation of our religion. If you wear it, you shall not be a low caste person. You can become great and happiness will come to you in this world and the after-world. It will always remind you of God."

The child Nanak was both rebellious and wise, so he refused to put on the thread. He told the priest, "I can remember God without a thread. When someone dies, they leave their body and this sacred thread behind. Only the soul goes on. If you could give me something that goes with my soul, I will wear that."When PanditHardyal asked Guru Nanak again, to put on the Janaeu, he refused to have the thread that discriminated amongst mankind. The Janaeu which was made of the silk for a brahmin, of cotton for a khatri, of wool for a Vaish and which was strictly abandoned for Shudara. And again which is three folds for brahmin, two folds for Khatri and only one fold for Vaish.

The sacred thread should be such that its wearing may make the wearer compassionate, contented, celibate and truthful in his dealings. Dear Pandit, if you have a thread of this type, I am ready to wear it. This type of thread will not be broken, nor soiled or burnt when the body is cremated. That True Thread will always remain with the soul even when the body is burnt.

The priest said, "This is an ancient ritual passed down in the most sacred writings. Dear child, you are very young, do you think you are wiser than we priests!? If you wear this thread you can be a man of God." The beloved child started saying things which the adults could not understand. He said, "People do so many bad things and then they think if they put on a thread they are men of God. This thread will break and a new one will have to be put on. This kind of thread will get old and fall apart"Now the priest got angry. Mehta Kalu, Nanak’s father got angry too. He was very embarrassed because all the guests were there. His father thought, "What is he doing? If he doesn’t wear a thread, how will he be successful? How will he find a good woman to marry? How will he make a living? He’ll just be a low caste person!"

The angry priest, not expecting a good answer asked, "Well than child, what kind of thread would go with your soul?" Nanak said, "Meditating on the Naam is how to wear a true thread. Meditating on the Naam brings honor and grace. The Naam will go with the soul and will never break. The Naam can go with us into God’s house."

PanditHardial came to understand this hymn and was convinced that Guru Nanak would not wear that cotton thread around his neck. He also saw that if the common people grasped the meanings of what Guru Nanak had said, they would stop wearing the thread. He would be deprived of the goat and other offerings for performing this ritual from them also. On account of this fear he put the thread in his bag and returned home.

A lot of people didn’t know what to think about what Guru Nanak Devji said. A lot of people wore threads their whole lives. But Nanak only believed in truth and not in doing something because everyone else did it. He loved the Truth and he spoke the Truth. And sure enough, Nanak remembered God his whole life without a thread. He lived the Truth! The highest thing is living the Truth.