When Nanak was a little boy, his parents decided it was time for him to go to school. The teacher knew that when nanak was born an astrologer had predicted that he would be a great man. At school he remembered the whole alphabet on the first day. The teacher saw this and believed the child was very special. So he continued to teach everything to this special boy.
Nanak quickly learned whatever the teacher said. He only wanted to chant God’s name. Sometimes the teacher would leave the students and they were supposed to write down the alphabet to try and remember it. Nanak would tell all his friends about God and about chanting the Naam. When the teacher would come back all the kids would be meditating instead of doing their homework. The teacher said, “Nanak, have you written the alphabet?” and Nanak showed the teacher what he had written.
Even the teacher was surprised what the child had written. Not only did he write all the letters, he wrote down a description of God using each letter. He wrote the deepest wisdom with the deepest meanings. At such a young age, Nanak had written things that even great scholars and saints hadn’t written.
Not only did he understand everything the teacher had to say, he also knew God. As Nanak continued school he learned all about numbers and how to use them for business. He learned to read all the holy books.
One day the teacher found that Nanak wasn’t reading anything and asked, “Why aren’t you reading anything?” Nanak replied, “Do I have anything left to read?” The teacher said, “It’s true, you know everything. You have read all the holy books. You fully know how to add and use numbers for business. You are very smart and have learned all these things.” Even though the child Nanak was smarter than his teacher and he didn’t really care for the things being taught in school. He said, “My business is God. My reading is God.
The teacher was so impressed with this beautiful boy that he bowed to him like a respected saint. Then next time he saw Nanak’s father, he told him, “He is doing very well in his studies, in fact, I have nothing left to teach him.” Nanak’s father couldn’t believe this! He was just a little kid and this man was an old teacher who had studied for many years and was very knowledgeable. He was obviously a very smart and divine child, wise beyond his years. Now that he couldn’t learn anything more from the teacher, Nanak spent his time meditating.