The Sweetness of the Naam

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The Sweetness of the Naam

Once upon a time a long time ago there lived a Muslim child in India named Farid. Like most children Farid loved eating sweets. His mother always knew this about him, and one day she told him, "Son, the Lord created everything and is the Giver. Meditating on Him is the best." Farid replied, "Mama, if I meditate on The Almighty, will I get something in return?" She explained, "Well my son, when we meditate, we look very sweet to the Merciful Lord. So God gives us sweets to eat". "Oh!!! I love sweets!!!!!", he declared joyfully.

Farid was inspired by what his mother said about the sweets so he started doing Simran meditation. He sat down still and began to sense his body and slow down his mind. He noticed that inside him there was a whole world to explore. His imagination took him to all the fun places he could imagine. The more he imagined, the more boundless were the places he imagined.

While he was doing Simran his mother quietly got a bowl of sweets and put it in front of where he was sitting. When he opened his eyes he grinned from ear to ear. "Look mama, you were right, I meditated on God and he gave me sweets to eat!" he exclaimed. Their hut filled with light and his mother just quietly smiled to herself as Farid enjoyed the sweets.

Farid meditated like this every day and every day his mother quietly placed a bowl of sweets in front of him for when he opened his eyes. She became more and more proud of her son seeing him meditate.

One day as he was doing his Simran, his mind became totally calm. He had this amazing feeling throughout his whole body. He felt everything and everything was him. Everything was Divine. He began to feel a gentle warmth inside that radiated outwards. He was in touch with his soul and felt the vibration of the Naam. Then the feeling traveled from the inside and he started to feel it outside, everywhere around him. Everything was God - pure, sweet love.

As he opened his eyes, he saw everything differently. He knew that love is everywhere. There was a beautiful light around him as he finished his meditation and sat there in bliss with a smile on his face.

His mother noticed the difference in Farid and thought, "He looks so beautiful, like a little saint. He didn't even eat the sweets today." She asked him, "My dear son, don't you want your sweets today?"

He said, "Ma, the Lord is the sweetest of all. Eating sweets only makes my mouth happy. The sweetness of the Naam makes my whole soul happy. Candy, sugar, and honey are all sweet, but nothing is as sweet as the Lord."

Farid grew up to be a saint of God. He is still famous for the stories of his devotion to the Lord. Blessed are the saints and blessed are the mothers of saints. Like Farid, the way of the saints is to sing a song like no other song and walk a path higher than all paths. This brings the taste of sweetness to the mind and Love like nothing else.

Storyteller:  Harijot Singh Khalsa
Age ranges:  1 - 6, 13 - 17, 7 - 12