Guru Nanak began to tell everyone "There is no Hindu and there is no Muslim." A Muslim leader wanted to know what he meant, so he invited Guru Nanak to do an evening prayer with him. Guru Nanak just stood there during the prayer instead of bowing. Afterward the man tried to confront Guru Nanak on his disrespectful behavior. Guru Nanak's mind didn't change, though maybe his did.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji traveled and taught in many places all over India. Bala and Mardana accompanied him everywhere and together they encountered lots of different people and situations. Always Guru Ji chanted and blessed every spot where he touched his feet. He healed all those he saw. He gave the medicine of Truth to everyone he spoke to.
A robber named, Bhumi Daku, met Guru Nanak. He promised the Guru certain things. Later these promises made chaos as they changed how he could steal from people. The whole scene gets turned up side down but Bhumi Daku kept his promises to the Guru. He ended up learning a great lesson. The Guru taught him in such a wonderful way!
Guru Nanak used to travel all over India with his companions Bala and Mardana. Wherever they went, they made beautiful music to help people understand God and spread truth. This story takes place when they visited a remote village in Northern India.
After talking with the Yogis Guru Nanak made his way to a huge pilgrimage site: Hariduar. Huge throngs of people were throwing water to the rising sun to honor their ancestors. Guru Nanak started throwing water in the opposite direction. A Brahman asked him what he was doing. He said, "I'm watering my fields in the Punjab, surely it will reach the Punjab before it reaches your ancestors.".....
Guru Nanak traveled all over India to spread the word of God, and he walked everywhere on foot. His companions Bala and Mardana always traveled with him. Once they were in a remote part of India called Kamrup where the people were famous for their devotion to black magic. When Guru Nanak reached the outskirts of the city he sat down under a tree and began meditating. While Bala stayed with him Mardana went ahead into the city to find food and drink.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji used to travel on foot everywhere with his companions and musicians, Bala and Mardana. One day they were walking and Mardana felt very thirsty. It was very hot outside and they had been walking for a long time. Finally they reached a hill with a dwelling at the top. They were sure they would be able to get water there. A man lived there and had a well that everyone in the nearby village used to get water for washing themselves, growing food, and drinking. But he was very greedy and charged money before anyone could use the well.
Guru Nanak, together with Mardana and Bala, his two friends who always served him, traveled together to the country of Kashmir. They came to the city of Sri Nagar. There the people knew who he was because of his grace and his light. The people were very happy and blessed to sit with him and learn from him. In that city there was also a Pundit named Brahm Das. He was very learned and through his devotion to the goddess he had gained yogic powers. When he heard that a great Guru had come to town he thought, "I don't think I will be that impressed with this new-comer. It is I who has great knowledge and supernatural powers. I will show him my skill. Sitting on this carpet I will fly over to where he is and there is no doubt that he will be totally impressed when I arrive."
A noble King had all his subject do a fast in honor of Vishnu on the day of Ekadasi. There was one man who didn't do the fast though, he was a Sikh of Guru Nanak. "I am constantly fasting. I eat little food and sleep little. I fast from any and all temptation that distract my devotion to God," explained the man. The King was very impressed and wanted very much to meet this Guru. But how would he ever meet this famous saint known as 'Baba Nanak'?
Guru Nanak began his mission of spreading light to the world. He went to the Himalaya mountains where many Sadhus were practicing many spiritual disciplines. The Sadhu's were impressed with his wisdom and purity. He told them that they shouldn't run away to the mountains and be by themselves but the true way is to keep a spiritual discipline while living in the world. Many of them did not like what this young man had said.....
Guru Hargobind announced to his Sikhs that he wanted them to come in his presence and recite Jap Ji Sahib. When Sikhs would come and recite, he could tell how well they understood the teachings. One man did such a wonderful Japji that Guru Hargobind knew of no other offering he could give. So the Guru was about the offer the throne Baba Nanak to him...
Once Guru Nanak went on a long walk with all his dicsiples. As they were walking some people found money on the ground and they went home. After a long, long distance only two Sikhs were left. Guru Nanak told them to eat a dead body. One Sikh couldn't do it, but Bhai Lehna humbly obeyed. Lehna's devotion surpassed all tests. He was so devoted he was like an 'ang' a limb of the Guru.
Guru Nanak knew that the time was coming for him to do his mission. He sat by the river and was confronted by all kinds of demons but he wasn't distracted. After they couldn't do anything to him, he went in to the river for 3 days. When he came out he said Japji. Soon after he, Mardana and Bala went on great journeys to go everywhere and help the world.
Kalu Mehta, Guru Nanak's father, tried to get his son to make some money. He gave him some money to go buy some things in the market to sell to someone else for more money. Nanak bought some good foods for this. When he met some holy men who hadn't eaten, he gave everything to them. His father was really angry when he came back with nothing. Serving the saints is surely more benefit than money!
When he was a teenager, Guru Nanak had the job of weighing grain. Sometimes he would accidentally give too much grain. When his boss heard about this he came over to see how much Nanak had given away for free. To his surprise there wasn't less grain than there should have been, there was more grain than there should have been! Guru Nanak was again protected because he was joined with God.
Once, when Guru Nanak was young, he stopped eating very much. He just stayed in his room and missed being with God. His parents got worried and called a doctor to see if he was sick. While he was being checked out, Nanak started telling the doctor all of the doctors problems. The doctor said "He's not sick, he just misses God."
As a child Nanak was only concerned with meditating on God. Even when he was sleeping, he was with God. Once he fell asleep under a tree. When the sun moved he was going to get burned by the hot rays. A cobra protected him from being woken up by spreading it's hood over him as shade. When Rai Bular saw this scene he considered this child Nanak to be very special.
When Guru Nanak was a boy he once took the cows out to graze. He fell asleep and the cows ate all the neighbors crops. When the man found out he told Rai Bular, the village chief, to punish Nanak's father. Everyone went to see the field the cows destroyed. When they got there not only were the plants OK, they were even greener than before. Because Nanak was meditating on God nothing went wrong.
Young Nanak refuses to take the Hindu traditional thread (janao) in a family ceremony. He said that the thread will wear away but his love for God will not. He told them that the thread represented some virtues so he would rather wear the virtues themselves.
When Nanak was a little boy he went to school, and he wasn't interested in learning the alphabet. He only wanted to chant Gods name. His teacher asked him to recite the alphabet and Guru Nanak recited it without ever being taught. The teacher was so impressed that he fell to his knees and bowed to the young Nanak.
