Back from his fourth odyssey, Guru Nanak settled in Kartarpur along with his family. There was great rejoicing by the people who came there for a glimpse of the Guru and to listen to his divine songs.
Soon there was news that “Siddhas” in large numbers had plans to hold a big public gathering at a nearby place called Achal. The Siddhas had a reputation that they possessed great spiritual powers. They had created fear among people that if annoyed by anyone, they are likely to curse.
Guru Nanak decided to visit Achal and have an encounter with the Siddhas. He reached there and sat in the open, facing the Siddhas’ gathering, and began to sing his celestial songs. People were attracted by his melodious voice and the sublimity of his songs. Some deserted the Siddhas’ camp and walked across to listen to the Guru’s inspiring songs.
That caused the Siddhas to become vindictive. They planned to frighten the Guru with a show of their spiritual powers. They played quite a few tricks, but the Guru was not affected at all.
He continued singing. The Siddhas then assumed frightening forms of beasts of the jungle — lions, cheetahs, snakes — and tried to frighten the Guru and his devotees. The Guru then asked one of his disciples to draw a circle around the people who had gathered there to listen to him and declared that harm will come to any beast that would venture into the circle. The Siddhas got frightened and none dared enter the circle.
The Siddhas were humiliated and people felt happy that their tormentors had been shown their right place. They also realised that Siddhas had no real spiritual power.
Although shamefaced, the Siddhas decided on another plan, of asking the Guru some embarrassing questions. Their leader came forward and asked the Guru, “You had put on the saffron robes of a recluse; why have you discarded them now and reverted to a householder’s way of life?”
The Guru smiled and said, “I did not don only the saffron robes of a Hindu recluse. At one time I also donned the dress of a Muslim Qalandar. At another time I clad one half of my body with Hindu attire and the other half with a Muslim one. For me a specific dress, even though believed to be holy, encloses a man into a theological prison.
Real spirituality does not require any specific robe; it being free, also requires uncluttered thinking. Come out of your prison to enjoy the sublime beauty outside it.
“Now about my preference for householder’s life: Even you, O Siddhas, go to householders to beg for food. If these family people did not plough their fields and produce corn how will you get your bread? I have come to the conclusion that grihasta — the family way of life — is the best, whence even reclusive people like you are always blessed.”
The Siddhas became silent and asked no further questions. For the people there the myth of the great spiritual power of the Siddhas had been broken. The Siddhas were penitent for having attempted to disgrace the Guru. Some of them fell at the Guru’s feet, requesting him to show them the right path.
J.S. Neki, a psychiatrist of international repute, was director of PGIMER, Chandigarh. He also received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his contribution to Punjabi verse. Currently he is Professor of Eminence in Religious Studies at Punjabi University, Patiala.