There came a day in Talwandi when the house was full of people.
It was a ceremony day. All the relatives had been asked, and sweet things set out on trays. Everyone had come to watch Guru Nanak Dev Ji be given the sacred thread, the thin cotton cord that boys of his family wore over one shoulder, the sign of a high family.
Hardyal Ji, the priest, said the holy words. Then he picked up the thread and reached out to put it over Guru Nanak Dev Ji's head.
And Guru Nanak Dev Ji lifted his hand.
Not rudely. He was looking up at the priest with real affection. But he had a question first. What is it, he asked, and why do you want to put it on me.
The priest explained. You come of a high family, he said. When you wear this, everyone will know it. Those who do not wear it are not counted high. They are counted low.
At the word low, a small frown crossed Guru Nanak Dev Ji's forehead. Then it passed, and he asked something else.
This thread will get dirty, he said. And it will wear out, and break.
Then you wash it, said the priest. And when it breaks you buy another.
And Guru Nanak Dev Ji said: have you no thread that never gets dirty, and never breaks.
The priest stopped. No, he said. I have no such thread. But if you have one, wonderful child, then tell me.
So Guru Nanak Dev Ji told him.
Do not think anybody is low, he said. Be kind to everyone. Let that be the cotton. Do not be greedy. Be content with what you have. Let that be the spinning of it. Speak the truth, and let that be the twist. Keep your mind clean, and let that be the knots that hold it. Put that thread on me, and it will never break and never turn dirty. Fortunate are the ones who arrive at the Lord's house still wearing it.
Hardyal Ji smiled. But it is our custom, he said. This one stays with you always.
This one will get dirty, said Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It will wear out and it will break.
Something moved in the priest's heart then. For years he had said this child came from heaven, and here was the proof standing in front of him, and it was not what he had expected the proof to look like.
Then Guru Nanak Dev Ji stood up where everybody could see him, and he looked round at all the relatives and the friends and the guests crowded into the courtyard, and he spoke to all of them.
What is this thread you wear, he said. Someone twists it out of cotton and says the holy words over it, and you put it on. It gets old and snaps. You wear it and call yourselves high. Then you tell lies while wearing it. You take what is not yours. You think unkind thoughts about other people.
So how is it, he asked, that a thread has made you high and made somebody else low.
If wearing it had stopped you doing wrong, that would be something. If your hands and your feet had stopped hurting other people, if your eyes had learned to look at everyone with love, if your mouth spoke sweetly, then you could say the thread had strength in it.
Wear the thread I have told you about, he said. That one will not get dirty and will not break, and it will keep you glad in this world and in the next one too.
The priest tried once more, because it was hard to let go of a custom. What you have said is for the mind, he said. This one is for the body.
And Guru Ji answered him plainly. You have put no thread on your greed, he said. You have put no thread on your hands and feet to hold them back from doing wrong. You have put no thread on your eyes, so they would not look at anyone unkindly. You have put no thread on your tongue.
And Hardyal Ji, who had known this child since the hour he was born, bowed his head and said: You are great. You know what you are.
Goodnight. The thread that never breaks is one you cannot lose. It is only kindness, and truth, and a quiet mind.