Gurunanak’s devotion

"Our mind itself is a farmer and our body is a beautiful farm. We should sow the farm with the seeds of God's Name. These seeds germinate, grow and bear fruits with the help of love. From this farm of mine, I shall cultivate so many crops that will provide food for my entire family." These are the words of Gurunanak, the founder of the Sikh sect.

In the village of Talavandi in Punjab lived a farmer named Mehta Kalu. He had a son named Nanak. Since childhood, Nanak was religious. When he grew up, his father started sending him to school. After school, he used to take the cows to the fields for grazing. There he used to sing bhajans (devotional songs).

Once when he was praying to God, an old farmer came there. He said to Nanak, "I am going out for a journey for four days. Till then take care of my farm. I shall give you one sackful of wheat. Ten sacks of wheat grow in my farm." Nanak agreed. The farmer happily left. Nanak sat on the treetop near the farm to keep a watch over it. The farm was full of wheat crops. Flocks of sparrows came to the farm and started eating the crops. Nanak prayed to God, "O God, please take care of the farmer's crops. Please give the sparrows your crops." This continued for four days. The sparrows used to eat the crops everyday. After four days, the old farmer returned. On seeing the flock of sparrows in his farm, he became angry on Nanak. Nanak calmly said to him, "Please don't be angry. Reap these crops and count the crops. Your crops are intact; I have given God's crops to the sparrows." The farmer did as Nanak told him. To his surprise, 11 sackful of crops were harvested. On seeing this, the farmer realised that this his because of God's grace and Nanak's devotion towards God. He then asked Nanak to forgive him.

Children, this story shows us the importance of prayers. If we pray to God with all our heart, with intense yearning, He rushes to help us. That is why we should constantly chant the Name of our Kuladevata (Family Deity), pray and express gratitude at His Holy feet.