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this mantra over and over.” The boy replied with respect: “If you are giving me this mantra and have become my guru, are you yourself, in fact, enlightened? Have you experienced the Absolute Knowledge? Have you achieved self realization by meditation with this mantra? What kind of spiritual transformation should I expect within myself if I take up the use
of this mantra and wear the sacred thread?”
The pundit explained the significance of the sacred thread: “A Kshatriya established in his sacred duty (dharma) finds it necessary to wear this sacred thread. Without this you will not get the rights of the higher castes.” Nanak asked with patience: “Please provide me a thread which will never break.” The pundit replied: “What kind of sacred thread could that be? Have you seen such a thread?” Young Nanak said: “Yes I have seen it. I have prepared it and I have worn it as well. Now listen to how this type of thread is acquired.”
Then he sang:
Let Compassion (mercy) be the cotton for making this thread; contentment is the thread and is woven with the truth. This is the true sacred thread of human beings, O Pundit! It does not break or get soiled, neither does it burn. Nanak says those who wear this thread are blessed.
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