When Guru Nanak Ji was 9 years old, his father Mehta Kalu decided to do the Janeu ceremony for the boy and so called all his family members and relatives for the occasion. After performing all the preliminary rituals, the family priest Hardial, proceeded to put the sacred thread on Nanak’s neck

 When Guru Nanak Ji was 9 years old, his father Mehta Kalu decided to do the Janeu ceremony for the boy and so called all his family members and relatives for the occasion. After performing all the preliminary rituals, the family priest Hardial, proceeded to put the sacred thread on Nanak’s neck.

Nanak caught the thread with his hand and started questioning the Brahmin priest about the advantage of wearing it. When the priest tried to expound on the significance of the Vedic ritual of wearing Janeu, Nanak responded to him thus :

“Make mercy thy cotton, contentment thy thread, continence its knot, truth its twist.

That would make a Janeu for the soul; if thou have it, O Brahman, then put it on me.”

Then the priest accepted defeat and all villagers applauded child Nanak's wisdom.

In short, Nanak rejected the wearing of Janeu as meaningless and hollow. This is a convincing, rhetorical story which Sikhs are very fond of reciting in a show of one-upmanship over Hindus. 

But I wish to ask my Sikh brothers whether the cloth in the turbans that they wear (on the instruction of their Gurus) is imbued with the above-mentioned qualities, that Nanak was seeking in the humble Janeu?

If the Janeu is irrelevant for spiritual evolution of the soul, then how are the 5Ks of Sikhism aiding its adherents in the same?

If taking a dip in the holy Ganges is futile, then how is bathing in the Amrit Sarovar supposed to cure ailments and get rid of bad Karma?

If idol worship is useless, then how is installing the Guru Granth Sahib in Gurudwaras, worshipping and taking care of it like a living thing supposed to help in realising the ultimate truth?

I completely support the right of the 11-year old child Nanak to question the Hindu rituals and draw a conclusion that they are superficial (based on his own limited understanding of the topic). Indeed Sanatan Dharma thrives on its adherents asking questions and seeking explanations. No other religion in the world has given rise to so many disparate schools of thoughts and philosophies, as Hinduism has. 

Some, like the Ājīvika, Ajñāna and the Cārvāka philosophies, shrivelled and fell by the wayside as they couldn’t gain traction with the masses. Others branched out into distinct religions like Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. However the Hindu majority of the great land of Bharat never persecuted or put to the sword, those who apostated from mainstream Hinduism. 

I am merely following in the footsteps of Guru Nanak Ji by asking questions. Those who abuse and try to threaten me are actually insulting him. I am not sure how my asking logical questions in a respectful way (without insulting any Sikh Gurus) is causing so much angst and aggravation among a section of people. 

Those who tell me that I am attempting to drive a wedge in between Hindus and Sikhs, let me also remind them that Guru Nanak lived in a tumultous period in the 15th century when Bharat was under Mughal rule. Islamic invasion had started in India in the 12th century itself. By the time Nanak was born, India had already endured wave after wave of Islamic invasions from the Ghoris, Ghajnavids, Khiljis, Lodhis, Timurids and many others. 

Today we are living in a far more stable and cohesive Bharat, where we can afford to question the status quo. We don’t really need to walk on egg-shells for fear of splintering our nation. 

In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that we CANNOT afford to not ask questions anymore. Let us shed this cloak of complacency and call a spade a spade. Let the burden of reform not rest on Hinduism alone. Let the yoke of brotherhood not be borne by Hindus alone. Let us call our Sikh brothers to also look within themselves instead of holding a mirror to our faces all the time.