This is arguably one of the first Sikh teachings. Tradition says that when Guru Nanak re-appeared after having apparently drowned in the River Beas, the first statement he made was “Nai Koi Hindu, na Musalman”.
Guru Nanak saw that these words are really just manmade labels that don’t go with one after this life. He saw into the real souls of people, and not the barriers, defense-mechanisms, buttresses, and prides people had set up for themselves. There is no Hindu or Muslim!
Furthermore, if a real God-sent Guru were to come to Punjab again today, I think he would say, “There is no Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh”. In the same tradition and meaning. Because one should not use labels, but see beyond that to what one truly and really is. No “names” or labels will save you or support you hereafter. You cant hide behind them in front of Dharam Raia.
When God sees you, he sees the soul, the part of Him He broke off of from himself, and planted in that body. He recognizes no names. Similarly when Dharam Raia sees you after this life, he sees no names either. He only sees your soul, with all of the actions you’ve done written on it. By this he judges, and not by any “title” of job, vocation, or religion that man has set. He sees through all of this, so we should too.
Then of course someone is going to ask, “Well then why call yourself a Sikh, or keep your hair?” The answer is that there is a flip side to the statement of “there is no Hindu, and no Muslim.”
There IS a Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim, if you are absolutely true to your creed, and become that which your religion tells you to be. With no hypocrisy. That is what we should strive to be. The 5 Ks help you in this life, and help you to better your ACTIONS in this life, so you may be better judged hereafter. A person of any faith who has lived his/her life cleanly, is better off than a person who has uncut hair but is full of greed. The first will be better off in the hereafter than the second. The ideal is of course, to marry the two. To be of long hair, 5 Ks, and of the best exemplary action, love, and compassion. That’s excellence according to Sikhism.
So the 5 Ks as per this argument, are tools to help you live a cleaner life. No one who doesn’t have long hair should be afraid of or “hate” people who do have long hair, but should see that those people should be striving to better themselves beyond the ordinary man. Keshadharis don’t hate short haired Sikhs. At least I don’t.
“Na koi hindu, na musalman, nor any non-God people. We are all souls.”
This is really a transcendental statement by one who saw beyond all things earthly, to their real essence. He wasn’t fooled by anyone.
This statement cannot be understood by reasoning. It has to be understood by experience. The best way to understand what Guru Nanak meant by “Na koi Hindu Na Musalman”, is to leave all else, and sit in quiet seclusion by the seashore for a few moments. Sit there cross legged, and close your eyes and meditate. Sitting straight, release all thoughts of the world. Release everything. Let go of all your attachments of EVERYTHING. Be at peace. Release it all. Everything you have ever known in the world. Think of nothing else, and know nothing else, and be nothing else. Release the entire world from within you.
Then sit for a minute more with no thoughts in your mind. Then open your eyes and see out into the wonderful sea. You should see nothing but God Himself. Nothing but him. At that moment you will know that nothing else really exists but God Himself, and that all else is false. “It doesn’t really exist.” You will know that the world is maya. An illusion. God is really all that exists!
At that moment you should know that God is all that really is. You should be laughing at yourself. You should know that everything that man has ever conjured up in the world has no meaning. And that God is all there is.
You should also see that all that man does is wrong, and false. That knowing God is the only way. Then one should bow his head toward God and receive pilgrimage of the True Guru (God Himself).
Sitting there one should unsee all else, and only See Him. And thereby realize the true values of life. At that point one may even have the realization that he has lived his life all wrong. That one has been attached to all in the world, and has been “duped” by man and his labels.
It is then that one understands the meaning of “Na koi hindu na musalman.” Not only that but one sees that ALL is false, and only God is wondrous. This is a state of detachment. Only in evolving above the world does one truly understand that meaning.
It cant be understood by any amount of thinking. Rather one has to let go all “thinking” in order to see it. One doesn’t see the true message of the seers until one unsees all else.
“Wah Wah Wah” is what one should be filled with at that point. One’s face should be smiling.
The Gurbani in Sri Guru Granth Sahib was all written in a state of absolute transcendence. Transcendence isn’t a word from another religion. It means detachment, and realizing God as the essence, exactly as Gurbani teaches.
I am saying this because I have found myself saying the exact same sentiment as expressed by that phrase, in reference to other things, many many times. Because I see that there is nothing but God. It /He can be realized by His Grace, and by no other way.
And that state of detachment of knowing nothing but He is what is mentioned many times in Guru Granth Sahib. Gurus minds were in God Himself, even though their feet walked on the ground.
Mohinderjeet Singh