Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s encounter with Seth Duni Chand in Lahore offers a profound lesson on the futility of empty rituals like Shradh (ancestral rites) and the importance of living spirituality. Here’s the transformative wisdom from this incident:
1. The Illusion of Ritual Feeding
When Duni Chand prepared lavish dishes for his father’s Shradh, claiming it would “feed his soul for a year,” Guru Ji revealed a startling truth:
- His father had been reborn as a hungry goat in the forest due to unfulfilled worldly desires (craving meat at death).
- The goat, recalling its past life, confessed: “Your rituals cannot reach me. Only righteous living and devotion liberate souls.”
2. Guru Nanak’s Spiritual Truth
Guru Ji dismantled the superstition behind Shradh with divine insight:
- No ritual feeds the dead: Souls progress based on their karma, not post-death ceremonies.
- Human life’s purpose: Liberation comes from connecting to God (Naam Simran) and serving others, not empty rites.
- The real “Shradh”: Honoring ancestors by living truthfully, as their karma influences our birth, but our actions determine our destiny.
3. The Practical Lesson
- For Duni Chand: He abandoned rituals, embraced Guru’s teachings, and sought a Guru’s guidance for true liberation.
- For Us Today: Wasting resources on feasts won’t help departed souls. Instead:
- Serve the living: Feed the hungry (Langar), not symbolic plates.
- Live ethically: Break cycles of desire that bind souls to rebirth.
- Meditate: Help ancestors through your own spiritual growth.
Guru Nanak’s Eternal Message
“Pind diyan kariyan, tan ki mail na uttre
(Washing the body’s corpse doesn’t cleanse the soul.)” — Guru Granth Sahib, Ang 1013*
Key Takeaway:
Shradh rituals are meaningless without inner transformation. True respect for ancestors lies in living as Guru Nanak taught: selflessly, truthfully, and immersed in Divine Love.
