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The oil lamp flickered in the corner of the mud-brick room, casting long, dancing shadows against the walls of Talwandi. It was the dead of night, yet young Nanak could not sleep. Outside, the Punjab plains were bathed in the silvery glow of a full moon, but inside the boy’s chest, a different kind of light was beginning to burn—a light that would eventually illuminate the entire world.

From Lalo’s bread, drops of pure white milk trickled down. From Malik Bhago’s bread, drops of dark, red blood squeezed out.

"If your water can reach all the way to heaven and your ancestors," Guru Nanak replied calmly, "surely my water can reach my fields just across the plains."

"How can water thrown here reach your fields hundreds of miles away?" the priests asked, thinking him a fool.

When the time came for Guru Nanak to leave his mortal body, a beautiful dispute arose among his followers. The Hindus wanted to cremate him according to their customs, while the Muslims wanted to bury him according to theirs.

To spread this message of universal brotherhood, Guru Nanak began his epic Udasis, or great spiritual journeys. Leaving behind his home and family, and accompanied by his faithful Muslim musician companion, Bhai Mardana, the Guru walked thousands of miles on foot. He traveled to the four corners of the world—north into the freezing Himalayas, south to the shores of Sri Lanka, east to Assam, and far west to the holy city of Mecca.

In another village, a wealthy and arrogant man named Malik Bhago invited the Guru to a grand feast. Guru Nanak declined the invitation and instead chose to stay with Lalo, a poor but honest carpenter who earned his living through hard, physical labor.