Guru Nanak and the Cobra
Shri Kalayan Das Mehta, Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s father once sent the Guru to graze buffaloes in the pastures. he fell asleep under a tree. The tree was shading his face from the sun. As the day passed the sun moved and the tree couldn’t protect Nanak’s face from the sun. His skin was going to get burned by the hot sun. When someone is with God they are actually with everything there is, because God is in everything. All the animals, birds, fishes and even snakes are reminded of God around a person of God. When the child Nanak was sleeping under a tree a big poisonous snake [Sheshnaag] cobra saw him. It was a really big cobra with a huge hood. The cobra saw Nanak in his divine sleep and noticed something. The sun moved so the tree wasn’t giving shade to the child anymore. The cobra thought, “I wouldn’t want him to wake up because of the hot sun! We are all here to serve God’s people. This boy is very holy and I shall serve him. The cobra spread its hood over this great child to give shade from the hot sun.
While the cobra was hovering over him like this, Rai Bular who was the head of the village came riding by on a horse. He thought, “Dear God! There is a huge cobra over Nanak. I must go and rescue him from being bitten. That child is very special, I have to protect him!”
As Rai Bular rode over to rescue Nanak, he noticed something odd. He felt how the child was in a divine sleep and the [Sheshnaag] cobra seemed like he was meditating too. Rai, Bhullar thought, “It doesn’t seem like a dangerous situation, it actually looks like a peaceful scene. The snake was just making a shadow for him with his hood spread out and he didn’t move in as though he was going to bite. Not only was the snake not going to harm Nanak, he was actually protecting Nanak from the sun. Great are the saints of God! When Rai Bular saw this he felt overwhelmed. It was so beautiful and precious! It was so sweet and sacred. It was so amazing, he was convinced that Guru Nanak Dev Ji is not an ordinary man. God had sent him to this world. Rai Bular then touched the Guru's feet in great reverence and thus became his disciple.