There are many hints in accounts of Guru Nanak’s life that Mata Sulakhni was a shrew.
As the character Shaitani says at one point in the book, ‘shrews are made, not born.’
We have to remember the consequences on Guru Nanak’s wife of his being an absent husband and father for many years while he was on his udaasees, or journeys.
For those many years Sulakhni was a single mother.
Guru Nanak’s absence impacted their children as well, one of whom, Baba Sri Chand, was brought up by Guru Nanak’s sister, Bebe Nanaki.
We know from human psychology that has not changed that much over the centuries, and from sheer common sense that this arrangement must have had emotional consequences for all involved.
If we are to bring history up to date, make it relevant to ourselves and our times, we need to see it in the light of contemporary insights, still quite limited, into human nature.
Simply put, Guru Nanak’s journeys, and his invaluable and lasting message, had its casualties.
But, Guru Nanak had to follow his own chosen path in order to leave humankind the message that has resounded for five and a half centuries and will continue to do so for millennia to come.
It is a recognition of the fact that one person’s destiny impacts another’s.
This is especially true when it comes to women whose destinies are yoked to the destinies of their husbands.
INTO THE GREAT HEART, Published by Jaico. Order a copy for yourself, http://bit.ly/KamlaKKapur
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