A History of Agriculture in India v2.c64.s1.16

v2.c64.s1.16

When Guru Nanak met the recluses, the *Siddhas*, he told them that salvation was not attained by abandoning the world and in ascetic practices. One should live actively in the world and yet remaining detached from its impurities, just as a lotus has its roots in the mire of the pond, but the beauty of its flowers is not marred by the water which surrounds it. True religion, he said, is to be found not in external practices, but in the inward discipline of love, faith and compassion expressed in righteous deeds.