September 25, 2026

Swim Without Getting Wet

The lotus flower floats unattached upon the water, and the duck also swims through it. With intuitive awareness focused on the Shabad, one crosses over the terrifying world-ocean; chant the Naam, O Nanak, the Name of the Lord.

Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, spoke these lines during the Sidh Gosht, a recorded dialogue in the Himalayas where ascetic yogis questioned him about how a person could reach God while still living amid family, work, and worldly ties. He answered with the image of the lotus floating on water and the duck swimming through it — both remain untouched by what surrounds them. The passage teaches that non-attachment is not escape from the world but a way of moving through it without being stained or weighed down by outcomes. In this tradition, non-attachment is practiced through steady remembrance and full attention to the present task, so one can work, love, and grieve completely while releasing the need to control what follows. The lotus does not refuse the water; it simply never lets the water become its master.

A principle of Eastern Wisdom: Non-Attachment →