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���˿��� Teach > School Radio > Assemblies and Collective Worship
KS1 audio: Something to Think About / KS2 audio: Together

Programme content:

Feature: Children at a Gudwara talk about the Sikh religion and beliefs
Story: The story of Guru Nanak by Rachel Boxer
Song: All about our school, no 13: ‘Together’
Reflection: about life changing experiences, having ideas and turning them into something positive.

Pre-programme questions:

• Do you know where India is - and the Punjab - where Sikhism began and many Sikhs still live. Refer to a map or globe.
• Have you heard of Guru Nanak? What do you know about him?
• Have you ever been worried when someone has failed to turn up when you expected them?

Story synopsis:

The story is set more than five hundred years ago in the part of India now called the Punjab.Nanak goes down to the river to wash. He is about thirty years old, married to Sulkhani, and has two young sons and a good job with the local government. But something happens to him at the riverbank. His family wait and wait but Nanak does not return. His wife sends out a search party; they even dredge the river, but there is no sign of Nanak.

Then, after three days he returns but he is silent about what has happened to him. Finally he announces, ‘There is neither Hindu nor Muslim’ (his way of explaining his ideas of equality between people). He explains that he feels that he has been with God who has told him to leave his job and spread the word of peace. Thus he founds the Sikh religion with this simple message: ‘What matters is how we live our lives - whether we’re kind and gen- erous to those we meet and whether we do what is good. It’s as though we are brothers and sisters to one another, all equally important in God’s eyes.’

After the story:

• Think about how Nanak’s family and friends felt at key moments in the story: when he set off to wash, when he didn’t come back, while they searched for him, his return and silence, his announcement of what God had said to him.
• The word ‘Guru’ means ‘teacher’. Apart from teachers in school, can you think of anyone you would call a modern day Guru?
• Although others called him ‘Guru’ Nanak pre- ferred simply to call himself ‘Nanak Das’, which means ‘God’s servant’. Why do you think he preferred this title?

Follow-up activities:

• Retell the story by creating a picture book for young children. You’ll need clear pictures and short simple sentences to get the story across.
• Write a paragraph or poem called My Guru, about someone you admire who you think is a great ‘teacher’ or helper or people. It might help to start by thinking about heroes.