It was August, and the nights were cool, and Guru Gobind Singh Ji was sitting up on the roof in the breeze.
From the roof of the house next door came the sound of two men having an argument.
One of them was a Sikh called Lahora Singh Ji. The other was his neighbour Mala Singh, a trader who used to lend money.
A while back, when Lahora Singh Ji had needed money, Mala Singh had lent it to him without any fuss. And Lahora Singh Ji had never given it back.
Mala Singh was a decent man and had not pestered him about it. But then Mala Singh's business went badly. Then it went worse. It got to where he did not have enough for proper food.
So that night he went round and asked for his money.
And Lahora Singh Ji, who did not feel like paying, was funny about it instead.
A Sikh takes money from a Sikh, he said, and forgets to worry about giving it back.
Our job is eating and drinking and laughing, he said. Guru Ji will look after the rest.
Mala Singh told him plainly that he had no food in the house.
That is everyone's fate, said Lahora Singh Ji. You will have to bear yours.
People who tell lies, said Mala Singh, have to answer for it in the Lord's court. You will be sorry then.
When Guru Ji is kind to a man, said Lahora Singh Ji, nobody asks him anything at that court.
Now, up to that point it was only a man dodging a debt. But he had begun using holy words to make himself sound safe while he did it, and one roof away, the person those words belong to was listening.
And Guru Ji answered him, out loud, into the dark, loudly enough to carry.
To take what belongs to another, he said, is pig for a Muslim and cow for a Hindu.
Then, for the line about Sikhs forgetting to pay Sikhs back, Guru Ji said: one who eats himself and will not let another eat, and cheats him, is shut out of Guru Ji's house.
And for the cheerful bit about eating and drinking and laughing while Guru Ji looks after the rest, Guru Ji said, in a voice you would not want aimed at you: Guru Ji gives blessing or punishment according to what a person has done.
There was quiet on the next roof.
Lahora Singh Ji was shaking. He turned to his neighbour and his voice had gone completely different.
Brother, he said, forgive me. You will have your money tomorrow. I was only joking with you.
In the morning he went round to Mala Singh's house with the money in his hands and gave it back with his hands folded.
Then he washed and dressed and went to the hall where Guru Ji sat, and put his head at Guru Ji's feet.
Without you holding us up, he said, we are nothing but greed. Forgive us. Keep us. Please do not turn us out.
And Guru Ji said: keep away from anger, from greed, from pride. Keep away from cheating people. Live cleanly among your own people.
Then he turned to everybody sitting there and said a few things worth writing down, and Poet Santokh Singh Ji did write them down.
A Sikh should not borrow money. If he does borrow, he should give it back, and give it back respectfully. He should not listen to lies and should not tell them. He should keep good company. He should earn honestly. He should be truthful always, and never a hypocrite.
And the sangat, who had heard the whole thing happen over two roofs in one night, went away saying to each other how great the true Guru Ji is.
Because he had not needed to send for anybody, or hold an enquiry, or ask a single question.
He had just been sitting on his roof in the cool of the evening, and he had known.