It is the west bank of the river Beas. It is early morning. The godly soul is sitting on the bank, immersed in the love of the Lord. Mardana Ji is singing a divine song. The heavens are showering ecstasy. In solitude and peace, the singing of divine songs is giving rapture.
The sun rose. The beloved Guru Ji opened his eyes. He looked towards the heavens, then towards the river and then around and sang the following lines in a sweet tune:
I live, when O Lord, you live in my mind. When you are in my mind, I am in ecstasy and rapture. Then, he stood up and said: One prophet will come here. Here, divine hymns will be sung. This place will become a flourishing town.
Saying this, he moved ahead. On the third day, he reached a village. Here, Guru Ji liked a place and he sat down under a tree.
Early morning, Mardana Ji sang a divine song. Guru Ji was the listener and Mardana Ji the singer and the trees, plants and fields were the inspiration.
Next day, one lady brought food. The lady, herself, served food to Guru Ji and Mardana Ji. Mardana Ji, after having food, said: After eating this food, I remember the food that mom used to serve.
Guru Ji said: Like the butter goes into the bread, love also gets into things. Love means to love others.
They stayed there for a couple of days and then they started the journey ahead. On the third day, they reached a village. Here, was a beautiful lake and lot of berry trees.
He sat under a berry tree. He rested at night and early in the morning, Mardana Ji played the rebeck and Guru Ji sang a divine song:
0 Lord, I do not, now or ever, Ask anything except one thing: Keep me immersed in your love. Nanak is a pied Cuckoo,
1 wish raindrops only.
Before leaving he said: One prophet will come. A temple will be constructed. The town will flourish.
Moving ahead, he stayed at Lahore under a fig tree.
Here, he stayed for a short period only and then, moved forward and reached Eminabad. At that time it was called Saidpur Sandyali. Here, Guru Ji came to the house of a carpenter and loudly said: Lord is great.
This person used to make wooden pegs. He was simple and it appeared as if he had a rough nature.
On listening to the voice, Lalo Ji came out. When he saw Guru Ji, he fell at his feet.
Then Guru Ji said: Well Lalo Ji, I have come and I have started my travels in India and abroad.
Lalo Ji had tears of love in his eyes. His head bowed and he took the guru inside his house.
Mardana Ji, Guru Ji's companion was astonished. He said to himself: The servants of the grocery store stood in his service with folded hands. The governor was giving him so much salary. He had so much comfort of the house, an obedient wife and a saintly sister. He has left all. On the way, wherever we stayed, it was quite distressing, and now where have we come today? There is no bed, no chair, no carpet and no sheet even.
Meanwhile, Lalo Ji brought a chair from outside. Then Guru Ji sat on the chair. For quite sometime, there was no talk from both sides. It was tranquility. Then, Lalo Ji went to the kitchen and cooked food.
Now, Mardana Ji asked Guru Ji: O Guru Ji, who is this person whom you have come to meet? You have left your home. You have left your town. Where have you come?
Guru Ji laughed and said: Mardana Ji, I have come to a house of piousness. Here is an earning with honesty and a mind that is enlightened with the love of the Lord.
Now, the food was ready and Lalo Ji said: Please come to the kitchen and have food.
Guru Ji said: The ground is the same everywhere. When the mind is immersed in the Lord's love, then the ground is sacred wherever you sit. You bring the food here only.
When Lalo Ji brought the coarse grain bread and the green leafy vegetable, then Mardana Ji said to his mind: O, where have we come? This dry bread won't go down my throat. But O.K. Whatever Guru Ji likes, I should accept. Eat and feel happy to eat. In this thinking, he ate the food, but after eating he felt the deliciousness of nectar.
When Guru Ji finished eating food, then Lalo Ji fell at Guru Ji's feet. Guru Ji blessed him and Lalo Ji's mind that was in ascetic practices earlier, got immersed in the Lord's love now. Previously, he was meditating with effort. Today, he got the Lord's love. He got ecstasy.
In this house, in a small mud hut, Guru Ji stayed for three days and then got ready to go. But Lalo Ji, with folded hands and tears in his eyes said: Please don't go so quickly, stay for a few more days. Bless me and then go.
Seeing his love, Guru Ji extended his stay there. Now his daily routine was like this: Early morning, he would go and sit in meditation on a platform of stones or sand and get immersed in the love of the Lord. People call it Hath yoga, but it was not Hath yoga of the body as such. His mind was immersed in the Lord's love.
In the town, people started talking that one Bedi Khatri is practicing extreme Hath yoga. He doesn't eat or drink anything. He keeps on sitting on a platform of stones or sand at one place in deep meditation and does not move. He eats only a few buds of wild flower. They also talked: Although, he is Bedi, but he is staying in the house of a carpenter of low caste. He has a companion also who is a Mohammedan singer.
When Mardana Ji went out in the town, people would say: See, there he goes, the singer companion of the misguided, who is mixing the upper caste with the low caste.
A few days later, Mardana Ji took permission from Guru Ji, and went home but Guru Ji continued to stay here. Guru Ji stayed here for quite some time. Some people were coming and getting his blessings.
One day, a group of Brahmins came to advise him: O Guru Ji, you stick to the caste system. You are an upper caste Bedi Khatri.
But after listening to Guru Ji's thoughtful reasoning, they had no answer to give. Now, they called him Nanak, the ascetic. Some Mohammedans called him Nanak Shah. Many people started coming to him for his blessings.
The Brahmins and the Mohammedan priests became envious. They were afraid that if all the people started going to him, then who would come to us?
In Eminabad, the governor was a Pathan called Khan. He was like a king. Malik Bhago was an official under him. The Mohammedan priests started tale telling to Khan and the Hindu Brahmins went to Malik Bhago. They also adopted other means, so that Guru Ji may leave the town.
A day came, when Malik Bhago arranged a feast for the Brahmins and sadhus at his house where all delicacies like fried bread, sweet fried bread, Indian snacks, milk pudding and sweets of different types were to be served. All the Brahmins and sadhus were invited. The fretful Brahmins also invited Guru Ji. They anticipated that probably Guru Ji won't come and Malik will be angry with him.
It just happened like that. Guru Ji did not go to his house for feasting.
Then, the Brahmins made an insinuation: See Malik, how proud is Guru Nanak Dev Ji? He has not accepted your invitation.
Then, Malik got furious and he asked one Brahmin: Go, and ask Guru Ji to meet me.
When the Brahmin went to Guru Ji, Guru Ji said: I am a holy man, I have no work with big people.
When Guru Ji did not go, then the Brahmins made more malevolent insinuations to Malik against Guru Ji.
Malik got more furious. Then, he sent five men and instructed them: If Guru Ji does not come on your asking, then bring him by force.
Guru Ji listened to the order, laughed and went to meet Malik. Here, many people were sitting. Guru Ji went inside and stood there.
Then, Malik said: O, ascetic, you are having food with low caste people, and you do not come to sacred feasts for Brahmins, and then you have a low caste Muslim singer as your companion and you hate us who are upper caste Khatris. Why is it so?
Guru Ji said: I am the Lord's holy man. Wherever the Lord gives, I eat there.
Then, Malik said: You should have come to my feast also. Guru Ji said: O.K. Malik, then you get some fried bread from your feast.
Guru Ji also asked Lalo Ji to bring a bread of coarse grain from his house. When both came, then Guru Ji held fried bread in one hand and coarse grain bread in the other hand and raised his arms and squeezed both.
See! From the coarse grain bread milk drops oozed down and from the fried bread blood drops oozed down. When everybody saw this, the entire gathering from the town was dazed. They realized that this ascetic is powerful. He has supernatural powers.
Malik was angry but he felt ashamed also.
Guru Ji said: The acacia seed has no thorns. But when the tree comes up, then the thorns grow. Similarly the fried bread and other delicacies are delicious to eat but when a man of God eats these, then he feels pain.
Saying this, he came out and went to Lalo Ji's hut where he was staying.
It so happened that the son of the Pathan King of Sandyali became ill.
One day, he said to Malik Bhago: My son is sick and his condition is deteriorating day by day. No medicine is doing any good.
Then, Malik said: Your Excellency, prayers of a saint is the right answer. If a saint comes and prays for the health of your son, he will become all right. But the saint should be miraculous. A real saint is one who is immersed in the Lord's love. But people generally consider a saint real if he is able to perform miracles.
Khan said: Who is a miraculous saint? How do I know?
Malik said: You call all the sadhus and keep them in captivity and tell them: I will make you free only when my son gets well. Then, whoever is a real saint will show his miracle.
Then, the Khan's men brought all the sadhus whose name Malik had suggested. Guru Nanak Dev Ji was also brought. Malik had suggested his name as well.
All the sadhus brought by the Khan's men were sitting when Lalo Ji came, after hearing that Guru Nanak Dev Ji has been taken as a captive by the Khan's men. On seeing Guru Ji in captivity he wept.
O World! You never understood the saints who came to allay your suffering. You never respected them and you never stopped to give them suffering.
Guru Ji said: Lalo Ji, don't feel sad. See the Lord's drama. This also is a miracle of His.
Khan came and said: O, men of God. You make my son well. Pray that he should be all right.
All the sadhus kept quiet, but Guru Ji spoke: O Khan, have you heard grapes growing on an acacia tree?
Khan said: No.
Guru Ji said: Then, how can you expect that force can bring grace.
It meant that you have brought the sadhus by force and put them in captivity and they have a feeling of suffering. How can grace come from suffering minds?
When Khan listened to this, then he realized that this ascetic is telling the truth. Then, because of the sentiment of the son, he became humble and said: Be gracious, O man of Lord.
Guru Ji said: O Khan, let everything happen by itself as per the Lord's wish.
Khan became more humble now. He begged pardon and said: Please pray for my son's health and make him all right.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji could do miracles but generally he kept himself away from showing miracles. It came to his mind that this mad Khan is being cruel to the sadhus. They should be freed. Some of them are Lord loving and they are in captivity for no fault of theirs. The Lord shall be happy to allay their suffering. He loves pious people. Then, Guru Ji closed his eyes and opened and said: O Khan, your son's health is in the leftovers of the saints.
Khan said: Whatever, you make him all right.
Then, Guru Ji said: Lalo Ji, go and bring bread from your house.
Lalo Ji went and brought bread and that was given to the Khan's son to eat. After eating the same the Khan's son became all right.
Khan was dazed to see how powerful Guru Ji was? Malik Bhago who was standing near was stunned and started trembling with fear. All the people were dazed and the sadhus who were brought by force were all astonished.
Next day, Malik Bhago came to Guru Ji and said: I beg your pardon. I was disrespectful to you.
Then, Guru Ji said: My insult? Insult to Nanak? Nanak is not insulted. You be afraid of the insult that you have done to yourself and to the people and you are doing to the Lord. See, the animals and the birds move the whole day for food. In other words this is their earning and they fill their bellies. They are always happy, always healthy and the birds are always flying in the sky. Hard work is the key to honest earning. Hard work keeps the body healthy. Hard work helps on the path towards the Lord.
Money earned by fleecing the people and by deceiving the people and then, accumulating that wealth and then sit on it like a snake is an illness of the body, mind and soul. See you have lost your inner self. You have wasted your inner self. You have killed your inner self. Have mercy on your inner self. Awaken your inner self. Put a seedling of the Lord's name in your inner self.
Guru Ji explained to him: Your mind has become dirty by being cruel
to the people. This is an illness and lifelessness.
Malik: Now, my mind has got a jolt. Whatever you say is sweet for me. You only tell, how can I do labor in this old age and with this lazy body?
Guru Ji said: A king sitting on the throne is labor. A labor with a basket on his head is labor. A shopkeeper weighing goods at the shop is labor if he respects the Lord and is afraid of Him. Your being an officer is labor if you are honest, you don't accept bribe and you are not cruel. All occupations, all jobs are labor if done with honesty. Whether somebody has been given a job or it is a self-chosen work, dishonesty kills the hard work done. A laborer with a basket on the head, a grocer with a weighing scale, an officer, a king who does justice, preaching of a saint, is all labor, if done without deception.
Everything becomes Lord's grace if you remember the Lord while doing all the chores.
Taking money from the farmer, who sweats out the whole day on his land, and after paying taxes, hardly saves anything for food, is fleecing the farmer. Again, to take money by threatening from a trader is squeezing his blood. Like, you prick the neck of an animal to get blood. Similarly, taking money forcibly from somebody's earning is taking blood.
On listening to Guru Ji's words, Malik Bhago fell at Guru Ji's feet and became a disciple. He distributed the money that he had earned extra by taking bribes and became a pious man. He started reciting the Lord's name and started doing justice properly. He became contented with honest earning.
In the biography is written: On seeing humility in Malik Bhago, Guru Ji said: Bhago, Say, O Lord. Say, O Lord.
He blessed him with the Lord's name.
Then, Khan came and fell at Guru Ji's feet and asked for forgiveness.
Guru Ji said: Both of you go and ask forgiveness from the sadhus.
Then, both of them went and asked forgiveness from the sadhus and made them free with reverence.
Malik Bhago said, O Lord, O Lord and the Name settled in his mind, heart and body cells. He got ecstasy.
Guru Ji said: Honest earning and the Lord's name should go together.
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