ZaIam Singh! Rid me of this pitiless thirst" The 'Magnificent Guru with the plume5 Guru Gobind Singh was sitting on his throne in his Hall of audience. The congregation was present. Some conversation was on. Beloved Guru become quiet looked this side and that side and called the disciple but he was not near. On hearing the call from Magnificent Guru Gobind Singh, another handsome young disciple, self conscious of his full blown youth, wearing a nice and clean dress who was sitting amongst the congregation stood up and with hands folded said; Beloved Guru! If you permit I shall bring water. Zalam Singh doesn't seem to be present here.
The true Guru from distance gestured to him, "Alright."
The young man went and after a few moments brought a glass of cold water and presented it to the Guru. The true Guru picked up the glass. Then he looked towards the young man and noticed his neat and clean dress. Then he looked towards his hands that appeared delicate. His fingers were thin and soft but tender as if kept reserved.
Beloved Guru: O Disciple! Tell me what work you do? Your hands are very delicate and soft.
Young disciple (hands folded): Beloved Guru! These hands are folded for you only and these hands have brought water for you only. I keep my body reserved.
Magnificent Guru Gobind Singh: Is it so ?
Saying this, it appeared as if he is about to throw the water on the ground.
Young Disciple: Beloved Guru! My hands have always remained pure. Even now first I washed my hands, then I washed the glass, then I brought fresh clean water. Please do not apprehend. It is clean. Please drink.
Beloved Guru overturned the glass. The water lay on the ground.
The young man was bewildered. Sometimes he looked at the laid water and sometimes at the true Guru. He could not understand what lapse has happened.
Meanwhile, Beloved Guru spoke: O dear! It has been touched by a service-less disciple. It was not fit to drink.
On listening to these words, the young man became afraid. On top of that he felt ashamed that other people sitting in this congregation shall consider me sinful. How shall I come to this congregation?
Then (hesitatingly) he spoke: Beloved Guru! I am son of a Guru-devotee. I am your disciple since many years. We humans make mistakes you are bestowal of forgiveness, redeemer of sinners. Please be gracious. Forgive my lapse and put me on the right path.
Beloved Guru: Listen dear! Right, you are son of a Gurudevotee. You adopted discipleship and became a Guru-disciple. But if you do not practice the discipleship, then it is like a miser's wealth. The practice of discipleship makes the mind, body and this human life fruitful. Discipleship is to learn the teachings of the Guru and become well educated and well trained in those teachings and put them to practice. Disciple-ship is to improve one's self and become fragrant like sandalwood and then spread the fragrance. Discipleship is knowledge, devotion, remembrance of the Lord in every moment and incessant recitation of the Lord's name. One has to remain in endeavour and steadfast. Disciple-ship is not to be in-active or inert. A statue lying on the bank of Ganges is not disciple-ship. Disciple-ship is to remain in endeavour and attached tc the Lord. To win over 'desires and ego' is the inertness of discipleship. Disciple-ship is to keep the mind in the remembrance of the Lord, in the incessant recitation of the Lord's Name and do goodness to the world.
O dear! The first step of disciple-ship is service. See! Everybody is doing service at the Gurdwara. By doing service for others the body becomes clean, the mind is washed. The dirt of ego on the mind goes away. When the Name pervades in the body, then one feels the presence of the Lord in the body incessantly. When the Name enters the breath, then remembrance of the Lord in the mind becomes effortless and incessant. Even then the disciple should remain in service to the congregation and to humanity. The service also becomes effortless. One is always in doing goodness to others. If you had also washed your mind by doing service, recited the Lord's name, recited the scripture and understood its meaning and lived in the incessant remembrance of the Lord, then you would have felt that the Lord, the saviour is omnipresent,
here, there, everywhere. Thus your mind would have elevated and felt the presence of the Lord in the mind. Then effortlessly you would be doing service and goodness to people. Your inner happiness and ecstasy would have changed your nature into doing goodness to others. But O dear! The cleanliness that you adopted for your body pierced a feeling of ego in your mind that 'I am Super-clean'. In this way the mind got the dirt of ego on it. If you had remained Super-clean while doing service to others, then this ego could not make your mind dirty. Instead you would have got an ego-less clean mind. Then the body and mind both would have been clean. On listening to this the young man appeared sad.
Again the true Guru said: O dear! I know your character is not vicious. But to keep the hands idle for the sake of ego of cleanliness is remaining inert. To keep the hands idle is to kill them. like the hands of a dead person although they are not doing any evil but are inert. See! Nobody touches those hands considering them unholy. Idle hands! Yes, hands without service, goodness, kindness and piousness are unholy as they are like the hands of a dead person.
The Guru was quiet for a while, then again he spoke: O dear! First step is to do service at the Guru's door. That washes the dirt of the previous deeds then the mind is cleaned. Then by recitation of the Lord's name and singing his praises the mind is elevated and one feels the presence of the Lord in the mind, heart and body. Further when recitation becomes incessant then one feels the sensation of the presence of the Lord in the body and outside in nature, here, there, everywhere. Then service becomes one's nature. Then whatever goodness he has imbibed in his mind turns into actions. The Guru's teaching is that all senses of the body should become pure and sacred by doing good deeds and the mind should become pure and sacred by recitation of Name and the Holy Scripture.
The young disciple bowed his head and asked forgiveness. He started doing service to the congregation. He gave money as charity, and would spend money for the comfort of the congregation and saints and for the needy. With his hands he served the Guru and the congregation. He spent time in recitation of the Lord's name and listened to the divine songs and praises of the Lord. The true Guru was delighted to see him doing service and in remembrance of Name. The Guru blessed him profusely. He got ecstasy and rapture.
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