The old lady Sabhrai was following the path of spiritual elevation and was trying to mould her life according to the noble Sikh ideals. The holy Guru had placed before humanity | an ideal form of life, following which manshouldfindjoyinhis — own life and bring joy into the lives of others. A person following this path would appear different from ordinary humanity. When life’s troubles come in the way of such a person, then would the test come as to how much transformation the inner self has undergone and found poise in faith in God. The lady’s life was now undergoing such a transformation, and her sufferings no longer brought gloom into her life. Such an attainment, no doubt, entails undergoing a hard discipline. She had suffered bereavement of her husband and her daughter and now the death of her grand children. As she heard about the hardships faced by her son-in-law, God's devotee, Guru Gobind Singh, her poise was inevitably disturbed. The way that religion had placed before her, was resignation to the will of God. This resignation is not a mere utterance of certain words to that effect, but it is a positive experience wherein the mind should feel joy in the rememberance of God and in the elevated consciousness. Resignation should, thus, be a positive
affirmation of faith. Another facet of resignation is to set out on the search for submitting to the will of God and finding peace. Thus the straying mind begins to find positive peace.
In the old lady’s life now there was this tension that terrible blows of misfortune were falling on her one after the other, but she bore them with courage and inborn faith. Each blow, as she got over it, was leaving her inner mind strengthened. This was, however, not the strength born of lack of feelings. Stones and trees also lack feelings, but they are not to be praised for this quality. Animals also, do not lack feelings, but being inarticulate cannot express their suffering. Man’s greatness lies in this that overcoming the moment of sufferings, through faith and the influence of the holy congregation, he can transmute it into joy. The lady did deeply feel the sufferings of her near and dear ones, but she was trying to harmonize her own will with the will of God. This would give her poise and she would glory in realizing the greatness of God's doings.
The kind of experiences undergone by the old lady would in the case of ordinary people lead to ingratitude, depressing dejection and anguish, but she bravely maintained the attitude of the elevated mind. The news about Guru Gobind Singh safely leaving Chamkaur gave her the hope that he might be passing happy days somewhere else. Whenever the mood of dejection came she prayed, “Lord God, be Thou his guardian.” This would be followed by reciting of the holy Word and she would be lost in it.
The Doctor's wife was full of appreciation for the noble way in which the old lady was overcoming the termble blows of sufferings through devotion. Her merit was the greater as it was not the sufferings of strangers that she was bearing but her own near and dear ones. She implored Subhagto help her enter into a similar mood of devotion and poise. Subhagreplied, ‘this is a hard path’ as Guru Nanak Dev has said. To make devotion fruitful is a matter of divine grace over which man - has no control but she prayed to God to make the devotion of the Doctor's wife also successful.
After this Subhag continued to read from the book. After some days the old lady heard that the Guru had reached Dina in safety. But she also heard about the battle of Muktsar and how the Majha Sikhs met their martyrdom. Glorious was their devotion and the way they set an example to others to follow. Sometime after the news came about the martyrdom of the Guru’s younger sons at Sirhind and how they had stuck to their faith even at the cost of their lives. As she heard of this, she felt stunned. She lay down on the floor and lost her senses.
‘Neighbours came and knocked at her door, but there was no response. After some time her stupor lifted. The world appeared to her dark. The picture of her grandsons being bricked up alive and the executioner cutting off their heads made her lose all poise. Then another moment her mind saw a vision, that instead of standing helpless like sheep before the executioner’s sword, they stood there shining with a sun-like glory. There was no fear on their faces, but heroism and light. Death held no terror for them. As she contemplated these figures the glory of the two Sahibzadas continued to grow. After some time as. her poise left her she again brought her heart under control and she said to herself, “Look my sinful heart, how these young ones were butchered by tyrants! My heart, be you in poise,” and then with a sigh she said, “Praised be the young ones, praised be their heroism, their father and mother. Through them I too have become worthy of praise.” Words of praise were constantly falling from her tongue. A glory flashed. She got up and after a brief wash as she opened the door she found moonlight illuminating the house. These words from the holy Granth Sahib came to her mind. “As the light of love is spread over the sky our hearts are like the humming bee caught by the lotus.” In the courtyard of the house were some bright spirits of the Guru's devotees. They had come to give her support in her grief, When they found that she was reciting the holy word their hearts bloomed. As she saw them she praised them and said, “I thank the Lord for restoring my poise. The young lords came to the earth not to be destroyed, but to lift up its burden. It is wrong of me to think they were my grandchildren. They
were the offsprings of light. They had descended on the earth to exalt me. They came to liberate mankind. That they have done.” Then in the words of Kirtan Sohila’ she called for blessing on their sacrifice:
“The year and date (of wedding) is fixed. MeettogetherMy mates), and pour oil (at the door). Give me your blessings, O friends, that | may obtain union with my Master. This summon is sent to every house, and such calls do daily come. Meditate on the Summoner, O Nanak, that day is approaching near.”!
The members of the congregation too rendered praise to God who is mankind's protector in all situations. All were happy to find the old lady in this blessed mood.
“He, who sustains us in the mother’s womb, why forsake
- Him, pray? Yea, why forsake such a Great and Beneficent Master who feeds us in the fire of the womb). Noharm can come to him, whom the Lord yoketh to His Service. And, being Attuned to Him, the man of God cherisheth ever the Lord. Saith Nanak: “Why forsakest thou such a great and beneficent Lord??
Then one after the other they took leave of her. The old lady after walking a few steps in the moonlight recited the holy ‘Anand’ and then went to sleep.
While she was asleep, again the suffering of the body asserted itself. In her dream she saw that the children were being bricked up alive. In excess of sorrow she saw as if she stood by them. She was trying to take them out of the wall but the tyrants would not let her. Inthis way the wall was completed and she was bricked up in it. Inside it she felt suffocated. The children too were suffocated. In terrible pain she gasped out her life. It tried to find a way out of the bricks, but found no opening. She felt overwhelmed by a strong darkness. One
l. Sohila Gaun. AG 157 2: Anand Sahib. AG 920
opening in the bricks was seen out of which the children’s lives were flowing out. Then as she also sought to get out by. this, she thought how could she, being so big, get out by this narrow opening? But finding no other way she squeezed herself out by this very opening. On escaping she rendered thanks to God, but the children were now not visible. As she was shouting for them her sleep was broken. She saw that moonlight was falling over her bed from a ventilator. Her entire body was heated up; perspiration was dripping from her head. She sat up, uttered God’s name and took a drop of water. Her heart was sad, frightened and in pain. Life’s suffering appeared to hover before her eyes. Again the struggle within continued. She was trying to ward off sorrow by repeating the name of God, and recited these lines of Japji, “Salutations to Him who is Primal, untouched by Maya, beginningless and endless, abiding, ever the same.” She touched the earth with her forehead and rendered homage to God. In this state her mind found poise and her body was cooled. The self within appeared to cry to her, “Don’t suffer defeat, keep poise, let not your absorption be broken. The earth is a place of suffering but above is the abode of joy. Keep your mind aloft and fixed in God. The heart wishes to keep its attention fixed on the visible world, but you should “rise above it and should seek shelter in God.”
Absorption in whatever direction, imparts its own shape to the mind. One who absorbs his mind in God is transformed to joy which is God’s form. With these thoughts she felt joycooled and a strength appeared to rise within her. All the miracles appeared to fulfil some divine purpose. Man has only to behold them and submit to the divine will. Man has to direct his mind to seek shelter at the divine feet. She now got up under the stress of this inspiration and although it was a little past dawn, she scrambled upto the Gurdwara. The congregation was smaller. Some of the devotees after hearing of the Chamkaur tragedy had set out to render service elsewhere. The news of the Guru's coming to the Malwa region had now reached the congregation. Even though the numbers were smaller, the atmosphere of peace in the Gurdwara was
over-powering. As the old lady came, she felt a joy in submission to God’s will. Thus passed the fifth terrible night of the old lady. Then Subhag related to the Doctor’s wife the account of the next night.