Obeisance to you, Chandi, Kalika, Sarasvati; destroyer of obstacles, giver of wisdom. Give me the gift so I may write the Katha of the Guru in delightful words, oh Mother. See me as your servant.
Sri Bala Sandhur Vaach..
Listen Sri Angad Dev ji to the Katha which is beautiful. The Compassionate One travelled on to where the Jagan Nath (Odissa) place is. The Giver of Mukti arrived in that place. He came to the door of the Mandir of Hari. He sat there for some time. It was soon evening and all the Pandays came to the Mandir. They started to perform the Aarti in the Mandir of Jagan Nath. Sri Guru ji remained sitting still. He didn’t get up nor did he say anything. The Pandays saw this and got angry. They came close to Guru ji and spoke: “who are you and where did you come from? You are unwise and don’t know the greatness. Everyone stood up to do the Aarti but you remained sitting. You did not respect the Jagan Nath. You didn’t show any love. What were you thinking, not getting up?” Sri Guru ji, the Guru of the World, said: “I can see the Aarti going on, all the time. It is the supreme Aarti which is the glory of the Prabhoo. It is the highest. I make my heart pure and do that Aarti. This Aarti of yours is small. You have small samagris in your plate. Your heart is impure and not still. What reward will you receive?” The Pandays said: “how is your Aarti? Show us the Aarti you do everyday.” The Compassion One heard this and uttered the Shabad of Aarti:
Dhanasri Mahalla 1 Aarti..
Ik Oankaar Satgur Prasaad..
In the plate of the sky, the sun and moon are the lamps; all of the stars are the pearls. The fragrance of sandalwood (from the Maliyagar Mountain) is the incense, the wind is waiving the Chaur, and all the vegetation are flowers are the offerings. ||1||
What a beautiful lamp-lit worship service this is! O Destroyer of fear and pain, this is Your Aarti. The sound current of the Shabad is the sounding of the Bheri Nagara. ||1||Rahao||
Thousands are Your eyes, and yet You have no eyes. Thousands are Your forms, and yet You have not even one form. Thousands are Your lotus feet, and yet You have no feet. Without a nose, thousands are Your noses. I am enchanted with Your play! ||2||
The Divine Light is within everyone; You are that Light. Yours is that Light which shines within everyone. By the Guru's Teachings, this Divine Light is revealed. That which pleases you, that is your true Aarti. ||3||
My soul is enticed by the honey-sweet lotus feet of Hari; night and day, I thirst for them. Bless Nanak, the thirsty song-bird, with the water of Your Mercy, that he may come to dwell in Your Name. ||4||1||7||9||
(SGGS 663)
“This is the type of Aarti I do of Kartaar everyday. The ones who stop their minds and do this type of Aarti, they do not come back to this world.” The Pandays heard this and bowed to Guru ji’s feet. They said to each other: “this is a great being. His words are true. We do the Aarti but our minds are not still, even for a second.” Guru ji stayed there for 2 days (where Gurdwara Mangu Matt used to be). Guru ji then left in the morning.
We then came quite far to the shores of the ocean. The waves were quite high. The Compassionate One sat near the shore. Bhai Mardana ji started to sing a Shabad in a high pitch which made the heart joyful. He played the beautiful Rabab with joy. There was a dead body of a man at the shores of the ocean. A hungry panther came to eat the dead body. It smelled the head of the dead body and decided not to eat the flesh of the dead body. It was really hungry. It turned back and then returned. It then smelled the feet and then returned. Bhai Mardana ji asked Sri Prabhoo ji: “the panther didn’t eat the dead body. It moved back after it smelled the body. Tell us what happened. You know every heart, oh Omniscient One.” Guru ji said: “listen Mardana, the Shabad you just sang, this made the panther’s heart pure. It now understands sin and virtue. It knows what is good and bad to eat. This dead body was Bemukh from the Naam. When he was alive, he never did the Satsangat nor did he ever visit any saints. The Naam of Hari never came into his heart. He never did the Seva of any saint. The glory of Hari was never heard by his ears. The panther understood that the body was impure. It was afraid to eat such a body. He left the body for this reason, Mardana. Without the Naam, there are no blessings. The body is without fruit who does not do the Simran of the Naam nor visits the Satsangat. The person comes into the world to chant the Naam. One ignorantly indulges in the pleasures of the senses.” Bhai Mardana ji heard this and bowed. He said: “Dhan Prabhoo. You speak the truth.” We then travelled to another place.
There was a scary jungle where Guru ji sat. I will tell you the Katha as I saw it. A great darkness fell as dark winds blew. It was scary. We saw red. The wind was strong. Stones and dirt flew. The trees swayed. It was as they would be uprooted. It was so dark that you couldn’t see your own hand. It was painful. When Bhai Mardana ji saw the darkness, he got really scared. He covered his face with a cloth. He became anxious and laid down on the ground. He said to Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji: “you brought us to a scary jungle to kill us. If we die here, nobody will bury me with a shroud. It was painful to come here.” Guru ji laughed and gave him hope: “why are you scared Mardana? Nothing will come close to you. Let the trees and rocks fly. Why are you so anxious?” Bhai Mardana ji said: “listen Prabhoo ji, I am scared. I am shivering with the cold wind blowing. This wind storm is here to take my soul. I will die today.” As he was speaking, I big demon Daynt appeared. His head touched the sky and his feet were deep to the Patals. His teeth were big and scary. His nostrils were like deep dark wells. Bhai Mardana ji lifted the cloth from his faith and saw the scary demon. He got scared and said: “we may be saved by the windstorm but this Daynt will eat me. He won’t touch you though.” Guru ji said: “he is nothing. He will go away. Say Vahiguru and be patient. Don’t be afraid of anything.” It was Kaliyuga in the Daynt form. He changed to fire then. There was a lot of smoke all around. Bhai Mardana ji covered his face again and laid on the ground. He was surprised to see all the smoke. Kaliyuga changed from fire to black clouds. He wanted to test Guru ji. Kaliyuga came for this purpose. The black clouds were like a dark night. Lightening looked like a sword. It began to hail. The hail was like rocks. Guru ji sat with patience. Nothing touched him. Nothing touched any of us. Kaliyuga then understood: “it is the Avatar of the Prabhoo.” Kaliyuga then became a human with fire coming out of its body. His body was made of gold. In one hand he held his tongue and in the other hand he held is Linga. He came to where Guru ji was. Guru ji laughed and said: “Mardana, get up and watch the drama. Be in attention and be patient. Don’t be afraid.” Kaliyuga came and bowed to Guru ji. He spoke of his mistake: “please forgive my mistake. I didn’t know your greatness. This is my time now. I rule the universe now, which you gave to me. The actions that people do now, I have taken on such a form. They have discarded all of the good virtues. They only care for 2 Indrees, the tastes of the tongue and the pleasures of the Linga. They earn sins. They are shameless. They don’t respect their parents nor their Guru. They only care for the 2 Indrees. I am the Master of this time so my wisdom has become backwards as well. I tried to cheat you without fear. It is your greatness that you forgive. Please forgive me. You are the benevolent Supreme Purakh.” The Master of the Universe said: “what is your name and where are you from? For what task have you come here? Why did you show such deceit?” Guru ji wanted us to hear who it was, which is why he asked. Kaliyuga said: “listen Guru ji, I am Kaliyuga. I came to do your Darshan. I came to bow to you. I wanted to test you and that’s why I showed you deceit.” Sri Guru ji said: “tell us your qualities and which army is with you. How will your rule be?” Kaliyuga said: “deceit is my warrior who is at the front. He carries the flag. Attachment is my strongest king. Violence is the general. Lust, Anger, Greed and Ego are the warriors on the elephants. Jealousy, Slander, Loot, and Desire; they are mounted on chariots. Laziness, Gambling, Intoxications and bad characters are the warriors mounted on the horses. Possessiveness and Desires along with Theft are the foot soldiers. Who else can I say? Attachment has the 4 types of armies. They attack in all 10 directions. They kill without peace. Nobody has withstood their ground in front of this army. There might be 1 in a billion. This army has annihilated many. I don’t see the patience in anyone to face them. Many forts have been destroyed. Nobody remained. My warrior, Hypocrisy has been victorious with anger. He has taken his companions everywhere. There is no place left. This is my rule.” Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji said:
Ramkali M:1..
Whoever is in charge, is humiliated. Why should the servant be afraid?
When the master is put in chains? He dies at the hands of his servant. ||4||
(SGGS 902)
“If you are the Master now, we are the Servants of Kartaar. When you give your report, you will be under my command.” Kaliyuga got scared and bowed with his hands folded. He became humble and said: “this is why I came to you. You are the Sri Nanak Avatar. This is no difference between you and Kartaar. The Ikankaar Deva, the Master of all Devatas; please accept my offerings. The mistakes I have done, please forgive them. The palaces of gold which have gems in the walls; pearls on the doors; fragrances sprinkled of musk, saffron, sandalwood pastes; in which one is happy sitting in; I will make such homes for you. Come and see this palace. If you wish, I can bring it here now. This is my offering.” Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji uttered Gurbani:
Ik Oankaar Satgur Prasaad..
Raag Sriraag Mahalla 1 Ghar 1..
If I had a palace made of pearls, inlaid with jewels, scented with musk, saffron and sandalwood, a sheer delight to behold.
Seeing this, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. ||1||
Without the Hari, my soul is scorched and burnt. I consulted my Guru, and now I see that there is no other place at all. ||1||Rahao||
(SGGS 14)
Kaliyuga then said: “if you don’t want this, then take the women of the Devatas. Their bodies are beautiful. You can enjoy their bodies with love. Where beautiful beds are set with rubies embedded into them, you can stay there for a long time. Please take this gift from me.” Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji heard this and said:
If the floor of this palace was a mosaic of diamonds and rubies; and if my bed was encased with rubies, and if the heavenly beauties, their faces adorned with manis with colours, tried to entice me with sensual gestures of love. -seeing these, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. ||2||
(SGGS 14)
Kaliyuga then said: “if you don’t want these, then take the 9 Niddhis and 18 Siddhis. If you take the 18 Siddhis, you can disappear or re-appear anywhere you want. You can go anywhere. You will be in joy. Nobody can stop you. Everyone will fear you. They will worship your feet with love. Please accept this offering from me.” The Giver of Mukti spoke:
If I were to become a Siddha, and work miracles, summon wealth and become invisible and visible at will, so that people would hold me in awe -seeing these, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. ||3||
(SGGS 14)
Kaliyuga said: “if you don’t want this, then become the King of the world. You can command at will. Place your foot on the throne. Place your foot and command everyone. The world will obey you. You will have the greatest endless army. Your radiance will be huge. Please take this gift. Please accept this oh Master.” Guru ji then said the final Pauri of the Shabad to Kaliyuga:
If I were to become an emperor and raise a huge army; sit on a throne, issuing commands and collecting taxes- O Nanak, all of this could pass away like a puff of wind. Seeing these, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. ||4||1||
(SGGS 14)
Kaliyuga then spoke with humility: “listen Guru ji, you are the greatest of all. You took an Avatar during my rule. You came to save the people. I have come to your feet. You are making this meeting a failure. You did not accept any gift from me. You didn’t fulfill my wish. If you take my gift then I would know that you have blessed me. Till you don’t accept my gift, I won’t be happy. I wish for your compassion.” Hearing the words of anxiety, Satguru ji was compassionate and spoke: “if you wish to give me a gift, then give me this: the Sikhs that love me, your army should not affect them. Naam, charity and bathing, don’t make my Sikhs forget these. Your shadow should not touch them, who have faith in my words. If you want to give me something, then give me this. Don’t give pain to my Sangat.” Kaliyuga spoke with his hands folded: “oh Prabhoo, I speak while worshiping your feet. I am under your command. I would never do such a foolish act as to disobey you. I have the command of the Ikankaar, which I will tell you: I am to turn the wisdom of all and make them do bad deeds. Theft, infidelity, slandering, lying, greed, desires; they should be tied up in these. The dacoits will call themselves warriors. The slanderers will be respected. The ones who talk a lot will be considered smart and intelligent. The ones who speak the truth will be called a fool. The virtuous people will be disrespected. The fools will sit near the kings. The humans will be houses of sins. They will be stingy and never show charity. They will turn their backs on Dharma and be in pain in the end. The Brahmins will become merchants to earn money. The farmers will be respected a lot. The ones who will recite the Vedas and think of the Brahm Vidya; people will see them as ones who waste time and wander endlessly. The kings will always say: “we are in a financial loss.” They will steal from the public. The Sanyasis will gather a lot of wealth, secretly. The Ghristis will have less to eat and wear. What else can I say to you? The radiance of my time; the truth, Tapp, abstinence, Dharma, Upasana; I will destroy them all at once. This was the command of Kartaar. You are the Kartaar. Whatever you tell me to do Prabhoo, I will obey. I am under your command. Please take my gifts. Golden palaces, wealth; when you take them, I will be happy.” Sri Guru ji laughed loudly. He was happy and then said: “your radiance is the strongest. You spoke the truth. You are the strongest of all the Yugas. This was my word. In your time, the glory of Kartaar will be radiant. In Satyuga, one lived for 100,000 years. In Treta the age limit was 10,000 years. In Dwapur it was 1,000. In Kaliyuga, the age is so small. Whoever sings the glories with love, they will be in joy in a small amount of time. They will be happier and be saved quickly. If you want to give me something; the golden homes of gems and diamonds, when I come in my 4th incarnation, I will take your gifts along with money.” Kaliyuga heard this and was really happy. He bowed to Guru ji’s feet and said: “I won’t go near your Sangat. I will give pain to the hypocrites and other people. If the Sikhs earn your words, my powers won’t work on them.” He gave his gift and took blessings from Guru ji. He bowed his head and took leave. The ones who read or listen to this Katha with faith, Kaliyuga won’t affect them. Sri Guru ji travelled on from there. The Benevolent One went on to save the people.