Out of all the pleasures, the best is to listen to the Sri Gurmukh say the Naam. It gives everlasting bliss.
Sri Bala Sandhur Vaach..
Sri Guru Angad Dev ji, listen to the blissful Katha of Guru Nanak Dev ji, which shows the great path to Mukti. The Deena Bandhu travelled to the great land of Baghdad. Peer Dastgir lived there. Everyone served the Peer and obeyed his commands. He was really powerful and known to all. Whatever wisdom he gave, the king and the people followed him. He had many Mureeds who obeyed him and followed him. To take his ego away, the Master went to him. Guru ji went to the capital. There was a small river outside of the city. Guru ji set up his Dhera there. After spending the night there, Prabhoo ji woke up at Amritvela. He bathed and recited Bani. He praised the Sri Kartaar, whom no one can compare to: “Lakh Pataal Lakh Akaash.” When the Giver of Joy recited this line, a Mureed of the Peer heard this line and came to Guru ji. He was there to bathe at the river. He was surprised to hear the line. He started to think about what he heard: “what blasphemy is he spewing? Who is he? The Quran Ketaab does not say this.” He came to Guru ji to challenge his words. Where the Light of the Bedis was sitting, Bhai Mardana ji began to sing Keertan. He played the Rabab and praised the Bhagwan. The Mureed stood for a while, listening quietly and then went back to his Peer without saying anything.
The Mureed said to his Peer: “Sire, listen to a blasphemous thing: a Hindu Fakir sits outside the city. He speaks blasphemy. The Quran speaks of 14 Tabaqs (worlds). You yourself told us this. This Hindu Fakir speaks of Lakhs of Akaashes and Lakhs of Pataals. He says there is no end to the number of worlds. People are tired of looking. I was shocked to hear this. I couldn’t tolerate it. He spoke against of what the Quran has written. This Fakir is speaking a lie or he is unwise. This is one shocking thing he said. The other bad thing he did was that he began singing a Raag. You have made the whole country stop singing Raags. If someone comes close to you and disobeys you, the people far away will be shameless. If this continues, your radiance will go less. If you don’t do something about this, this will get out of hand. The Fakir spoke blasphemy and needs to be punished severely. If you don’t stop him, the Muslims will become Kafirs.” Dastgir heard the harsh words and got angry. He spread news in the whole city: “throw stones at the Fakir. Everyone should go without delay. The Fakir has not obeyed my command. He came close to me and spoke lies. If he goes away from here without being punished, he won’t be scared. Baghdad is a great city. This is a great place of Turks. If sins happen here, nobody will keep the traditions.” Obeying Dastgir’s command, seniors and children ran towards Guru ji. They all picked up a stone and ran yelling. Guru Nanak Dev ji heard the people coming and making loud noises. Guru ji called out a loud Bhaang (call): “Nirankaar, Sat Sri Akaal, Gurbar Akaal, Ikankaar Kirpala.” As soon as everyone heard this, men and women, they all went quiet and still. They fell into a trance. They lost their senses for some time. Seeing this great power, the Peer heard of this and came himself. He took many people with him. He had the wish to defeat Guru ji. Dastgir used his powers to wake up everyone that lost their senses. He walked with ego to where Guru ji was sitting. It was like a firefly going to attempt to destroy the radiance of the sun. everyone got up and surrounded Guru ji. They raised their arms to throw stones at Guru ji. There were many people. When they wanted to throw the stones, Prabhoo ji grunted and said: “Oankaar!” The people who raised their arms, their arms froze in the air. They couldn’t lower their arms. They became like wood. Everyone was shocked. They were in pain. Dastgir used his power in full strength but he failed in front of Guru ji. He figured out that Guru ji was stronger than him. It was like a small star trying to over power the radiance of the sun. It was like a small twister being filled with pride and going in front of a great storm; he could not win. Dastgir thought of this: “I can’t win him like this but I will defeat him in an argument.” He came to Guru ji and said: “you speak blasphemy. Who are you and where did you come from? You show your great powers. You spoke of Lakhs of Pataals to all. You then sing Raags which makes the mind wander. You sang it here. These were both wrong things you did. I don’t see you as a Darvish. I want you to answer for these two sins you did. Otherwise leave this land.” The Destroyer of Ego, Guru ji, the Gunkhaani, spoke to Dastgir: “you slandered the Raag, listen to its tradition: it gives joy and makes the mind still. I was singing the praises of Sri Kartaar ji. The praises live in the heart if sung in Raag. One can earn it then. One will listen to the Raag and experience its pleasure and calming effect. They will flourish and bloom when they hear it. The Naam of Hari is sung in the Raag. The Jagyaso will be happy to hear this. The person will become one with the Sri Prabhoo ji, the Indestructible One. There is no other way in Kaliyuga. The Keertan, Rabab and Bhai Mardana ji came from Sach Khand, where the Sri Prabhoo lives. The one who does Keertan, Crores will achieve Mukti. For this reason, I have started the tradition of Raag. One can sing praises in this pleasureful way. The minds will be drenched in this Prema Bhagti. You said that the Raag makes the mind wander and get stuck in vices; those who are stuck in lust, only their minds wander when hearing bad songs in Raag. They will go to Hell. Listen to the other answer: your Quran speaks of 14 Tabaqs. The one who wrote the Quran only knew of 14 Tabaqs. The ones who know of Lakhs of Pataals, they don’t lie. They have seen them. The truth is that there are a lot more than Lakhs. There is no end to how many there are. They can’t be counted. The Master is infinite.” Dastgir heard this and did not believe it. He spoke to Guru ji: “I can’t believe what you are saying. If you know about this, then show them to me. Take my son with you and take him how far you can go.” The
Sri Jaganath held the hand of Dastgir’s son and said: “close your eyes! You will see what you wish for.” The son of the peer closed his eyes. As soon as he closed his eyes, he saw another space. He spent many days exploring the different worlds there. He saw many Akaash Gangas (galaxies) and went to many worlds. He spent many days touring the different worlds. Guru ji showed him many other dimensions. According to the Peer’s son’s reality, many years passed like this. He saw Lakhs of galaxies. Guru ji then showed him one Pataal. They spent many days there and then went to another. When they reached the third Pataal, they toured that. They saw Lakhs of Pataals. Satguru ji spent many years with the son of the Peer there, as per the boy’s reality. The boy was tired touring for so many years. He folded his hands and spoke with humility: “there is no end to these galaxies and universes. I have been separated from my family for many years. Let’s go back home now. I know that you are Khuddah himself and no one else.” Satguru ji heard this and said: “if you have any other wish to see anything else, there is more to see. There is no end to this. If you are getting anxious and wish to go home, then your father won’t believe this. Let’s do something that gives him faith. Let’s go to Sach Khand and see its Sangat. They are doing Keertan there. We will take Panchamrit from there and bring it to your father.”
Guru ji went to Sach Khand with the Peer’s son. The saints were sitting in Sach Khand and doing Keertan. When they saw Sri Guru ji come, they all rejoiced and got up to welcome him. They bowed to his lotus feet and had him sit in the middle of the court on a high seat. They lit Divas and did Guru ji’s Aarti. They did his Pooja and sang his praises. They put a garland of flowers from Sach Khand around his neck. A big pot of Panchamrit came. Ardaas was done standing up. The Prashaad was distributed to all. The Peer’s son got some too and was really happy. Many had Karah Prashaad. Guru ji showed the boy many other Sangats of saints, who worshiped Guru ji, in many universes. A bowl filled with Karah Prashaad was given to the boy from Sach Khand. Taking the Prashaad, they both came back to Earth, in Baghdad. Where the Peer was sitting with his Mureeds, they came there. The Peer saw his son and Guru ji reappear and asked his son: “did you see the Lakhs of Pataals? Was he lying? You came back very quickly.” Dastgir’s son was shocked to hear this. With great surprise, he said: “oh father, I don’t understand. I will tell you what I know: this Darvesh is Khuddah himself. You said we came back quickly when it felt like I spent 100 years roaming the galaxies. I saw Lakhs of Pataals and Lakhs of Akaashes. I couldn’t see the end of the universe. I was tired and then I wanted to come back. I asked him to bring me back. I saw his Sangat everywhere we went. They all did Keertan on different planets. They all praised him. They worship his feet with love.” Dastgir was surprised to hear all of this. He was shocked with all that he was told. He thought to himself: “they had only left for an hour. We all stayed sitting here when they disappeared. They say they spent many years. He says he saw Lakhs of Pataals and Akaashes. This seems impossible.” The Peer saw this as amazing. He thought for a long time in his mind. He thought to himself further: “I am considered the greatest of all the Peers. There is nobody more powerful than me. There is no one bigger than me in the world. Everyone obeys me. The whole land bows to my feet. My power, yet, is very small in front of this person. I am like a grain of sand in front of the Sumer Mountain. This is not a human being. This is Khuddah who took on a human body. There is no one equal to him. I should bow to him with my hands folded.” He thought about this and bowed to Guru ji’s feet.
There is another conversation with the Peer that Giani Sher Singh ji mentions but is not written by Kavi Santokh Singh ji. This occurs while the Peer sits in his seat and Guru ji was brought before him to be tried. Upon the accounts written previously, the Peer understood that Guru ji was Khuddah. He asked Guru ji some questions.
The Peer asked Guru ji 3 questions: “1. What was before Khuddah? 2. Where does Khuddah live? 3. What does Khuddah do?” Guru ji said: “count to 10.” The Peer began counting: 1,2,3… Guru ji said: “you are counting wrong.” The Peer started again and Guru ji stopped him again. Guru ji said: “why do you begin with 1?” The Peer said: “there is nothing before 1.” Guru ji said: “that’s your answer: there is nothing before Khuddah.” For the second question, Guru ji said: “serve me milk.” A cup of milk was brought for Guru ji. Guru ji said: “there is something mixed in here.” The Peer said: “the milk is pure. It has not been tampered with, I swear it.” Guru ji said: “there is ghee in the milk.” The Peer agreed. Guru ji said: “the milk has ghee but cannot be seen. Khuddah lives everywhere but you can’t see him.” For the last question, Guru ji was sitting on a lower area. Peer Dastgir was sitting on a higher place. Guru ji said: “if you are asking me things of Gyaan, I need to sit higher than you.” The Peer came off his seat and sat down. Guru ji sat on the seat and laughed. He said: “Peer, this is what Khuddah does. He makes the lower high, and the higher low.”
The Peer bowed and lost his ego. He said to all his Mureeds: “bow to his feet and ask him to forgive you. He is not a human being. He is the form of Allah Khuddah.” The people heard the Peer and realised that Guru ji was Khuddah. They all bowed to Guru ji’s feet. They brought many types of gifts when bowing. The stuck arms were cured. They all bowed to Guru ji. They remembered what they did and asked for forgiveness. They had faith for Guru ji. The Turks all did Pooja of Guru ji. Guru ji gave them all wisdom: “do the Simran of Satnam. He is the Master of the Universe. Don’t make the mistake of taking sides. See the Khuddah in all. Practice this with determination and you will achieve Mukti.” Guru ji spent many days there. He gave wisdom to many and gave them Mukti. Guru ji got ready to travel on. I bow to the Satguru.