The whole city rejoiced and began to sing and dance to songs of joy. There was a great celebration. The poor were given many donations by the King of Hari Pur. The Dhundhabs (small nagaras) were played, Napheeryas were played; shehnais were played; the Bhatts, Rababis and Kalavats came and sang Raags with mridangs, rababs and sitars. There was happiness everywhere; where once there was mourning and sorrow. The king came with his queens and his ministers. He touched Baba Saavan Mal ji’s feet and bowed to him. He put a garland made of flowers around his neck. The people waved a Chaur over his head and sang his glories. They had Baba Saavan Mal ji sit in a palanquin and taken to the royal palace. This was the king’s own palanquin. He had the palace prepared with great respect and honor. They brought him great delicacies to eat. They laid out a bed with an ivory frame for Baba Saavan Mal ji to rest on. The officers, ministers and generals came to bow to him. They hung a canopy on top of Baba Saavan Mal ji, regarding him as their Guru. They worshipped Baba ji with great love. People talked amongst themselves: “the Guru has many powers; he raised the king’s son from the dead.” In a few days, the king and all of his people became Sikhs. They took Charan Pahul of Baba Saavan Mal ji’s feet. They did the Simran of Vahiguru and achieved peace and happiness in their minds. All of their wishes were fulfilled by the handkerchief’s power. Baba Saavan Mal ji then realised that it was time to do the work he wanted to do. He said to the king: “my home is along the shores of the Beas. The people of my region require long logs to construct the roofs of their homes. Gather many logs and tie them together. After they are tied, throw them into the Beas River. Send some people, preferably log drivers, along with the logs so they can direct the logs properly. The log drivers should take the logs out where my village Goindwal is.” The king of Hari Pur heard this and then ordered his servants right away to cut the tall trees and send the logs along the river’s current. The Tarkhaans (carpenters) cut up the logs and tied them up. They were then thrown into the river. The log drivers went with the logs and made sure they reached Goindwal.
In Goindwal, Guru Amardas ji supervised the retrieval of the logs from the river himself. He distributed them to the people that needed it to build their homes. The people took as many logs as they needed for their homes. Sikhs from all castes resided in Goindwal. There are 22 sub-castes within the Khatri caste, there were people from all 22 sub-castes of Khatris living in Goindwal. There were Brahmins and Muslims who had settled as well. Everyone got the logs they required. Guru ji stood watching the land that people built their homes on. He divided the plots and allotted them to the people, as they needed it, according to the sizes of their families. The fortunate ones came to live in Goindwal and lived without sorrow. The Beas flowed beautifully here with pure and clear water, just like the Ganga. This water would wash away their sins as Guru Amardas ji was here, blessing the Beas. The Vedas were only understood by Brahmins and Khatris but the Guru’s Gurbani was comprehended by all the castes. It was in a vernacular form that was in the language they could understand. The Gurbani would grant the people of Goindwal the mukti they desired. All day long, Langar was available to eat from. People from all castes were welcome to eat as much as they wanted to. Guru Amardas ji would not allow anyone to visit him who did not partake in the Langar, sitting on the same level as all of the castes. The leftover Langar was given to the cows. The other animals were then fed too. After feeding all of the people and the animals, the rest of the leftover Langar was poured into the Beas. Money and food were never stored for the next day. Guru ji would give all the money and food away. Everyone was happy and satiated. Goindwal was established very quickly. It grew and progressed very quickly. Whoever came to see Guru ji with wishes in their hearts, their desires were all fulfilled.
Over at Hari Pur, there is some history left to listen to. Listen all, carefully, as this account will show the glory of the Guru, along with his gracious nature. Baba Saavan Mal ji lived in Hari Pur and was worshipped by the king and the people. Everyone came to bow to Baba Saavan Mal ji. They came to him many times and bowed to his feet. They brought many gifts and worshiped him. They came with love and devotion and expressed their wishes to him. Baba Saavan Mal ji would use the Guru’s handkerchief to fulfill their wishes. Children, wealth, cures to illness, people came with various asks. They would receive what they asked for. Many gifts came to Baba Saavan Mal ji and Baba Saavan Mal ji’s glory grew in the area. The numbers of his followers grew. The king and queen would follow every word of Baba Saavan Mal ji. They were afraid of his powers as well. They ordered for very expensive materials from far away lands and got clothes made for Baba Saavan Mal ji. The food prepared for him was also gourmet food, made everyday. Dry fruits and other rare and expensive grains were used in his dishes. There were many servants in his presence to do his seva, commissioned by the king. As his status grew, Baba Saavan Mal ji began to think: “the work of Guru ji is done. The logs have been sent to Goindwal. I have sent enough logs to make all of the homes we need in Goindwal. There should be some logs left over as well. It is the right time for me to leave from here and go to the presence of Guru Amar Das ji. There is one worry though, if I go back, Guru ji may take the handkerchief back. Since the work is done, Guru ji may take it back from me. I will be powerless in an instant. Nobody will worship me then. Only the Guru’s glory will spread, not mine. I will be an ordinary person then. It’s best that I stay here and have these people respect me. They worship me here. The king along with the whole city serve me and bring me many gifts. If I go back to Goindwal, what will I gain there? It’s better to stay here and become the Guru of these people. I get whatever I need here with the powers of the handkerchief. People of other areas will find out about me and come worship me as well.” Thus, Baba Saavan Mal ji decided not to go back to Goindwal.
Many months passed but the omniscient Satguru knew exactly what was going through Saavan Mal’s mind. He knew that he had become egotistical. Guru Amardas ji sent a hukamnama to Saavan Mal. Baba Saavan Mal read the hukamnama, which told him to come back. Saavan Mal sent a response saying that: “the king won’t let me come back. I will come back in a few more days. I will come back when the king let’s me go.” Guru ji noticed that it was the handkerchief that kept Saavan Mal in Hari Pur. Guru ji ordered the handkerchief to come back to him. The handkerchief flew back immediately to Guru ji. Saavan Mal was now powerless. He was very sad to lose his powers. He thought to himself: “I have sinned. I shouldn’t have stayed back.” 4 days had passed and Saavan Mal kept thinking like this: “I should tell the king, queen and the people to come to Goindwal and bow to the true Guru. Then I shall be forgiven. I have erred deeply. The Guru is forgiving. I will beg for forgiveness along with my Sangat of Hari Pur. I will bow and fold my hands and ask for forgiveness. The anger of the elders is like fire. Asking for forgiveness becomes water and puts the fire out. There is no other way to convince the elders. There is not point to make excuses. That will make the elders angrier.” Baba Saavan Mal told the king: “the powers of mine that you have seen, these are actually the powers of my true Guru, Guru Amardas ji. I came here on his command, who blessed me with powers. All of your wishes were fulfilled by the Guru of Goindwal. He blessed you with everything. I am now going back to him. I want all of you, the ministers and your people to come with me. Meeting the Guru is the purest thing. Meeting him will make your life and after-life peaceful. I do not have that kind of power, to make your after-life a successful one. Come and meet the true Guru. Take gifts for him. If he will be happy, you will get all the happiness you wish for. Take all your queens, ministers and soldiers. They will be blessed as well.” The king agreed and made preparations to go to Goindwal. The soldiers mounted their horses and elephants. Baba Saavan Mal ji was seated in a palanquin. The queens were seated in their dholis. Everyone was eager to see the Satguru. They knew how powerful Baba Saavan Mal ji was, they couldn’t imagine how much more powerful the true Guru was.
The people travelled slowly along the shores of the Beas. They eventually reached Goindwal. Baba Saavan Mal ji gave everyone hope and entered Goindwal. He met everyone, he met his friends and family. He hugged them all. He then went towards Guru ji’s throne with an embarrassed heart. He bowed to Guru ji’s feet and fell to the floor. He grabbed Guru ji’s feet and said: “I am your Sikh, I am your servant, I am your son. I only have faith in you. The young ones err and the elders forgive. The elders scold the younger and advise them. I am your child, please advise me and give me wisdom. You have grace in your heart, please have pity on me and forgive me. I have erred. There is nothing for me to say as you know everything.” Sri Satguru ji smiled and said to him graciously: “Sikhs, servants and sons of mine, I always wish to see them prosper. You had ego come into your mind. I called the handkerchief back because you got egotistical. Don’t worry, I will give you many powers that will stay inside of you. The Sangat of Hari Pur will be yours. They will worship you. You will be their Guru for many years. You will be their leader and will live in happiness. Make them do Simran of Satnam. You will get everything you want here and in the after life, I will keep you with me. I have given you all that you need for both worlds. Live in fearlessness. The demons and witches will be in your control. All of the powers of Devatas and celestial beings will follow your command. You will be able to get them to do as you wish. None of those powers will be able to reject your command. They will serve you day and night. You have served me well; this is your reward. Go and live in Hari Pur and be worshiped. Don’t doubt anything. The powers in the handkerchief are now inside your heart. The handkerchief I gave you before, you got filled with ego. The ego did not let you do Bhagti. This would have ruined you. Without Bhagti, your afterlife would have been destroyed. I took the handkerchief from you for this reason. I have protected you from all sides. All you need to do now is to do the Simran of Satnam.” In this way Guru Amardas ji made Baba Saavan Mal ji his own, and gave him the happiness of this world and the next. Oh listeners of this great history, meditate on the Great Sri Guru Amardas ji, for meditating on him will relieve all your pains.