Satguru ji heard the Emperor’s Parwana and began to think: “who is capable to go to Akbar’s court and respond to the allegations? The person should have a high tolerance and be intelligent. The person must know how to listen and respond accurately, so that the person arguing should be proven wrong.” Guru ji then came to the conclusion that Sri Ram Das ji was the most capable. He was the trove of virtue. He called Sri Ram Das ji to him and made him sit near him. He began to explain everything to him: “son, the Brahmans and Khatris, seeing themselves as higher castes, went to the Emperor to complain about me. They are ignorant and foolish-minded. They gathered the Brahmans and Khatris of many regions and went together. The are jealous and made false accusations. They don’t like the equality of castes and classes in the house of the Guru. You should go and win them in a debate. Answer their questions as they ask them. Go quickly, don’t waste time.” Guru Ram Das ji stood up and made a request to Satguru ji: “Oh Satguru ji, you are the treasure of wisdom. I know nothing besides your love. I wouldn’t know what to say to them as I don’t even know the Gayatri Mantra, Shrutis or Simritees, let alone pondering on them. I will speak to them with your command, even if they are in the thousands. It will be only your greatness and blessings at work. My name will not be praised.” Satguru ji heard the request and glanced a divine blessing on Sri Ramdas ji. Guru ji then said: “son, don’t be afraid of anything. In the court, when you will look at your right arm, the correct answers will come to you. You will have the knowledge of all four Vedas and the six Shastras. All of the other techniques and powers will come to you. The wisdom and knowledge of all the Puranas will come to you. Be fearless and give your answers. You will be victorious. The writers of the Shastras will praise you and won’t be a smart as you. The six Gurus of the six philosophies: Kapil (Samkhya), Kanaad (Vaisesika), Patanjali (Yog Darshan), Jaimini (Mimamsa), Badarayana (Vedanta), Gautam (Nyaya), and the other Devatas and Demons will be standing in front of you with their hands folded, waiting for your command.” Thus, Guru Amardas ji sent Sri Ramdas ji off, giving him many powers and blessings. He gave him great encouragement as well. Sri Ramdas ji bowed to Satguru ji and was on his way to Lahore.
As he travelled to Lahore, Sri Ramdas ji visited his family in Choonamandi and stayed the night. In the morning, he got ready and went to Akbar’s court. Akbar heard that Sri Ramdas ji had arrived. He summoned the Brahmins to come as well, along with the Khatris. The officers, minister, viziers and Umraavs all came to spectate. The Pandit Brahmans came with their tilaks and dhotis; the Khatris were dressed well. Almost 200 Brahmins and Khatris sat on the left side of Akbar and on the right, Guru Ramdas ji sat all alone, wearing a small cotton kurta. He had a small Dastaar tied on his head. His beard was long and went to his stomach. He was very handsome, with fair skin and big eyes like lotus flowers. Akbar addressed everyone: “this is Sri Ramdas ji who is the Sikh of Guru Amardas ji. He has come to give you your answers. First you should state what is your Dharam and then tell the court what you find wrong with Guru Amardas ji.” The Brahmins and Khatris, filled with jealousy of Guru Nanak Dev ji, then spoke: “the Guru is a Khatri and has become a Guru. Only a Brahmin can be a Guru. They have made their own religion and they do not follow the ways of the Vedas. They have started their own traditions. There are so many things to say. Gayatri Mantra is the supreme in the Hindu religion; they do not chant the Gayatri Mantra. Ask this person if he knows the Gayatri Mantra. They recite their own Gurbani.” Akbar then turned towards Sri Ramdas ji and said: “the Gayatri Mantra is known to be the highest. Do you not recite the Gayatri? How are you a Hindu and a Khatri if you do not recite the Gayatri?” Guru Ramdas ji heard Akbar’s words and looked towards his right arm. As soon as he saw his right arm, the knowledge of all the Vedas, Shastras, Puranas, Upanishads and all of the Simritees and Shrutis came to him. It was as though he had been studying the Vedas and Shastras for a very long time. Guru Ramdas ji gave a faithful smile, realizing that the blessing of Guru Amardas ji had ripened. He then spoke to Akbar: “I will recite the Gayatri for you. I will tell you the meaning as well. I will explain the wisdom of the Gayatri. First ask the Pandits if I should openly say the Gayatri out loud, as they speak it silently. If it is a sin to say the Gayatri openly, then they shall take the responsibility for it.” Guru Ramdas ji then started to recite the Gayatri along with its meaning. He first recited “Oankaar,” in a long and even pitched way. As he recited the holy word, the wind stopped and the whole universe began to listen. The rocks softened and the people in the court were all mesmerized by the sound of the holy word. Their minds were purified. The Brahmins could no longer speak and their minds were calm. The fire of jealousy was now cold. Love entered into their hearts. They misjudged Sri Ramdas ji, seeing his simple clothes. The unconscious rocks became conscious, listening to the sound of Oankaar; the conscious beings went into a deep and mesmerizing trance; they were unconscious. So powerful was the holy “Aum” (Om/Oankaar-Akaar (Creator), Ukaar (Sustainer), Mukaar (Destroyer)) word, that it purified the coldest hearts. Akbar felt bliss in his soul when he heard the sound echo in the whole room. He was calm and in peace. Akbar heard the meanings of the Gayatri as Sri Guru Ramdas ji stated them. Akbar was in awe at the meanings that Sri Ramdas ji said. When Guru ji finished the meanings of the word “Oankaar,” Akbar then faced the Brahmins and said: “Parmeshwar and the saints are one in the same. I knew you were filled with jealousy but because I am the Emperor, I had to hear everyone’s complaints. Allah’s people are not under traditions and religions. Leave the saints of Allah alone. Don’t enforce your traditions onto them, you are not their equals. Fakirs and saints are Allah’s beloveds. He was true and you are all stuck in the false. These saints live by the message of the Vedas and the Puranas while you are only reading it. You do not follow the Vedas. Now give your response to Sri Ramdas ji’s meanings. You cannot recite the meanings like him. Now, either present a counter argument, or bow to him and be on your way.” Akbar was angry while he spoke. He didn’t want them to ever complain about the Satguru again. The Brahmins and Khatris lowered their heads and couldn’t say anything. They had all been defeated. They all got up and went home. Akbar folded his hands and asked Sri Ramdas ji for forgiveness for troubling Guru Amardas ji. “I had to do this to shut the jealous people up. All of these people were jealous of you and would talk bad about the Satguru. I had to be fair to everyone. For this reason, please tell Guru ji that I ask for forgiveness and I will come see him myself. Tell him that his way is the greatest and that he should keep his traditions as he pleases. He should go and visit the holy places and make them pure by bathing there. That will shut these jealous people up. They are nothing but fools.” In this way he respectfully saw off Guru ji.
For one day, Sri Ramdas ji stayed at his parents’ home. He had love for Guru Amardas ji and only thought of him. The next day, Sri Ramdas ji left his parents’ home and headed towards the market. He saw many expensive cloths being sold. They were beautiful to look at and Sri Ramdas ji thought to himself: “these clothes are good for Guru ji. I should take this cloth for Guru ji. A nice chola should be made with this cloth. If only I had money, I would have bought this. I would have got a chola made for Guru ji from it. This is worthy for the Guru.” He stood in the market with love and faith in his heart. He kept looking at the nice material. He wished he had money. In his mind, he was buying the cloth and getting the chola made and would see himself presenting the chola to Guru Amardas ji. He saw Guru ji wearing the chola and then fixed the chola with his hands in his mind.
In Goindwal, Guru Amardas ji was sitting in his court and sensed his Sikh, Sri Ramdas ji’s love. Guru ji was moving his body like he was putting some clothes on. He would raise his arms in the air; he would adjust his shoulders as if he was putting a chola on. He would action as if he was tying the strings of a chola. Sometimes we would look down on his chest and his arms. The Sikhs were amazed looking at Guru ji. They thought to themselves: “why is Guru ji acting like he is putting clothes on? He is moving around for no reason.” Bhai Bhalloo ji understood what the Sikhs were thinking and decided to ask Guru ji to remove their doubts: “Prabhoo, what are you doing sitting on the Singhasan? Why are you moving your body and pretending to put a chola on? We don’t understand your great play. Everyone wants to know, Guru ji, what you are doing.” Guru Amardas ji then responded: “Ramdas ji is making me wear a new chola. He is in Lahore and making me wear new clothes while standing there. He is thinking about how he would get it made and how he would make me wear it.” The Sangat bowed their heads and said “Dhan Guru Amardas ji. Your food is the love from the Sikhs.” In this way, Sri Ramdas ji made a chola with his mind, without money and pictured in his mind making Guru ji wear the chola. Guru Amardas ji accepted Sri Ramdas ji’s gift. Guru ji only sees the love in his servant.
Sri Ramdas ji thought: “I would have bought the chola if I had money. It’s not in my destiny to do the Guru’s seva in this way.” Sri Ramdas ji went on ahead and reached Nakhaas Chownk in Lahore. There he saw the fruit market. He saw many types of fruits there. He also saw mangoes which were out of season at that time. These were fruits kept for rich people and preserved for selling. They were very beautiful. He thought to himself: “I wish I could take this unique, out of season, Mango from Lahore and take it to Guru ji. It would be good to not go empty-handed back to Guru ji. I should take one mango. Guru ji would be happy. I will bow and present the mango as it has been a few days since I’ve seen him. Seeing him would give me peace.” Guru Ramdas ji asked the vendor: “how much is this fruit?” The merchant responded: “1 Rajitpun.” Guru ji had a Rajitpun in his pocket. He took it out and gave it to the fruit vendor. He took the mango and headed towards Goindwal.
Sri Ramdas ji walked to Goindwal with love in his heart for the Guru. He wanted to go quickly and meet Guru ji. As he walked, the sun set. On the way, he stayed at a nearby village. In the morning, he started off on his way again. He soon reached a village named Bhaironval. Goindwal was now close by. It was getting really hot and as he touched the mango, the juice of the mango began to drip out. He noticed that it wasn’t going to make it to Goindwal. The mango was going to spoil by the time it was going to get to the Guru. He then focused his mind on to the Guru and said: “Guru Amardas ji, I present this out of season fruit to you. The juice is going to be all gone by the time it gets to you. Please do bhog (the Guru’s eating of a food and blessing it) of this fruit. Eat this fruit Guru ji. Please fulfil my wish and eat this mango.” Guru Ramdas ji then ate the mango on Guru Amardas ji’s behalf after doing the Ardaas.
Guru Amardas ji was sitting in his chabarra and making actions like he was eating a mango with a lot of juice in it. He would swallow and make gestures of enjoying the mango. For some time, he kept the seed in his mouth. After a while, he took the seed out of his mouth and gave it to Bhai Bhalloo ji and said to him: “keep this mango pit. I will ask for it again later.” Bhai Bhalloo ji obeyed and kept the pit in a pot. After some time, Sri Ramdas ji arrived in Goindwal. He ran to Guru ji from afar. He was excited to see Guru ji. He blossomed like a lotus flower seeing the sun. His eyes were like a bee and the feet of the Guru were like a bright flower. He laid his head on the Guru’s feet. He came running as he bowed. Satguru ji grabbed Sri Ramdas ji by the arms and raised him up. There was a lot of love in his heart for Guru ji. He then hugged him and then looked at him just as a Chatrik looks towards the clouds. Sri Ramdas ji was standing and Sri Amardas ji was looking at him. The love for the Guru was beyond any boundary known to any human. Guru Amardas ji said: “tell me, how was the debate? What did they say and what did you say? What did Akbar say to them? How was it, when they lost?” Guru Ramdas ji said: “Prabhoo ji, you already know everything, as it was you who was there. I don’t know what happened. You did everything. They wanted me to recite the Gayatri. I don’t know what it was. I thought of you, Guru ji. Akbar asked me to say the Gayatri too. The Brahmins pushed hard for it. I’ve never known the Gayatri but then I obeyed your command and looked at my right arm. I then knew everything with your blessing. I began to speak and I translated the Gayatri without me knowing how. I first said “Oankaar” and then I don’t know what you had said, the whole court was quiet and calm. They were all like stone. Nobody said anything. The Emperor then said “Dhan Guru Amardas ji.” Your radiance was prevalent in the whole court. I knew it was you. I did not know the Gayatri but you made me say it. After that, the Brahmins didn’t say anything.” Satguru ji was very happy. He then said: “what did you bring for me from Lahore? It is a great city. What did you buy?” Sri Ramdas ji folded his hands and said: “you know everything. I went to the market and saw good clothes. I had no money but I thought about putting one on you. In my mind, I got you a chola made and had you wear it. After that, I figured, since I didn’t have money, I should go. As I went on ahead, there were out of season fruits there. They were beautiful. I had enough money for one mango and travelled quickly. I had to stay the night. As I reached close by, the mango began to leak, as it was ripe. The mango ripped when I got to Bhaironval. I thought of you and ate it. You exist in every body, so I fed it to you, inside of me. You keep the faith in the faithful. Whoever gives you gifts sitting in different parts of the world, you accept their gifts. This is true, you truly eat the food sitting in a different place.” Guru Ramdas ji spoke with love and Guru Amardas ji listened. Guru Amardas ji called out to Bhai Bhalloo ji: “did I eat the fruit that Ramdas brought for me?” Bhai Bhalloo ji brought the mango pit and presented it for everyone to see. Sri Ramdas ji and the court full of Sikhs all saw the mango pit. Everyone was amazed. Guru ji is enchanted by the love of the Sikhs. The way of the Guru is unique and not understood by anyone. Guru is Akaal Purakh and does anything the Sikhs ask for. He is bound by love.