Sri Satguru ji continued to bless the Sikhs by giving them the gift of Naam. He gave them mukti. The light of his glory spread throughout the world. Visiting the Guru is like visiting and bathing at a Teerath (holy place) on the day of the Abhijit Nakshatra (Lyra constellation). Those bhagats and adherers of Prema Bhagti are freed from the cycle of birth and death when they visit Sri Guru Amardas ji. The Guru is a river of pure wisdom. Yog and vairagya (detachment) are this river’s shores. The Sikh and the Sangat are beings residing in this river. To control one’s desires (mental and physical), truthfulness, contentment, wisdom, cleanliness, restrain from (over) indulgence and focus are the lotus flowers living in its waters. The impure beings, living in the time of Kaliyuga, are rid of their sins, once they bathe in this holy river (the Guru). The calmness of the Satguru are the cooling temperatures of this river, which grant mukti. This is achieved by good karma. The Satguru is such a Teerath. Satguru ji had heard the cries of the Teeraths of this earth and decided to visit them and purify them.
Ganga and the other Teeraths had become dirty by washing away the sins of the people of Kaliyuga. They could no longer bear this burden and cried out to the Satguru. Ganga cried out: “come and purify us Teeraths with your holy feet. We are in pain by bearing the sins of all the people. The sinners come and bath in our waters to wash their sins away. Oh Satguru ji, your feet are pure. When you place your holy feet on our lands and waters, we will be happy and peaceful again.” Guru ji heard the cries and got ready to travel, taking the Sikh Sangat along as well. As soon as Sikhs living in different villages heard about Guru ji deciding to go to the holy places, they all came to Satguru ji, to join him on his travels. Satguru ji’s family and relatives all got ready to go as well. They all did Simran and Kirtan as they were travelling and more Sikhs joined them along the way as they departed from Goindwal. The Sikhs got to constantly be with Guru ji and do Kirtan. This was washing their sins and karma away. During that time, the Mughals had imposed a tax called the Jaziyah, which was required to be paid by Hindus visiting the holy shrines. Guru Amardas ji was exempted from this tax so everyone came along for this incentive as well. The fortunate ones got to travel with Guru ji. Drenched in love and devotion, they crossed the Beas River and reached Doaba.
The Sangat then reached the Sutlej and bathed in its waters. They crossed the rivers on canoes. On land, they travelled by horses, buggies and bull carts. Satguru ji lead the way, sometimes in a palanquin and sometimes on horseback. The Satguru had a crisp white beard and wore white clothes. His soul was pure and white and his mind was white and calm. His glories were pure and spread far and wide. He held a walking stick and had a short height. It looked like the Vamana Avatar of Vishnu. The Guru was all-powerful and had unlimited abilities.
The Vaheer (travelling party) reached Pahoa, a Teerath near Ambala where the Sarsvati River flows. Many saints had meditated there for thousands of years along the shores. Whoever bathed in the Sarsvati would go to Brahm Lok and was relieved from the pain of birth and death. Satguru ji set up camp along the shores with a great gathering of the Sangat. Seeing the many Ghats (landings along the riverside) of the Sarsvati, the Sikhs asked Guru ji a question: “we have heard that the Sarsvati River is very pure. Please tell us the greatness of its Ghats. Guru ji, why is this place considered holy? Tell us Guru ji, as you are the knower of past, present and future. We are all questioning of why this place is pure. Oh provider of happiness, please tell us.” Guru ji heard the request of the Sikhs and said: “this place is pure and holy. People from the previous Yugas had greater abilities and higher tolerance levels. Vishvamittar and countless other great saints and Rishis had performed Tapasya here. There was a time when a huge number of saints from the South came here to perform Tapasya. They wandered around for about 150 km but could not find a place to sit and meditate, as there were so many other people here. As they couldn’t find a place to sit and meditate, they prayed to Sarsvati Devi, the Goddess of Education and art. When she appeared, she asked them: “tell me, what is it that you wish for? Don’t be shy.” The wise Munis then said: “oh Devi, please give us a place to sit.” This river then moved 6 km away. The saints got a place to sit and meditate. They meditated a very determined and difficult Tapasya. The glory of their determination spread throughout the ages. I can’t tell you all the Kathas but I will tell you of one Muni named Munkan, who lived about 9 km from here in Pahoa. Munkan did a very difficult Tapasya here along the shores of Sarsvati. He starved himself of food and water. He tolerated extreme cold and heat. He meditated for many years, trying to achieve the highest level a yogi could.
One day, Munkan’s finger had a cut on it but it didn’t bleed. Just as dew drops from a green leaf flow when it is torn, similarly, a dew-like liquid began to flow from his cut. Munkan looked at the dew and was pleased. He thought to himself: “I have done such a great Tapp that blood has stopped flowing from my veins. My blood has become like the dew from a green leaf. I have done such a determined tapp that I have become so great.” He was so happy that he began to dance around, raising his arms up into the air. His feet danced to a beat and his mind was senselessly in bliss. He had become so powerful that the whole world began to dance in joy. Everyone forgot what they were doing and began to senselessly dance in joy. The Devatas saw all this and became very concerned. They went to Shiva and said: “Shankar! Please look at what’s going on in the world and do something. Every life form has forgotten their responsibilities and are dancing without a care in the world. They are not stopping because they are under the influence of the Muni, due to his powerful Tapasya. Please bring stability back to the universe.” Listening to the Devatas pleas, Shivji, the giver of joy, began to think. He needed to bring the Muni back to his senses.
Shiv ji took on a disguise and went to meet Munkan, the leader of the Munis. He asked him: “why are you dancing around in joy? What thought has brought so much joy to you?” Munkan responded: “I have performed a great Tapp in this place. One day, I got a cut on my finger. Instead of blood, a dew-like liquid, as from a green leaf, began to flow. I was happy to see that there was no blood in my body anymore. I can’t contain my happiness and I feel like dancing all the time.” Shiv ji heard his words and cut his own finger. Out of his finger came ash. The ash came out and poured out right in front of Munkan. Shivji said: “look, this is how a Tapp is done. I don’t even have a dew-like liquid inside of me. I have no other element inside me. I only eat ash in the jungle. That’s why I only have ashes in my body and not a single drop of blood. I didn’t dance around in pride like you are doing though.” When Munkan heard Shiv ji’s words, and saw the ash with his own eyes, he stopped dancing and stopped the joys in his mind. The whole world came to its senses and was calm again.
Munkan’s companions were equally as powerful as him. They had all done their Tapasya in this area. People come here, regarding this place as a very pure one, and bathe in the river.” The Sangat was happy to hear the history of the place and bowed to Guru ji’s feet. Guru ji and the whole Sangat bathed in the Sarsvati and gave donations to the Brahmans. They stayed in that place for one night. They woke up in the morning, bathed in the river and sang Gurbani Kirtan. Everyone got ready and left the place to go on further.