Guru Amardas ji was the teacher of Dharam. His aim was to spread good will. He was altruistic. In order for Sikhs to achieve salvation, he wanted to construct a Baoli. One day, Guru ji spoke in court: “we shall make a great Baoli here. When Sikhs come to this Teerath, they will bathe in it.” Guru ji then had a command written: “Guru ji is beginning the construction of a Baoli. Sikhs are asked to come and do seva with love and devotion. They shall be blessed.” Bhai Paro ji wrote the Hukamnamas and sent them to different areas of the land. The Sangat read the commands and began to gather in groups. They came to Goindwal, bringing money. The Sangat came and bowed to Guru ji’s feet with love and devotion.
Sri Guru Amardas ji stepped outside, observing a good day. He asked for sweets to be prepared for the Sangat. He spotted a good place near the Beas River and walked slowly towards it with the Sangat. Guru ji came to the spot and inspected it. He gave the order to perform the ground-breaking ceremony. Baba Bhudda ji was asked to break the ground with the shovel where the great Teerath of Baoli Sahib was to be built. Baba Bhudda ji dug out some dirt and placed it in a basket. He took the dirt and threw it outside the perimeter. All of the Sangat followed and began to dig and transport the dirt. They were all eager to do the seva and did so, with love and devotion. Guru ji supervised and directed the whole task. The Sangat had great enthusiasm to build the first Teerath of Sikhi.
The news spread far and wide about the Baoli being built: “Guru Bhagavan ji is building a Teerath.” The Sangat brought their own shovels and baskets. Guru ji was happy to see the enthusiasm. Sikhs came everyday to do Seva and had Langar while at Goindwal Sahib. Labourers were also hired at 2 Annas (1 Rupee = 16 Annas) a day. They were given gourmet foods of the Langar to eat. They were overjoyed to earn money and eat Langar. Langar was prepared in great quantities. The Sangat brought grains and crops for the Langar. Some Sikhs brought money to pay the labourers. There was always a great crowd near the Baoli site. Guru ji would sit there too and the Sangat would serve him. The Sangat had great love for their Guru. The Sangat was working very hard and earning great karma in both worlds. As soon as Sikhs would hear about the Teerath being built, they would get ready as soon as they could, and came straight to Goindwal. The news spread to Lahore and other places: “Satguru ji is building a Baoli that will wash away the sins. Whoever goes with faith and love, their wishes will all be fulfilled.” People came as soon as they could. Sikhs brought money and wanted to put their work into the Teerath. They would come and grab hold of shovels and baskets. A group of Sangat would come as others would leave. They were doing seva with complete devotion. Labourers from Lahore came to work. They would eat langar and work all day. In the evenings they would collect their 2 Annas. It was a famous thing: “the Seva of Baoli Sahib is in progress.”
Sri Ramdas ji worked with everyone else. He had love for the Satguru’s feet and did the Seva by discarding his ego. Sri Ramdas ji did seva with extreme love and devotion. He would take the baskets and throw the dirt away. He did not have ego, being the son-in-law of Guru ji, and did not care what his relatives had to say. He didn’t care that he was from the high caste of the Sodhis. He stayed focused on the Seva. He didn’t care about anyone else and was always ready for Seva with his full attention. He didn’t care about the pain his own body would go through. He didn’t care to rest. He was working with Prema Bhagti. He had not an ounce of jealousy inside his heart. He knew that peace and prosperity came from doing selfless service. He knew that Seva led to the revelation of Akaal Purakh’s form inside your heart. He knew that doing Seva, makes one immerse into the light of Akaal Purakh. He would take the basket and throw the dirt far away. His clothes were dirty from the dirt and mud and he didn’t care about that. His love would grow even more. He was ready to do seva with his mind, words, and body; and wished for no reward. Sri Guru Amardas ji, the omniscient one, noticed everything. He saw the immense love in Sri Ramdas ji’s heart. He was full of faith, devotion and wisdom. He knew the ultimate result of doing Seva and Satguru ji understood everything. He did not have a grain of ego inside of him. He did Seva for a long time.
There was a travelling group that was on its way to the Ganga. They stopped and camped at Goindwal, seeing it as a good place. In that group were many relatives of Sri Ramdas ji. The prominent members of the Sodhi clan were part of that group. Some were his cousins and some were his relatives. His friends and neighbours were there too. Some were his acquaintances. Some seniors of their clan were there, along with Sri Ramdas ji’s uncles. They all came to meet Sri Ramdas ji with eagerness. There were about a thousand people. Their Purohits were with them too, along with the Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shoodras that knew Sri Ramdas ji. They all wanted to meet Sri Ramdas ji and said: “we have heard that Hardas ji’s son lives here. Guru Amardas ji had established Goindwal and many people have settled. We have heard that Jetha (Guru Ramdas ji’s birth name) lives here and his older brother Sahari Mal lives in Lahore. Sahari Mal lives at his father’s house and has settled there. He lives with his relatives but the younger has settled with his in-laws. Let’s go and see how he is. Let’s see if he is better or worse off than Lahore. How is he living here and what work does he do? How is he making a living?” In this way they all talked amongst themselves.
The senior people of the group came to Guru ji at Chabarra Sahib. They saw Sri Ramdas ji near the construction site with a basket of dirt on his head. The whole group saw him carry the dirt on his head and throw it far away. Sri Ramdas ji saw his relatives and neighbours and came to meet them. He said “Ram, Ram ji,” to them. He said “Pairee Puvna (bowing to their feet),” to the elders. He had the basket in his hand, and bowed to the elders. The elders got mad as they saw him. They were mad to see their clansman working at his in-laws’ house. The jealous ones began to smile with ill-intentions, seeing Sri Ramdas ji dirty with soil. They thought that Sri Ramdas ji was not well-off and that made them happy. His clothes were ripped and dirty. The relatives were shocked and said: “you have stained the honor of our family. You are working, carrying dirt in your in-laws’ home. You have drowned the reputation of the Sodhis. You didn’t care about our honor. (Little did they know, the carrier of the basket full of dirt was going to become the King of the universe and take the honor of the Sodhis to unprecedented levels) You were born in the Sodhi family and stained our honor. You shouldn’t have stayed at your in-laws’. This is not the way of Kshatriyas. To earn for a living, there were many other respectable forms of work. Wise people choose good paths to earn money. If this is what you wanted to do, you could have stayed in Lahore and done this. You are carrying dirt on top of your head in your in-laws’ village. No Kshatriya does this. You have stained our honor and brought shame to your father’s name. You made us look bad in our circles. What will people say? You didn’t recognize the glorious history of our family.” In this way, the group said bad words to Sri Ramdas ji. Sri Ramdas ji heard their words and smiled. He said to them: “you do not know the glory of the Satguru that destroys all pain. His court is praised in the world. If he looks at you once, millions of pains and obstacles over many lifetimes are washed away. The Guru makes his Sikhs become one with Parmeshwar, who Jogis meditate upon, all their life. Achieving salvation is not easy, but Guru Amardas ji does it in an instant for us. Guru ji’s way is very easy and quick. When you serve the Satguru, it is never without fruit. His Seva gives you moksha and kingdoms; who serve with faith. Whoever does not serve the Guru, there is no bigger foolish person. The ones who are fortunate, they become the Satguru’s Sikh and are able to serve him. There is no other more rewarding task than serving the Guru. The servant of the Guru is the king of all.” Sri Ramdas ji explained all this to his relatives. They were not listening to him and instead, they doubted him. They all returned to their tents. Sri Ramdas ji understood that they were not aware of Guru ji’s greatness. The Sodhis on the other hand, thought that: their Jetha was poor and was being taken advantage of.
At around 4 pm, all of the Sodhis got ready to see Guru Amardas ji. They first had Langar and then went to Guru ji. They came to Chabarra Sahib, all full with ego. They did not bow to Guru Amardas ji because they said that the Sodhis were the groom’s side, since Sri Ramdas ji was married to Guru ji’s daughter. They did not want to bow to the bride’s family. They had no idea of Guru ji’s glory. They said “Ram, Ram” to Guru ji and sat down. Guru ji was very nice to them and gave them a lot of respect. It was tradition to treat all guests with respect. Guru ji got up and had the Sodhis sit down on chairs and beds. The elder Sodhis, sitting on beds, then spoke: “you have received a lot of praises and you are senior in age. You understand hierarchy and family dealings. You are very wise. You should know that all families have status and honor. Every person wants status and to be praised. You are the Guru but you did not think about keeping our boy in your home and making him work in your home. We are Kshatriyas and so are you. You are Bhallas (the descendants of Bharat – brother of Ram Chander ji) we are the Sodhis (the descendants of Luv – the son of Ram Chander ji). You should have maintained the honor of the higher classes. A person should stick to the traditions of classes. We never want to see our clansmen in lower states. Nobody likes to listen to other people’s arguments and so everyone does good work.” One of the Sodhi elders, named Mangla was speaking to Guru ji in this way.
Sri Ramdas ji, eventually, came to this gathering with Guru ji. When Sri Ramdas ji met Guru ji, he blossomed like a lotus flower seeing the sun. He basked in the radiance of the Guru’s feet as he bowed. When the Sodhis saw this, they started to speak in harsh ways again: “such a person was born in our family that has totally lost his honor in all ways. He left his home after his father’s death. This unfortunate person lives with his in-laws. He works with the labourers and digs dirt. He lifts the dirt on top of his head. His clothes are dirty. He puts dirt in his head. Guru ji, you should have known better. You should have given him a better task suited for your son-in-law. You did not see the traditions of your family. Give him a better task. Consider what is good and bad. These stories will go far.” Guru Amardas ji heard their words and looked towards Sri Ramdas ji. Sri Ramdas ji was not affected at all by the Sodhis’ words. He was smiling and blooming. Guru Amardas ji was happy to see Sri Ramdas ji unaffected. He knew that Sri Ramdas ji’s mind was immersed into the river of love. The flow of the river overtakes all attempts to stop it. The love of the Guru removes all obstacles. Sri Ramdas ji was drenched in love and did not care for high or low; respect or disrespect. Guru ji then looked towards the Sodhis and said to them casually: “he will have the “chutter” (royal canopy) of the universe on top of his head but you all will have dirt in your heads because you do not recognize the love for the Guru. If he was not born in your clan of Sodhis, your ancestors would be in Hell.” Sri Ramdas ji folded his hands and said: “you save all the sinners. My relatives do not understand your glory. They are stuck in the material world.” Guru ji was happy to hear his servant and said: “Ramdas you are Dhan, Dhan. You have done Seva and tied me up. You know me and I know you.” The people of Lahore took permission and left to carry on with their travels. Sri Ramdas ji bowed to Satguru ji’s feet and went back to his Seva. He did Seva with devotion, by mind, words and actions. His enthusiasm had increased four times as before. He did not care about his family or society.