Satguru ji stayed detached from everything. He was unaffected by Karma. The pain and pleasure of Maya remained separated from him. One day, Satguru ji was sitting with the Sikhs who were seeking wisdom from him. The words of the Guru gave mukti. He said: “listen Sikhs, you are very dear to me. You have received the human birth, which is very hard to get. Don’t waste your life on other things, do the Simran of Hari. You won’t go to Heaven or Hell then. Just as the pots on a well come up and down, over and over again, that is how you are caught in the cycle of birth and death. Make the True Name, Satnam reside in your heart. This will make all of the vices of your mind run away. Listen to and take in the wisdom given to you by the Guru and implement it in your life. The biggest problems and conflicts you have, will be destroyed.” Guru ji uttered a Salok to tell the Sikhs how to live:
Mahalla 4
Whoever calls themselves a Sikh of the Satguru, they should wake up at Amritvela and recite the Name of Hari..
They should make an effort in the early morning and bathe in the Sarovar of Amrit..
Taking the wisdom of the Guru, do the Jaap of Har Har which will make your problems, sins and pain wash away..
When the day dawns, sing Gurbani and do Simran of the name of Hari while sitting or standing..
Whoever remembers my Hari Hari with every breath and morsel of food, that Gursikh is dear to the Guru..
Whoever my master is gracious with, that Gursikh is given the wisdom by the Guru..
The Jan, Nanak, asks for the dust of the feet of the Gursikh who does Simran of Hari and makes others do it as well..2..
(SGGS 305)
Listening to the wisdom of Guru ji, the fortunate Sikhs implemented it into their lives. The mind of the Sikhs was like gold and the wisdom of the Guru was like gems. This jewellery is radiant in the world and respected everywhere. The hearts of the Sikhs are like a Sarovar in which the Guru fills it with the water of wisdom. Whoever follows this way, they become a collection of lotus flowers. The iron-like mind of the Sikhs is turned into gold with the philosopher’s stone, the wisdom of the Guru. The filth in the mind is washed away like this. This is the validation of listening to the Guru’s wisdom. The wisdom of the Guru is like the Bhavan Chandan (dwarf sandalwood) which makes the mind and body of the Sikh, fragrant. Guru ji is like a cloud and his words are like the raindrops. The chatrik Sikhs drink it and become satiated. Some receive the 18 Siddhis and some begin to ponder on the form of their Aatma. Some fall in love with the Simran of Prabhoo and some fortunate ones wish to meet Hari. Some become detached from their vices and desires and some attain bliss from their real form (the Aatma). Doubts, attachments, illusions and the pain of the 3 types of illnesses, staying in the Sangat these are all removed. The gracious Guru blesses everyone and breaks their bonds immediately.
One day, Satguru ji was sitting in his court, like Shiva sitting with Munis. Guru ji’s cousin (son of his Thayaji-father’s older brother) Sanghari Mal Sodhi lived in Lahore. He was a good-charactered person with great virtues. He came to Guru Ramdas ji from Lahore on his cart, bringing four of his servants along with him. He came to Goindwal and went to Guru ji’s home, bringing sweets with him. He folded his hands and wanted to bow to Satguru Ramdas ji. Guru ji saw that it was his elder cousin, who was the son of his Thayaji, who was a good person, coming to his home with well intentions. Guru ji held his hands, stopping him from touching Guru ji’s feet. Guru ji, instead, touched his cousin’s feet. Sanghari Mal was amazed by seeing this show of humility and said: “oh master, please do not do this unorthodox act. I do not see you as my brother. You have done the Sangat of Satguru Amardas ji and received the greatest status in the world as the Guru. Thousands of people believe in you and have faith in you. You bless them with all your powers. You are omnipotent. We are worldly people engrossed in the householder’s life and do not recite the name of Hari.” Guru Ramdas ji responded: “you are my elder brother and the son of my father’s elder brother. For this reason, it is right for me to bow to you.” Both brothers met with great love and bowed to each other. They sat down, asked how each other were doing and conversed. Guru Ramdas ji noticed the sweets and asked: “what was the reason for your visit, leaving your household duties today?” Sanghari ji folded his hands and said: “you are the star of the Sodhis. You are praised in the world, which I cannot fully describe. Your nephew’s marriage has been set and I wish to celebrate it majestically. It will not be a great celebration without you. As you are the greatest of the Sodhis, I wish for you to come with all your grandeur.” Guru Ramdas ji gave a lot of respect for the invitation and had his cousin stay in a nice place. He was sent food and water along with a great bed to sleep on.
Satguru ji thought to himself: “it is not right for me to go to the wedding. Countless Sangat comes to meet me everyday, eating Langar and resting here. They leave afterwards, but do stay for some days.” Satguru ji slept the night. Guru ji woke up at Amritvela and bathed. He sat in Samadhi and when the sun arose, his brother, Sanghari Mal ji, came and sat down beside Satguru ji. Sanghari Mal ji folded his hands and said: “please don’t analyse this too much and get ready to come with me. I didn’t send anyone else to get you for this reason, as I wanted to take you myself. I left all of the pending tasks to come and get you. Please consider my love and come with me to bless your nephew. My home would be blessed to have your holy feet placed in it. The radiance of my house will grow because of you. All of my tasks will be successful. Meeting you is blissful. Please protect us from any obstacles. Consider my son as your own.” Guru ji heard his brother’s words and was filled with great love. To keep the honor of his brother’s request, Guru ji said: “my brother, what you say is correct, but listen to my side as well: Sangat from many other lands come to see me and leave. If the Sikhs of the Guru are insulted, I cannot tolerate that. They come for the love of the Satguru’s lotus feet. Meeting the Satguru, they are happy. Guru Amardas ji’s blessings and curses are true. I wish to keep him happy. The gem of the Bhallas, I am his servant. The Sikhs are his. I do not wish to upset them. Guru ji gave me his Sangat. If I leave them, this is not right. Thousands of people come here. How will the expenses of so many people be endured? When the Bharaat reaches the bride’s home, there will be a great gathering of the Sangat that will come with me. How will your son’s in-laws endure such a great expense to feed all of those people? We will need to think about all of these things first.” Sanghari Mal heard Guru ji’s words and continued to make his plea: “what you are saying is true. I am seeing a big crowd of Sikhs here right now. There are countless Sikhs here. The Sikhs of other villages in and around that area would come as well when they find out you are there. The in-laws would want us to stay over there and will have to prepare for food. They do not have that much wealth and would surely be in debt after this. This is not possible; I have understood this now. But still, please accept another proposal that I have for you: please send your son along with me so all of the tasks are completed with success. My request is dependent on your wishes. I will be forever grateful.” Sri Guru Ramdas ji, the treasure of peace and happiness heard this and called for his eldest son, Prithi Chand.
Guru ji told Prithi Chand about the wedding and said: “go and attend the wedding. This is the son of my Thayaji. He is elder and worthy of being bowed to. His son is about to get married and has come to me for the invitation. It is good for you to go with him. All of the Sodhis are our relatives. Go and meet them. Stay in Lahore for a few days and come back home when you wish to. Go to the Dharamsala in Lahore, our ancestral home, and see how it is. Give everyone gifts.” Prithi Chand heard his father and didn’t think it was a good idea to leave his father. He thought to himself: “staying close to Pitha ji will make the love grow. Staying far away, you only think about them some times. If my brother stays with Pitha ji, he will experience new kinds of happiness from the Sangat. I take care of all the money and finances. I keep a lot of that money for myself. I take care of all the gifts and money. I keep all the money.” Understanding the higher status of Sanghari Mal ji, Prithi Chand bowed his head to his uncle. Sanghari Mal ji blessed him and said: “live long.” Prithi Chand stayed quiet for a while and thought: “after me, my brother will take over everything. He will understand all of the tasks and transactions. He will keep all of the money of Pitha ji as much as he wants. I will be left behind and the younger brother will come out ahead of me. I worry about the money and the Gurta Ghaddi. I think my brother will take it all. Guru ji does not care for what happens with the money. Those who have no right over the money, they take what they want. Guru ji is happy with Seva and will give his throne to someone else.” Prithi Chand, thought of everything in this way. He had his head bowed the whole time he thought. After a while, he spoke to his father: “you see the way I work, all the time. There are thousands of give and take transactions that I need to do. As one comes, another leaves. I pay for all of the Langar and bring all the food. I don’t have a second of free time. How can I go to Lahore?” Satguru ji responded to Prithi Chand: “somebody else will take care of the tasks. It is important for you to go now.” Prithi Chand objected: “Pitha ji, you do not care for profit or loss. I can’t go. It is too hot to travel. There is too much unrest in the Bharaat which I do not like. I like to stay calm.” Prithi Chand made his intentions clear to Guru ji and did not obey his command. Seeing his son’s deceitful mind, Guru ji didn’t say anything further. Guru ji then called for his other son and wanted to see if he would obey his command.