Sri Satguru Ramdas ji remained drenched in love, all the time. He gave the Sikhs the wisdom to do Simran of Satnam, as a gift. Sikhs came in great numbers, and there was always a great Satsangat. Wherever there were Sikhs living, in small or big villages and cities, they recited “Guru, Guru” thousands of times. They walked on the great path of Sikhi and rejected their previous ways. They were completing their life’s mission and ingesting the glory of the Satguru. The bad people saw this and were in pain; just as the juvasa plant burns when it rains. These unwise, unfortunate fools couldn’t tolerate the glory of Satguru ji. It was though a wife, whose husband was away from her, saw the moon and was irritated by it.
There was a Tappa that saw the tradition of Sikhi and was curious. He asked some people: “what are you doing?” He wanted to debate but he also wanted to do the Bhagti of Akaal Purakh. He was a skeptic of Sikhi but also had love. He came to Satguru ji’s court, as his good karma awoke. He bowed and sat close to Guru ji. Guru ji respected him and welcomed him. Guru ji, the destroyer of evil, asked the Tappa: “what is the reason for your coming? Please tell me. I will fulfill your wishes.” The Tappa began to speak his mind: “I have travelled the world and seen many saints from many religions. I have heard the Vedas and the Puranas. I have read them as well. I have been to many Teeraths and bathed in the pure waters of holy sites. Your Sikhs are very egotistical as they do not follow the traditions of the Shaasters. There are four Varans and four ashrams as per the traditions of the Vedas; they should live according to them. Your Sikhs do not follow these traditions or even know them. Your Sikhs do not choose these traditions. They only worship you and listen to your Gurbani. They read your Gurbani and do Simran of Vahiguru all the time. They focus their attention on you and meditate. They don’t recognize the glory of the Teeraths or the Vedas. Their Dharma and nature are not according to the Vedas. How will the Sikhs reach Mukti? How will they fulfill the mission of their birth? They will waste their life away.” Sri Guru Ramdas ji responded: “what glory did you see in the Teeraths? You have faith in the Teeraths, what do you receive from them in the end?” The Tappa responded to Guru ji’s questions: “to bathe at the Teeraths gives you Mukti because your sins are washed away. In the end, you go to Heaven. You receive many types of pleasures in Heaven. By reading the Vedas, you understand the Braham and go to the dimension of Braham.” Sri Satguru ji heard the Tappa and spoke: “you receive pleasure in heaven till your good karma is all used up. You have led yourself to believe that the Heavens are permanent. You think they are true. To obtain the stay in heaven, you go through a lot of pain. The saints see Heaven as temporary and false. They have renounced their wish to go to Heaven. Why do you go through so much pain to get to the Heavens, which are temporary? You are caught up in Riddhis and Siddhis so you will remain in the cycle of birth and death. You do not serve the Satsangat, so how would you know what the reward would be? You did not know what the real thing was, and how it is, just as a great Emperor doesn’t know the emotion of a common person. You uselessly blamed my Sikhs and called them egotistical when you didn’t even know the reality of the situation. Your whole life has been spent. You did not meet the Guru and did not have faith. The Satsang is a walking Teerath which you did not meet, nor were you drenched in the love of Hari. You carried false pride in your heart, which will only be washed away when you meet the complete Guru.” Listening to Guru ji, the Tappa asked about the Teeraths: “why do you look down upon the Teeraths which are visited by many? The Puranas talk about the significance of the Teeraths. Please ponder on this and tell me how and why the Satsangat is so great.” Sri Guru Ramdas ji, having love in his heart, said a Gurbani Shabad for him:
Malaar Mahalla 4..
Ganga, Jumana, Godavari and Sarasvati, these rivers strive for the dust of the feet of the Sadhoos..
They say: people filled with the filth of sins come and bathe in us. The dust from the feet of Saints, washes the filth of sins away..1..
Saying the Name is to bathe in the 68 Teeraths..
When the dust from the Satsangat rises up and comes to the eyes, all the filth in your mind is removed..1.. Rahao..
Ganga was brought from the Tapp of Bagheerath and Kedaar was established by Shiva..
Krishan ji grazed cows in Kaanshi, many Teeraths were glorious meeting with the servants of Hari..2..
Whichever Teeraths were established by Devatas, they all long for the dust of the feet of the Sadhoos..
Meeting with the Saint of Hari, the Guru Sadhoo, I apply the dust of his feet to my face..3..
The whole creation, oh my master, it all craves for the dust of the feet of the Sadhoos..
Says Nanak, one who has such destiny inscribed on their forehead, they are blessed with the dust from the feet of the Sadhoos and carried across..4..2..
(SGGS 1263)
When the Tappa heard the Shabad from the mouth of Sri Satguru ji, he was wonderstruck. He froze. He was speechless. He was in bliss. He was still, like a lake in the early morning hours of a calm day. He was filled with love in his heart. His heart was filled with faith. He began to sing the praises of Satguru ji. Guru ji looked at him with a blessed vision which purified his mind. He said to Guru ji: “my good karma is awakened. I am very fortunate. I met you and now I am filled with love. Whomever you bless, knowing them as your servant, you illuminate their heart right away. My mind was filled with ego. I was without wisdom and didn’t see your glory. I made the mistake of speaking in front of you but you are gracious with opponents as well. The thing that you let go of (ego), the foolish people hold on to that and lose everything. Now, I understand the value of saints from whom Aatam Gyaan is received.” The Tappa renounced his old ways and became a Sikh of the Guru. He attended the Satsangat and received bliss. Sometimes he would come to stay with Satguru ji and sometimes he would go wandering. He always focused on the lotus-like holy feet of Satguru Ramdas ji in his heart.
Many Sikhs came from all around and brought money. Sri Guru Amardas ji would only take as much money as was needed for a day’s worth of Langar. If the Sikhs would give more money than required, Guru ji would return the money. There was always an abundant amount of Langar. Money would come everyday. Guru Amardas ji was determined not to save anything overnight. The fourth Guru is a mine of virtues, full of gems. Laxmi serves him, greatly. The Goddess, Mata Laxmi requested the first three Gurus to let her serve them, but they refused her plea and didn’t let her come close to them. The fourth Guru was also a strong warrior and thought of Laxmi as the previous Gurus did. When Laxmi came to Guru Ram Das ji, he finally accepted her request, as the Panth was now going to need her services. She came through the offerings of Sikhs and was now being saved. Guru ji, although, was unaffected by her, just as a lotus flower lives in the water, but is never drenched or soaked by it.
Guru ji’s eldest son, Prithi Chand, began to stay close to Guru ji. He had a fondness towards money. He would gather all the money and use it for the Langar and other tasks. Sri Mahadev ji, Guru ji’s middle son, was a carefree person and never thought about profit or loss. He wasn’t concerned with gathering or counting things. He had great love for his Guru-Father. Guru ji’s third son, Sri Arjan ji, collected Bhagti. He followed his mother, Mata Bhaani ji, and did Seva by bowing. He had a lot of faith and devotion for his father, Guru Ramdas ji. He didn’t care about money at all. Everyone thought that he was young and that’s why he wasn’t concerned with money, but Guru Ramdas ji was omniscient and knew that he was fond of Bhagti. Guru Ramdas ji knew that Sri Arjan ji was complete in all virtues and was going to be the gem of the Sodhi family. Sri Arjan ji was going to be the one to keep the Guru’s throne in his house. He wasn’t going to let the throne go anywhere else. Everyone else knew Prithi Chand and said: “Prithi Chand knows about all of the tasks of the Guru’s house and takes care of everything. He stays close to his father, day and night, and knows where and when to give-and-take. He is aware of all the tasks and does everything without saying anything to his father.” Satguru ji wouldn’t say anything to him.
Guru ji would give wisdom to the Sikhs. One day, a lot of Sangat gathered and wanted to listen to the Bani of Guru ji. There was a big Divaan that was in session at the Darbar area. The wise Gursikhs were gathered there. They were like a flock of chakors gathered together and looking at Guru ji’s moon-like face. Just as chatriks look towards the clouds with desire of the first rain drop, that is how the Sikhs looked towards Guru ji for wisdom. Satguru ji, the gracious one, knowing the desires of the Sikhs, began to speak: “whoever calls themself my Sikh and wants to be free of bonds when they die, they should desire to do Seva and renounce their pride. In the previous Yugas (eras) people would do very difficult Tapasyas and cause their bodies great pain. The “antiskaran” is comprised of 4 things: 1. Mun- the mind, from which the good and bad desires arise from; 2. Buddhi- wisdom, from where thoughts and decisions come from; 3. Chit- consciousness, from where awareness arises; 4. Ahankaar- awareness of self-existence, from where the relationship to materials is understood. The antiskaran becomes pure and bliss arises, when Seva is performed and the ego is killed. Seva gives you 10 times the reward of Tapasya. You are very strong when you die by doing Seva. Doing Tapasya for a long period of time is equal to very little time of doing Seva. Those who do Seva with devotion and determination, their birth and death cycle is destroyed. They cross the world ocean successfully. Never show off yourself and never speak harsh words to anyone to make them feel hurt. By doing Seva: Dharam, Arth, Kaam and Moksha are achieved. By serving the Guru, one is blessed. Without Seva, Bhagti is not achieved. Without Bhagti, Gyaan is not achieved. Without Gyaan, Mukti is not achieved. For this reason, Seva is the root of all Mukti. Do Seva and be blessed. Whoever does the Seva of the Satsangat, my mind loves them dearly. Prepare food according to the best of your ability and feed it to the Sikhs and saints by being humble. Give them water to drink and wash their feet. With your own hands, take a fan and fan the Sikhs. Massage their feet and speak sweetly to them. Give them clothes, without them asking for it. Give fruits and flowers to the Sangat and wash their clothes. Make places of worship for Sangat to gather and sweep it with a broom. Make places for Sangat to come and stay. Do Seva with faith, love and devotion and never give rise to your ego. There is a story in reference to this:
There was a person who wished to serve birds. On the roof top, high place of his home, he set seeds and water for them. Many birds came to his home to eat. The birds were happy with the person. The person saw a pair of swans come to his house, but they did not eat the seeds or drink the water. The person saw this and was worried. Somebody told the person that: “they only eat pearls and drink milk for satiation.” When the person heard this, he got pearls without holes for them. The swans ate the pearls. They would drink the milk and leave the water from the milk (only taking the curds portion of the milk). The swans were very happy and gave the person two rubies from their mouths. The swans then flew away, leaving the rubies with the person. The person sold the rubies and made himself a beautiful house with the money he received. He served the birds even more than before. One day, a whole bevy of swans came to his house. The swans said: “let’s see how our bhagat’s house is.” Thousands of swans came to the person’s house. The person placed many pearls and a lot of milk in front of them with love. The swans were very happy with the person and gave him a lot of rubies. He was as rich as a king by doing their Seva. That is how doing the Seva of Saints is. There are great rewards in serving the Saints. Saints are givers of Niddhis and Siddhis. They also give Mukti at the time of death. Serving my swan-like Sikhs has great rewards. There is no impossible wish to be fulfilled when it comes to serving the Sikhs. Everything can be granted.” Satguru ji explained the significance of doing Seva to the Sikhs. The Sikhs were in bliss by listening to Guru ji.
There was a time when the Emperor Akbar had come to Guru Amardas ji and given the deed of some villages to Guru ji. The deeds of those villages were given to Satguru Ramdas ji, along with the Gurta Ghuddi by the gem of the Bhallas, Satguru Amardas ji. Guru Amardas ji sent Guru Ramdas ji, during his time, to start the digging of the Sarovar. The digging of the Amritsar Sarovar and the establishment of some of the villages around the area happened during Guru Amardas ji’s time, by Guru Ramdas ji. The place was named “Guru ka Chuk.” As all of the Singhs were listening to the history of the Gurus from Ram Koer ji, they folded their hands and said to him: “oh Ram Koer ji, you are the light of bliss. Listening to the history of Guru ji, our hearts are blooming. Please tell us the history of Sri Amritsar, as it happened. In all of the three worlds, such a Teerath has never been heard of, nor can it’s praises by fully sung. Its significance has been mentioned in Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. Please tell us how the Sarovar (pool) was made and how was the beautiful Sri Hari Mandir made. Laxmi comes and serves this place. The Saints love this place a lot. There is nobody, so cold enough, not wanting to visit it with devotion. That person would be unfortunate who does not wish to visit it. When a person comes to Sri Harmandhir, their mind is won. Bathing in its Sarovar gives great bliss. The place fulfills all wishes and is worthy for Devatas to live there. If one is in pain, this place relieves it. Please tell the listeners about Sri Harmandir Sahib ji. The listeners would like to hear it. They have come to your holy feet for this. You are great, gracious and complete. You are the apex of Brahmgyaan and all-powerful. You can do whatever you want to. You are not afraid of anyone in all of the three worlds. You have the knowledge of past, present and future. Please see the love in the hearts of us listeners and tell us the history of Sudhasur (Amritsar).” Sri Bhai Ram Koer ji was really happy to hear the request, as he saw the love in the listeners’ hearts. Bhai Sahib ji had more love in his heart to tell them the history of the Gurus. Bhai Ram Koer ji praised the Singhs around him, like Bhai Sahib Singh ji Likhaari and others: “you are great for having such a great wisdom and a great desire. You are certainly deserving to hear the great Katha of the Gurus. Listen to this Katha with love. I will make all of you happy with this Katha. Your doubts will be removed by listening to this and you will understand the teachings of the Gurus. The history of the Gurus is the most beautiful thing. It destroys all of the shortcomings and vices of the heart. I will tell you the Katha of Sri Amritsar Sahib as it happened. Centre your focus and listen to this Katha with love, my friends. The Katha of the Satguru gives peace and happiness, along with destroying the pain of birth and death.” Bhai Ram Koer ji made the listeners sit in attention and began to speak the great history.