Bhai Kalyaan of the Sood caste came to Satguru ji. He was a warrior. He bowed to Guru ji’s feet and said: “listen Guru ji, I am a warrior. I fight bravely on the battlefield. I fearlessly fight when two armies fight with weapons. I go into enemy lines to kill them. I only come back after killing many.” Guru ji heard him and said: “it is easy to kill the enemy, going into the enemy lines. It is difficult to face ignorance. The enemy is desire, anger, greed and ego. One must face them with the Shabad of the Guru to defeat them. That is a true warrior. The undying peace only comes once these enemies are killed. There are few such strong soldiers who fight this kind of battle. This is the war of the mind.” Guru ji recited a Salok for this:
Sri Mukhvaak.. Salok Sahaskriti Mahalla 5..
The Sadh Sangat is the army, it is undefeated, one becomes a warrior, humility is the armour..
The weapons and support are the glories of Gobind, singing of; the leather shield is the Shabad of the Guru..
The chariot and horse or elephants are the path to Prabhoo, which is known to Guru..
To go into the enemy lines with fearlessness; that is to do Keertan of Gopal..
Having victory over the vices, Nanak says, they win the whole world who can win them..29..
(SGGS 1346)
“One who wins his/her mind is the true warrior. They are honored in the court of Akaal Purakh. Many people sing that person’s praises. That person achieves the undying peace and joy.” Bhai Kalyaan ji folded his and said: “whoever you bless can know this. That person becomes a warrior and control his/her mind; who grabs your feet.” Guru ji said: “do the Simran of Satnam. You will become such a warrior as well.” He heard Guru ji and started to do Seva. He attended the Sangat and listened to Katha and Keertan. Love came to his heart.
Bhai Bhanoo Bhagat ji was a great Gursikh. He always pondered about Gurbani. He would live by the wisdom in Gurbani and then he would preach it to others. Whoever heard his words, that Sikh would have Prema Bhagti in their heart. Bhai Bhanoo ji stayed with Guru ji. Somebody said to Guru ji: “there are unwise people in Muhijung village who say bad things about the Guru and cast doubts into the hearts of the Sikhs in the area.” Guru ji said: “Bhai Bhanoo ji, go to Muhijung and teach them Gurmat. Save them from going to Hell.” Bhai Bhanoo ji obeyed and went to that village. He preached Sikhi there and did Katha of Gurbani. There were two people there named Bhai Krishana Sethi ji and Bhai Sangeena ji. They became Sikhs along with their families and did Seva of Bhai Bhanoo ji. Katha would happen in the morning and evening. Everyone would do Keertan and have faith in the Satguru. Satsangat started to happen by Bhai Bhanoo coming to that village. If someone would come there, they would be fed Langar and then everyone would eat. The people of that village shared their earnings and did Simran of Satnam.
Bhai Luddha ji Parupkaari lived in Lahore. He was the one who brought back Satta and Balwand. He had Prema Bhagti in his heart. Bhai Bhuddu ji, who was cursed by Bhai Lakhoo regarding his brick kiln, Guru ji told Bhai Bhuddu ji to go to Bhai Luddha to take him to make Bhai Lakhoo ji reverse his curse. He wanted Bhai Lakhoo ji to be happy and to have him take back his curse. Bhai Luddha ji went to Bhai Lakhoo ji and told him that Bhai Bhuddu is in a lot of debt. His kiln needs to be functioning correctly so he can sell his bricks. The raw and soft bricks need to be baked. Bhai Lakhoo ji knew about Bhai Luddha. He realised that Bhai Bhuddu ji was under a lot of debt. He said: “I can’t take back my curse but the soft bricks will sell at the price of fully backed ones. All of his debt will be gone. He will have money.” He said the same thing as Guru ji did. Bhai Luddha ji did many great things in Lahore. Bhai Lakhoo ji was also connected to Guru ji.
Bhai Teerath and Bhai Moola Beri ji along with Bhai Mukanda ji and Bhai Nihaloo ji the goldsmith; all came to Guru Arjan Dev ji’s court. They bowed and sat down. They folded their hands and said: “there are many types of Sikhs who sing Shabads and do Katha. Some of them do Keertan which calms the listeners down. Others have no effect.” Guru ji said: “diamond and crystals look the same. The diamond shows different colours in its illumination. The crystal does not reflect light. That is how you can tell who a true Gurmukh is. Their light shines upon others while they do Keertan and Katha. They are able to inspires others like a diamond. They can do this because they have truth inside of them. The corrupt and hollow people can’t influence anyone. When they go to bad company, they like going there. They can’t affect good people. The ones who have the Guru’s Shabad in their hearts, they come to Sangat and receive all of the joys and peace there. Whatever they say makes the listeners calm. The heat of the desires is renounced by people and they begin to fall in love with Simran. If you see someone higher than you, you should want to be in their company. If these kinds of Gurmukhs need to go to a place of bad moral, or be in the presence of immoral people, their minds do not waver. They stay still and disciplined. They are like a tree, standing in the same spot. Just as sandalwood remains cool, snakes wrap themselves around it to cool the burning of their venom; the sandalwood is not affected by the venom. The sandalwood cools the venom. That is how the Gurmukh is when they go to immoral places. The Gurmukh gives wisdom to the immoral people on how to calm their vices down.” The Sikhs heard this and bowed their heads. Guru ji’s words were powerful. Guru ji blessed many Sikhs on a daily basis. Guru ji’s praises spread far and wide. People came from every direction to meet Satguru ji.
One day, Guru ji sat in his court. Many great Sikhs were sitting with Guru ji. A discussion started: “where are the most Sikhs? Which country has the most Sangat?” Many people started to talk of their experiences while travelling. Some Sikhs said: “we went to the mountainous area of Kashmir. The Pandits of that area were doubtful and didn’t let us recite Gurbani there. They said: “Sanskrit is the language of the Devatas. The Gurbani is the language of humans. Why do you recite this Bani? What rewards does this have? You have renounced the Nit and Namit Karma.” They say such words and stop Sikhs from following Sikhi. They put a lot of Sikhs in doubt.” Guru ji heard this and called Bhai Madho Sodhi ji to him. He said to him: “you are great in Gurmat. I will fill my power in your words. Whatever you say will be irreversible. Whatever you say will come out to be true. Go to the mountains of Kashmir and preach Sikhi there. Give them Gurmat and make them do Simran of Satnam. They will be in peace.” Bhai Madho ji said: “the Brahmins of Kashmir do not know Bhagti. They are stuck in Karma Kanda. They do not let Upasana come to their minds.” Guru ji said: “when you go there, they will know what Bhagti is. Their hearts will be filled with Upasana when they meet you. They will do Bhagti of Parmeshwar. Just as Sanskrit is beloved to the Pandits, that is how the Sikhs love Gurbani. It makes them happy.” Bhai Madho ji got ready and headed towards Kashmir.
Bhai Madho ji took Pothis of Gurbani as he was great at translating Gurbani. When he reached Kashmir, he set up camp and began preaching Sikhi. The Pandits of the area came to meet him and said: “we don’t like the Katha of the vernacular Bani. How can you renounce the Bani of the Devatas? This Bani cannot enter our hearts.” Bhai Madho ji said: “the person who is hungry, if he waits for a golden dish and tries to get it, if he doesn’t eat he will die waiting for the golden dish. If another hungry person finds any type of clean dish and eats the food, he is satiated and lives on. It takes great effort to learn the language of the Devatas. It takes a long time to learn it. When someone does learn it, it makes them egotistical. The Gyaan received through the vernacular Bani gives Bhagti and Gyaan. One achieves Mukti. Gurmat makes one blissful. They become Brahmgyaanis. Ghee can be placed in any dish. It is always pure. Brahmgyaan is the food which is always pure. It doesn’t matter what caste or creed one belongs to, the Brahmgyaan is pure wisdom. Think about the language of the Devatas; do you not translate it into the vernacular? You have to translate it to understand it. It is not complete. The Gurbani is complete. It does not need to be translated. Whoever does Simran of Satnam, they receive all types of rewards. Don’t waste your life over such false pride of your caste. Do the Bhagti of Prabhoo who resides in all.” The Pandits said: “we only translate for the fools. We don’t need to translate for the wise.” Bhai Madho ji responded: “you say the Vedas are the breath of Parmeshwar; Guru Nanak Dev ji was the Avatar of Parmeshwar. He knew that the people of Kaliyuga will not have the intellect to learn Sanskrit. That is why he recited Gurbani in vernacular to save them. The Guru’s Shabad makes one humble. Sanskrit makes one egotistical. Whoever accepts Gurbani, they receive all of the powers and become Brahmgyaanis. They travel to different places and can not hide.” In this way Bhai Madho ji’s words affected the Pandits’ minds. Katha and Keertan took place at both times. Many people listened with love. A Dharamsala was constructed and a lot of Sangat gathered. Sikhs did Seva and they had love for the Guru. The Dasvand would be collected and Bhai Madho ji would come back to meet Guru Arjan Dev ji. Sikhi in Kashmir spread in this way. They did Simran of Satnam all the time.