[p. 93]
There was a Bairagi named Mai Das, a most devout worshipper of the god Krishan. Strictly adhering to all Vaishnav ceremonials, he would only eat what he had cooked with his own hands. His chief desire was to behold the yellow-robed, peacockcrowned god in bodily form. In the hope of obtaining assistance for the purpose from the Guru, of whose fame he had heard, he went to Goindwal. On arriving there, however, he was informed he could not see the Guru until he had eaten food from his kitchen. He decided that as a strict Vaishnav he could never partake of such food, and he accordingly took his departure. On his way home he said to himself, ‘I have been lucky in deciding to see the Guru, but unlucky in departing without seeing him. I will by way of consolation go to Dwaraka to see Krishan.’ He accordingly made the long journey to Dwaraka, and took up his abode in an adjacent forest. On the night of his arrival he was holding the fast of the eleventh of the lunar month, during which he was allowed to eat fruit, but it was not obtainable for it was then the winter season. Cold winds were blowing, rain was falling in torrents, lightning was flashing, and the night was appallingly dark. He called upon all his gods, “O Wasdev, O Krishan, O Girdhari, I have no shelter but in you.’ At last in his dire extremity he accidentally found a hollow tree in which he took shelter for the night.
On the morrow at daybreak he searched the whole [p. 94] forest, but could find nothing to eat. Closing his eyes and meditating on God he prayed for relief. A supreme Jogi, seeing his devotion, brought a plate full of dal and rice, and laying it before him departed. Mai Das on opening his eyes was astonished to see prepared food in such a place. He reflected, ‘ This food having been cooked in water is impure. If I eat it, I shall become an outcaste, and if I do not, I shall die. Well, if die I must, let me die by all means, but I will not abandon my principles.’
The supreme Jogi knowing his unshaken faith placed before him unobserved a plate of sweets, which, as having been cooked in clarified butter, even a devout Hindu could receive from the hands of another without defilement. Mai Das then began to consider: ‘Into this solitude no man may bring sweets, nor have I seen anybody coming or going. Impure food was first brought me, and when I refused it, I received pure food. It was certainly God who came to me, but through my misfortune I did not see him.’ Mai Das searched in every direction, and again began to call on his god, ‘O Krishan, O Girdhari, O Murari, pardon my sins. O compassionate one, O Gobind, grant me a sight of thee.’ Full of devotion he wandered weeping and shouting through the forest. It is said that he then heard a voice: ‘ Thou hast not taken food from Amar Das’s kitchen, and hast not beheld him; therefore shalt thou not obtain perfection. If thou desire to do so, then first behold Amar Das.’
On hearing this Mai Das returned to Goindwal. Invoking his favourite god, he partook of food from the Guru’s kitchen, and was then allowed the privilege of sitting in the Guru’s court and beholding him who had been so long the special object of his thoughts and aspirations. The Guru addressed him, ‘Come, Mai Das, thou art a special saint of God.’ Mai Das with complimentary expressions supplicated to be made the Guru’s servant, so that he [p. 95] might ever behold him. The Guru replied, ‘ Abide with me for eight days, keep the company of my saints, and I will then point out to thee thy spiritual ulde.’
: Meanwhile the Sikhs continued with great energy and devotion to excavate the Bawali. After digging very deep they found large stones which hindered their progress. The Sikhs prayed the Guru to remove the obstacle. He counselled patience, and said that all should be well in due time.
When water obstinately refused to enter the Bawali, the Guru inquired if there were any of his Sikhs sufficiently courageous to drive a peg into its base with the object of removing the obstruction. At the same time the Guru warned his hearers that the operation involved great peril. The man who performed it must be able to stem the current which would issue from the aperture formed by the peg; otherwise he would be drowned. All the Sikhs remained silent, and no one ventured to undertake such a perilous task. At last Manak Chand of Vairowal, a young man with a sprouting beard, who was married to a niece of the Guru, declared himself at the Guru’s service.
This man’s history is connected with the miraculous power of the first Guru. When Guru Nanak visited Thatha, Hari Chand who was childless took him an offering of milk in the hope of obtaining the object of his desires. The Guru being pleased, said, ‘A gem (manak) shall be strung on thy necklace.’ Within a year a son was born to him who was called Manak Chand, in remembrance of the word used by the Guru and the fulfilment of the prophecy.
Manak Chand, invoking God’s name, extracted the peg, whereupon there immediately issued a rushing stream which overflowed the Bawali. Manak, though on his guard, was upturned, and though striking out vigorously sank to the bottom. Next morning his old widowed mother and his young wife [p. 96] came and sat on the margin of the Bawali weeping piteously. The aged mother was crying out, ‘ Ah! Manak my son, who will protect me now? Thou oughtest to have taken me with thee.’ The Guru inquired who was weeping. The Sikhs brought the old lady to him, and she bowed at his feet. The Guru said, “ Manak is not drowned, he will save many aone yet. Have patience, and he will come to thee.’ The Guru went and stood by the Bawali. He called out, ‘Manak, behold thy mother is weeping for thee, come and meet her.’ Manak’s body at once rose to the surface. The Guru meditated on God, and touched the young man’s body with his foot, upon which he walked forth from the water in the full possession of life and vigour. The Guru then addressed him: ‘Thou art my living—jiwar—son. Thy sons shall be called sons of Jiwar. Now become Mai Das’s spiritual guide, go home, and wealth and supernatural power shall come at thy bidding.’ Thus, by the favour of the Guru, Jiwar and his descendants have been reverenced by succeeding generations.
By this time Mai Das’s stay of eight days was at an end. The Guru told him that Manak Chand should become his spiritual guide. The Guru having ordered him to go and preach to all people thus continued: ‘Thou too shalt make converts and become a famous saint; save men by giving them God’s name, read the Guru’s hymns, and all blessings shall attend thee.’ Mai Das, having received spiritual and temporal favours from Manak Chand, returned to his village. He afterwards paid the Guru a yearly visit, obtained mental peace, found salvation for himself, and became empowered to grant it to others.
The Bawali when finished yielded sweet drinking water, and the Sikhs greatly rejoiced at the completion of their labours. It was provided with eightyfour steps. The Guru decreed that whoever should attentively and reverently repeat the Japji on every step, should escape from wandering in the wombs [p. 97] of the eighty-four lakhs of living creatures. Sadharan, a Sikh carpenter, devoutly made woodwork for seven steps of the Bawali and clamped it with iron.
It was now the time for the Emperor Akbar to make his periodical visit to Lahore. Having crossed the Bias he made a détour to Goindwal, and accompanied by a large escort of Mughal and Pathan soldiers made a state visit to the Guru, of whose sanctity he had heard such favourable accounts, and presented him with costly offerings of every description. The Emperor, out of respect for the Guru, walked on the bare ground as he approached his residence. He learned, however, that he could not have an interview with the Guru until he had partaken of his food. The Emperor inquired of what the food consisted, and was informed that it was coarse unseasoned rice. He asked for some and partook of it as if it were ambrosia. Having seen the large number of people fed from the Guru’s kitchen he requested him to accept his service and his offerings. He added, ‘I will make thee a grant of whatever land thou desirest, and I am ready to perform any other office that may be pleasing to thee.’ The Guru replied, ‘I have obtained lands and rent-free tenures from my Creator. He who cherisheth all existences giveth also unto me. My Sikhs devoutly give me wherewithal to supply my kitchen. Whatever cometh daily is spent daily, and for the morrow my trust is in God.’ The Emperor pressed on him the acceptance of several villages, but the Guru was firm in his refusal. The Emperor then said, ‘I see thou desirest nothing. From thy treasury and thy kitchen countless beings receive bounties, and I entertain similar hopes. The villages which thou refusest I will grant to thy daughter Bibi Bhani.’ The Emperor upon this signed a grant of the villages in her name. The Guru gave the Emperor a dress of honour, and dismissed him, highly pleased with [p. 98] his pilgrimage. The headmen of the villages granted by the Emperor went with offerings to the Guru, but he sent them and their offerings to Jetha, the husband of the proprietress. The management of the villages was entrusted to Bhai Budha, who went and lived in a forest in the midst of them.[1]
Every one was pleased on hearing of the healing virtues and fame of the Bawali, except a second Tapa who had settled in Goindwal. His heart was bitter as the colocynth, but his words as sweet as the mango. The Guru gave a great feast on the tenth day of the month following the completion of the Bawali. The Tapa, though invited, refused to attend. He said to the Guru’s messenger, ‘I want nothing from the Guru, nor will I give him anything. I will go to dine with the provincial governor instead. He too hath invited me, and irom’ him I hall receive presents of gold coins.’ The Tapa on going to the governor began to calumniate the Guru. ‘Behold, O Diwan, Amar Das, though a Khatri, eateth the fruit of offerings as if he were a Brahman. He putteth men of the four castes all in a line, maketh them eat together, and thus destroyeth their religion. I have therefore refused to dine with him, and have come to thee as a candidate for thy favour.’
The Tapa was disappointed. He received only a bad dinner and one rupee from the governor. On returning home he heard that the Guru was not only giving an elaborate banquet to his guests, but bestowing five rupees, and in some cases sixteen on every religious man who attended. On hearing this the Tapa was filled with regret and said, if he had known it, he would have dined with him instead of with the governor. He could thus have kept in the good graces of the Guru, and received a good dinner and at least five rupees from him. He went to the Guru’s house, and said publicly that he had no quarrel with him, and did not desire any. [p. 99] The Guru’s door happened at the time to be closed as the feast was in progress. The Tapa called from outside, but received no answer. He then went home and brought his son, whom he caused to leap over the wall of the Guru’s courtyard and enter his dining-room. The Tapa’s son succeeded in getting from the Guru a share of the banquet and five rupees. Notwithstanding this the Tapa boasted that he did not desire a present or a share of the feast served out promiscuously from the Guru’s kitchen. He had only sent his son on the Guru’s repeated pressing invitations. The Tapa, however, got the worst of the transaction, for his son injured his leg in crossing the wall, and the Tapa’s own insolent speeches regarding the Guru were reported to the headmen of the city. After consultation among themselves they thought they would visit him, and see how he passed his time. They entered his apartment without having given previous intimation, and caught him in adultery with the landlord’s wife. They arrested him and took him to the landlord, to whose turn it now came to defend his honour. Such offences were then visited with exemplary severity. The Tapa was put to death with torture. On this incident Jetha composed the following :—
He is not a Tapa whose heart is greedy and who ever wandereth begging for mammon.
When he was first called, he would not accept the proffered money ; afterwards repenting he brought his son and seated him in the midst of the assembly.
The village elders all began to laugh, saying that the wave of greed had overcome the Tapa.
He will not approach the place where he seeth little wealth; where he seeth much there he forfeiteth his faith.
My brother, he is not a penitent ; he isacrane ; the saints seated in council have decided this.
While employed in praising the rest the Tapa slandereth the true Guru ; for this sin God hath cursed him.
[p. 100]
Behold the result the Tapa obtained for slandering the true Guru—all his labours have been in vain.
When he sitteth outside among the village elders he is called a penitent ; when he sitteth at home he is committing sin ; God hath disclosed his secret sin to the elders.
Dharmraj said to his myrmidons, ‘ Take and place the Tapa where the greatest murderers are.
‘ Let no one look at this Tapa again ; he is accursed of the tie Gur.
Nanak telleth what took place in God’s court. He understandeth whom God hath regenerated.[2]
The third Guru supplemented this hymn with his own injunctions: ‘He is a Tapa or penitent who practiseth penance, who renounceth slander, falsehood, envy, and jealousy, who is the same in woe as in weal. When a deceitful and_ ill-conducted man pretendeth to be a Tapa, his counterfeit gilding is soon discovered. Wherefore it is better to renounce evil deeds, falsehood, and deception.’
The Guru again added the following :—
He whose heart is false acteth falsely ;
He gocth about for money, yet he calleth himself a peniCent:
Led astray by superstition he frequenteth all places of pilgrimage.
How shall a penitent obtain the supreme reward ?
By the favour of the Guru a few are sincere :
Nanak, such penitents shall obtain salvation at home.
The true penitent :—
He is a penitent who performeth the penance
Of remembering the Word on meeting the true Guru. The service of the true Guru is the acceptable penance : Nanak, such a penitent shall obtain honour in God’s court.