Stories:
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Shabad
Hazare |
A
cousin of Guru Ram Das came to Amritsar from Lahore especially
to ask the Guru to attend his son's wedding. The Guru
said, "I will not be able to go because I can't leave
my duties as Guru. Perhaps I can send one of my Sons instead."
Guru Ram Das had three sons: Prithi Chand, called Prithia,
Mahadev, and Arjan Mal. Prithia was in charge of collecting
donations, of which he secretly took a portion for himself.
When the Guru asked him to attend the wedding, Prithia
said, "I have to take care of the collections. And I hate
going to weddings." Actually, he was afraid if he were
away from the Guru for too long, he might not be appointed
the Guru's successor. Having no luck with Prithia, the
Guru then turned to Mahadev. Mahadev lived his life in
meditation and said, "I have no desire to involve myself
in worldly affairs." Finally, the Guru asked Arjan if
he would go. Arjan said, "I only desire to do what you
wish." The Guru was very pleased. He asked Arjan to spend
some time in Lahore to share the Guru's teach
ings with the Sikhs there.
Any donations he received were to be given to the free
kitchen to feed the poor. The last words he said to Arjan
were, "You should stay in Lahore until I send for you
by letter."
Arjan stayed in Lahore after the wedding and grew to be
much loved by his relations and the Sikhs there. Still,
all the time he was there, his heart was with his father,
Guru Ram Das. When he expressed his longing to his new
friends, they suggested he write a letter asking that
he be able to return. Arjan wrote a beautiful poem saying,
"My soul longs for the Guru like the pied-cuckoo longs
for the rain of the monsoon. I am always a sacrifice unto
the True Guru." He sent this letter with one of the Sikhs
who had come with him to Lahore. When the messenger reached
Amritsar, Prithia saw him and suspected that he had a
letter for the Guru from Arj an. He said,"I will take
the letter to the Guru myself." When he read the letter
he knew that it was so beautiful that it would move the
Guru's heart in Arjan's favor. So he hid the letter in
his coat and sent the Sikh back to Arjan telling him that
the Guru said he should stay in Lahore until sent for.
When Arjan received this message, he knew that Prithia,
and not his father, had sent it. He then wrote a second
letter with strict orders that it be given only to the
Guru. In it, he wrote, "I love the sight of the Guru's
face and the sound of his words, and it has been long
since I have seen him. I am ever a sacrifice unto the
True Guru." This time, Prithia grabbed the letter out
of the messenger's hands, and grew more angry than before.
Again, he hid the letter in his coat. He sent another
message that Arjan was to remain in Lahore until sent
for. When Arjan heard this from the messenger, he wrote
a third letter, this time putting a number "3" on it.
He told the messenger to be on his guard against Prithia
and to give the letter to Guru Ram Das himself. The messenger
waited until Prithia had to go home, and then quickly
reached the Guru and gave him the letter. In it, Arjan
said, "Each second away from the Guru is like an age.
I cannot sleep without a sight of the Guru. I am ever
a sacrifice unto him." On this letter, the Guru saw the
number "3", and knew instantly that he had not received
the other two letters. The instantly that he had not received
the other two letters. The messenger related the story
to him, and the Guru grew very angry. He called for Prithia
and asked him three times if he knew anything about the
other letters. Prithia denied it. The Guru could read
his thoughts, and told the messenger to go get the coat
in Prithia's house. When he returned with it, the two
missing letters were in the pocket. The Guru charged Prithia
with lying in front of the whole congregation, and laid
bare his disobedience to the Guru.
At once, the Guru sent Bhai Buddha to Lahore with a carriage
to bring Arjan home as soon as possible. When Arjan was
finally united with his father, he placed his head on
the Guru's chest against his long beard. He remained that
way for many moments, while the Guru held him gently in
his arms. The Guru then said that as he had written three
stanzas, he should write a fourth to finish the poem.
Arjan wrote the last verse saying, "It is my good fortune
to have met the True Guru, and I have found the Immortal
God in my own home. My greatest desire is to never be
separated from him again, not even for an instant. I am
ever a sacrifice to the True Guru." Upon hearing this,
the Guru was very pleased. He said, "The Guruship is passed
on because of merit. As only the one who is most humble
can claim it, I grant it to you." The Guru then sent for
the coconut and five paise and placed them before Arjan.
He descended from his throne and seated Arjan upon it
in front of the whole sangat. Bhai Buddha pressed the
tilak on Arjan's forehead as a symbol that the light of
Guru Ram Das had now passed to Arjan.
The poem that Arjan wrote is called Shabd Hazare. It is
so beautiful that it is worth the singing of a thousand
shabds.
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