11-36 Pandhehri, Alisher, Jogay, Bhoopali

Satguru ji and the travelling vaheer then arrived in Pandhehri and stood outside of the village.  A Sikh was sent to the village to meet the people there and find a place where Guru Sahib, and the people along with him, would be able to stay.  The Sikh said to the people: “Vahiguru is standing outside of the village.  Tell us where we may have Guru ji stay.  Guru ji will stay the night and leave in the morning.  Come and do his Darshan, which will destroy your problems.”  The people of the village heard this and said: “there is a potter that lives close by here.  This has always been our tradition: any time a person travels by here, and wants to stay the night, we always send them to the potter’s house.  If you wish to stay the night.  Go to his home.”  The Sikh went back to Guru Sahib and said: “these people are fools that live here.  They don’t know about your glory and told me something very unorthodox about staying the night.  They told me to go to the house of the potter to ask for a place to stay.  We should go to another village and stay the night there.  These people are manmukhs (slaves of their own minds) and unfortunate.  They don’t know of the great opportunity they are missing by not serving you.  It’s like a poor person getting the Kalapbrish and not serving it nor achieving anything from it.”  Satguru ji heard this and headed on ahead.  The foolish people of Pandhehri didn’t think of Guru ji’s greatness.  The vaheer later came to a village called Alisher and set up camp outside the village.  Guru ji rested in peace.

After Guru Sahib’s departure from Pandhehri, some of the villagers from Pandhehri who had heard about Guru Sahib’s miracles in Handiyay, began to tell the others of the village what they had done was not nice.  They said: “he is the complete being.  The Guru.  He blesses everyone.”  The people of the village said: “we didn’t go to meet him.  We didn’t serve him with faith.”  The people were regretting their actions.  One said: “Guru Sahib is still not very far from here and we should go to see him.  Let’s all go.  What should we take for him?  What will he take for his Darshan?  What gift will make him happy so he can bless us?”  One of the people said: “I can tell you what I have heard.  We can take a pouch of some Takkas (coins).  We can also take a clump of gurrh (sugar clumps made from the juice of sugar canes).  He will be happy with this and give us his Darshan.  He will give us back the gurrh for us to eat.  We will all go together for his Darshan.  I have heard this from other people.  In Handiyay, people were sick and Guru ji cured them.  Guru ji just said the words and the people were cured.”  The people heard this and so, it was then decided that they were going to take some gurrh.  They collected some Takkas (coins) and a lump of gurrh.  They all headed off towards the Guru with some money and gurrh.  They had no wisdom of the afterlife.  When they reached about half way, they met a man who was coming from the Guru’s camp.  They asked him: “where are you coming from?  Where has the Guru set up his camp?  If you have done his Darshan, tell us.  How should we do his Darshan?  What does he take for his Darshan?  How does he speak when you sit with him?”  The person said: “I did the Darshan of Guru ji.  I didn’t bring anything though.  He didn’t ask for anything.  I just went to go see Guru Sahib and I got Prashaad without giving anything.  The Parshad was brought by someone which was distributed.  I had some too.  Many people came without any gifts and still got food.  Many people come and go.  Guru Sahib has an awesome personality; he doesn’t care for gifts.  He has set up his camp near Alisher.  He doesn’t care about giving or taking.  He sits and gives his Darshan.”   The people of Pandhehri were really happy to hear and sat down in the same spot they were standing.  They took the clumps of gurrh and divided them amongst themselves and ate them.  They were greedy for sweets and thought it was good that they first had their sweets and then went to visit the Guru.  They said: “it’s good we found out first.  We will eat the gurrh first and then do the Darshan.  If we didn’t meet the person, we would have had to give the gurrh.  Which would have been distributed.  Let’s not take the money with us.  Let’s bury it here in the ground.  He may ask for the money if he sees it.  We won’t be able to hide it.”  These people were poor from their hearts.  They did not like to give.  They were living like animals.   All they cared about was themselves.  They decided not to take the money either.  They dug a hole and hid the money there.  They then went to go see Guru Sahib.

When they met Guru Sahib, they folded their hands, bowed and sat down in his gathering.  The people started to talk aloud amongst themselves.  They made up a story of something opposite and started to say: “wow, what we have heard about Satguru ji, that person was lying.  The one that said that you have to bring Guru ji gifts in order to get his Darshan.  Nobody talked about gifts here.  We didn’t bring anything and we still got to see Guru Sahib.  We got his Darshan for free, whose glory has spread in the world.”  The people sat for about an hour.  After a while, the people got up and went back home. 

The people of Alisher had now heard as well that Guru Sahib was outside their village.  They said: “Vahiguru has come, the Master of the world.  Many are coming to do his Darshan.  They are doing his Seva in many ways.  We should go see him too.  We will go to his Dhera and do his Darshan.  The great being has come close to our home.  If we don’t go to see him, that would be a bad thing.”  They wanted to go see Guru Sahib as well and began to discuss amongst themselves as to what they should take along with them.  They said: “what should we take for him, while doing his Darshan?  Let’s gather something and then go to do his Darshan.”  One person said: “The people from Pandhehri came.  What did the people of Pandhehri give?  I have heard they gave nothing.  We should do the same.  We are like one big Panchayat.  We are no less.  We won’t take anything either.”  Another person then said: “I will tell you what those people did.  They didn’t bring anything for Guru ji.  They did Darshan with empty hands.  They met Guru ji.  Guru ji didn’t say anything about gifts.  They did Darshan for free.”  The other people said: “we aren’t any less.  They did Darshan for free so we will go empty-handed as well.”  They all decided to take nothing as well.  The unwise fools didn’t think of Guru ji’s glory.  They went to go see Guru Sahib empty-handed.  Guru Sahib met them and stayed quiet. 

Guru ji stayed one night.  The next day, Guru Sahib went to the village “Jogay.”  The Vaheer set up the Dhera.  The Prabhoo sat in joy.  There was a cow with Guru ji that provided milk.  Guru ji looked towards the cow and said to one of the servants: “its noon now.  Nobody from the village has come yet.  No grass has come for the cow.  Nobody came with love.  Are there any humans living here or not?  It seems as though the village is empty.  I can’t see anyone coming or going from this village.”  The Sikhs heard this and said: “it is as you say.  Everyone in this village are without virtues.  We can’t stay the night here in peace.”  Satguru ji heard this and had the Vaheer leave the place.  The Sikhs and the Vaheer set off.

The person who established Jogay, his name was Juggraj.  He was the owner and was not home.  The father of the leader met Guru Sahib as Guru ji was leaving.  He saw the big vaheer and came to pay his respects.  He bowed to Guru ji’s lotus feet.  He said to Guru ji: “go to the village called Raleeya to stay the night.  Set up your Dhera there and stay in joy.  Stay the night and leave in the morning.”  Guru ji heard this and said: “no, we will not go to Raleeya.  We are going to a village called Bhoopal.  We will spend the night there.  You take care of your Jogay village.  It will be undefeatable.  Jogay would not be able to be won.”  Guru ji then went to Bhoopali and spent the night in peace.  Everyone ate and slept the night.  In the morning, Guru ji wanted to leave. 

Even though the father of Juggraj did not serve Guru ji, Guru Sahib still gave him a blessing for bowing.  The Guru is great and blesses all.  The people of Pandhehri, Alisher and Jogay did not understand the importance of serving guests.  Guru Sahib’s main teachings were: to serve your guests well, feed travellers and provide shelter to people who need it.  Till today, the people of Punjab follow the teachings of the Gurus and regard their guests as if they were Akaal Purakh.  Guru Sahib taught this hospitality by living it.  They showed all the Sikhs the path of love, devotion and charity.  Accumulating great amounts of wealth for yourself was not the aim of life.  A Sikh’s duty is to serve the world and to serve anyone who comes to your home with great respect and abundance.

11-37 Kheeva, Bhikhi

After Bhoopal, Guru Tegh Bahadhur Rai ji, the king of the universe, casually came to Kheeva village and set up a camp there.  The village was really big.  There was a farmer that lived there named Singha.  Guru ji stayed there for about 10 days.  Singha would come to see Guru Sahib every day and sit for about an hour or so and then leave.  He would have discussions with Guru ji.  One day, Singha came, sat down and got up all of a sudden after a few minutes.  He started walking away.  Guru Sahib asked: “where are you going so quickly today?  What task do you have to do at home today?”  Singha responded: “Guru ji, I have no task to do.  There is a marriage engagement at one of the person’s houses I know in our village.  They are going to give out sweets and I need to get my share.  Many villagers are gathering there to get their sweets.  I don’t want to be late.  That’s why I am leaving now.”  The Ture Guru spoke in a very loving voice: “from now on, don’t go to anyone’s home.  You will get double the sweets delivered to your home.”  Singha obeyed.  Singha was happy with what Guru Sahib said and came back to sit near Guru Sahib.  Singha said: “you are a great Saint.   People like me are the servants of your servants.  What you say from your mouth is guaranteed to be true very quickly.” 

Over at the house with the engagement event, the hosts were giving out sweets.  Everyone received their share except for Singha.  The hosts began to wonder as to why Singha had not come to take his share.  They said: “why hasn’t Singha come?  He won’t get the sweets.”  One of the attendees then spoke: “he’s gone outside the village where the Guru ji has set up camp.  He is useless.  He just sits there doing nothing all day long.  He always spends his time sitting with Saints and Fakirs and does nothing.  He doesn’t get anything to eat or wear from them.  He just spends his whole time there till evening. That’s his nature.  He sits with saints all day long.”  The Chaudhary of the village heard this and said within the whole village: “to sit with Sadhoos, Saints and Fakirs is a good thing.  All of you should understand this.  Do this from now on: put aside his share and give him double the amount.  If he doesn’t come to get it, then take the sweets to his home and give it to him.”  From that day onwards, people began to give Singha double the number of sweets during weddings.  Singha was the only one from that village to go visit Guru Sahib.  The villagers were without good Karma.  Only Singha got Guru ji’s blessings and the rest of the village did not.  The villagers did not do any Seva.  They were not rewarded.  They couldn’t get any of the blessings from Satguru ji.

After a while, the Master, Guru Sahib, left Kheeva.  As he travelled about 5 km, the Sangat of Peshawar came to see him.  They had been looking for Guru Sahib for a while since they heard of his ascension to the Gurta Ghaddi.  They had been asking around and following the trail Guru ji travelled.  They had a lot of love for Guru Sahib.  They were carrying many gifts with them.  They had thirst for the Guru’s Darshan.  Guru ji sensed the love of the Sikhs and so he set up camp in an open area within the forest to accommodate for the Sangat.  There were many trees there with a lot of shade.  The Dhera was set there.  Guru ji got off his horse there.  The Sikhs set Guru ji’s seat under a Beri tree.  Guru Sahib’s seat was set and a square flooring was set to sit on.  Guru Sahib had a shawl on and sat down on his seat.  His Darshan would make the pain run away.  His face was as bright as the moon.  He was handsome and radiant.  His words were very pleasing to hear, like Amrit.  His eyes were full of compassion and full of blessings.  His beautiful beard would surround his whole face and when we would smile and speak, it gave a person a very deep sense of peace that was unmatched to anything else.  The Sangat from Peshawar came and touched Guru Sahib’s feet.  They folded their hands and bowed.  They would then take their hands and rub them on their own faces as a sign of devotion.  They said: “our life is now a success.”  There was a deep feeling of contentment and satisfaction in their hearts.  They brought many gifts and money to present to Guru ji and had their Ardaas done.  Very expensive clothes were brought.  They bowed and did Guru ji’s Parkarma.  They praised Guru ji in front of him.  Guru Sahib gave them many blessings upon showing their love.  The wishes of the Sikhs were fulfilled.  Guru ji saw that the Sikhs were full with love.  They had been travelling for many days and were tired.  They finally got Guru ji’s Darshan.  Guru ji gave them hope and looked at them with a blessing sight.    

Seeing the great crowd, there was a farmer close by who decided to come and see what the big gathering was about.  When he saw Guru ji, he bowed his head and said to Guru Sahib: “I was ploughing my fields that are nearby.  I saw many people here and was inspired to have your Darshan.  I have brought some lassi from my home.  I would like you to drink it.”  Guru Sahib ji said: “I have seen your devotion and accepted it.  You go ahead and drink the lassi yourself, since you have been working.”  The farmer said again: “Guru ji, you drink some as well.  Please bless me with your Divine Vision.”  The farmer insisted over and over again.  Satguru ji then blessed the Lassi and said to the Sangat: “have the lassi.  It will quench your thirst.”  After the whole Sangat had Lassi, it still didn’t finish.  Guru ji then looked at the farmer and said: “there will be an abundance of yogurt and lassi in your home.  You will never have any shortage.  You have served the Sangat, for this reason, there will never be a shortage in your home.”  The Sangat was given respect. 

Guru Sahib continued his travels from this place and brought the whole Sangat.  Guru ji came upon a village named “Bhikhi.”  The Vaheer was moving slowly.  The Master of the Universe came there.  They set up camp in front of the village.  After a day, some of the sangat from Peshawar decided to go back home.  The Sikhs and their elders were given Siropas and given permission to go back home.  The Masands that were with them were also given Dastaars and given leave.  Everyone left with Guru ji’s joy.  They all left to go back home. 

Guru Sahib spent many days in Bhikhi.  There lived a great Sardaar named Desoo (Des Raj Chahal) in Bhikhi.  The clan of Chahals were with him.  It had been two days that Guru ji was there and Desoo did not come to see Guru ji.  Desoo was a devotee of a Muslim sect that followed the Sakhi Sarvar.  He used to make Rotes (big Rotis) and distribute them to the “Bhirai,” the priest of the sect.  The followers would wear the “Khoondi” of the Sarvar around their necks.  They had a lot of faith in the Sarvar.  Although, Desoo and his community were Hindus, they followed a Muslim sect.  Kavi Santokh Singh ji says: “this was a cult in those times that would encourage Hindus to go against their faith.  The Hindus prioritized the traditions of the Turks and did not know of the Parmeshwar.  They were fools, following the wrong path.  The Pandits followed this sect as well.  What is to say of the others then?  They followed Gugga, Meera, and the Sultan.  They left their own Dharma and followed the way of others.  How would one know of the Parmeshwar?  The Hindus lost their own way.  They let go of their wisdom. 

Within the village of Bhikhi, there were Sikhs as well.  They wanted to convince Desoo to go see Guru Tegh Bahadhur Sahib ji.  They explained: “he is on the Throne of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji.  If you want to be in peace, go and meet him.  His anger and joy do not go without results.  He is the giver of the blessings and curses.  He can give joy and pain to the Devatas, what can we say about the humans?”  In this way, the Sikhs spoke to Desoo.  They convinced him to meet Guru ji.  Desoo got ready to go see Guru ji.  He gathered some gifts and went to see Guru ji.  He bowed to Guru ji’s feet when he saw him.

11-38 Des Raj, Khyala Graam, Damdama, Mor

When the Sikhs convinced him, Desoo got ready to go see Guru ji.  He took many people with him when he came to Guru ji’s court.  He came the third day from the time Guru ji had arrived.  He brought gifts and bowed down.  He put his head on top of Guru ji’s feet.  He spoke humble words as he bowed to Guru ji’s feet.  Guru ji, the warrior of the words, noticing his devotion, said to Desoo: “welcome Des Raj become the “Des Raj,” King of the world, and have a seat.  If you have great devotion in your heart then you can enter the great house of Akaal Purakh.  You will be the King of the whole country if you are to earn the Sikhi of Guru Nanak Dev ji.  Why are you wearing the Khoondi of Sakhi Sarvar around your neck?  What benefit does this give you?  Tell me.”  Listening to Guru ji, Desoo spoke: “this Khoondi of Sakhi Sarvar protects us day and night.  It makes our cows give thousands of calves.  It makes our milk and progeny grow.  This gives us wealth.  Our whole kingdom believes in this.  We present Rotes for the Sakhi Sarvar by folding our hands and bowing our heads.”  Listening to Desoo, Guru Sahib spoke: “according to the Hindu faith, this has no merit.  This is like the fire for the jungle of Hindu Dharma.  Why are you ruining your afterlife?  Why do you not recite the Satnam in your heart?  When your soul goes to the afterlife, the Jumms will capture you.  Who will help you then?  The Dharmaraj’s stick weighs heavy on all.  Who will give you hope then?  There is none other than the Satguru and the Satnam that will protect you.  Nothing else will be able to save you.  If you want to be radiant and praised in the world, you have to kill your enemies first.  If you wish to be known in the world then first kill your own vices of the mind.  Take these 5 arrows from me.  They will do all the tasks in the world for you.”  Hearing Satguru ji’s words, Desoo was really happy and satisfied.  Desoo broke the Khoondi of the Sakhi Sarvar around his neck and threw it away.  He took the 5 arrows from Guru ji and bowed to him.  He was happy and had faith.  Desoo said to his people: “I was forgotten.  Till today we were following an Islamic cult, after being Hindus.  We didn’t know the tradition of the Hindu Dharma.  From now on, I will follow the Hindu religion to which I was born.  We were feeding the Turks first and then eating their leftover after.  We did not remember Ram or Raheem, who will help us in the afterlife.  Now I will stay in the sanctuary of the Satguru.  I will do good deeds now.”  Desoo then bowed to Guru ji and went home.

Desoo did Guru ji’s Seva from then on.  He would bring a lot of milk, yoghurt and sweets to the Guru’s camp.  He sent other food items.  He would sit with the Guru everyday and listen to his words.  He did Guru ji’s Darshan and made his eyes successful.  After a few days, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadhur ji, the king, decided to leave.  He got ready to leave.  Guru ji told Desoo to stay firm in his faith.  Guru Sahib said: “don’t waiver.  Stay determined.  Don’t regard these as mere arrows that I have given you.  They are the 5 “Birs” (warriors) in your hands.  The powers in all the directions will not be able to withstand the power of these Birs.  You will be able to win any one in battle.  The enemy won’t be able to stand in front of you.  The enemy will be destroyed along with the enemy’s army.”  Saying such blessed words, the son of Guru Hargobind ji, the warrior, went forth.

Guru Sahib then went to Khyala where the Chahal clan lived in great numbers.  Guru ji set up his Dhera with the Vaheer.  The Compassionate One rested.  None of the people of the Jaats came to see Guru Sahib.  They did not do Guru ji’s Seva, not even a little bit.  They had bad Karma.  They would only be left with regret afterwards.  They couldn’t recognize Guru ji’s greatness even though Guru ji came to their home.  There was a Brahman that came to see Guru ji and did a lot of Seva.  He had a deep love for Guru ji by his body, mind and words.  He folded his hands and sat with Guru ji to listen to his words.  One day, Guru Sahib was casually taking a walk and the Brahman was also walking behind Guru ji with his hands folded.  He had a lot of devotion towards Guru ji.  He saw Guru ji as the Parmeshwar.  There were other people there as well.  Guru Sahib said to the Pandit: “after some years when I leave, there will be a great bodh tree here.  There will be a well here that everyone will use.  Many people will use the pure water.”  Guru ji spoke those blessed words.  Kavi Santokh Singh ji says: “I have visited the tree and the well.  Everyone knows about them in the area.  They are still there in Khyala.  Many people do the Darshan of the tree and the well.”  In this way Guru ji stayed in Khyala.  Guru ji blessed the Brahman with joy.  He was really happy with the Brahmin.  Guru ji freed him from this world and in the next.  Guru ji then travelled towards a village called Mor near Damdama.

When the Vaheer reached Mor, Guru ji wanted to set up the Dhera in a nice clean area.  There was a thorny jungle there.  Many bushes were full of thorns.  Guru Sahib had the thorny bushes removed and everyone entered.  When Guru ji was about to set up the Dhera, the people of Mor came and stopped the Vaheer saying: “this place is not a good place.  There is a great Jhand tree between the thorny shed. It has many leaves.  On top of that tree, there lives a Pisaach, a ghost, who has lived here for a long time.  The Pisaach scares the whole village.  You should not stay here or this ghost will kill you.  If someone disrespects him, he kills them.  We do his Pooja, fearing him.  That’s why we are telling you this.  Set up your Dhera somewhere else and stay with peace.  We wanted to warn you so you do not have any regrets.”  Hearing about the situation, Guru Sahib spoke: “the Pisaach that lives here, he’s only here till today.  He will go somewhere else.  The Devatas will live here now who will give everyone peace.”

Satguru ji had the Dhera set up.  When night fell, everyone fell asleep.  The ghost in the tree came down to meet Guru Sahib.  He folded his hands and said: “Guru Sahib, you are omnipotent and all-powerful.  You are the mine of all the virtues.  All of us used to live in Goindwal before.  Gonda Khatri had made a false oath and lied.  Because of that, his land had become uninhabitable.  Then, we came to live there because of that.  Gonda came to Guru Angad Dev ji and asked him to bless his land.  Guru Angad Dev ji gave Guru Amardas ji his cane and told him to clear the land of evil spirits.  He said to Guru Amardas ji: “the area of Goindwal has been in ruins because of a false oath on the Dharma.  You are to go and establish a new village there.  Take my cane.  There are Lakhs of Bhoots and Prayts there.  They will see my cane and run away from it.”  Guru Amardas ji obeyed the command and came to Goindwal.  He made us all run away.  We then ran for our lives and came to the Jungle Desh.  Some of us settled in Bathinda and the surrounding places.  You have now come to this land.  We are in pain.  We fear you.  Please tell us Guru Sahib, where shall we go now?  Please be compassionate and tell us where to go.”  Guru Sahib said: “the time will come.  After many years a great being will come to this land.  He will enter Bathinda and kick out the Daynts, making it inhabitable.  He will tell you where to go.”  The ghost bowed to Guru ji and left.  Sri Guru ji laid down on his bed and slept in peace.  He slept the night in joy.  The next day, Guru ji woke up.

11-39 The end of Des Raj

Guru Maharaj ji spent many days in the village Mor and blessed the Sikhs in the area.  The Sangat was blessed as they saw Guru ji.  The tasks of the Sikhs were completed by the blessings of Guru ji.  A Pipal tree grew where the Jhand tree was.  How could Guru ji’s words go without fruition.  The Pipal was considered a Devata.  The Devata now lived there as there was Gurbani recited.  Pipal trees are considered beneficial in India and are considered like the Gods of heaven.  It gave joy to all.

One day, Guru Sahib came and sat under the Pipal tree.  There was a beautiful bed laid out for Guru ji to sit on with beautiful blankets on it.  Guru ji sat on top of the bed and gave his Darshan to the Sikhs.  The Panchayat (leaders) of the village came to do Guru ji’s Darshan.  Blankets were laid out for them to sit on.  They did Guru ji’s Darshan.  The Sikhs did their Ardaas after placing their gifts in front of Guru ji.

Now listen to Desoo’s story.  Listen to how his faith broke.  To test his faith, some pain came upon his body.  Desoo who had rejected the ways of the Sakhi Sarvar cult, developed an illness after a few days that Guru ji came.  The illness gave him a very high fever.  Desoo’s wife, Dhai, had considered Desoo as a fallen member of their cult and considered him as someone who had lost his way.  Dhai got angry at Desoo and scolded him: “where did you learn this Mantra from?  What is this new path that you are following?  Your elders and ancestors followed Sakhi Sarvar.  Sakhi Sarvar gives us milk and children.  The one who fulfills the wishes of thousands, how did you leave him?  You have broken the Khoondi of Sakhi Sarvar that was around your neck.  Who is this fake saint that gave you these arrows?  This is why you are now suffering with this illness.  You have lost your way.”  She spoke such words to her husband.  She kept influencing her husband to follow the Sakhi Sarvar.  For 2 days, Desoo kept his faith.  The wife kept scolding him.  On the third day however, his wife had convinced him to come back to their faith.   She kept talking about the pain and scared him.  The one with the blind faith listened to his wife and tied the Khoondi of Sakhi Sarvar around his neck again.  He called the Bhirai and cooked Rotes for him.  He folded his hands in front of the Bhirai and regrated his actions of leaving the cult.  He prayed to the Sakhi Sarvar for forgiveness.  Desoo’s wife deceitfully took the 5 arrows that were given to Desoo by Guru ji and broke them into many pieces. 

Guru ji sensed the disrespect.  Guru ji was sitting in the village Mor.  He sensed that Desoo had lost his faith in the Guru.  As Guru Sahib was sitting with the Panchayat of the Mor village, Guru Sahib spoke: “Desoo, the unwise, did a blasphemous act.  I had instilled the 5 Birs within the 5 arrows I gave to Desoo.  He did not keep them by his side.  Desoo gave the arrows to his wife and had her break them.  He hasn’t felt the wrath of his sin yet.  The 5 Birs, fearing me, have returned to me from the arrows.”  There were many people sitting in the gathering that were relatives of Desoo.  They stood up in front of Guru Sahib with their hands folded and asked Guru Sahib to forgive Desoo: “Sri Guru ji, please forgive him this time.  We will go to convince him.  He will come back to your shelter.  You are the home of patience and Dharma.  You can do anything you wish in an instance.”  The relatives spoke words of requests. 

The relatives went towards Bhikhi village and confronted Desoo and told him what happened.  They asked: “why did you break the arrows of the Guru?”  Desoo denied any such doing: “someone lied to Guru ji.  I have done no such thing.  I am still a Sikh of the Guru.”  The Panchayat that came to convince Desoo, came back to Guru Sahib’s camp and told Guru Sahib: “he still has faith in you.  He still follows your Sikhi.  He doesn’t believe in anyone else.”  Guru Sahib heard this and said: “he is lying to you.  He told you what you wanted to hear.  He listened to his wife.  His wife broke the arrows.  The fool did not understand the glory of the Guru.”  The same people went back to Desoo to confront him again.  They told Desoo what Guru ji said: “what you have done in the home, in hiding, Guru ji knows everything.  He knows every heart.  What will happen with what you say?  Go to the feet of the Guru and ask for forgiveness.”  Desoo’s wife, Dhai, heard this and entered the courtyard.  She expressed her anger to her husband again.  She said: “I won’t let you leave the house now.”  She did not let Desoo go with the Panchayat.  The Panchayat tried to talk sense into Desoo for a couple of days and eventually came back to Guru Sahib.  The Panchayat bowed to Guru ji and made a request: “you are the treasure of forgiveness, please bless Desoo and forgive his sins.  You know our faults.  Please don’t say anything.  You are the one that purifies the sinners.  Spread your joy to all like a raincloud.”  Guru Sahib heard the Panchayat and spoke to them: “you have gone to him twice and came back twice as well.  Desoo’s area will remain.  I had made him into a fertile forest from being a baron field.  He has now returned to being the baron unfertile land he originally was.  He destroyed his family.  He will have no progeny remaining.  One by one his family members will die off and there will be no heirs.  Desoo will have to suffer the consequences of his sins.  He will be tried in the court of Akaal Purakh.  He will be punished by the Jumms.  Nobody will mention of helping him.  As citizens are looted without a leader, that is how one is in front of the messengers of Yamma when there is no Guru to protect you.  Only the omnipotent master can help you.”  In this way, Guru ji said a curse which struck like the Bajjar (the destroyer of mountains) of Inder.

In some days, Desoo died and his son, “Gainda,” become the Chaudhary.  After a few months, Gainda ruled his father’s land.  Gainda’s wife had a brother.  The brother-in-law had murdered a person and Gainda confronted him with anger.  Upon a brief conflict, Gainda had struck and killed his brother-in-law with a spear.  The other brothers-in-law heard this and got really angry.  They got together and went to Gainda’s home in the middle of the night like thieves.  They came to where Gainda was asleep.  They stabbed and killed Gainda in his home while he was sleeping.  They cut Gainda to pieces with their swords.  When the brothers tried to run away, Gainda’s armed men heard the commotion and ran after to attack the brothers-in-law.  They fought for a half hour and killed the brothers-in-law to avenge their Chaudhary’s death. 

When Gainda was killed, Gainda had a young son who was poisoned by his own cousins over the land disputes.  In this way, Des Raj’s roots were pulled.  Nobody from Desoo’s family remained.  This was the result of having jealousy towards Guru ji. 

Now listen to the Katha of Satguru ji.  Guru Sahib was staying in Mor.  5 km away there was a pond, where the Compassionate Guru sat.  The Sangat that came for Guru ji’s Darshan, Guru Sahib ordered them for the Pond to be made into a big Sarovar.  Guru ji blessed them all a lot, who did the digging.  Guru ji was the Master of the 4 gifts (Dharma, Arth, Kamna and Moksha).  The Sikhs all did their Ardaas to Guru ji.  They bowed their heads to Guru ji’s feet.  A big Sarovar was then made there.  Preparations were made for pure water to gather there.  After staying there for many days, Guru ji set forth from there.  Guru Sahib, the giver of joy, travelled to Khaanay and then to Damdama (Sabo ki Talwandi).

11-40 Thief of Soolisar, Baray Village

In this way, the wise ones did Guru ji’s Seva and received many blessings and boons.  When someone showed disrespect, the fools would suffer the wrath of a curse.  Guru ji then travelled to Soolisar and set up the Dhera after finding a nice place.  The sun set and it was night time.  Every one went to sleep after dinner.  There were 2 thieves who had been travelling along side the crowd but away from the Sangat.  One was a Hindu and the other was a Muslim.  The unfortunate fools had been following the vaheer for many days.  They had their eyes on the Guru ji’s horse and wanted to steal it.  They were hiding near Guru ji’s tent.  They were looking for an opportunity to seal Guru ji’s horse.  As they were hiding one night, they saw a lion come towards Guru ji Dhera.  The lion encircled the camp of Guru ji, the destroyer of sin, and bowed at each corner.  It bowed to the Dhera and went back to the jungle.  The thieves saw this miracle.  The Muslim thief then said to the other: “this Peer is a true Saint.  One should worship such a person.  An animal just came and bowed towards his camp and left.  He did a Parkarma and bowed to the Peer.  The Peer is definitely a very powerful being.  I am not going to rob this camp.  I am going to bow and leave.  If you want what’s best for you then you should leave too and find another place to rob.”  The other thief, the Hindu, waived off his friend’s statement and said: “why are you being superstitious?  How do you know the lion came to bow?  How is that a miracle?  We have been following the vaheer for many days now and tonight is a very dark night.  There are clouds out and it is the dark phase of the moon.  It is perfect for stealing the horse.  How can we leave the horse now?  We will take the horse today.  Don’t doubt anything.  The horse is expensive.  Both of us will take it.  Once I mount the horse, everything will be fine.  I won’t let it go.  I will run away with it.  Why are you worrying so much?  Wait a half hour.  I will take the horse.”  The Muslim thief did not agree with the Hindu.  He folded his hands and bowed towards Guru ji.  He felt a deep fear in his heart and went home while the Hindu thief waited there. 

As midnight came near, the Hindu thief went close to where the horse was tied.  A very light rain began.  It was quite dark.  The night guardsman then went under cover.  The wind was from the east, which makes one sleepy.  The guard fell asleep.  The thief mounted the horse by putting the reins on.  He started to ride slowly through the camp.  As he got closer to Guru Ji’s tent, Guru ji spoke: “oh guard of the horses, are you asleep?  I can hear a horse trotting.  Is the horse still in its stable or not?  It is quite dark so check with your hands.”  The guard heard Guru ji speak and opened his eyes.  He went to the place of the horse and noticed that the horse was gone.  He quickly started to shout: “Guru ji, it looks like a thief has taken your horse.  It had started to rain so I went into the tent for cover.  The thief didn’t take long to take the horse.  Some fool has committed this sin.  He didn’t think of the respect for the Satguru.  He is without good Karma in this world and in the next.  It looks like the thief did not get far as it was just a little while ago that I took cover.  Guru Sahib, please do something so that the horse returns by itself.  You must punish the thief otherwise the other people of this region will stop and rob us of everything we have.  You are omnipotent in every way.  It is not good if the thief is not punished.  The thief will come again at night and steal something else, being used to this.  If you don’t show him your great power then we won’t be able to survive in these foreign lands.”  Listening to the guard’s panic-struck voice, Guru ji responded by giving him hope: “don’t worry.  Whoever has done this deed, their own karma will give them what they deserve.  The thief has gone north.  Go and follow him.  You can catch him.  If you think it’s night time, then go in the morning.  My horse won’t go anywhere.  it will be back here by morning, in its physical form.”  The guard heard Guru ji’s blessed words.  The people heard the commotion and came out to check.  They heard Guru ji speak and so some sat with patience.  Some went to sleep and some remained awake.  They wanted to catch the thief.  As they spoke, it was soon morning. 

When it was morning, Satguru ji pointed towards the direction where the thief had gone.  The servants understood Guru ji’s instructions.  The servants ran about a mile and saw both the thief and the horse standing.  The thief was holding the reins of the horse.  The foolish thief was standing with his head lowered.  The Sikhs grabbed the horse and also took the thief to be tried in front of Guru Sahib.  They brought both of them back.  They came to Guru ji and said: “Guru ji, he was about a mile away.  We were wondering why he stopped only a mile away and didn’t go home.”  Sri Guru Tegh Bahadhur Rai ji heard this and looked at the thief.  He asked the thief: “well, tell me the truth.  Why didn’t you take the horse home?  You are naïve and stayed sitting close to me Dhera.”  The thief then began to speak: “there were two of us that came to rob your horse.  My friend, who was a Muslim, left me because he saw a lion come and bow towards your camp.  He told me that we shouldn’t rob this vaheer because there is a really powerful saint here.  He bowed and left for home while I stayed and took your horse.  I opened the horse and put the reins in its mouth.  I mounted it and left.  As I reached about a mile away, I had became blind and could no longer tell where I was going.  I didn’t know where I was going.  I thought of my friend’s words.  He saw the lion bow towards you.  He was a Turk but he figured out your glory.  I didn’t listen to him.  He went back home.  I became blind and I regrated my actions.  I was in doubt.  Since I couldn’t see, I was hopeless and so I stayed where I was.  In the morning, your Sikhs grabbed me with anger and brought me to you.  I was a fool who sinned.  As I came near you, Guru Sahib, your radiance gave me back my vision.  I am a thief.  Please punish me, Guru Sahib.  I am your prisoner.  My unwise wisdom led me to the wrong path.  I am without good karma and couldn’t understand your greatness.  Your radiance is like the sun in this world.”  Guru Sahib spoke: “you rob different places and earn bad karma.  You earn pain for yourself.  This was the Dhera of the Fakirs.  You didn’t think about that.  There are many types of sins.  The sins give you pain.  There is a difference between the sins.  There are smaller than small sins and bigger than big sins.  To steal is really bad.  You rob poor people’s homes and steal their cows and animals that are used to feed children and guests.  This is a fakir’s camp.  You didn’t think of that.  There is robbing a place of others and then there is robbing a Saint’s home.  This is the house of Guru Nanak Dev ji that feeds everyone.  Everyone is given langar from this place.  This was really bad.  You asked what punishment should a thief get.  You tell me what should be your punishment.  The punishment for stealing, according to the law of the land, is to be hung till death.  I won’t do that.  I will let you decide.  You pick your own death.”  Guru Sahib told the servants to let him go and he would choose his own death.  The thief jolted his arms to be released, as he was held by the Sikhs.  He folded his hands and said: “I will obey your command.  I will accept any punishment you give me Guru Sahib.  I think that Death will be appropriate.  I sinned towards you.  Dying by your word, I will be saved.  I have no will to live now.  I’ve seen that you are powerful and you gave me back my vision.”  Guru Sahib said: “climb that Jhand tree nearby and accept your death.”  The thief climbed the Jhand tree and grabbed a branch.  He used his strength to snap the branch, which left a sharp protruding part.  While everyone was watching, the thief did a very vicious thing.  He set his stomach onto the sharp part of the broken branch and with all his might, he stabbed himself and ended his life.  His body hung from the tree with the branch stuck in his stomach.  He died all of a sudden.  The place is still there in modern days.  The place was thus known as “Soolisar.”  The tree is visited by many pilgrims in current times.  People come to pray for forgiveness here as the thief of Soolisar was saved by giving his life.  Guru ji stayed for about 2 days.  Guru ji was the giver of joy to his servants.  Guru ji then left that place and headed towards the Baray village.