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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.
Source:
sikhnet.com
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