Vol. III — Life of Guru Har Gobind
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five miles from Lahore. He gained a high reputation for sanctity and devotion. Jahangir in his autobiography wrote of him: ‘ Truly he is the beloved of God. In sanctity and purity of soul, he hath no equal in this age. This humble servant [namely the Emperor] used to go to the darwesh, who explained to him many minute points of theology. It was my desire to make him an offering of money ; but as he was above worldly things, I dared not make the offer, and contented myself with the presentation of the skin of an antelope to serve as a mat for reading his prayers on.’
The Guru resolved to visit Mian Mir, and duly notified his intention. The saint went forth to meet him, entertained him in his house, and treated him in every way with the greatest respect. The Guru inquired to what degree of divine knowledge he had attained, if he had succeeded in keeping his mind under restraint and repressing his desires, and if he had yet felt the blissful inward satisfaction of having met God. Mian Mir courteously replied : ‘ He to whom thou showest favour hath found everything. Having abandoned all false worldly things I have found the true God, who is beyond conception and expression. Whoever hath seen Him hath abandoned pride and obtained peace. My mind is at rest and no longer tormented by desires. The pleasure of meeting God is incommunicable. In the words of Bhikan :—
Though one try to utter God’s praises, they cannot be fully uttered;
They are like sweets to a dumb person . 1
‘The man who possesseth divine knowledge is happy at every time and in every place. The man who possesseth it not, is ever unhappy. ’ After further conversation on the same and kindred subjects the Guru returned to his camp. The nobles who
had heard the colloquy reported it to the Emperor, and expressed to him their surprise that an elderly saint like Mian Mir should treat a married Sikh Guru with such respect. The Emperor asked Mian Mir for an explanation. Mian Mir replied : ‘ The Guru is a sincere believer in God. His heart is pure and his words leave an impression on the mind. From those who hear him all doubts depart. On this account I have received him, and thought him worthy of respect and reverence.’
Chapter V
The Qazi, on seeing that the horse which was worth a lakh of rupees had recovered, and that the Guru daily rode him, felt that he had got the worst of the bargain, and began to clamour for his money without waiting for the Diwali fair. The Guru then reminded him of what had occurred : ‘ A Sikh paid a lakh of rupees for the horse, the Emperor seized and appropriated him. The animal was dying when you sold him to me. I will, however, pay you the ten thousand rupees at the appointed time.’
On another occasion, as the Guru was taking his siesta, the Qazi came to dun him. Bhai Budha, who was sitting at the Guru’s door, said that that was not the time to approach the Guru, and suggested that the Qazi might return another day at an hour when it would be convenient for the Guru to receive him. The Qazi pressed Bhai Budha to awaken the Guru. He was not, he said, a courtier or royal favourite who might not be disturbed. Bhai Budha replied, ‘ What are wretched courtiers in comparison with our Guru ? He is king of kings. Depart, come again. What time is this to come begging for money.’ The Qazi replied, ‘ If I tell the Emperor, he will punish the Guru, and I shall then obtain the price of the horse.’ This threat Bhai Budha promptly
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resented : ‘ Fool, put a guard on thy tongue. Thou knowest not God’s will.’
The Guru, hearing an uproar, awoke and came forward, when the Qazi thus angrily addressed him : ‘ Thou pretendest ignorance. Thou neither payest me the promised money nor returnest me my horse, and yet thou sleepest without anxiety. Thou shalt see into what a pleasant sleep I will put thee. If thou study thine own interests, pay me for the horse, otherwise I will complain to the Emperor.’ The Guru replied, ‘ Thou mayest tell the Emperor and act as it pleaseth thee.’ After this the Qazi departed.
One morning the Guru called Bhai Budha, told him his business in Lahore was accomplished, and they must return home. Bhai Budha, having made all preparations, set out in advance. The Guru, with his army, then marched and overtook him.
There was in the house of the Qazi a daughter, named by the Sikhs Kaulan,' who was a disciple of Mian Mir. She, in addition to being very beautiful, was both amiable and virtuous. From her earliest years she had occupied her mind with praising God’s name and remembering Him in the company of saints. Even when she attained puberty she declined her parents’ suggestions to marry. When at home, she used to dwell in a lonely chamber. Whenever she went abroad, it was to behold her spiritual guide Mian Mir; otherwise she never even put her foot outside her house. In Mian Mir’s congregation, as she frequently heard, not only from Mian Mir himself but from other very holy men, various praises of Guru Har Gobind, so she also praised him in the midst of her own family. The Qazi, her father, was in the highest degree incensed with her; in the first place, for refusing marriage, and secondly, for ‘frequenting the society of faqirs. When, moreover, he
heard from her lips praises of Guru Har Gobind, he became exceedingly wroth, and thus addressed her : * 0 infidel, thou praisest an infidel and obeyest not the law of Muhammad, according to which it is forbidden under penalty of death to praise an unbelieving person.’ Kaulan replied, ‘Father dear, the law of Muhammad doth not apply to holy men or to me. It applies rather to those fools who neither know nor obey anything besides. Saints are God’s servants. At the same time, He obeyeth them, and they may do what they please. They have no concern with the law of Muhammad.’ On hearing this and similar replies from his daughter, the Qazi's heart burned with bigotry and indignation. On that very day he, in consultation with his brother Qazis, issued an order for the execution of his daughter for her sin of transgressing the Muhammadan law. Kaulan’s mother, on hearing this decision, informed not only her daughter of it, but also Mian Mir. On this Mian Mir said to Kaulan: ‘ There appeareth no means of saving thee here. Thou shalt be innocently put to death, as Mansur was by these tyrants. 1 It is better, therefore, that thou at once go to Amritsar and seek there the protection of Guru Har Gobind. In this age there is none but him to save thy life.’ Kaulan deemed her Pir’s advice the best. She at once packed up her effects, and taking with her a fellow disciple, set out for Amritsar. 2
Meantime the Qazi was not idle. He complained to the Emperor that the Guru had promised to pay him the price of the horse, but now put him off with ■ excuses. ‘ He procrastinateth, and will not fulfil his promise. If thy Majesty send an officer to remon-
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strate with him, I shall consider I have the money in my pocket. Otherwise, he will always put me off as he doeth now.’ The Emperor replied, ‘ When day breaketh, take one of my men to the Guru. I will send him word to pay thee all thy money, and I think he will not fail to do so.’
The Qazi, on visiting the site of the Guru’s camp at Lahore, found that he had departed, so he prepared to follow him. He knew that the Guru must have gone to Amritsar, but he was not certain if he would remain there or seek concealment in the neighbouring wilderness, where he would have no fear of the Emperor, as no army could enter it to capture him. The Qazi decided that his case would be hopeless if he did not set out at once. He would return to Lahore and seek the Emperor’s assistance, if the Guru failed to keep his promise or used violence towards him.
On his way the Qazi met the Guru hunting to the west of Amritsar. The Qazi respectfully saluted him. The Guru complimented him on the celerity with which he had pursued him. The Qazi replied civilly, but at the same time made it very clear that he desired to obtain his money without further delay. The Guru invited him to remain for the night, and in the morning he would give him a cheque on a Lahore banker.
Not long after the Qazi’s arrival in Amritsar he heard that his daughter was there. He besought her to return to her religion and her home, but she, exceedingly afraid of being put to death, did not at all desire to accompany him. He then went to where his pony was tethered, mounted him, and made the best of his way to Lahore. The Guru did his utmost to detain him for another day, until it was convenient for him to pay the price of the horse.
The Qazi, on reaching home, found his wife in tears, and began in earnest to think of his own errors.
He said to himself, ‘ My daughter would have remained at home had I treated her less cruelly.’ His wife levelled at him her bitterest taunts, and increased his repentance and mortification. He decided to go next day to the Emperor, and make his complaint. When he arrived in court he took off his turban, dashed it on the ground, and made other signs of distress, but as he spoke in tears the Emperor could not quite follow his story. Moreover, the Emperor was in a bad humour at the time, having been irritated by some petitioner immediately before. He angrily replied to the Qazi’s complaint: ‘ What disturbance is this that thou art causing ? I understand thee not. Thou speakest like a lunatic. Appear not bare-headed in my presence. Thou wast a sensible man once, but now thou seemest to have lost thy reason.’
Wazir Khan then interposed and made an ingenious defence of the Guru. ‘ Sire, what shall I say about anybody ? It is a bad world, and the Qazi now appeareth to be as bad as the rest. He made his daughter miserable and used to beat her daily. Being thus helpless, she left her home and went to Amritsar. Through fear of her father, she has remained there and desireth not to return. The Guru, who is ever merciful, receiveth all visitors and provideth for them, the Qazi’s daughter among others. Mian Mir and other saints go to meet him, and treat him with respect. It is against such a man this fool maketh complaint. His case, moreover, is a very paltry one. Thou hast heard too * much already. It is not proper to quarrel with the Guru. Some calamity may happen by interference.’
The Emperor then, addressing the Qazi, passed his final order : * Art thou not ashamed of thyself ? It became thee not to have acted as thou hast done. It is not proper for thee to quarrel with priests. Thou oughtest rather to do them reverence. In open court thou hast rent the veil of thy modesty,
LIFE OF GURU HAR GOBIND
and rendered thyself despised of all men. Thy daughter was obliged to leave her home Be silent; say no more ; thou hast received only thy deserts.’
The Qazi, complaining that the Emperor would not allow him to fully state his case, took up his turban and left the court. He then reflected : ‘ On every side I am in trouble. The very haughty Guru will keep this ten thousand rupees. He thinketh I am utterly resourceless; How shall I teach him a lesson ? He will not pay me my money, and he hath all but killed me. Moreover, my daughter hath forsaken me and embraced another faith ; I cannot remedy what is done, so I must either take revenge or kill myself. I trusted to the Emperor Jahangir, but far from assisting me, he hath brought counter charges against me. What hath God done with me ? I am in a dire dilemma, and sped by troubles on every side. The whole family is mourning for my daughter, and yet she is so estranged from us, that we can never on any account see her more.’
Kaulan began her altered life under the protection of the Guru, the friend of her spiritual adviser Mian Mir. She found consolation in repeating the following hymn of the Guru’s father, which she had learned by hearing it often recited by the Sikhs :—
O mother, I awake by association with the saints;
On seeing the love of the Beloved, I repeat His name which is a treasure.
Thirsting for a sight of Him, I long and look for Him ;
I have forgotten my desire for other things,
I have found the Guru, the giver of composure and peace;
On beholding him, my mind is wrapped up in God.
On seeing God pleasure hath arisen in my heart; Nanak, dear to me is His ambrosial word . 1
The Sikh chronicler states that Kaulan in a
previous birth desired to obtain the true Guru’s instruction and be happy.
The Guru had a separate building prepared for her residence, and bade her occupy her time as she pleased. On beholding her continual dependence on God, he was specially pleased with her, and took care of her in every way. Some time passed in this manner, until one day Kaulan, putting together all her jewels, placed them before the Guru. With clasped hands she thus addressed him, ‘ Friend of the poor, be good enough to apply the price of these jewels to some religious object, by which my name may be remembered for some time in the world.’ The Guru accordingly, on the fifth day of the light half of the month of Magh, Sambat 1678 (a.d. 1621), caused a tank to be excavated in her name with the money. The tank is still famous as Kaulsar 1 (Kaulan’s tank) in the city of Amritsar. The Guru also constructed another tank called Bibeksar, which was meant to commemorate his spiritual instruction delivered on the spot to his followers. There are now altogether five sacred tanks in the vicinity of the Sikh temple in Amritsar : Santokhsar, Amritsar, Ramsar, Kaulsar, and Bibeksar.
The Sikhs in Amritsar were all the time apprehensive that the Emperor would send an army to arrest the Guru on the Qazi’s complaint. They were prepared, if necessary, for defence. The Emperor, however, thought no more of the Qazi or his grievances, and refused to embroil himself with the Guru. The masands formed the next party of whom the Guru had to take account. They went and complained to his. mother against him : * The Guru’s proceedings please no one. The Qazi hath gone to complain to the Emperor. When the Emperor sendeth an army and maketh war on us, what shall we do ? We have no kingdom and no large force to defend our-