The
name of Guru Amar Das comes in Sikh history. He went barefoot on a long
pilgrimage to Haridwar 25 or 26 times. How much faith and reverence he
must have had! He had the love, but he didn't yet have Knowledge. He
used to go to Haridwar to have the company of saints and to give alms
and charity. Once he met a monk to whom he wanted to give alms. The monk
said, "First tell me your motive for coming here." Amar Das said, " I
am a devotee. I have come here to listen to the glory of the Lord and to
visit the holy shrines. I am very impressed by you, and I would like
you to accept a donation." The monk said, " Your ideas are sound, but
tell me, do you have a guru?" Amar Das said, "I am very old, yet still I
haven't found a real master. I have no guru, even now." So the monk
replied, "I' am sorry, but I cannot accept your donation. It would be a
sin to take alms from somebody who doesn't have a guru." Amar Das
thought, `I have made this journey so many sacred places. Out of
devotion I have fasted and given a lot of charity. What kind of monk is
he that he won't accept my donation merely because I don't have a guru?'
He felt very hurt.
It is said that the saints are our benefactors, like the rainclouds which cool the heat of the earth. They make us like themselves. The work of a saint is to jolt a person so that he understands. After his encounter with that monk, a conflict arose in Amar Das. He reflected, `Everything I have done has been reduced to nothing. What should I do now?' He tried to find a guru, but found no one who satisfied him, they could only explain things. A person can get a worldly eduction in school or college, so what is the necessity of following the spiritual master? A person can pay fees and learn about external things. But for Amar Das it was a matter of inner education. It was a question of how he could enter within himself. Amar Das didn't find a single genuine enlightened soul and returned home exhausted. One day his nephew came to visit him with his wife. She began reading the sayings of Guru Nanak. They were so profound, so full of wisdom, that Amar Das wondered, `Whose words are these? Who is this great soul?' He asked her, "Who is that sage? Who is this great soul? Could he give me Knowledge?" She said, "These are the words of Guru Nanak. He is the living spiritual master. If you go to him you will definitely receive Knowledge." When he found out that he actually could find the true spiritual knowledge and realize the aim of life, how could he contain his curiosity? He just had to go! When he reached Guru Nanak, he didn't say straight out, "Master, give me Knowledge," but, "Master, please give me some service whereby this dreadful mind can be tamed. When I am cleansed and worthy, please give me your grace."
On this path of the saints, you first of all have to become worthy. A leaky container will not hold water even if you pour a thousand buckets-full into it. First of all an aspirant must become worthy. He must have some understanding. To make a child fit to study for a B.A. or M.A., he is taught from the lower classes up. He is taught grammer, math and so on, so that he may have the potential and ability to put all the facts of various subjects in his mind and to retain this information. So, Amar Das began to serve. He never shirked his duty. His daily routine was to fetch water before sunrise and prepare his master's bath. One day it was raining and the river banks were all slippery. It took him a lot of effort to fetch one bucket of water. It was dark, his foot slipped and he fell in a ditch. He cried out as he fell but he didn't drop the bucket. A washerman's family was living nearby. The washerman's wife said to her husband, "Listen! It sounds like someone has fallen! Who could it be?" The washerman replies, "It must be Amar Das. The unfortunate fellow is very poor and has no kin. His master is very cruel. He makes the poor guy work all day and doesn't give him a minute's rest."
It is said that the saints are our benefactors, like the rainclouds which cool the heat of the earth. They make us like themselves. The work of a saint is to jolt a person so that he understands. After his encounter with that monk, a conflict arose in Amar Das. He reflected, `Everything I have done has been reduced to nothing. What should I do now?' He tried to find a guru, but found no one who satisfied him, they could only explain things. A person can get a worldly eduction in school or college, so what is the necessity of following the spiritual master? A person can pay fees and learn about external things. But for Amar Das it was a matter of inner education. It was a question of how he could enter within himself. Amar Das didn't find a single genuine enlightened soul and returned home exhausted. One day his nephew came to visit him with his wife. She began reading the sayings of Guru Nanak. They were so profound, so full of wisdom, that Amar Das wondered, `Whose words are these? Who is this great soul?' He asked her, "Who is that sage? Who is this great soul? Could he give me Knowledge?" She said, "These are the words of Guru Nanak. He is the living spiritual master. If you go to him you will definitely receive Knowledge." When he found out that he actually could find the true spiritual knowledge and realize the aim of life, how could he contain his curiosity? He just had to go! When he reached Guru Nanak, he didn't say straight out, "Master, give me Knowledge," but, "Master, please give me some service whereby this dreadful mind can be tamed. When I am cleansed and worthy, please give me your grace."
On this path of the saints, you first of all have to become worthy. A leaky container will not hold water even if you pour a thousand buckets-full into it. First of all an aspirant must become worthy. He must have some understanding. To make a child fit to study for a B.A. or M.A., he is taught from the lower classes up. He is taught grammer, math and so on, so that he may have the potential and ability to put all the facts of various subjects in his mind and to retain this information. So, Amar Das began to serve. He never shirked his duty. His daily routine was to fetch water before sunrise and prepare his master's bath. One day it was raining and the river banks were all slippery. It took him a lot of effort to fetch one bucket of water. It was dark, his foot slipped and he fell in a ditch. He cried out as he fell but he didn't drop the bucket. A washerman's family was living nearby. The washerman's wife said to her husband, "Listen! It sounds like someone has fallen! Who could it be?" The washerman replies, "It must be Amar Das. The unfortunate fellow is very poor and has no kin. His master is very cruel. He makes the poor guy work all day and doesn't give him a minute's rest."
Meanwhile Amar Das had picked up the bucket and prepared his master's bath. What the washerman had said reached Guru Nanak. He called the man and said, "Tell me what you said this morning when Amar Das fell." The washerman trembled like a leaf and said, "I said that he is poor, unfortunate and helpless, and that you relentlessly demand work from him." The master said, "He does service because he wants to. He has become the servant of his higher self." He called all his disciples and said, "This man who was called poor is actually a king. He whom you called helpless will be the protector of the helpless and forlorn. He has the treasure of Knowledge." He revealed Knowledge to Amar Das and, seated him on his own chair, saying, "From today Amar Das will be called the true emperor!" Amar Das had a great love for service. When a devotee has that attitude, he become single-minded.
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