Men of God

BOON OF LONG LIFE

The Guru then proceeded to Sialkot and visited many places in the Punjab. By this time he was universally held to be a man of God. Every verse he composed was published abroad. He next went in a north-western direction and stayed on the banks of the Ravi. A millionaire official who was at first sceptical, became a devout disciple, built a Sikh temple and founded a village on the Ravi named Kartarpur and he dedicated both to the Guru and thereafter Kartarpur became the Guru’s fixed abode. He took off his extraordinary costume and adopted a more conventional dress. Here his parents and relatives came and were admitted since the Guru’s creed is not to shun, but to live in the world, not worldminded but God-minded. Here he initiated the practice of singing hymns at the close of night.

Once he questioned a boy of seven why he attended regularly the prayer. The boy said that one day at his mother’s bidding he lit the fire and put on the wood and observed that little sticks burnt first and then the bigger ones. Hence afraid of early death, he attended the religious gatherings. The Guru was pleased and called him Budha (wise) and he came to be known as Bhai Budha. He was held in such high esteem that he was commissioned to confer the tilak (patch of Guruship) on the first five successors of Guru Nanak and he lived for 107 years ( ?)

The Guru then proceeded on a tour to the south, the Dravidian country and on return went to Kashmir. Ceyłon was his next objective and there king Shivanabha paid homage to him. Success upon success greeted him everywhere on his return journey to the north. The most eminent of Kashmir Pandits, Brahma Das was convinced of his greatness and fell at his feet, Thence Nanak climbed up the Himalayas where he took rest for a while in the company of Siddhas, who were pleased with his holy mission.