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Third Udasi
The third Udasi was undertaken towards the west. Guru Nanak reached Pakpatan (Ajodhan) where he met Sheikh Brahm who was the eleventh in succession to Baba Farid, whose Bani is also included in Guru Granth Sahib. The Guru had wide range of discussion with Sheikh Brahm after which Sheikh raised his head in amazement and said, `Well done. O Nanak, there is no difference between God and thee. Kindly bless me so that I too may be on good terms with Him.` The Guru replied,`Sheikh Brahm, God will caus
At Mecca
He disguised himself in the blue dress of a Mohammadan pilgrim, took a faqir's staff in his hand and a collection of his hymns called 'Pothi' under his arm. He also carried with him like a Muslim devotee, a cup for his ablutions and a rug whereon to pray. Like a pilgrim he went inside the great mosque where the pilgrims were engaged in their devotions. When he lay down to sleep at night, he turned his feet towards the Kaaba. A priest, Jiwan kicked him and said,"Who is this infidel sleeping with his feet towards the House of God?" The Guru replied,"Turn my feet in the direction in which God is not." Upon this Jiwan seized the Guru's feet and dragged them in the opposite direction. Whereupon, it is said, the Kaaba (temple) turned around, and followed the revolution of Guru's body. Some say that when the Guru asked the priest to turn his feet in the direction where God was not, the priest came to realization that God was everywhere. But those who witnessed this miracle were astonished and saluted the Guru as a supernatural being.
Then the Qazis and the Mullas crowded round the Guru and asked whether he was a Muslim or a Hindu? The Guru replied that he was neither of the two. Then they asked,"Who is the superior of the two, the Hindu or the Muslim?" The Guru replied,"Without good deeds, both will repent. The superiority lies in deeds and not in mere creeds." The chief priest was a seeker of the Truth and he asked for Guru's blessings. The Guru preached the doctrine of Nam. He then gave instructions to the priest in the art of true living, to practice to live in His presence day and night and to glorify the Lord and thereby to rub out the dirt of sins from the tablet of the mind.
At Medina
In due time the Guru proceeded to Medina. He reached at nightfall and stopped outside the town. It happened to be a place where lepers were segregated and no provision was made for their comfort or treatment. History states that the Guru healed them all and as a result, the people came in crowds to have holy glimpse of the Guru. After that he journeyed to Bagdad through Basra.
At Baghdad
Music is prohibited in Islam. One morning the Guru gave a call for prayer, on which the whole population became rapt in silent astonishment. Then Mardana played the rebec and the Guru started the Sabad Kirtan (musical recitation of Gurbani). Whosoever heard was in ecstasy. The news spread in the city. The high priest Pir Dastgir, another holy man, Bahlol and others came to see the Guru.
According to the Mohammadans there are seven skies above the earth and seven nethers including earth itself. The Guru began to recite the Japji. When he repeated the twenty-second pauri (stanza) of Japji, the Pir got wonder-stuck hearing something contrary to the authority of the holy Quran, that there were hundreds of thousands of nethers and upper regions, and that at last men grew weary of searching for them. The Pir then called upon the Guru to give a manifestation of what he said. Upon this it is said, the Guru laid his hand on the priest's son and showed him upper and lower regions described in Japji- pauri 22. To prove whether the boy actually saw those regions, he brought Parshad (sacred food) from one of those regions and gave it to his father. Both the Pir and Bahlol bowed before the Guru and asked for his blessings.
Bahlol became Guru's follower. It is said that he spent sixty years at the foot of the slab, where the sacred feet of the Guru had rested during their discussion. Later on a shrine was built there in the memory of the Guru.
At Peshawar:
From Bagdad the Guru passed through Iran, Turkstan, Kabul, Jalalabad, Sultanpur and Khyber Pass to reach Peshawar.
Encounter with Vali Kandhari:
The Guru paid a visit to the Gorakh Hatri and had discourse with Jogis. He also went to Hassan Abdal, now known as Panja Sahib, and sat at the foot of the hill.
On the top of a small hill, there lived a Muslim Faqir called Vali Kandhari who was well-known in the area for possessing miraculous powers. Mardana needed water which could only be obtained from Vali. Mardana told Vali that Guru Nanak had arrived and he advised him to see the Guru, who was a great saint of God. Vali who claimed holiness exclusively for himself, became offended on hearing the Guru's praises. He refused to give water saying that if the Guru were such a holy man, he could provide water to Mardana. When this reply was communicated to the Guru, he sent Mardana back to the Vali with a message that he (Guru) was a poor creature of God, and laid no claims to be a saint. The Vali paid no heed to this protestation and still refused to provide water.
Upon this the Guru picked up one stone and a stream of water immediately issued forth. In fact this water came out from the Vali's tank which dried up. This naturally increased Vali's rage and it is said that through his miraculous powers he hurled a small hillock upon Guru Nanak's.
The Guru, on seeing the descending hillock, held up his right hand, and as it touched the hand of the Divine Master, the hillock came to a standstill. With the divine touch, the stone melted and softened like wax and left the mark of the Master's palm indelibly deep into it.
Vali Kandhari was very much astonished and at last fell at the feet of the Guru and begged for forgiveness. The Guru expressed,"O friend, those who live so high, should not be hard at heart like a stone." Vali was blessed by the Master.
The imprint of the Guru's hand (Panja) is still visible on the stone and the pool of crystal clear water still flows from there. There stands a Gurdwara which is known as 'Panja Sahib'.
At Saidpur
When Guru Nanak was in Saidpur, Babar attacked. Many people were killed and most of the rest were taken as prisoners by the Baber's army. It is said that the Guru along with his minstrel Mardana, were also put in jail. The prisoners were given handmills to grind corn. As the Guru sang divine songs, the grinding mill started working automatically. On seeing this supernatural phenomenon, the guards stood spell-bound and they sent the word to Babar, who came and witnessed the whole scene with his own eyes.
Babar said,"O holy man, I see God in thy face. I will do anything you ask for."
The Guru then uttered the following Sabad and put most of the blame of killings on Baber:
'Thou ruled over Khurasan,
Now thou terrified Hindustan (India),
He has sent you the Moghal as a messenger of death,
Has slaughter and lamentations
Awakened no compassion in thee?
The Creator is the Supreme Lord,
If a strong man beats another strong man
No feelings of resentment arise;
But if a ravening lion falls on a herd, its master should
show his manliness.
Babar was overtaken by remorse. A new moral and spiritual consciousness was awakened in him, and he fell on the feet of the Guru. He asked the Guru to be gracious unto him. (History has revealed that kings were always afraid of the curses of the holy men).
The Guru replied,"If thou, O Emperor, desireth kindness, set all thy captives free." Babar agreed on the condition that his empire should be blessed by the Guru and should be allowed to continue for generations. The Gur