Guru Angad And Gusai Dev Giri

Gusai Dev Giri was a man who knew how to extract gold. When Gusai arrived in Khadoor Sahib he was astonished to see the charity of the Sikhs and the langar they freely served. The Sikhs provided meals without distinction of caste and creed. Gusai attended the Darbar of Guru Angad where he heard divine Gurbani.

After the recitation of Gurbani Guru Angad addressed the Sangat explaining what the Gurbani meant and provided guidance on how his Sikhs should live their lives. Gusai was so influenced by Guru Angad that he decided to present Guru Sahib with an important gift. Gusai presented a small box to Guru Angad and said, "This box contains mercury, if we rub black sand or metal with this mercury, we can produce gold!"

Gusai showed the Sikhs how to produce gold. When one of the Sikhs doubted the authenticity of the gold, a goldsmith was called to confirm the gold was real. Gusai asked Guru Angad to accept his box. Perhaps Guru Angad knew that mercury is extremly poisonous but he had a different message, he smiled and said, "Gusai! We should not try and control or extract gold from metal. We should try and control or extract the goodness from our minds. If we become successful in conquering our minds, then we will receive everything that is precious but if we chase maya the race will never end. The lust of getting more and more, increases."

Guru Angad gave an example, "You must have heard about Hemu Bania. He wanted to become the emperor of Punjab and the lands beyond. He was willing to abandon his faith, his principles and everything else just to become emperor. In the end, he died the death of a dog. People have become slaves to their pride, ego, arrogance, lust and greed. Whereas they should try and attach themselves to the name of God. God's Name is greatest of all."

Guru Angad explained, "We are not running the langar here for profit. The langar was been started to clean the mind of people. The people of all castes are treated equally here. The rich and the poor sit side by side and eat the same food. The kitchens are run by money earned honestly. If you feed those in need through honest earnings then you would feel more satisfied than the gold produced from your box."

Hearing the words of Guru Angad, Gusai Dev Giri was enlightened. The incident influenced all of the Sikhs present. They learnt that the wearers of gold, silver and other perceived valuables were false and rotten with pride, ego, arrogance, lust and greed on the inside. Some people are not even aware of their true nature, they deceive themselves with lies. Simple living and truthful earning was better than a false and materialistic life. Gusai Dev Giri understood the important lesson, he became a Sikh of Guru Angad and decided to live at Khadoor Sahib permanently.

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