In Search Of God

As Bhai Jetha grew up, he began to appreciate the simple things in life. He wanted to know more about God and the different religions of the world. He would often ask his parents all sorts of questions about things he could not understand such as the racist hindu caste system, the scriptures, the creation of the world and the like.

When his parents were unable to provide satisfactory answers, Bhai Jetha would turn to the learned men who could. The search for answers led Bhai Jetha to priests, to scholars, and other holy men who happened to pass Chuna Mandi. He began finding their discourses so intersting that he would spend more and more time with them.

At first his parents encourged him hoping that he would become a better person through his association with holy men. But as he grew up they began to get worried. They realised that Bhai Jetha was spending more time with these men than on his vocation. They feared that he would become an reclusive sadhu, if he continued mixing with the holy men. Thus, they asked him to take up some work so that he could earn a living, and get involved in household affairs.

Though Bhai Jetha was not interested in establishing a trade, he nevertheless obeyed his parents. He asked them what he was supposed to do. His mother thought hard. It so happened that their neighbour used to peddle roasted grams in the nearby market, and earn reasonably well from it. Daya Kaur decided that her son could do the same. When they told Bhai Jetha about it, he agreed dutifully.

Helping The Needy

On the very next day, Daya Kaur prepared a bagful of roasted grams and gave it to Bhai Jetha to sell. After leaving home, Bhai Jetha went on his errand with his food. But as he passed by the bank of the river Ravi he happened to see a group of holy men. Pleased to see them he decided to stop by, and pay his respects.

During the course of their conversation he gathered that none of them had eaten anything since the morning, and had no hope of finding anything to eat for the rest of the day. Bhai Jetha was so pained after hearing this that he decided not to go to the market at all. Instead he offered the holy men his bag, of grams.

As the hungry holy men began eating the grams they thanked young Bhai Jetha, and blessed him. It pleased Bhai Jetha to have fed the hungry holy men who otherwise would have gone to sleep on an empty stomach. But then he suddenly realised that his parents would be very upset when they would hear that instead of selling the grams, he had donated it to a group of holy men. He was still wondering what to do when he spotted a group of Sikhs passing. He learned that they were heading towards Goindwal to pay their respects to Guru Amar Das, who was the third Guru of the Sikhs.

When Bhai Jetha heard this he was so thrilled at the prospect of meeting the Guru that he immediately decided to join the group, instead of going back home. To him, nothing seemed more important than seeing the Guru in person, and seeking his blessings. He left Lahore without giving it a second thought, and eagerly looked forward to meeting the Guru in search of God.

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  Gurdwara Sri Janam Asthan Guru Ram Das

  Chuna Mandi Bazar, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.

  Associated with Sri Guru Ram Das Ji.

  Sri Guru Ram Das Ji was born at Chuna Mandi Bazaar at the site of Gurdwara Sri Janam Asthan Guru Ram Das on 24th Sept 1534 AD.

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