Bhagat Naamdev Ji (1270 - 1350)
- 01
Once there was a banker who was very rich. He was a very generous person as he shared his wealth with other people, especially the poor. The banker was proud of himself for helping so many people.
The banker had heard of a great saint called Bhagat Naamdev Ji. He asked Bhagat Naamdev Ji to meet him so he could share his money with him.
Bhagat Naamdev Ji refused and said he wanted nothing. The banker kept on sending letters to Bhagat Naamdev Ji and eventually Bhagat Naamdev Ji agreed to meet the banker.
The banker treated Bhagat Naamdev Ji with a lot of respect and was really happy to meet him.
The banker then asked “Bhagat Ji, you are great, tell me how much gold you want and I will give it to you”. Bhagat Naamdev Ji refused and said “I’ve already got something more precious than gold”.
The banker kept on nagging Bhagat Naamdev Ji. Eventually, Bhagat Naamdev Ji picked up a sprig and wrote the letter R on it. The letter R represented ‘Raam’ which is another name for Vaheguru.
After this, Bhagat Naamdev Ji placed the sprig on the weighing scale and told the banker “If you want me to take your gold, then I will only take it when the weight of the gold is the same as the sprig”.
The banker laughed and said “It will only take a few grains of gold to match the weight of the sprig. Are you sure about this?”. Bhagat Naamdev Ji remained silent.
The banker smiled and started placing small grains of gold on the weighing scale. After pouring all the grains of gold on the scale, the weight still did not match the weight of the sprig. The banker was shocked.
The banker then got a block of gold and placed it on the scale. To his surprise the weight still did not match the weight of the sprig.
The banker then got a larger scale. He placed all the blocks of gold he had on the scale but it still did not match the weight of the sprig. After this, the banker did not know what to do and gave up.
The banker asked Bhagat Naamdev Ji to take all the gold he had. Bhagat Naamdev Ji smiled and replied “What use is this gold to me? All I want is the wealth of Naam. Nothing can equal Naam, not even a thousand blocks of gold”.
The banker felt ashamed as he realised that the wealth he had been gathering all his life was a mere shell compared to the wealth Bhagat Naamdev Ji had been gathering which was like diamond.
Bhagat Naamdev Ji told the banker to start gathering the wealth of Naam. He also told the banker “It is good to give your wealth away to other people, but if you are going to take pride in doing good deeds then they are worthless”.
From that day on, the banker started chanting ‘Raam’ and began gathering the wealth of Naam. He also stopped taking pride in his good deeds.
“The wealth of Vaheguru’s Naam is pure and absolutely infinite. The word of the Guru’s Shabad is overflowing with treasure. Know that, except for the wealth of Naam, all other wealth is poison.” ~ SGGS Ji (Ang 664)
“Those who make donations to charity while still taking pride in their minds, Nanak says, their actions are useless, like the elephant who takes a bath and then rolls in the dust.” ~ SGGS Ji (Ang 1428)
- 02
One day, Bhagat Naamdev Ji wanted to pray with other holy people so he decided to go to a temple. The temple he went to was called Aundha Nagnath Temple.
When he arrived at the temple, he took off his wooden sandals, sat in the Darbar and started chanting ‘Raam’.
The Hindu priests of the temple believed in the caste system. Bhagat Naamdev Ji was born in a very low caste family. When the priests saw Bhagat Naamdev Ji in the temple, they grabbed his arms and dragged him outside.
The Hindu priests shouted at Bhagat Naamdev Ji for coming into the temple. They told him that he could not enter. Bhagat Naamdev Ji got really upset. He walked to the back of the temple and started praying.
In his prayer, he said “Please do not forget me, do not forget me, do not forget me Raam. The priests have doubts about this, and everyone is angry with me. Calling me low-caste and untouchable, they beat me and drove me out. what should I do now, my beloved father Raam?” ~ SGGS Ji (Ang 1292).
After this prayer, the temple suddenly started to rotate. The priests ran outside and were shocked. The temple turned 180 degrees so the entrance was facing Bhagat Naamdev Ji. “Vaheguru turned the temple around to face Bhagat Naamdev Ji and its back to the priests” ~ SGGS Ji (Ang 1292).
Aundha Nagnath Temple is still rotated 180 degrees today.
In most Hindu temples, the water pool is normally located at the front of the temple; at this site, it can be seen at the back of the temple.
Further, most temples face east since that is the luckiest direction in the Hindu faith as the sun rises from the east and the sun is considered the destroyer of darkness and the giver of life. The Aundha Nagnath temple faces west.
- 03
Guru Nanak Dev Ji would preach to everyone that Vaheguru themselves come to save his Sikhs. Guru Ji would use the stories of Bhagat Prahlaad Ji, Bhagat Naamdev Ji and Bhagat Dhanna Ji as examples when Vaheguru helped his Sikh.
One day, a King went to Guru Nanak Dev Ji and said “Guru Ji, why does Vaheguru themselves come to save his Sikh? He has many servants working for him, why doesn’t he just send one of his servants to save his Sikh?”.
Just as the King said this, his own son, who was playing on the bank of a river nearby, slipped into the river. The King did not wait for a second and quickly jumped in the river to save his son.
After saving his son, the King returned to Guru Ji. Guru Ji asked the King “My dear friend, you were sitting here with me a minute ago, why did you jump into the river?”.
The King told Guru Ji “Guru Ji, you saw what happened, my son fell into the river, I had to go save him”. Guru Ji replied “But you have so many servants, why didn’t you ask one of them to jump in the river and save your son?”.
The King said “By the time I would have asked one of my servants, my son would’ve drowned. I love my son very much and don’t want to lose him at any cost”.
Guru Ji smiled and replied “Vaheguru loves his Sikhs the same way as you love your son. That is why Vaheguru themselves come to save his Sikh”.
- 04
Never take pride in doing good actions. Whether that’s giving to charity, doing Seva or even doing Paat. If you take pride, it is worthless.
“Vaheguru’s Naam is priceless; no one knows its value” ~ SGGS Ji (Ang 81). The most precious thing in life is the Naam, Vaheguru. The Naam was given to us by the Guru and by chanting it, we can destroy our Panj Chor and reach Vaheguru.
“Naked he came, and naked he shall depart” ~ SGGS Ji (Ang 380). Maharaaj is saying that we came to this world with nothing and we will leave with nothing. Gathering wealth and becoming attached to people is pointless as none of this will go with us once we die.
“Nothing shall go with you, except your devotion” ~ SGGS Ji (Ang 288). The only thing that will go with us after we die is our Paat.
Vaheguru doesn’t care about your caste. Vaheguru only wants your love. When you show love towards Vaheguru, Vaheguru shows love towards you.
Sikhs love Vaheguru as their mother and father, Vaheguru loves his Sikhs as his sons and daughters. Vaheguru themselves come to save his Sikhs when they are in trouble.