Makkan Shah and the Baba in Bakala

     There once was a rich and devoted man named Makkan Shah. He was sailing
in the ocean with his goods to trade. A great storm broke out. Thunder,
lightening and heavy rain were striking. The waves were so strong his
boat might sink. He closed his eyes and with all his soul prayed to
Guru Nanak: "If your light is still here on this earth, I ask you to
save us from this storm. I offer five hundred gold pieces." Just then a
miracle happened, the storm stopped and the ocean calmed. Makkan Shah
was very thankful and knew that the Guru had saved him and his men.
     When he got to land he set out to find out where the Guru was. He knew
that the Guru must be in the Sodhi family, the family of the Gurus.
There a Sikh told him, "When Guru Harkrishan left his body, he didn't
appoint a new Guru. All he told us is 'Baba Bakala'." All the children
who were related to the Guru were respected and people called them
"Baba", but there must be many Babas in this family. In fact many of
these candidates for the Guruship moved to Bakala right away. Makkan
Shah went out to Bakala to find the Guru, surely he could find out who
had saved his ship. He saw many men with followers claiming to be the
Guru. Someone told him, "There are 26 Gurus here, we don't know which
one is the real one, so we just respect them all." Makkan Shah was
surprised. He visited each of these Baba ji's. He would bow down to
them and offer them 5 gold coins and say, "Dear Guru ji, you saved my
ship and my men, here is my offering to you." They would pretend to
bless him and he would leave. This happened for many days until he had
visited everyone who claimed to be the Guru. Makkan Shah was getting
tired of these fakers.
     He asked everyone, "Is there no more Baba's
here? None of these men is real. The Guru must be in Bakala. Is there
anyone else??" Some one said, "I suppose there is one more relative of
the Guru but no one sees him. He just stays in his home and meditates.
He is one of the sons of Guru Hargobind and his name is Teg Bahadur.
But he can't be the Guru, he is like a hermit." Makkan Shah said, "I
don't care. I must see him. Where does he live?" So Makkan Shah visited
this Baba named Teg Bahadur. Like always he bowed down and said, "You
saved my ship and my men, here is my offering to you." He placed the
five gold coins before him. Baba Teg Bahadur looked him in the eyes and
said, "Where is the other gold, you only gave me five. My shoulders are
still hurting from holding up your ship in the storm. You promised me
500 gold pieces." Makkan Shah became very excited. "Here is your other
gold. I was just trying to test you. You saved me Guru ji, I am at your
service." Then Makkan Shah said, "Many Sikhs are being mislead by the
fake Babas in town. We have to announce you as the Guru so people won't
be confused." The Guru is the Guru and the truth was known to those who
had pure intuition. The Guru doesn't announce he is the Guru, he simply
is the Guru, so he said, "You must not announce me as the Guru. It is
not to be advertised, I am not setting up a shop. If you do, your face
will be black."
     The Guru was trying to warn him of the karma of selling
the Guru to the people, it wasn't a humble act. Makkan Shah was clever
and got some ashes from a fire. He smeared the ashes on his face, so
that his face was black. He ran on the roof and began shouting, "I have
found the Guru, I have found the Guru." The Guru had definitely been
found. Makkan Shah later left to do business. At that time some of
those fake Gurus headed by a man named Dir Mal got jealous that everyone
now respected the True Guru. They burst in to his house and stole
everything that people had offered him, they even shot at the Guru and
hit him in the back. The Sikhs wanted to take the stuff back and punish
Dhir Mal, but the Guru said, "No, let him live his own consequences."
When Makkan Shah returned and heard this, he and his men burst in to
Dhir Mal's place and took everything back. They also took some things
Dhir Mal already had including the Adi Granth Sahib, the original form
of the Guru Granth Sahib. When Makkan Shah gave the Guru his wealth
back, the Guru said, "You have taken some things that already belonged
to Dhir Mal, give them back to him." Makkan Shah gave the stuff back to
Dhir Mal. Secretly though, he kept the Adi Granth Sahib.
     The Guru
decided to start traveling to spread the teachings of Guru Nanak and
bless Sikhs in all lands. On the way he noticed his Sikhs carrying the
Adi Granth Sahib. He said to Makkan Shah, "I told you to give
everything back to Dhir Mal." Makkan Shah said, "But my king, you are
the Guru. The Adi Granth doesn't belong to a wicked man like Dhir Mal.
It belongs to you, it is your very essence." Guru Teg Bahadur saw that
his Sikhs were angry at Dhir Mal and all those who made themselves
enemies of the Guru for their violence and theft. He told everyone, "Do
not let anger in your body. It makes you crazy so you can not tell
right from wrong. Forgive these men in your hearts." Thus began the
reign of Guru Teg Bahadur who is free from anger and revenge.