Bhai Nand Lal Ji

Hundreds of years ago the 10th Guru, Guru Gobind Rai was our leader. He was young and strong. He often laughed out loud and his love for God was deep and constant. Those who were near him experienced oy and bliss. !t was a world "lled with fun challenges and deep devotion# The $i%hs always wanted to %now, what %ind of lesson would he teach next# &nce he declared to his beloveds, '(veryone must ma%e langar in their own homes# &h, $i%hs of mine, listen... your house is a langar hall to feed all travelers and guests. )eed the needy. *o one should ever leave your home without being served#' (veryone listened to what he said and the $i%hs became famous for serving and ta%ing care of others. $till Guru i wanted to test ust how ready the $i%hs were. +ere they only ready sometimes or were they ready all the time, $o one day, very early in the morning, something funny happened. !t was the divine mischief of the master, the complete man. Guru Gobind Rai himself put on a disguise# He dressed ust li%e a common traveler# *ow normally, Guru i always wore clothes that were perfect and clean, without even a single wrin%le. -ut that morning he put on dirty old clothes so no one would recogni.e him. He went to the homes of his devotees / their langar halls. He came at the most inconvenient time. !t was early in morning so the $i%hs were ust wa%ing up. They were getting ready for the day, washing up, starting their prayers. He would %noc% on the door and say, '$orry to disturb you, ! am ust a humble traveler. 0o you have any chapatis that ! can eat,' 1h, ummm, it2s really early, you must be on an early schedule# $orry but we don2t have anything ready for you right now. )ood will be coo%ed later. 3ome by later and we can feed you then.4 The master was testing his beloveds. He wanted to show them one simple thing in an unforgettable way. He showed them that they were still a little little bit sel"sh and not yet completely sel5ess. They still needed some time for themselves. They weren6t there for others at every moment. 7nd so the 8aster went from door to door, '$orry to disturb you at this time !6m a traveler, do you have any daal that ! can eat,' &ne man replied, 9(xcuse me, &h, !t2s so early, it2s not brea%fast time

Bhai Nand Lal Ji

yet. -esides daal ta%es a long time to coo%. +e2ll be happy to serve you.... please ust come bac% later.4 7s the master went from one house to another, he smiled and his eyes twin%led. *ot one $i%h was ready to serve him yet. )inally he came to the house of a man named *and :al. *and :al was a wise poet, and he loved the True Guru. (ven though he was ;< years older than Guru Gobind Rai, he became his devotee. His heart blossomed in the Guru6s court. He was full of devotion and love, and he always prayed to be at the feet of the True Guru. The beloved *and :al hopped up to greet his guest, 'welcome, welcome friend'. Guru in disguise said, 9(xcuse me $ir'... *and :al =uic%ly replied, '3ome in, come in# >lease sit down and relax.' The Guru said, 9! am ust a humble traveler, do you have any food...4 7nd *and :al =uic%ly replied without hesitation, 9$ir, you don2t need to as%. )ood is ust now coming.4 7s the master went from one house to another, he smiled and his eyes twin%led. *ot one $i%h was ready to serve him yet. )inally he came to the house of a man named *and :al. *and :al was a wise poet, and he loved the True Guru. (ven though he was ;< years older than Guru Gobind Rai, he became his devotee. His heart blossomed in the Guru6s court. He was full of devotion and love, and he always prayed to be at the feet of the True Guru. The beloved *and :al hopped up to greet his guest, 'welcome, welcome friend'. Guru in disguise said, 9(xcuse me $ir'... *and :al =uic%ly replied, '3ome in, come in# >lease sit down and relax.' The Guru said, 9! am ust a humble traveler, do you have any food...4 7nd *and :al =uic%ly replied without hesitation, 9$ir, you don2t need to as%. )ood is ust now coming.4 He was so happy to get the chance to serve. He immediately brought whatever food he could. There was some raw dough, there was daal that was ust half/coo%ed, some raw vegetables and some butter. He placed the un/coo%ed food in front of his guest... with great grace and honor# *and :al generously said, 'Help yourself to everything here. Have as much as you want.... However, !f you will allow me to, ! will roll the dough and coo% it to ma%e warm chapaatis? ! will coo% the daal until it is soft and ! will coo% the veggies until they are very yummy. !t is my honor to serve you, in the *ame of 8y 8aster, please relax and en oy yourself.' -hai *and :al really loved to serve. Guru i was very happy. Guru i en oyed the food. 7nd the food was full of loving energy. -hai *and :al i truly too% the Guru2s order to heart@ 9*o one leave your house without being served...4 +hoever %noc%ed on his door was sure to leave *and :al6s house completely satis"ed. 7nd in this co.y and loving way, God lived in the home of -hai *and :al. The next morning, Guru Ai told everyone, '!n our city, there is only one temple of hospitality, only one real langar. 7nd that is -hai *and :al6s home. *and :al spea%s the language of love and devotion. *and :al blesses us all. His commitment is pleasing. !t is this love that wins all hearts. Running such a :angar the $i%hs become truly rich. !n this way -hai *and :al6s langar is most successful.4 The $i%hs smiled and reali.ed that their beloved Guru i had tested them. (ven though they were friendly, they still hadn6t gone all the way. -hai *and :al was 6tyar bar tyar,6 always

Bhai Nand Lal Ji

ready## He was in a divine state, he happily provided langar to everyone without hesitation or excuses. +hen you become sel5ess, then you never have excuses and you are always happy. -hai *and :al became the example of how all of us need to treat guests. 7s $i%hs we never stop learning and improving ourselves. He taught us that love has no limit and serving has no limit. +hoever comes to our home, we give them the deepest respect. +e treat them as the great person they are. +e even treat them li%e a saint. -hai *and :al said, 'Getting water for the saints is e=ual to being the greatest emperor of the world. 3oo%ing food for them is more pleasant than all the paradises put together. >reparing the Guru6s langar is e=ual to all wealth, riches, and magical super/powers. Holy people ta%e care of the poor, and one feels humble ust being around them. The Guru6s Holy +ord is within all things... everywhere.' This was the mischief of Guru Gobind Rai. Bes he had disguised himself and tric%ed his $i%hs, and then he taught them, and all of us, an unforgettable lesson. 7 lesson about how to treat each other. 7 lesson in how to be a good host. 7 lesson in how to serve C how God lives in co.y homes.

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