4. Retrieving the Pothi from Mohan

Guru Arjun sent Bhai Gurdas to Mohan’s home in Goindwal, to request this collection of Shabads. Mohan felt slighted at having been passed over for Guruship — his father, Guru Amar Das, had seen the Divine Light in Guru Ram Das, and had bestowed the Guruship upon him. Mohan refused to answer the door when Bhai Gurdas knocked, and Bhai Gurdas returned to Guru Arjun empty-handed. Guru Arjun then sent Baba Buddha to Mohan’s house. Baba Buddha was by then a very old and respected man in the Sikh community, having been a disciple of all the Gurus, from Guru Nanak through Guru Arjun. When Mohan did not answer Baba Buddha’s knock, he entered the house anyway. Inside, he found Mohan in a deep meditative trance. Mohan’s younger brother convinced Baba Buddha not to disturb him, and Baba Buddha also returned to Guru Arjun empty-handed. So it was that in 1603, Guru Arjun found it necessary to go in person to Mohan’s house, to retrieve the Shabads. When Guru Arjun approached Mohan’s house, rather than knocking he called out in a sweet voice, but there was no response. The Guru sat upon his doorstep and began to sing these lines:

"Oh, Mohan, your mansion is so lofty, there is no other place like yours. Oh, Mohan, even the Saints adorn the door of your temple. Show compassion and kindness, Oh Kind Lord—be merciful to the poor. Says Nanak, I am thirsting for the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan, Grant me this gift and I shall be happy."

Mohan (in Punjabi) is one of the names of God, when calling upon Him as the Beloved. When Guru Arjun sang this Hymn, he was singing the Praises of God, in the form of a song to win Mohan’s heart. Mohan threw open the window and called out to Guru Arjun, "You stole the Guruship from my family, and now you come to steal what remains of my heritage!"