80. Message of the 11 Bhatts (bards) part-10

Bhatt Harbans ji

Bhatt Harbans ji was the nephew of Bhatt Bhikha ji and the son of Bhatt Gokha ji. He too had intense desire to meet God. He couldn’t get satisfaction from worldly pleasures so he wanted to get deeper spiritual insight. He came to the holy shelter of Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji for eternal peace along with other members of his family. He got patience, contentment, and peace when he was blessed with holy glimpses of Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji. The impact of these Holy glimpses of the Guru were so great that Bhatt Harbans ji went in to an ascetic inner state and uttered ,” O people of this world! the path of peace for which you and I were wandering through Vedas, Shastras and Puranas; Brahma ji (Hindu God) along with countless saints and seers utter these Vedas and Shastras every time in praise of Guru in his Darbar(Guru’s court). As the Holy Ganges river flows for ever, similarly the constant flow of Naam of Almighty flows in the sacred court of the great Guru. It never stops at any time. The Divine canopy is blessing the head of Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji and the great Guru always utters the spiritual divine name of God Almighty from his mouth. God Himself has blessed Guru ji with the dignity of a Holy Canopy. As the great Guru Nanak Dev ji gave the title of Guruship to Guru Angad Dev ji and left for his heavenly abode, Guru Angad Dev ji did the same thing to Guru Amar Das ji. Guru Amar Das ji resided spiritually in the soul of Guru Ram Das ji. The same tradition was carried on and Guru Ram Das ji established His spiritual light in Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji and left for His heavenly abode. Now Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji is noticeably giving sermons and blessings to the congregation. As stated on page 1409 :

The stream of the Lord's Name flows like the Ganges, invincible and unstoppable. The Sikhs of the Sangat all bathe in it. It appears as if the holy texts like the Puraanaas are being recited there and Brahma himself sings the Vedas. The invincible chauri, the fly-brush, waves over His head; with His mouth, He drinks in the Ambrosial Nectar of the Naam. The Transcendent Lord Himself has placed the royal canopy over the head of Guru Arjun. Guru Nanak, Guru Angad, Guru Amar Daas and Guru Raam Daas met together before the Lord. So speaks HARBANS: Their Praises echo and resound all over the world; who can possibly say that the Great Gurus are dead ?  

Bhatt Harbans came to the holy shelter of Guru Arjun Dev ji a short time after Sri Guru Ram Das ji had left for his heavenly abode. Bhatt Harbans ji had heard words like,” The great Guru is no more! “. He replied right there and then,” O Those people have gone astray! those who say that Guru is no more.” Those people turned around and asked Bhatt Harbans ji, “ Where is Guru Ram Das ji then ?” Bhatt Harbans ji answered,” Don’t you see him ? Guru Ram Das ji is sitting on a beautiful throne with the Almighty. This throne was blessed by God Himself. All the deities are praising and admiring him and paying their respect to him. Guru Ram Das ji has handed over the Guruship throne of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji to Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji. Whoever has taken the holy shelter of Guru Ram Das ji(Sodhi Sultan) is cleared from his sins. Let us read the most polite, devotional and emotional words of Bhatt Harbans ji about Sri Guru Ram Das ji stated on page 1409 :

When it was the Will of the Transcendent Lord Himself, Guru Raam Daas went to the City of God. The Lord offered Him His Royal Throne, and seated the Guru upon it. The angels and gods were delighted; they proclaimed and celebrated Your victory, O Guru. The demons ran away; their sins made them shake and tremble inside. He gave the Royal Canopy and Throne to Guru Arjun, and came home. Those people who found Guru Raam Daas were rid of their sins.  

Bhatt Harbans ji had intense love for Satguru ji. Satguru ji had blessed him such a high status and insight that with that insight he was able to see Sri Guru Ram Das ji sitting on the throne with the Almighty God and at the same time he was clearly seeing Sri Guru Ram Das ji in the form of Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji. According to the orders of the tenth Guru, Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji , these people who are blessed with this sort of insight win the spiritual game of life. On the contrary those who see and visualize the light of Guruship pass through into different life forms and become the victims of duality, they loose the game of life. It is more clarified in the Chaupai(four lines verse) written by Guru Gobind Singh ji in Bachitar Natak as :

Sri guru Nanak became Angad Gur Amar Das ji was recognized by Angad Amar das ji then was called Ram Das ji Saints know this truth the foolish do not obtain this gift All see the gurus as different individuals Rare are those who recognize one soul in all the guru’s He who knows them as one receive power to materialise their words Without understanding one cannot get this boon  

So great are those blessed ones who see unity in diversity and visualize the same divine light in different forms. Such was Bhatt Harbans ji who pronounced : 

Harbans Jagat jus sanchro Su kawan k-hay Sri Gur mu-yo||