Bhatt Kirat ji
Bhatt
Kirat ji was the son of Bhikha ji who came to the holy shelter of Guru Arjun
Dev ji with his father. A shabad recited in Raag Gauri by Bhagat Kabir ji
applies to the family of Bhikha ji which is stated on page 337 :
O Lord, Merciful to the meek, I have placed my faith in You;
along with all my family, I have come aboard Your boat.
Since
Bhatt Bhikha ji received inner peace from the holy shelter of Sri Guru Amar
Das ji, he now desired to share this peace and bliss with the members of his
family by bringing them into the sacred shelter of the great Guru. So with
his inspiration and guidance, his three sons, Sri Kirat ji, Sri Jaalap ji,
Sri Mathura ji and seven other near friends and relatives came to the
shelter of Guru Arjun Dev ji.
They
all prayed for spiritual development, inner peace and to be one with the
Almighty God. The great Guru blessed all of them with initiation into the
fold of Sikhism and with his vision sanctified them.
Bhatt
Kirat ji was very religious since early childhood. His great predestined
karma which he inherited from his family were nurtured beautifully in the
company of his father Bhikha ji. When he happened to come to the holy
shelter of Guru ji, he surrendered himself completely to Guru’s Will for
ever in life. Even
after his death, the relation of his family with Guru Ghar remained firm and
stable. His son joined the army of sixth Guru Sri Hargobind Sahib ji and got
martyred while fighting against the tyranny and suppression of the Mughals.
After that his grandson got baptized from Sri Gobind Sahib ji and got the
honor of a Singh and was called Nirbudh Singh who accompanied the Great Guru
up to Nanded(Hazoor Sahib).
When
Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji handed over the Guruship to Sri Guru Granth Sahib
ji before his heavenly departure, Sri Nirbudh Singh was
himself present at that time and he gave a
hint in his writing ”Bhatt vahi”. “Bhai Nirbudh Singh Bhatt was the son of
Keso Singh who stood by Guru ji and remained loyal to Guru Ghar and all the
activities. Thus he brought success to the fame of his forefathers and lived
a successful life of a Gursikh. (Encyclopedia of Sikhism Page 353)
When
Bhatt Kirat ji and his family came to the holy shelter of Guru ji, they were
blessed with initiation into the fold of Sikhism by the great Guru. His mind
had so many demands before coming to guru’s shelter but when he got a holy
glimpse of Sri Guru Amar Das ji, no demands were left within his mind. In
this blissful condition he forgot all his demands or his demands became
meaningless. Sri
Guru Amar Das ji made him aware that God Almighty knows everything without a
human being asking or speaking for it. Now what should I demand from Guru’s
shelter ? Impulsively he said,’ Satguru, I am yours now. Whatever you order,
I will do it. Where ever you will keep me, I will be happy there. Satguru ji
blessed Bhatt Kirat ji with such a great gift that Bhatt Kirat ji stated it
on pge1395 as :
I consciously pray within my consciousness,
but I cannot express it in words.
I place all my worries and anxieties before You;
I look to the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, for help.
By the Hukam of Your Command, I am blessed with Your Insignia;
I serve my Lord and Master.
When You, O Guru, gaze at me with Your Glance of Grace,
the fruit of the Naam, the Name of the Creator, is placed within my mouth.
The Unfathomable and Unseen Primal Lord God,
the Cause of causes - as He orders, so do I speak.
O Guru Amar Daas, Doer of deeds, Cause of causes,
as You keep me, I remain; as You ||4||18||
With a great vision, Bhatt
Kirat ji was having glimpses of Sri Guru Amar Das ji. His words are stated
on page 1395 as :
The Lord Himself wielded His Power and entered the world.
The Formless Lord took form, and with His Light He illuminated the realms of
the world.
He is All-pervading everywhere; the Lamp of the Shabad, the Word, has been
lit.
Whoever gathers in the essence of the teachings shall be absorbed in the
Feet
of the Lord.
Lehnaa, who became Guru Angad, and Guru Amar Daas, have been
reincarnated into the pure house of Guru Nanak.
Guru Amar Daas is our Saving Grace, who carries us across; in lifetime after lifetime, I seek the Sanctuary of
Your Feet.
Bhatt
Kirat ji had great insight that God had sent Sri Guru Amar Das ji in the
form of a ship so that congregation can cross the ocean of existence with
his protection and whilst following his teachings. Bhatt Kirat ji himself
requests ,”Guru Amar Das ji ! Being scared I have come to take shelter from
you. Please protect me. Please protect me.”
When
Bhatt Kirat ji came to
the shelter of Satguru ji, by the grace of Guru ji, his inner self became
clear of the pride of being a scholar and his mind became humble.
Spontaneously he prayed,” O God! I was entangled in false pride for nothing.
Now I have come to know the reality. I am full to the brim with countless
faults. I don’t possess even a single quality which could help me attain
harmony with God. Our
condition is such that we are engrossed in drinking poison of immoral acts
instead of taking the nectar of naam. We are captured
by the influence of maya and that is why we are so attached to our sons and
daughters. Now we have come to know that in order to get rid of messengers
of death and to get eternal peace, there is only one way and that is to get
your shelter and blessing. Now I pray to you, please give me your eternal
shelter and blissful company. As stated on page 1406 :
I
am overflowing with sins and demerits; I
have no merits or virtues at all. I
abandoned the Ambrosial Nectar,
and I drank poison instead. I
am attached to Maya, and deluded by doubt; I
have fallen in love with my children and spouse. I have heard that the most
exalted Path of all is the Sangat,
the Guru's Congregation. Joining it, the fear of death is taken away. Keerat the poet offers this
one prayer: O Guru Raam Daas, save me ! Take me into Your Sanctuary !
Guru should be such as well. The guru
has to be a dignified personality who by His divine vision can wash away the
pride from the hearts of his disciples. Such a person can not be called a
guru who nourishes and develops pride. Guru is a symbol of politeness and
modesty. He blesses his disciples with courtesy, modesty of mind and
enriches them with spiritual wealth.
So
let us learn from Bhatt Kirat ji to be humble and polite. Thus we should keep in mind holy words of
Sri Guru Ram Das ji and pray from within. As stated on page 167 :
My condition, O my True
Guru - that condition, O Lord, is known only to You. I
was rolling around in the dirt, and no one cared for me at all.
In the Company of the Guru,
the True Guru, I, the worm, have been raised up and exalted.
Blessed, blessed is the Guru of servant Nanak;
meeting Him, all my sorrows and troubles have come to an end.
When
humility and courtesy enters a human mind, then it should be understood that
a person’s soul has attained a state of high spiritual status because the
path of Gurbani
teaches us that,”Nivay so Gaura hoay”(The person who is humble is the
greatest).