89.
Sakhi Guru Ji's Protects His Children
My Guru is always with me, near at
hand. Meditating, meditating in remembrance on Him, I cherish Him
forever. ||1||
After
the assassination of Indra Gandhi on October 31, 1984, Sikhs were butchered
across India. This is a story about a Sikh couple living in an isolated
village outside of Punjab. The couple was young and were amritdhari. The
Singhni wore a dastaar and they had a young child. The Sikh couple had an
isolated farmhouse in a Hindu dominated area. When news of the assassination
reached the area, and it was found out that Sikhs were being killed, some
local thugs also decided it was the perfect chance to loot the farmhouse.
The
Singh found out about these plans from some well wishers and told his wife
that they had very little time and an attack was coming. The Singh said that
they should leave their farm and escape to save their lives. The Singhnee
however reminded him that they had done Parkash of Sri Guru Granth Sahib on
the top floor of the house and how could they run away from Guru Sahib? The
Singh again repeated that there was an attack coming and said that their
young child would be killed. Singhnee jee insisted again that it would be
wrong to run away from Guru Sahib and let the mob disrespect Guru Sahib's
saroop. The
Singh in frustration then said, "Once they kill us, they will disrespect the
saroop anyways so what is the point in staying ? We can't save the saroop if
we're dead. The best we can do is save ourselves now. There is no benefit in
staying! You are being stubborn and stupid." The Singhnee replied that
while she had breath in her body, she would not abandon Guru Sahib, even to
save her life and while she was alive, no one could dare do any disrespect.
With
the mob now on its way, the Singh in frustration told his Singhnee that she
could do what she wanted but he was leaving with their son. He then took the
infant and escaped. Singhnee jee went to Guru Sahib's room, and did ardaas.
She asked Guru Sahib for protection and for the courage to, if need be,
become Shahid in this seva. She then took a kirpan and waited.
When
Singhnee jee saw the mob arrive, yelling and carrying weapons, ready to
attack the house. She came down and stood at the door holding her unsheathed
Sri Sahib. All of a sudden, the thugs in the mob began to turn around and
run away, looking back in terror and then continuing to run.
Singhnee
jee was confused but amazed at Guru Sahib's kirpa as the mob retreated and
did not return... Some days later, the Singh came back to the village to
check on the fate of his wife and their property. He fully expected that his
wife would be assaulted and killed and their home looted. As he was
nervously walking to his home, a Hindu acquaintence stopped him and asked,
"Singh, where did you gather all those Nihangs from so quickly that day ???
!"
The
Singh was confused and asked, "What do you mean ?" The Hindu replied, "That
day, when the mob went to attack your house, your wife came and stood in the
door and she was surrounded by so many massive Nihangs who were so tall and
carrying all kinds of weapons. Where did you gather all of them from so
quickly ?"
The
Singh realised that Shaheed Singhs had themselves come and protected Guru
Sahib's saroop and his Singhnee's courage had been rewarded . He went home
and begged for forgivness from his Singhnee and told her about how all the
villagers were talking about the army of Nihangs that had protected their
house. That Beloved True Guru is always with me; wherever I may be, He
will save me.