Sakhis — Stories
of the Gurus

When Guru Nanak Dev Ji was about 30 years old, he worked in Sultanpur Lodhi as a store manager for the Nawab (governor) of the area. Every morning before dawn, he would walk to the river Bein to bathe and meditate.

One morning in 1499, Guru Nanak Ji walked into the river and disappeared. His servants panicked. They searched the water, but he was gone. Three days passed. Everyone thought he had drowned.

On the third day, Guru Nanak Ji walked out of the river, glowing with a different kind of light. The first words he spoke were: 'There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim.' People were confused — what did this mean?

Later, Guru Nanak Ji explained: God had called him to His presence, given him a cup of nectar to drink, and commanded him: 'Go back into the world and teach people to meditate on My Name. I am with you. Anyone who remembers Me with love and lives honestly will be freed from the cycle of birth and death.'

From that day, Guru Nanak Dev Ji gave up his job, gave away all his belongings, and began his great journeys across the world, singing hymns and spreading God's message of love, truth, and equality.

When Guru Nanak Dev Ji was a teenager, his father gave him 20 rupees — a lot of money — and told him to go to the next town and trade it for goods. He wanted his son to learn the family business.

On the way, Guru Nanak Ji met a group of wandering holy men (sadhus) who were starving — they had not eaten in many days. Without hesitation, Guru Nanak Ji took his 20 rupees and spent all of it buying food for the hungry holy men. He fed them a proper meal.

When he came home with no goods and no money, his father was furious. 'What did you do with the money?' he demanded. Young Nanak replied with a smile: 'I made a true trade, Father. I bought true nourishment — the feeding of hungry, holy people. What better trade is there?'

His father was angry, but Guru Nanak Ji could not see a hungry person without helping. From this early age, the principle of Vand Chakko — sharing what you have — was the foundation of who he was.

During his travels, Guru Nanak Dev Ji stopped to rest near a great hill. While he meditated, a huge boulder at the top of the hill broke loose and came rolling down with tremendous speed, directly toward the sleeping Guru.

The Guru's companion, Bhai Mardana Ji, cried out in terror. But Guru Nanak Ji simply raised one hand — and the massive boulder stopped. It stopped as completely as if it had hit a wall, right before the Guru's hand. It did not roll another inch. This spot is still visible to this day in Hasan Abdal, Pakistan.

Meanwhile, at a Mughal nobleman's hut nearby, a large fan that had been hanging motionless began to sway and move on its own, creating a cool breeze — even though there was no wind. The nobleman came out to find the source and found Guru Nanak Ji, and became his devotee.

Guru Nanak Ji said: 'God's world is filled with His wonders. Those with faith need not fear — even mountains will stop before God's will.'

Emperor Akbar the Great, one of the most powerful rulers in the world, wanted to meet Guru Amar Das Ji, the third Sikh Guru. He heard wonderful stories of the Guru's wisdom and decided to visit.

Guru Amar Das Ji had a strict rule: no one — no matter who they were — could see him without first sitting in the Langar and eating with everyone else. The rule was: 'Pehle Pangat, Phir Sangat' — first the meal together, then the meeting.

When Akbar arrived with his royal court, his officials were scandalized. The Emperor of India would have to sit on the ground like a common person and eat simple food with farmers and laborers? Surely an exception would be made for the Emperor!

But Guru Amar Das Ji's rule had no exceptions. Akbar, to his great credit, agreed. He sat on the floor in the long rows of the Langar, shoulder to shoulder with people from all walks of life, and ate the simple food with gratitude and humility.

After the meal, he was brought before Guru Amar Das Ji. He was so deeply moved by the experience — by the equality, the simplicity, and the love he witnessed — that he offered to grant the Guru land for the Langar. The Guru declined, but Akbar left a changed man.

On Baisakhi Day — April 13, 1699 — Guru Gobind Singh Ji called all the Sikhs of the world to gather at Anandpur Sahib. Thousands came from across India. No one knew what was about to happen.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji emerged from his tent holding an unsheathed sword that gleamed in the morning sun. A hush fell over the crowd of thousands. He spoke in a loud, clear voice: 'Is there a Sikh here who loves the Guru so much that he will give me his head?'

Silence. Then one man — Daya Ram of Lahore — stepped forward. He said: 'My head is yours, my Guru.' Guru Gobind Singh Ji led him into the tent. A sound was heard. Blood seemed to drip under the tent flap. The crowd gasped.

The Guru came back out with the sword. He asked again: 'I need another head.' Silence. Then another man stepped forward. Then another. Then another. Then a fifth. Each time, the Guru went back into the tent with a different man.

Then the tent opened — and all five men walked out, alive and smiling, dressed in blue, wearing turbans. Guru Gobind Singh Ji had tested them completely and they had passed. He named them the Panj Piyare — the Five Beloved Ones.

He prepared Amrit (holy water sweetened with patasas/sugar) in an iron bowl, stirring it with a double-edged sword while reciting sacred Banis. He baptized the Panj Piyare. Then — in the most revolutionary moment — he bowed before them and asked them to baptize him in return. The Guru became the disciple of his own Sikhs. The Khalsa was born.

When Guru Har Krishan Ji was only 8 years old, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb summoned him to Delhi. The city was in the grip of a terrible smallpox epidemic. Thousands of people were dying. The streets were full of sorrow and fear.

Guru Har Krishan Ji arrived in Delhi with a simple message: 'I am here to serve.' He went to the banks of the River Yamuna where the poorest people lived, many of them sick and dying. He began going from person to person — regardless of whether they were Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh — placing his hand on their heads, giving them water to drink, and praying with them.

The people of Delhi were amazed. Here was a child — a Guru, yes, but still just a child — willingly going to the most dangerous parts of the city to hold the hands of smallpox victims. Many began to recover.

Eventually, the young Guru contracted smallpox himself. As he lay ill, his followers wept and asked: 'Guru Ji, who will be the next Guru?' The child Guru whispered: 'Baba Bakale' — meaning the next Guru would be found in the village of Bakala — and then passed away, aged just eight.

He gave everything he had — including his life — to serve others. The people of Delhi mourned him deeply, Hindu and Muslim alike.

During the long siege of Anandpur Sahib in 1704, Guru Gobind Singh Ji was surrounded by a huge Mughal army. Month after month, the Sikhs held out, but food and water ran low. The situation seemed hopeless.

Forty Sikhs — good Sikhs, people who had loved their Guru — could take no more. They wrote a 'bedawa,' a formal letter saying they were no longer Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Sikhs, and left Anandpur. They went home to their villages, ashamed but relieved to be safe.

Back in their village of Jhabal, they were confronted by a remarkable woman: Mai Bhago. She was furious and heartbroken. 'You are Sikhs of the Guru!' she cried. 'The Guru is alone and surrounded and you are here, hiding? I, a woman, am not afraid to die for my Guru!'

Her words cut them to the heart. All forty men turned around, put on their battle gear, and followed Mai Bhago back to find the Guru. They intercepted a Mughal force at Khidrana (now Muktsar) and fought with everything they had.

All forty of them died in that battle — except for Mai Bhago, who was gravely wounded. Guru Gobind Singh Ji came and found them. He picked up the bedawa — the letter they had written abandoning him — and tore it up. He declared: 'These forty are liberated. They have repaid their debt to the Guru and to God.' They are remembered forever as the Chali Mukte — the Forty Liberated Ones.

It was December 1704. Guru Gobind Singh Ji's youngest two sons — Zorawar Singh (age 8) and Fateh Singh (age 5) — had been separated from their father during the escape from Anandpur Sahib. They were with their grandmother, Mata Gujri Ji.

They were betrayed by a man who had once been a trusted servant. He handed them over to the Mughal governor of Sirhind, Wazir Khan — a man known for his cruelty to Sikhs.

Wazir Khan locked them in the cold Thanda Burj (cold tower) for several days with minimal food. Then he brought them to his court. He expected to see two frightened, crying children. Instead, the boys walked in with their heads high and gave the Sikh greeting boldly: 'Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!'

Wazir Khan offered them everything: freedom, wealth, beautiful horses, fine food, titles of honor — if only they would convert to Islam and forget their Sikh faith. Eight-year-old Zorawar Singh replied clearly: 'We are the sons of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. We would rather die as Sikhs than live as cowards.' Five-year-old Fateh Singh said: 'What my brother said.'

The Mughal court was stunned. Wazir Khan ordered them to be bricked alive in a wall. As the wall rose around them, the boys recited Gurbani. Their grandmother, Mata Gujri Ji, upon hearing the news, offered thanks to God for the courage of her grandsons — and passed away peacefully herself.

When the news reached Guru Gobind Singh Ji, he was in terrible pain. But he was also filled with spiritual awe. He said: 'God gave me four diamonds. He has taken them back. But the Khalsa, born of my spirit, will always live.' He composed poetry of praise for God even in the depths of his grief.

During the battles of Guru Gobind Singh Ji's time, a devoted Sikh named Bhai Kanhaiya was given the task of going to the battlefield after each fight to provide water and care for the wounded.

Other Sikh soldiers noticed something strange and disturbing: Bhai Kanhaiya was giving water not only to wounded Sikhs, but also to wounded enemy soldiers. He was bandaging their wounds, giving them water, and comforting them just as he would Sikhs.

Outraged Sikh soldiers dragged Bhai Kanhaiya before Guru Gobind Singh Ji to complain. 'Guru Ji, this man is helping our enemies! He is a traitor!'

Guru Gobind Singh Ji turned to Bhai Kanhaiya with curiosity: 'Is what they say true? Were you giving water to the enemy soldiers?'

Bhai Kanhaiya replied quietly: 'Guru Ji, you taught me that God lives in every person — in every face I see, I see the face of God. When I went to the battlefield, I could not see enemies. I only saw the suffering faces of God. How could I not give water to God?'

Guru Gobind Singh Ji smiled and looked at the complaining soldiers. 'This man has understood my teaching perfectly. He is right. Go — and give him ointments as well, so he can also heal their wounds.' Bhai Kanhaiya is considered the first Red Cross worker in history — his organization eventually became the Red Cross of his time.