Back to the front foot

Now saying thank you to Bhai Bala as also to all those who gave us a chance to explain so much about Baba Nanak in the garb of proving the authenticity of Bala's character we will again come back to the very beginning to take the first step on Nanak's first udasi (travel).

As we proceed we hope to show how things fell into place on their own as I said before for the onward journey of Baba Nanak at each step rather than as per his own initiative.

[I had read the Bhai Bala Janamsakhi extensively in my childhood yet to renew my memory I sought the same from a relative who sent me one published in 2010. I found that it also contains life-sketches of ten Gurus at the end. Obviously the editor or publisher thought that after reading this Janamsakhi one may like to know more about Sikh Gurus and so added their life-stories. Now one can also criticise this Janamsakhi later saying that this is not authentic work of Bala as it contains life-sketches of ten Gurus which Bhai Bala could not have written as he had died much earlier. Same is the case with many other previous additions which article writer at sikhiwiki and others have criticised, but which actually does not show that the main Janamsakhi was not written by Bhai Bala. As I have already said those additions could be the handiwork of publishers or their handymen.]

Anyway, now coming back to the journey, the first person Nanak visited on his first journey while leaving Sultanpur is Bhai Lalo of Eminabad. Here is the literal English translation of the last paragraph of the story preceding that of Bhai Lao which shows how Nanak proceeded on it. My purpose here is to show that Nanak did not plan his journey according to what we would call "logical way" but did it as it came- as the things fell into place on their own.

"Taking leave from Sister Nanaki when Nanak and Mardana came out of Sultanpur town Nanak asked Mardana where to go now. Mardana replied that he can't say anything, he is to follow him wherever he goes so it is up to him. Nanak replied then let us go to carpenter Lalo, a pious man, who lives at Eminabad." From this it is clear that he had no prior planning, he just moved at the spur of the moment. He will often ask Bhai Mardana or Bala where to go before seeing what comes to his mind.

In our next post we would discuss what has come to be known as "the story of Nanak's deliverance of Malik Bhago. " For the time being if anybody is interested can read a satirical version of this story at my other blog http://www.bigtamasha.com/

Photo courtsey www.myradsouza.blogspot.com