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Articles: Guru Nanak Sakhis:
Sajjan Thug
Sajjan Thug
Neither be a robber, nor be a cheat.
Be sincere to all, your dealings be neat.
Sajjan means a nice person, a friend, a helper.
There was a man with this name living in Tulamba (now in Pakistan).
He was known as a good man in his area. He had constructed an inn
for travelers to rest for the night.
Whenever a traveler would forget anything in the inn,
Sajjan kept it as his own. Slowly he developed the bad habit of stealing
valuables of the travelers when they were sleeping at night. After
some time, this bad habit made him a wicked man. He even killed people
staying at his inn if he wanted to take away the travelers' belongings.
The dead bodies were disposed of secretly by burying them in the compound
at night. A "sajjan" because of his bad habits thus became a "thug."
The people, therefore, called him "Sajjan Thug."
On one of their journeys Guru Nanak Dev and Bhai Mardana
stayed with Sajjan Thug for the night. In the evening Guru Nanak
Dev sang a shabad while Bhai Mardana played on the rebeck. The shabad
explained that if a person is bad at heart, an outward show of good acts
means nothing. God knows our mind and no one can bluff Him.
The true friends (sajjan) are actually the good deeds of a man. These
good deeds help the man not only here in this world but also after death
in the next life. By evil acts man makes his own mind dirty, because
of which he not only suffers here in this world, but also his soul remains
dirty even after death.
Sajjan Thug had been listening to this shabad attentively.
As the shabad went into his ears, his mind started "seeing" the truth.
He realized he was an evil man. He was taking away the belongings
of innocent travelers to whom he was supposed to provide comfort and service.
Sajjan Thug went to the Guru, folded his hands and confessed
before the Guru that he was Sajjan only by name. Actually, by his
deeds he was a Thug. Sajjan Thug sincerely repented and promised
to lead a holy life in the future.
The Guru was pleased by the change of his heart and he
was, therefore, very kind to Sajjan Thug. Sajjan was advised to distribute
all the ill-got money to the needy and start his life afresh as an honest
man. He sincerely practiced as the Guru advised him. He started
helping the visitors and making their stay comfortable by whatever he could
do for them.
Thus, a Sajjan by name, a thug by profession, became a
Sajjan by his deeds as well, after meeting Guru Nanak.
Man is valued by the deeds he does. True friends are
our good deeds. They remain with us even when our body dies.
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