Guru Nanak and a Robber

Once Guru Nanak Dev Ji came to a village where a robber lived, whose name was Bhoomi Daku. He was disliked by one and all because he was a thief. When he saw Guru Nanak Dev Ji, he respectfully called Guru ji to his house so that he could serve him.

 Guru ji took mercy on the thief and said that he would definitely oblige but before that he would have to make four promises.

 The first promise is that he would never steal from poor people.  The second promise is that from now on he would have to always speak the truth. The third promise is that if he would go to somebody's house and eat there,then he would not steal from that house. The fourth promise is that he would not put the blame on somebody else. 

   Bhoomi Daku promised to keep all the four promises. Guru Nanak Dev Ji then went to his house and they enjoyed a nice evening together. Bhoomi Daku felt very happy and blessed to have such a wise and spiritual soul come to his house.

    Later Bhoomi Daku went out to steal . Since he had promised not to steal from the poor, he therefore decided to go and steal from the king’s house. When he got to the kings house there were soldiers guarding the palace. He tried to sneak in when they were looking elsewhere.However a bodyguard caught hold of him and asked him as to why he was there. Bhoomi Daku remembered his promise that he would always tell the truth!

 So he told the soldier that his name was Bhoomi Daku and he has come to steal from the king. The soldier did not believe him and he started laughing. He thought him to be rather a friend of the king and took him in.

    Bhoomi Daku walked into the king’s palace. He thought to himself that Guru Nanak Dev Ji is really great! Because of his promises he is now near the most wonderful riches that he had ever seen in his life! 

He saw all kinds of jewellery and treasures and he proceeded to put all these in his bags. As he was stealing he smelled something very, very good. It smelled like a chocolate cake! He walked into the kitchen and opened the oven and there was a beautiful and delicious cake. Chocolate cake was his favourite!

He could not help reaching out and taking a piece of the cake. It tasted so good! But just when he tasted it, he remembered his promise to Guru Nanak Dev Ji that if he eats in someone’s house, he would not steal from them. So he dropped his bags right there and he came out of the palace.

    In the morning, the king noticed that some of the cake was missing, and he saw the bag of treasure lying on the ground. He said that someone must have come there and instructed his men to bring him before him.

 So the king’s men went to the town and started asking all the people about it, but no one could say anything. After a while the guards got annoyed and started beating people. The people cried out in despair and said that they didnot do anything wrong! But the guards did not listen and kept beating them. When Bhoomi Daku heard the people crying out, he remembered his fourth promise to Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

   So he ran out and said the King's men to stop beating as they were innocent. He said that he is the robber and they should punish him instead. So they brought him to the king. 

Bhoomi Daku explained everything to the king, but the king was confused and asked that he heard that no one suspected him.Then why did he confess?

Bhoomi Daku said that the the fourth promise he made to the Guru was that he would not put the blame on others for what he did. These people were taking the blame for him, so he had to keep his promise!

The king was impressed. He said that he must have a great Guru because he had kept all these promises made to his Guru! He said that he was very much impressed with his Guru, and he would not punish him and he is free to go. Then Bhoomi Daku asked the king that the public was beaten for no fault of their's.

   The king decided to throw a big party and invite everyone. During the party, Bhoomi Daku stood up in front of everyone. He announced to everyone that he doesnot know where Guru Nanak Dev Ji was now but he kept all the four promises that he had made to him.

He now would make a fifth promise that he would never steal again and follow the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji!

The people were happy to hear this. The king, Bhoomi Daku and all the people in the village ate chocolate cake together and everyone lived very happily from that day on!