Miracle Published by Kanthala Raghu

Miracle
Miracle Published by Kanthala Raghu
`... and so one day Baba Nanak was passing through the Hassan Abdaal forest along with his
followers. It was a hot summer day. he sun was bla!ing. he greenery from the forest had dried
away" and the earth was #ra#ked. An eerie silen#e gripped the wilderness. here was not a soul
around e$#ept for the tra%ellers who silently mar#hed on.&&
``'hat then" mother(&&
``Baba Nanak was immersed in his pena#e as he walked. At some point" a follower by the name of
)ardana began to feel e$tremely thirsty. 'ith great hesitation he interrupted Baba&s pena#e and
indi#ated his need. But where was water to be found in that wilderness( Baba said" `Hold on"
)ardana. 'e will soon rea#h a small %illage. *ou will ha%e plenty of water to drink.& But )ardana
#ould not wait mu#h longer. Baba Nanak be#ame worried. It was indeed a diffi#ult situation. `+an&t
you wait a little longer( By ,od&s gra#e e%erything will be fine.& He #onsoled his follower. But it
was impossible for )ardana to #ontinue. He sat down on the ground. Baba smiled and #losed his
eyes. He thought deeply for a few minutes. 'hen Baba opened his eyes" )ardana was helplessly
rolling on the ground. Baba smiled again and said in a reassuring %oi#e" `Brother )ardana" do you
see the hill o%er there( -n top of that hill is a small hut. In that hut li%es a saint by the name of
.ali Kandhari. If you go and ask him" he may gi%e you a drink of water. In this entire region" his is
the only well that does not dry up in summer& ...&&
``And then what happened(&& I asked my mother impatiently. I had to know if )ardana got a drink
of water or not.
)ardana was relie%ed to hear about the saint and his hut. He ran towards the hill and began to
#limb. It was not easy to #limb uphill in that hot summer afternoon. His body was dren#hed with
perspiration when he ultimately rea#hed the top. He saw the little hut and the saint .ali
Kandhari. Bowing to the saint" he said he was thirsty. he saint pointed him to the water well. As
)ardana pro#eeded towards the well" something o##urred to .ali Kandhari. He stopped )ardana
and asked him" ``'here do you #ome from(&&
``I am a follower of Baba Nanak. 'e ha%e tra%elled a long distan#e today. here is no water
anywhere near by. Baba said I #ould find some water here.&&
.ali Kandhari be#ame angry as soon as he heard the name Baba Nanak. He dro%e )ardana away"
refusing him a drink of water. )ardana #limbed down the hill and #omplained to Baba Nanak.
Hearing his story" Baba laughed. He asked )ardana to try on#e again. ``But this time you must
approa#h the saint more politely. ell him that you are a friend of Nanak" the saint.&& Sin#e there
was no other alternati%e" )ardana #limbed up the hill again" grumbling and #ursing his fate. But
.ali Kandhari turned him down a se#ond time. ``I #annot spare a drop of water to a Kafir&s
friend/&& )ardana was heart broken. 'hen he #limbed down the hill" he was in a pitiful #ondition.
His mouth was dry" and perspiration flowed down his fa#e. He looked like a man about to breathe
his last. Baba guessed what had happened. ``Say Dhanna Nirahankar and try again" )ardana. hat
is an order"&& Baba said in a %oi#e of determination. )ardana #ould not belie%e his ears. He knew
his end had #ome. He began to #rawl up the hill. After what seemed like an eternity" he rea#hed
the saint&s hut and #ollapsed at the feet of .ali Kandhari. But the saint was not mo%ed. He ki#ked
)ardana away. ``Nanak #alls himself a saint and he #annot get his follower a drink of water/&& He
said in a s#ornful %oi#e. He abused Baba Nanak" and on#e again turned )ardana away.
'hen )ardana #rawled down the hill" he was barely breathing. He #ollapsed at the feet of Baba
Nayak and be#ame un#ons#ious. Baba bent down and patted )ardana&s ba#k. ``-pen your eyes"
brother )ardana" and lift up that stone whi#h fa#es you.&&
)ardana slowly opened his eyes. 'ith diffi#ulty he mo%ed the ro#k that lay in front of him. A
Miracle Published by Kanthala Raghu
fountain of water gushed from underneath the ro#k. he fountain gained momentum and soon
there was a large pool of water. Atop the hill" .ali Kandhari felt thirsty all of a sudden and went to
his well. he well had dried up. .ali Kandhari was taken by surprise. He looked down from the
hill. It was as though the land below had been flooded with water/ .ali Kandhari #ould spot Baba
Nanak and his followers resting beneath a tree. Angrily he grabbed a large ro#k" the si!e of a
#loud" and let it roll down the hill. he ro#k rumbled down" gathering momentum as it fell.
)ardana saw the approa#hing ro#k and #ried out in alarm. In a #alm %oi#e Baba Nanak asked his
followers to re#ite `Dhanna Nirahankar&. 'hen the ro#k approa#hed them" Baba lifted his
forefinger and stopped it. 0%en to this day Baba&s finger print #an be seen on the ro#k near Hassan
Abdaal. 1eople now #all Hassan Abdaal by the name 1an2a Saheb.
I had found the story fas#inating until I heard the end of the story. How #an any human being stop
a large ro#k with a finger tip( And what is all this about Baba&s finger print on a ro#k/ I #ould
simply not bring myself to belie%e all that. ``hat finger print #ould ha%e been #ar%ed there by
someone else" you know/&& I argued. ``A water fountain from underneath the ro#k ... that I will buy.
)odern s#ien#e has ways to dete#t water under ro#ky surfa#es. But a man stopping a rolling stone
with his fingers( No way/&& )y mother did not reply.
I heard this story again" se%eral times as a matter of fa#t" in the ,urudwara. But when they got to
the part about the rolling stone" I would simply nod my head in disappro%al. And then" a few days
later" we heard about the 3Saka3 fair at 1un2a Saheb. I did not know what 3Saka3 stood for" but I
knew what the fair meant 44 that mother will not #ook during the fair and all of us would sleep on
the hard floor. I did not know what all this signified.
)y home town is not far from 1un2a Saheb. )y mother de#ided to take me and my younger sister
to the 3Saka3 fair. -n our way" tears welled up in mother&s eyes and she brushed them away with
the palm of her hand. I and my sister were both taken aba#k. 'hat did 3Saka3 indeed mean( 'e
heard the story when we rea#hed 1un2a Saheb.
In a town far away from 1un2a Saheb" the British soldiers had broken up a protest mar#h with the
firing of rifles. )any people had died in the in#ident. housands of others had been arrested.
hese prisoners were pa#ked into a train and were being sent away to a different town. It was the
order of the go%ernment that the train not be stopped anywhere along the way. he prisoners in
the train were hungry and thirsty. here were little #hildren among the prisoners.
he news about this in#ident spread like fire and rea#hed 1un2a Saheb. 1eople were outraged by
the news. 1un2a Saheb was the town where Baba Nanak himself had 5uen#hed the thirst of
brother )ardana. here was no way a train full of hungry and thirsty passengers was to pass
through 1un2a Saheb/ he people rea#hed at an instant de#ision to stop the approa#hing train. A
plea was sent to the station master. elephones rang. elegraphi# messages went out from the
station. But the go%ernment&s de#ision was firm. he train must not be stopped anywhere" no
matter what.
here was #ommotion in the train. here were no arrangements for food or water inside the
train. But the train was not to stop at 1un2a Saheb. 1eople from 1un2a Saheb had also made up
their minds. hey rea#hed the railway station #arrying baskets of food. A whole pile of food was
sto#ked up 44 puri" sab2i" roti" daal and kheer.
But how were they to stop the train that would whi!! past like a tornado(
he story teller" who was a friend of my mother" #ontinued. ``He 44 the father of my #hildren 44
lied down a#ross the railway line. Se%eral of his fellow men followed him. 'e women folk and
little #hildren #ame ne$t" in that order ... he train approahed" whistling and rumbling like
thunder. he dri%er saw the obsta#le and stopped the train. But it was too late. As it slowed down"
Miracle Published by Kanthala Raghu
the train #rushed my husband with its wheels. hen the men who lay ne$t to him. I #losed my
eyes tightly. 'hen I opened them" the train had #ome to a grinding halt right ne$t to my head.
he women folk ne$t to me #hanted `Dhanna Nirahankar/ Dhanna Nirahankar/& he train stopped
at 1un2a Saheb. A pool of blood flowed right before my eyes.&&
As I stood listening" I was dumb founded. I was silent most of that day" and #ould not bring myself
to eat a bite.
'hile returning from 1un2a Saheb" my mother began to tell my sister the story of Baba Nanak and
)ardana. How they had tra%elled to 1un2a Saheb" how )ardana had felt thirsty" how .ali
Kandhari had turned )ardana away three times" how Baba Nanak had asked )ardana to lift a
ro#k" how a fountain of water had sprung from the spot" and how all the water from .ali
Kandhari&s well had dried up. hen she #ame to the part about the wrath of .ali Kandhari. How he
had sent a ro#k rolling down the hill and how Baba Nanak had stopped the ro#k with his fingers"
#hanting `Dhanna Nirahankar&.
``How #an anyone stop a falling ro#k with his finger(&& )y sister interrupted the story.
``'hy not(&& I spoke out. ``If they #ould stop a speeding train" they #an also stop a falling ro#k.&&
And my anguish turned into tears. I #ried" thinking of the people who had performed a mira#le
and in the a#t had gambled away their li%es 44 all for the sake of their fellow #ountrymen.