Remain settled, Get scatterred

During the course of his long journey, when Sri Guru Nanak Dev with Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana went to the area of Bengal, and reached a village. They were all hungry and tired. They approached the villagers and told them that due to their long journey, they are very hungry and tired. We need some food and a room to rest. But the villagers were rude in behaviour. They said, “Go, Go, we do not care for travellers.” They asked many other people of that village but all were equally rude and nobody helped them. They had to spend their night hungrily outside the village. In the morning when they got up, they did a prayer to God. After the prayer Guruji said, ‘May the people of this village remain settled here only.’ Then they started their journey again. Bhai Mardana was much perturbed with the behaviour of the villagers. He was astonished that despite their rude behaviour, Guruji blessed them to remain settled. But he said nothing.

In the evening they reached another village. The people of that village were very nice. They used to welcome all the visitors in their village. They behaved very politely with Guruji and his companions. They offered them food, made arrangements for their night stay. Next day when Guru Nanak woke up, he prayed to God. At the end of the prayer he prayed that ‘May the people of this village get scattered.

Bhai Mardana heard the prayer of Guruji. He was astonished to note that Guruji blessed the rude villagers of previous village to remain settled and now he is blessing the good people of this village to get scattered. He could not check himself and approached Guruji saying, Satguru, I fail to understand that you have cursed to these nice people to get scattered, whereas the people who were unkind to us, were blessed to remain settled. Is not it strange that you are belessing the bad people and cursing the nice ones?

Guru Nanak said to Mardana affectionately, “I have not given any curse to these nice people. I want that such good people should scatter to different places so that they can make other people good like themselves. I have blessed those bad people to remain settled in that village so that they should not make other people bad like themselves.

Mardana understood the deep thinking of Guru Nanak and was happy to get the clarification.