see with his own eyes the position of affairs. On beholding the Guru surrounded with such splendour he said, ‘Only yesterday thou wert a water-carrier in our house, and to-day thou sittest as a Guru.’ Saying this he kicked the Guru off his throne. The Guru meekly replied, ‘O great king, pardon me. Thou must have hurt thy foot.’ Upon this the Guru arose and retired to the upper story of his house. His Sikhs, angry at the violence offered their master, also abandoned the place. The Guru, when alone, deliberated on his best course of action, and by evening decided he could only have peace by betaking himself to a distance from his tyrant. He accordingly left Goindwal for Basarka, his native village.
Early next morning a Jat cultivator of Basarka, going to his land some distance from the town, met the Guru on the way. He fell at his feet and said, ‘I have heard that thou hast obtained the Guru's throne; how is it thou hast come here alone? May I be of service to thee?’ The Guru asked for a residence, and the Jat immediately prepared him one. The Guru on entering it requested his host to brick up the doorway and on it record the following: ‘Whoever openeth this door is no Sikh of mine, nor am I his Guru.’ The Guru on being thus immured consoled himself by reflecting on the couplet of Kabir :—
Kabir, heart-burning ariseth from claims, he who hath no
claim is without anxiety.
He who hath no claim deemeth Indar poor in comparison
with himself.
Datu was now free to sit on the Guru's throne in Goindwal, and became very proud of his new position. The Sikhs, however, would not approach him, and all the pilgrims to Goindwal went away on hearing of his insult to the Guru. On seeing the contempt with which he was regarded, he loaded his newly-acquired
