The Tradition of the Faithful Bibi Rajni
In the era of Guru Ram Das Ji, one cannot leave out Rajni, youngest daughter of Rai Duni Chand, revenue collector (kardar) of Patti. (The story has all the myth, magic and miracles of a genuine Sakhi, but is nevertheless a charming story). Rajni was a Sikh, a disciple of the Guru. One day she was sitting with her sisters admiring some new clothing they all had received from their father. The girls were ecstatic and exclaiming how good their father was to them.
Rajni observed that all gifts are ultimately from God. Their father was merely an instrument of His greatness. Unfortunately for her, he overheard her comment and became very angry. It was not the First time that she incurred his wrath because of her extreme piety. The infuriated father, believing her to be an ungrateful wretch, married her to a leper with a taunt that he would see how her God would help her lead a normal life. The leper was severely disfigured and a foul smell came from his body. The poor girl had accepted her fate ungrudgingly and worked hard to maintain herself and her crippled husband.
She kept repeating the name of God, and was certain that he was testing her with this turn of events. It became very difficult at times to earn their living. Still she bathed and fed her leper husband, never losing faith.
eyku ij swjnu mY kIAw srb klw smrQu ]
I have made the One Lord my Friend; He is All-powerful to do everything.
jIau hmwrw KMnIAY hir mn qn sMdVI vQu ]1]
My soul is a sacrifice to Him; the Lord is the treasure of my mind and body. ||1||
One day, she reached the site of a pool on her way to a neighboring village. Placing the basket containing her husband by the side of the pool under the shade of a tree, she had gone off to look for work/food. In the meantime, her crippled husband saw a black crow dip into the water of the pool and come out white !!
Amazed at this miracle, the man somehow crawled up to the edge of the pool and managed a dip. He found himself completely cured. When his wife returned, she was amazed to find her husband in good health. He was handsome and whole. At first, she was alarmed and suspected that he might be a different person. He had, however, kept one finger with leprosy marks un-dipped. He showed her the diseased finger as proof of his identity.
The couple thanked God, and went to the Guru to seek his blessings. It is believed that the pool was the future site of the Sri Harminder Sahib. The medicinal properties of the water were said to have come from Basil (Tulsi), which grew in abundance on its banks. Guru Amar Das Ji used to pick the herb there to make poultices for an infected toe that plagued Guru Angad Ji. The legendary importance of the site highlights the medicinal properties of the waters of the pool, Rajni’s leper husband was cured in.
Sakhi relates that if you keep faith in God then one day all rewards are paid. Bibi Rajni had always kept the Faith in Guru and God, being happy with whatever she had and thus was rewarded at the end.
BorI Brmu v\wie iprI muhbiq ihku qU ]
bh o ree bharam van(j) aae p i ree m uhabath h i k thoo ||
If you can dispel your doubts, even for an instant, and love your only Beloved,
ijQhu vM\Y jwie iqQwaU maujUdu soie ]1]
j i thhah u va(n)n(j) ai j aae th i thh aaoo mo uj oo dh s oe ||1||
then wherever you go, there you shall find Him. ||1|| ( GGS ji – pg 322)
Acknowledgement: http://tuhitu.blogspot.com/