By what virtues can I meet the Lord of life, O my mother? - Saakhi Bhilnee Di

This is the story of a woman named Bhilnee who was forced to live on her own in a hut. She was of a low caste and in addtion she was not beautiful. Her parents turned her out of their house, as they did not want to feed another mouth and because it was very unlikely due to her homely appearance that anyone would agree to marry her to their son. Even people who walked by Bhilnee would look away and keep on walking to avoid conversation with her.

One day, Bhilnee went to the Pampasar Tirath, a place of pilgrimage and worship. She drank the water of the sarovar (pool) and bathed in it as well. When the Rishis (seers) saw her, they stopped her, saying that the holy water of the pool has been contaminated now because she had touched it. With tears running down her face, Bhilnee was pushed and shoved out from Pampasar Tirath by the Rishis.

kvn gun pRwnpiq imlau myrI mweI ]1] rhwau ]


kavan gun praanapath milo maeree maaee ||1|| rehaao ||
By what virtues can I meet the Lord of life, O my mother? ||1||Pause||

rUp hIn buiD bl hInI moih prdysin dUr qy AweI ]1]


roop heen budhh bal heenee mohi paradhaesan dhoor thae aaee ||1||
I have no beauty, understanding or strength; I am a stranger, from far away. ||1|

(Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 204).

Bhilnee was not beautiful, nor had wealth, knowledge or birth into a high caste. Someone who has none of these is usually mistreated by people. The Rishis warned Bhilnee to never come to Pampasar Tirath again. They were angry that she had come and made the water unholy by her bathing in it.

iQru Gir bYshu hir jn ipAwry ]


thhir ghar baisahu har jan piaarae ||
Remain steady in the home of your own self, O beloved servant of the Lord.

siqguir qumry kwj svwry ]1] rhwau ]


sathigur thumarae kaaj savaarae ||1|| rehaao ||
The True Guru shall resolve all your affairs. ||1||Pause||

(Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 201).

The next day, when the Rishis awakened to take their morning bath in the pool, they found it full of worms. They were surprised since just yesterday the water was perfectly clean and yet today it is full of worms. The Rishis ordered the water of the sarovar to be replaced with fresh water. The pool again became reinfested. The sarovar’s water was replaced a second time, but the same thing happened.

Finally, the Rishis gave up in their efforts and decided to ask Raam Chandra, the divine incarnation of the Trayta yug, to come and clear the water by placing his foot in the sarovar. They went to ask Raam Chandra to accomplish this favor and he obliged by giving them the date and time he would come to Pampasar Tirath.

All the Rishis began cleaning their homes. One said that Raam Ji would pass by his home along his route ; another said Raam Ji would go that by his area. All are hoping that they could please Raam Ji and that he may grant them a boon.

Bhilnee heard the news and hoped that Raam Ji would come to her little hut as well, but then reflected that she had nothing to serve him to eat while others in anticipation of Raam Ji coming to their homes were preparing special sweets to serve him. Bhilnee went to the jungle and from a berry tree she began picking some berries. As she picked them she would taste the fruit to see if each was sour or sweet. She would put the sour berries in one pile and gathered the sweet berries in another pile for Raam Ji, all the while forgetting that she was making them all impure by tasting each one.

She took the sweet berries home and prayed that Raam Ji would bring his holy presence to her home just once.

As Raam Ji came through the village, the Rishis were standing outside their homes with garlands of flowers to adorn him with. He would point and ask "Whose shelter is this?" The Rishis replied, "This shelter belongs to the celibates."

Raam Ji pointed at the next home and asked, "Whose shelter is this?" The Rishis replied, "This one belongs to the ascetics."

At the next shelter, again Raam Ji asked "Whose shelter is this?" The Rishis replied, "This shelter belongs to the renunciates."

The next one was Bhilnee’s little hut. Raam Ji stood in front of it and asked, "Who does this shelter belong to?" The Rishis replied, "Raam Ji, please don’t go into that one. That hut belongs to the low woman, Bhilnee."

Raam Ji answered to the Rishis, "But I have come especially to see Bhilnee."

Raam Ji proceeded to the doorway of the hut and called out, "To whom does this shelter belong?"

Bhilnee answered from inside, "This shelter belongs to Raam Ji." And with that Raam Ji entered Bhilnee’s hut. Raam Ji placed his hand upon Bhilnee’s head and asked her to open her eyes. After having the blessed vision of Raam Ji, the divine incarnate of Trayta yug, Bhilnee served the berries and Raam Ji ate them.

Then Raam Ji took Bhilnnee along with him to Pampasar Tirath. He asked the Rishis to place their feet in the sarovar but nothing happened to the water. Then Raam Ji placed his own foot in the water but still nothing changed in the water. Finally, Raam Ji asked Bhilnee to place her foot in the water. Bhilnee objected to this stating that when God himself is present then what would her doing this do? But Raam Ji insisted. Bhilnee touched the water with her foot and as her foot entered the water, the water became clear and the worms disappeared.

AwpixAw syvkw kI Awip pYj rKY AwpixAw Bgqw kI pYrI pwvY ]

aapaniaa saevakaa kee aap paij rakhai aapaniaa bhagathaa kee pairee paavai ||
He Himself preserves the honor of His servants; He causes others to fall at the feet of His devotees.

(Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, ang 555).

Throughout the ages, there have been countless devoted servants of God. Many of them were not accepted by the society they lived in, but God has always preserved their honor by opening the eyes of those who were false.