Talk:Nirguṇī Sant Dādū Dayāl
By Vishal Agarwal
Story: The violent attacker of Sant Dādū Dayāl becomes his disciple
Sant Dādū lived outside a city in the region of North-West India. Gradually, his fame as a devotee of Bhagavān spread. People from afar started coming to listen to his sermons on bhakti, and to participate in his worship programs.
The kotwāl (police chief) of the city also happened to hear about Sant Dādū. He thought, “Let me travel to see him, and derive benefit from his teachings.” He set out on horseback. When he was outside the city, he came across a man cleaning the path of thorns and levelling it all alone. The kotwāl asked the man, “Do you know where Sant Dādū lives?” But the man was lost in his work and did not respond. The kotwāl asked again in a loud voice, but the man merely looked up and smiled.
The kotwāl became very angry and thought, “How dare he smile at me as if I am a joker!” He took a whip and lashed the man a few times before proceeding further. A little distance ahead, he encountered another man and asked him, “Have you seen Sant Dādū? Where does he live?”
The second man replied, “Sant Dādū spends this time of the day cleaning the paths of thorns and levelling them so that the travellers can cover their journey more easily. Did you not see him on the way?”
When the kotwāl heard this, he was horrified. He rushed back to the first man and said, “Respected Sant Dādū, I whipped you in ignorance. Please forgive me. Why did you not say that you are Sant Dādū when I whipped you?”
Sant Dādū replied lovingly, “The path to Bhagavān is littered with thorns of anger, jealousy, pride, and other evils. Unless you pluck these evils from the path of the spiritual journey, how can you hope to reach Bhagavān? You will benefit from my sermons on bhakti only if you have first plucked out these thorns from your mind.”
The kotwāl fell at the feet of the Sant and begged for forgiveness once more. He promised to work on his anger issues, become forgiving, and become a humble man. He accepted Sant Dādū as his guru, and thanked him for showing him the true path towards Bhagavān.