I serve the Lord, and I chant the Name of God. From the Perfect Guru, Nanak has obtained peace and comfortable ease. ||15|| (Page 300)
Sri Guru Granth Sahib recognizes many saints of the Bhakti movement of medieval India. Bhagat Namdev was one of the saints belonging to this movement, which swept across the North India from 1100 A.D. till 1600 A.D. When the Fifth Master, Guru Arjan Dev ji compiled Sri Guru Granth Sahib, he decided to give due recognition to the saints of Bhakti movement. That is the reason that Sri Guru Granth Sahib contains verses of such saints.
Bhagat Namdev ji emphasized the importance of living the life of a householder and that through marriage one could attain enlightenment. According to him the truest form of devotional meditation, was to enter matrimony where both husband and wife jointly sought the Holy experience of ‘Waheguru’.
Sixty-one of his hymns came to be included in the Sikh Scripture, Sri Guru Granth Sahib. According to him the worship of God, is through the singing of God’s praises and meditating on Him round the clock. Since God created all men alike, therefore good conduct and purity of life, was a must for all.
With this brief back ground about Bhagat NAMDEV ji, we proceed with our incident.
Bhai Harbhajan Singh belonged to village Marula. He often came to Nirmal Kutiya to pay his homage to Sant Baba Basant Singh ji Maharaj. He had a lot of respect for Sant Baba ji. Sant Baba ji asked him to perform a special service while in the Kutiya. He was given almonds and asked to extract oil from them. Bhai Sahib performed the service of grating the almonds (grinding and taking out oil after sieving through a muslin cloth) during the day and continued the work through the night. During this service Bhai ji quietly recited the Name of the Lord.
Bhai ji remained involved in his work so much that he did not know about the passage of time. The recitation of the Name of the Lord did not permit him to divert his attention. Sant Baba ji on seeing his devotion gave him the title of ‘NAMDEV’. Sant Baba ji called him by this name.
One night, Sant Baba ji called for Bhai Nirmal Singh, who performed the services of a head Granthi (priest) at the Kutiya. Bhai Nirmal Singh was present in the Kutiya and came to Sant Baba ji for his instructions. Sant Baba ji said, “Today, Namdev has to be baptized with the Holy nectar.”
Sant Baba ji said to Bhai Nirmal Singh, “The preparation of the ambrosial nectar requires the presence of five initiated Sikhs. Will you be able to manage to get hold of such Sikhs?” Sant Baba ji further said, “If it is not possible for you to arrange for the five initiated Sikhs, then we will fetch them from the Heaven.”
Bhai Nirmal Singh had never heard such words from Sant Baba ji and was astonished to see Sant Baba ji in this color. He could see the love Sant Baba ji was expressing for his beloved follower Bhai Harbhajan Singh (Namdev ji). He informed Sant Baba ji, “Maharaj! Giani Pritam Singh and Giani Puran Singh are present in the Kutiya. The others will be managed.”
Babu Nirmal Singh ji arranged for the others from village Johal who came to the Kutiya during the night, without raising any question.
The five beloved prepared the ambrosial nectar with the two edged sword and Namdev ji was initiated as a Khalsa.
Bhai Harbhajan Singh was indeed a lucky person to have been given the title of ‘NAMDEV’ and was fortunate to have been baptized on the instructions of Sant Baba ji. His unselfish service to Sant Baba ji had brought him to this level. He was so humble a person that everyone thought that he deserved this extreme love of Sant Baba ji.
Though Namdev ji has now grown old, yet is quite energetic and serves at the Gurdwara at village Marula. He remains active and vigilant during the service of the langar, which is arranged and served in a disciplined manner under his supervision at the Marula Gurdwara.