him to see the Guru. The devotion of a former existence was kindled in his heart, and until he had the advantage of beholding Guru Angad, he deemed every moment an age.
After some days, during which suitable arrangements were made for their travel, Bibi Amro accompanied by Amar Das set out on a visit to her father in Khadur. When Amar Das arrived, the Guru, on account of his close affinity, desired to embrace him, but Amar Das courteously remonstrated. He said, ‘Thou art as God, I am only a worm,’ and then fell at the Guru's feet. Amar Das, on doing homage to the Guru, felt as delighted as a poor man would who had obtained the wealth of the world.
One day the Guru had a meat dinner prepared. Amar Das said, ‘If the Guru is a searcher of hearts, he must know that I am a Vaishnav and do not touch flesh.’ The Guru, knowing this, ordered that dal[1] should be served him. Amar Das then reflected, ‘The Guru knoweth that meat is forbidden me, so he hath ordered that dal be served me instead.’ Amar Das then rapidly arrived at the conclusion that any disciple, whose practice differed from that of the Guru, must inevitably fail. He therefore told the cook that if the Guru were kind enough to give him meat, he would partake of it. The Guru, on hearing this, knew that superstition was departing from Amar Das's heart, and he handed him his own dish. When Amar Das had partaken of it, he for the first time felt peace of mind, and, as he became further absorbed in his attentions and devotion to the Guru, celestial light dawned on his heart. Thus did he break with the strictest tenet of Vaishnavism and become a follower of the Guru.
One day the Guru, in order to further remove
- ↑ Dāl is the pulse of certain Indian leguminous plants such as chana, masūr, moth, ūrad, mūng, &c. It is not the name of any particular vegetable.
