Ram Rai Alters Gurbani - Disowned by Father

Dadi**: Guddu beta, what would you do if someone threatened to kill you unless you changed one word in a sacred text?

Guddu**: Just one word? Maybe I'd change it to save my life?

Dadi**: That was the choice facing Ram Rai, the son of a Sikh Guru. His decision changed his life forever - and teaches us about the price of compromise.

Guddu**: What happened?

Dadi**: Ram Rai was the eldest son of Guru Har Rai, the seventh Sikh Guru. When the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb demanded an explanation for why Sikhs had helped his enemy, Ram Rai was sent to represent his father.

Guddu**: He went to the emperor's court?

Dadi**: A dangerous place for a Sikh! Before he left, his father gave him one warning: "Never compromise the Gurbani. Remember how Guru Arjan accepted torture rather than change one word of the scriptures."

Guddu**: Did something go wrong?

Dadi**: The Muslim scholars in Aurangzeb's court challenged a verse from Guru Nanak. The verse mentioned that the ashes of a Muslim fall into a potter's clay. They claimed this was insulting to Muslims.

Guddu**: What did Ram Rai do?

Dadi**: Aurangzeb made him an offer: change just one word, and you'll receive wealth, power, and royal favor. Refuse, and face death.

Guddu**: That's a terrible choice!

Dadi**: Ram Rai looked at the throne, the riches, the threatening swords. And he made his decision. He said the text had been "corrupted by some ignorant person." He changed 'Musalman' to 'Beiman' - from 'Muslim' to 'dishonest.'

Guddu**: He changed it?

Dadi**: Just one word. Just to save his life and gain favor. The court was satisfied. The scholars backed down. Ram Rai survived.

Guddu**: But his father found out?

Dadi**: When Guru Har Rai heard what his son had done, he was devastated. This wasn't about one word - it was about the principle. If you change scripture to please rulers, nothing is sacred anymore.

Guddu**: What did the Guru do?

Dadi**: He declared that Ram Rai was no longer his son. He refused to ever see him again. He said, "The Guruship is like the milk of a tigress - it can only be contained in a golden cup." Ram Rai was not that cup.

Guddu**: He disowned his own son?!

Dadi**: The succession went to Ram Rai's younger brother instead. Ram Rai spent the rest of his life in exile, trying to regain his father's favor. He never did. He never became Guru.

Guddu**: That's so sad!

Dadi**: It is sad, beta. Ram Rai wasn't evil. He was scared, and he made a choice many of us might make. But some positions require absolute integrity.

Guddu**: Would you have changed the word, Dadi?

Dadi**: I hope I would have the strength to say no. But until you face that moment, you never truly know. That's why the Gurus trained their followers to value truth above life itself.

Guddu**: Is it wrong that I feel sorry for Ram Rai?

Dadi**: Not at all! He was human. He made a human mistake. The story isn't meant to make us hate Ram Rai - it's meant to show us what's at stake when we compromise on principles.

Guddu**: What's at stake?

Dadi**: Everything you stand for. Ram Rai gained comfort but lost his identity, his lineage, his father's love, and his place in history as a Guru. Was the comfort worth it?

Guddu**: When you put it that way... no.

Dadi**: The story asks us to decide before we're tested: what will we never compromise on? If we know in advance, maybe we'll have the strength when the moment comes.

Guddu**: I need to think about what I'd never change, no matter what.

Dadi**: That's the homework this story gives us. Goodnight, beta. May you always have the courage to stand by your truth.

Guddu**: Goodnight, Dadi!