Naulakha Bagh - The Green Guru

Dadi**: Guddu beta, do you remember when you accidentally stepped on that flower in our garden and felt so sad?

Guddu**: Yes Dadi! I didn't mean to!

Dadi**: I know, beta. Tonight's story is about a Guru who felt the same sadness - and it changed his whole life. This is the story of Guru Har Rai, the seventh Sikh Guru, who is called the "Green Guru."

Guddu**: Green Guru? Because he wore green clothes?

Dadi**: No, beta - because he loved nature so deeply! When Guru Har Rai was a young boy living in Kiratpur, he was walking through his grandfather's garden one day. He was wearing a long robe, as princes did in those times.

Guddu**: What happened?

Dadi**: As he walked, his flowing robe swept across a flower and knocked its petals off. When young Har Rai saw what had happened - that beautiful flower bent and broken because of him - he sat down and wept.

Guddu**: He cried? For a flower?

Dadi**: Yes, beta. He felt the pain of that little plant as if it were a living friend. And from that day forward, he made a promise that he never broke: he would never pluck a flower or harm a leaf for the rest of his life.

Guddu**: Never ever?

Dadi**: Never. And he didn't just stop there. He spent his whole life protecting and nurturing nature. He created a magnificent garden called Naulakha Bagh - which means "Garden of Nine Hundred Thousand Plants!"

Guddu**: Nine hundred thousand?! That's so many!

Dadi**: It was enormous, beta! This wasn't just a pretty garden - it was filled with rare medicinal herbs that could heal sick people. Guru Har Rai knew that God's medicines grow from the earth, and he collected them to help anyone who was suffering.

Guddu**: Did he help a lot of people?

Dadi**: One of the most famous stories is about a Mughal prince named Dara Shikoh. He was the son of the great emperor Shah Jahan - the one who built the Taj Mahal. Prince Dara was dying from a mysterious poison. No doctor in the empire could save him.

Guddu**: What poison?

Dadi**: The story says someone had poisoned him with tiger whiskers! Can you imagine? The finest doctors tried everything, but nothing worked. Finally, in desperation, Shah Jahan sent a message to Guru Har Rai asking for help.

Guddu**: But wasn't the emperor sometimes mean to the Sikhs?

Dadi**: Ah, that's the beautiful part of this story, beta. Guru Har Rai could have said no. The Mughals and Sikhs had many conflicts. But what did the Guru do?

Guddu**: What?

Dadi**: He immediately sent the rare herb that would save the prince's life - for free, asking nothing in return. When people questioned why he would help his enemies, the Guru said something I want you to always remember.

Guddu**: What did he say?

Dadi**: He said, "A tree offers shade even to the person who comes to cut it down. Should I be less generous than a tree?" Helping the sick was not about who they were or what they had done - it was about compassion.

Guddu**: That's so kind, Dadi.

Dadi**: The Green Guru also created wildlife sanctuaries where no hunting was allowed. Birds and animals came to live there, trusting that they were safe. He turned his whole town of Kiratpur Sahib into a green paradise.

Guddu**: Like a nature reserve?

Dadi**: Exactly! Hundreds of years before we started talking about "environment protection," Guru Har Rai was already practicing it. He taught that the Earth is our mother, that plants and animals are our family, that harming nature is harming ourselves.

Guddu**: So that's why March 14th is Sikh Environment Day?

Dadi**: You remember! Yes, that's the date when Guru Har Rai became the Guru. Every year, Sikhs around the world plant trees and clean rivers to honor his memory.

Guddu**: Dadi, I want to be like the Green Guru!

Dadi**: You can be, beta! Start small. Be gentle with plants. Don't litter. Remember that every creature feels pain, just like you. The butterfly, the ant, the tree outside your window - they're all alive, all part of God's creation.

Guddu**: I'll never step on flowers again, Dadi.

Dadi**: And if you accidentally do, feel that sadness - it means your heart is alive. That's what made Guru Har Rai so special. His heart felt the pain of even the smallest beings. That's true greatness.

Guddu**: Goodnight, Dadi. I'm going to hug a tree tomorrow!

Dadi**: The tree will be very happy, beta. Sweet dreams.