Pir Bhikan Shah Two Pots Test

Dadi**: Guddu beta, what do you think happens when a Hindu and a Muslim both recognize the same divine child?

Guddu**: I don't know, Dadi. They usually follow different religions.

Dadi**: Tonight's story is about a Muslim saint who recognized a Sikh Guru as divine - and traveled hundreds of miles to bow before a baby. This is the story of Pir Bhikan Shah.

Guddu**: Who was he?

Dadi**: Bhikan Shah was a respected Sufi saint who lived in the village of Thaska, in what is now Haryana. One morning, something extraordinary happened. While all the Muslims were praying toward Mecca in the west, as they always did...

Guddu**: What happened?

Dadi**: Bhikan Shah suddenly turned and bowed deeply toward the east - toward a faraway city called Patna!

Guddu**: That must have shocked everyone!

Dadi**: His disciples were stunned! "What are you doing?" they cried. "Mecca is in the west! Why do you bow east?" This was unheard of for a Muslim holy man.

Guddu**: What did he say?

Dadi**: Bhikan Shah smiled and explained, "At this very moment, in the east, a divine soul has been born. A spiritual and temporal king who will establish true religion and destroy evil. I am bowing to the One who has taken human form."

Guddu**: Who was born?

Dadi**: Baby Gobind Rai - who would later become Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru! Even from hundreds of miles away, through his spiritual vision, Bhikan Shah sensed the divine birth.

Guddu**: Did he go to see the baby?

Dadi**: He couldn't stay away! He gathered his disciples and made the long journey to Patna. When he arrived, he requested permission to see the infant.

Guddu**: What did he do when he saw the baby?

Dadi**: He made a deep, respectful bow. But then he did something clever - a test of the child's divine wisdom.

Guddu**: A test for a baby?

Dadi**: He placed two clay pots of sweets before the infant. One pot he had bought from a Hindu shopkeeper. The other he had bought from a Muslim shopkeeper. In his mind, he thought: "Let's see if this child understands that all are one."

Guddu**: Could the baby understand that?

Dadi**: Watch what happened! Little Gobind Rai looked at both pots. Then he placed his left hand on one pot and his right hand on the other pot - both at the same time!

Guddu**: He touched both at once?

Dadi**: Both at once! The baby then smiled and looked directly at the Pir. Bhikan Shah's eyes filled with tears. He made an even deeper bow than before.

Guddu**: What did that mean?

Dadi**: By touching both pots equally and simultaneously, the child was saying: "Hindu and Muslim are the same to me. I embrace both. I reject neither. All paths lead to the One God."

Guddu**: Wow! A baby communicated all that?

Dadi**: A divine baby, beta. Bhikan Shah explained to everyone what had happened. This wasn't just a test passed - it was a prophecy fulfilled. The child would grow up to unite people of all faiths.

Guddu**: Did Guru Gobind Singh really unite people?

Dadi**: Throughout his life, he welcomed people of all backgrounds. His armies included Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs fighting together. His message was always that outer differences don't matter - the inner soul is the same in everyone.

Guddu**: And a Muslim saint recognized this before anyone else!

Dadi**: That's the beautiful part, beta. Truth doesn't care about labels. Bhikan Shah was Muslim, but he recognized divinity in a Sikh child. He didn't say, "He's not my religion, so I won't bow." He said, "God is God, wherever He appears."

Guddu**: I wish everyone thought that way.

Dadi**: Many wise people do, beta. When you meet someone holy, you can feel it - regardless of what clothes they wear or what prayers they say. Bhikan Shah had that pure vision.

Guddu**: What happened to him after that?

Dadi**: He returned to his village, forever changed. He told everyone about the divine child he had seen. And when Guru Gobind Singh grew up, he never forgot the Sufi saint who had traveled so far to recognize him.

Guddu**: It's like different streams joining the same river.

Dadi**: Exactly, beta! What a wise thing to say. All streams flow to the same ocean. Goodnight, my little philosopher!

Guddu**: Goodnight, Dadi!