Sadna the Butcher Devotee

Dadi: "Guddu, do you think a person's job decides whether they can be spiritual or not?"

Guddu: "I don't know... some jobs seem better than others?"

Dadi: "Tonight I'll tell you about Sadna - a butcher who slaughtered animals for a living, yet became one of the greatest saints. His story is in the Sikh scriptures."

Guddu: "A butcher became a saint? But butchers kill animals!"

Dadi: "Exactly. That's what makes his transformation so remarkable. Sadna worked at a slaughterhouse, killing goats and selling meat. It was his family's ancestral occupation. He was actually known as pious in his heart, but his profession was violent."

Guddu: "What changed him?"

Dadi: "One day, a holy man appeared to him and shared spiritual knowledge. He explained the consequences of taking life, the suffering caused by violence, the karmic weight of killing."

Guddu: "Did Sadna immediately quit his job?"

Dadi: "No, beta. He asked, "But how will I survive? This is all I know. This is how I feed my family." The holy man understood this practical problem. He made a deal: "If you truly want spiritual initiation, at least limit yourself. Instead of killing many animals, kill no more than one hundred per day.""

Guddu: "Wait - one hundred is a LOT! He was killing less before?"

Dadi: "Actually, he was only killing 2-10 animals a day! The holy man was testing whether Sadna valued his spiritual growth enough to make sacrifices. Sadna agreed to the condition, thinking it was easy."

Guddu: "What happened then?"

Dadi: "During a wedding season, when everyone wanted meat for celebrations, the shop owner demanded more animals than Sadna's limit. Sadna faced a choice - break his spiritual vow or lose his job."

Guddu: "What did he do?"

Dadi: "He tried to find a compromise. He decided to partially wound one goat without killing it - thinking this would technically stay within his limit while satisfying his employer."

Guddu: "That sounds like cheating the rules!"

Dadi: "The universe thought so too. Here's where the miracle happened. As Sadna raised his blade, the goat spoke!"

Guddu: "The goat TALKED?"

Dadi: "Yes! The goat said, "Do not start this new cruelty. I have severed many of your heads when you were in the form of a goat, and I was the butcher. We have been killing each other for thousands of lifetimes!""

Guddu: "They had switched places before?"

Dadi: "Again and again, through countless births. The goat explained that in different lives, they had been butcher and victim alternately, trapped in a cycle of violence. But never before had either of them cut a limb while the other was still alive."

Guddu: "That's horrifying!"

Dadi: "Sadna was devastated. He dropped his blade and fainted. When he woke up, he searched for the customer who had brought the goat - but there was no one. He realized it was God himself who had come to awaken him."

Guddu: "What did his boss do when he refused to continue?"

Dadi: "The owner was furious. As punishment, he had Sadna's hands cut off."

Guddu: "That's terrible!"

Dadi: "But Sadna's faith didn't waver. Without hands, he began traveling to find the holy man who had first taught him. Along the way, he was falsely accused of a crime and locked in a tower to die."

Guddu: "Everything was going wrong for him!"

Dadi: "Or so it seemed. But through divine grace, the tower collapsed, Sadna was freed, and - here's the miracle - his hands were restored!"

Guddu: "His hands grew back?"

Dadi: "Yes! He found the holy man and received full spiritual initiation. He became Bhagat Sadna, one of the saints whose hymns are included in the Guru Granth Sahib."

Guddu: "What did his hymn say?"

Dadi: "He wrote that after understanding karma - the consequences of our actions - belief in violence ends. Spiritual knowledge sets us free."

Guddu: "Dadi, what does this story teach us?"

Dadi: "Many things, beta. First, that no one is beyond transformation. A butcher became a saint! Second, that our actions create consequences that follow us through lifetimes. Third, that sincerely wanting to change is the first step - even if we don't do it perfectly at first."

Guddu: "And that God helps us when we're ready to change?"

Dadi: "Yes! The goat speaking, the hands being restored, the tower falling - these were all grace responding to Sadna's sincere desire to transform. When we truly want to be better, help comes in miraculous ways."

Guddu: "I'll remember that. No one is too far gone to change."

Dadi: "Exactly, beta. That's the beautiful message of Bhagat Sadna - that the door to the divine is open to everyone, regardless of their past, their profession, or their mistakes. All that matters is the sincerity of the heart."