Dr. Bharat Bhushan
Goswami Guru Nabha Dass Ji was a celebrated Saint of 16th Century. Born on 8th April, 1537 at village Bhadrachalam located on the banks of Godavari River in Khammam District of Andhra Pradesh (now in Telangana), his birthday is celebrated every year as Prakash Utsav as he enlightened the mankind through his writings in the form of a pious book “Bhagatmal” which is in BrijBhasha (language). His other notable works are Astayam, Ramashtayam & Ramcharitrar ke pad.
Goswami Guru Nabha Dass’s parents-father Ram Dass and mother Janki Devi were issueless and prayed to Lord Rama to bless them with a child who would be learned, intellectual and a theologian. They belonged to Mahasha Community and earned their living by making wooden and bamboo baskets. After some years, they were blessed with a son whom they named as Narayan Dass. Narayan Dass was barely five years old when his parents expired. He lived alone and used to play with children of the village and pray regularly in the local temple.
It is said that after few years, the revered Saints of that time Agar Dass Ji and Keel Dass Ji were passing through Ram Bhadrachalam hills. They saw Narayan Dass under a tree and asked him who he was and why he was sitting there? Narayan Dass told them that he is made up of five elements and is there by the grace of Almighty.
The reply of Narayan Dass impressed the Saints who took him to their temple Ghalta Dham near Jaipur, Rajasthan. At Ghalta Dham, Guru Agar Dass Ji assigned him the duty of serving pilgrims who used to come for satsang and operate hand fan around him in the satsang hall during religious sermons.
One day Narayan Dass observed that Guru Agar Dass was not concentrating properly in the satsang because one of his disciples- Hari Dass who was a businessman was trapped in seaway. His ship was sinking due to a cyclone (sea storm). Narayan Dass flapped the fan vigorously to save the ship. He asked his Guru to concentrate on satsang as the ship has been saved from the cyclone. Guru Agar Dass opened his eyes and enquired from Narayan Dass how he come to know about his internal feelings. Narayan Dass told Guru Agar Dass that it was all due to His Grace. Guru Agar Dass hugged Narayan Dass and announced that henceforth he will be named as Nabha and declared him a saint and entrusted him the task of writing about lives of the holy saints.
Every Year,8th April is celebrated as Parkash Utsav of Goswami Guru Nabha Dass Ji Maharaj.
In his life spanning over 106 years, Nabha Dass wrote about the lives of more than 200 saints. Guru Agar Dass and Guru Keel Dass were very much impressed by the writings of their disciple. They decided to arrange a large religious congregation to release his book. They asked Nabha Dass to go to Varanasi for holy dip into River Ganga and enroute invite all saints to Ghalta Dham. On way to Varanasi, Nabha Dass passed through Ayodhya and spent some days there. On way back, he visited Mathura, Varindavan and prayed at temples of Lord Krishna. During his journey, he also met revered saint Tulsi Dass ji who was much impressed by Nabha Dass.
At Ghalta Dham, Guru Agar Dass and Guru Keel Dass released the writings of Guru Nabha Dass ji in the presence of invited Saints and named that collection “Bhagatmaal” in 1585. They collectively renamed Nabha Dass Ji as Goswami Guru Nabha Dass Maharaj.
After the ceremony, it is said that Goswami Guru Nabha Dass with the permission of Guru Agar Dass and Keel Dass went to his native place and then visited many areas of the then India. It is documented that he visited undivided Punjab and J&K also besides other areas and held religious congregations.
An interesting story of Raja of Kullu, Himachal Pradesh (the then undivided Punjab) is linked to Goswami Guru Nabha Dass Ji. It is stated that during his visit to several parts of the country, he visited Kullu Manali forests where his grand guru Shree Krishna Pyahari used to live in a hermitage. King Shri Jagat Singh of Kullu and his wife came to seek blessings of Guru Krishna Pyahari. King’s wife was suffering from some skin ailment. She had consulted many Vaidyas (Ayurvedic Physicians) but got no respite from the ailment. On hearing the problem, grand Guru asked Nabha Dass to take her to the nearby spring to take a bath in the sacred spring. After sometime, the queen was cured of the ailment. Both the King and Queen were very happy and fell on the feet of both the Saints and prayed to offer the Saints some gifts. Sant Krishna Payahari Dass told them to organise a ten days festival dedicated to Lord Rama. It is believed that Kullu Dussehra which has gained now national and international fame is celebrated for ten days since then. This festival is revered by the locals of Himachal Pradesh and tourists alike.
Goswami Guru Nabha Dass like several saints of our country viz ten Sikh Gurus, Bhagat Kabir Dass Ji, Guru Ravi Dass Ji, Saint Bule Shah, Baba Farid, Aurobindo Ghosh, Swami Vivekanand Saraswati, Lord Mahavira, Lord Buddha and hundreds of other revered saints devoted their lives preaching the message of truthfulness, honesty, dignity of labour, oneness, amity, communal harmony and universal brotherhood. We can pay befitting tribute to these revered personalities by adopting their cherished values in our lives. These values have more relevance in the present times when we see disparity, communal disharmony and hatred between humans and the nations the world over.
(The writer is a JKAS Officer)
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