8 May 1898
Lots of Love and Wahiguru Ji ki Fateh from Jaimal Singh to my obedient son, Babu Sawan Singh.
Dear son
Your letter has been inordinately late in arriving. You should write a letter every fortnight so that I am kept informed of your welfare. The construction of the durbar hall is now over; everything was finished by the 26th of Vaisakh1. All the doors have been painted and a lot of paint was left over. It appears that only a half or a third was used; the rest has been stored here. Regarding the freight charges for the paint, I wrote two letters to you but received no reply. The station master told me that while the invoice indicated that the freight had been paid, the receipt denoted that it had not been paid, so he has charged me 1 rupee and 13 annas for it. You have not replied whether or not this is correct, or whether we have been charged twice. The account of the expenditure on the durbar hall will be drawn up and sent to you later; 200 rupees had to be borrowed to construct a platform outside. You may send 100 rupees now. The walls of the platform have been plastered with lime and whitewashed on the outside and top, but the platform has not yet been levelled by filling it with earth. That work will cost about 10 rupees and I will write to you when it is finished. Whatever work you do, I should definitely be informed about it every fifteen days. The rest is up to you; you may write at your pleasure.
You should read verses from the scriptures whenever you are free, because then if you become perturbed at work they will remind you of your Satguru. When the Satguru is remembered with Love, all spiritual and worldly work becomes pleasing and the mind does not feel any distress. Then even worldly activities yield Spiritual Fruit. So the well you have put in and the durbar hall you have built have borne Spiritual Fruit for you. Thus, the bad karmas in your destiny that were to yield bad consequences ill been eliminated. My son, he who has found the Perfect Shabd-form Satguru has had two types of karmas, the stored and the action karmas, cancelled that very day. Only the fate karmas of that individual are then left to be accounted for. Thus all actions become spiritual for the disciple whose Inner Mind has developed firm faith and deep Love for the Satguru.
Listen to the Shabd Dhun every day, even if only for a little while. When doing Simran, repeat the names (Simran) at each stage with a detached mind and full attention; afterwards sit in Bhajan. Your attention will then stay inside. Do not have any worry, you will reach Sach Khand one day – you are not coming back to this world. Do not get attached mentally to material things and activities of this world. Perform your duties faithfully, even eagerly, but like a guest who inwardly knows that the house does not belong to him. The whole world and all its affairs and possessions are false. So attend to them with that in mind. The mind and soul are to be kept at the Satguru’s Holy Feet.
Please convey my best regards to Babu Mohan Singh, Babu Hari Ram, Chanan Singh, Basant Singh, and Kaka Ram. May the Grace and Mercy of the compassionate Lord always be upon them all. The construction work on the durbar hall has all been finished; nothing more remains to be done.
Please give Bibi’s best wishes to all her Satsangi brothers. The account of the money has been given above. Warm regards from all the Satsangis. Always be prompt with your replies.
This ink has gone bad; it smudges the hand. Please write of some remedy for it.
My son, relinquish the self and consider everything you do to be the Satguru’s work, that nothing is your own, and stay happy in His will. These are the marks of a Gurumukh.
8 May 1898
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Explanation: 1) The second month of the Sikh calendar, from 14 April to 14 May.