THE CROPS 1

He then called Mehta Kalian and told him that he would have to pay the farmers for their loss. When Nanak came to know about this he told the farmers, “Please harvest your crop and sell it first.”

“How will that help?” Asked one of the farmers.

Nanak said, “If the money you get from the sale is less than before, then we will pay you”

Half our crops have been lost. We would hardly make any money this time, said one of the farmer.

However, Nanak convinced the farmers to harvest their crops and sell it in the market before taking money from Mehta Kalian

When they sold their crops, they realized that though a lot of their crops had been eaten by the birds and the cattle, they still had made more profit than ever before.

The farmers were very surprised at the unexpected profit they had made. They thought that this must be because of Nanak’s powers.

The farmers told Nanak him about their profit and asked forgiveness for their harsh attitude. Nanak replied, “Who am I to forgive anyone? Ask Sat Kartar for forgiveness.”

The farmers became his followers and from that day they followed all his teachings. They started trusting Nanak as a special person with qualities of a saint.

A lot of people became his followers when they saw his greatness. Many poor people too became his followers when Nanak said that even the poor should be respected. Nanak’s name and fame spread far and wide as people came to recognize him as one who enlightened the way to god through his wisdom.

Until this moment, only the priests had control over religion and God. The common man thought that they could not approach God directly. But now Nanak taught that everyone, even the low caste people, could worship God.

Nanak said that any human being could communicate with God directly. His revolutionary ideas made many people his followers, and offended others.