Gurdwara Chaki Sahib, Eminabad
About Gurdwara Chaki Sahib, Eminabad
Gurdwara Sri Chakki Sahib, at Eminabad is located where a large chakki (millstone) was kept. The chakki was used by Sri Guru Nanak Sahib Ji during his detention. In the Janamsakhis, it is mentioned that Guru Nanak was taken as a prisoner along with thousands of his fellow countrymen by Emperor Babur’s men. Guru Nanak was, along with many of his fellow prisoners, forced to grind corn with hand-driven chakki’s (millstones). His captors were surprised to see that the millstone used by Guru Nanak was turning, by itself, while Guru Nanak was simply pouring grist into the opening in the stone as he sang kirtan in the remembrance of God.
Guru Nanak’s singing to ‘One God’ (the Mughals as Muslims also believed in One God) and, even more the stone’s turning by itself amazed the Mughal soldiers who brought this to the immediate attention of Babur. When the miracle was reported to Babur, he himself came to meet Guru Nanak. After talking to Guru Nanak, Babur set Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana free. Babur also freed thousands of other prisoners too, many of whom became the Guru’s followers. It is said that the millstone was preserved as an object of veneration and much later, a Gurdwara was established where the millstone was kept, named Gurdwara Sri Chakki Sahib Eminabad. Its present building is a simple flat-roofed room with some ancillaries and a brick paved compound, inside the town.
On hearing the words of the Guru, Babur remained in deep thought for a long time and then asked Guru Ji humbly “What can I do for you?” “Nothing,” said the Guru “The one supreme being has himself commissioned me to spread God’s message of Naam, and I enjoy God’s grace and gifts. Those who forsake God and attach themselves to others lose all. God makes emperors and kings, and God turns them into dust.”Babur bowed before Guru Ji and begged for counsel for a better life. Be just to all, and never do injustice to anyone,” said Guru Ji. “Never depart from the path of truth. Be merciful and forgive others as you would wish to be forgiven. Do not want that which belongs to others. Do not sow the seeds of cruelty. He who is cruel, suffers.”
