Rakhar Puniya Jorh Mela at Baba Bakala Sahib: Guru Ladho Re

The Jorh Mela at Baba Bakala Sahib, held on Rakhar Puniya, the full moon of Sawan, remembers the day in 1664 when Bhai Makhan Shah Lubana found the true Guru among many claimants at Bakala, and called out to the sangat: Guru ladho re, I have found the Guru. It is one of the largest melas of the Majha.

Twenty-two Gurus at Bakala

Before his Joti Jot in Delhi, Sri Guru Harkrishan Sahib Ji said only that the next Guru would be found at Bakala, a town near the Beas. Twenty-two members of the Sodhi family hurried to set up seats there, each claiming the Guruship. Meanwhile, Tegh Bahadur Ji, the youngest son of Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji, lived quietly at Bakala in meditation, in a room below the ground, making no claim at all.

The test of the coins

Bhai Makhan Shah, a Lubana trader, had prayed to the Guru when his ship was in a storm and vowed five hundred gold coins if he reached shore. At Bakala he put two coins before each claimant and waited. Each accepted the two and blessed him. Then he was told of one more holy man, and found Tegh Bahadur Ji, who asked why he was offering two coins when he had promised five hundred, and showed the mark on his shoulder where he had pushed the ship to safety. Makhan Shah climbed onto a roof and called the sangat to their Guru.

The mela

Gurdwara Baba Bakala Sahib, with Gurdwara Bhora Sahib at the place of the underground room, draws sangats from across Punjab for the mela, with kirtan, katha, Ardas and langar. Read the story of the Gurgaddi of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji.