One day, while Guru Nanak Dev Ji was walking…

One day, while Guru Nanak Dev Ji was walking along the seashore in the city of Puri, he came across a sadhu who was gathering a crowd like a street performer. Speaking in a loud voice, the sadhu was presenting glimpses of some unknown mystical visions. Out of curiosity, Guru Nanak Dev Ji and his companion, Bhai Mardana, stood in the crowd and began listening to the sadhu’s discourse. The sadhu had his eyes closed and was telling the audience that he had attained a special kind of spiritual power, which allowed him to have divine visions. He claimed that in his trance, he could see the realities of all beings and describe them through his divine sight.

He continued narrating imaginary tales about Indra Lok (the abode of Indra), Shiva Lok (the abode of Shiva), and Vishnu Puri (the abode of Vishnu). People, influenced by his eloquence, kept placing coins into the small pot in front of him as an offering. With his eyes closed, he was dramatically narrating his fictional stories in this manner:

The fraudulent sadhu said, "At this moment, I have a vision of Vishnu Puri. Lord Vishnu is seated on a serpent, and at this moment, Narad Ji has arrived to meet him. They are engaged in a discussion, and Lord Vishnu has just summoned Goddess Lakshmi for an important matter, so she is about to arrive," and so on.

The common people were highly impressed by his fabricated stories, believing them to be true. Seeing this, Guru Nanak Dev Ji signaled the audience to remain silent and instructed Bhai Mardana to discreetly move the sadhu’s pot behind him. Bhai Mardana quietly obeyed the order.

After some time, when the sadhu opened his eyes and did not find his pot in its place, he became extremely anxious and began asking, "Who took my pot? Who is making fun of a sadhu?"

Guru Nanak Dev Ji then spoke, "Do not be upset. You possess divine vision, so why don’t you simply use your powers and go into a trance to find your pot? It is still in this material world; it has not traveled to another realm."

Hearing this logic, the fraudulent sadhu became visibly distressed because he was completely caught in a trap of his own making. He could not say anything further and began cursing the crowd. Witnessing this, people started laughing as the sadhu had been exposed. His deception was now revealed to everyone.

Seizing the right moment, Guru Nanak Dev Ji said, "Sadhu Baba, why do you practice deception? You claim to have visions of Indra Lok and Vishnu Lok—places that do not even exist—yet you cannot even see your own pot lying behind you. This is nothing more than your empty imagination."

Feeling the weight of truth, the fraudulent sadhu became extremely ashamed and immediately confessed, "This deception is merely my means of livelihood. In reality, I do not see anything; I am simply accustomed to telling fictional stories."

Guru Nanak Dev Ji then advised him, "Do not destroy the spiritual path by spreading false tales just for the sake of your livelihood. This is a double sin because ordinary people accept these stories as truth and are led astray."

Akhīt meetah nāk pakarah ṭhagaṇ kau sansār || Rahāu ||

"They blind themselves and grope for their noses, trying to deceive the world."

Holding their nose with the thumb, they claim to see the three worlds. || "They twist their noses, claiming to see the three worlds."

But they cannot see even what is behind their own back; what a strange lotus posture this is! || "But they cannot even see what is behind them; this is utter darkness." (Raag Dhanaasree, Ang 663)