In one of His beautiful satsangs, Hazir Swaroop Sai Sadhram Saheb narrated a deeply inspiring katha from the life of Sant Sai Kanwarram Saheb.
Saijan shared that, during his childhood, Sant Sai Kanwarram Saheb learned the art of music from Ustad Haasso Mal, who was blind.
Ustad Haasso Mal was a very strict and disciplined teacher. He taught his disciples the finer nuances of music and trained them to identify and render every note with utmost precision. If a disciple failed to catch a note correctly, Ustad Haasso Mal would not hesitate to punish him even if the disciple happened to be Bhagat Saheb himself. At times, He would even hang the disciple upside down over a well that was just outside his house.
Naturally, his disciples remained extremely attentive while learning from him. The fear of their strict teacher compelled them to listen carefully and practise their music with complete concentration.
As the years passed, Ustad Haasso Mal grew old. He knew that the time had come for him to leave this world. At that time, he was staying at the Darbar in Ghotki.
One day, he called Sant Sai Kanwarram Saheb to him and began speaking about his life. He told him that because he had been blind, his parents had placed him in the refuge of the Sants. He further shared that he had always been blessed with the immense grace of Shahanshah Satguru Swami Sai Satramdas Saheb.
On one occasion, Shahanshah Satguru Swami Sai Satramdas Saheb had instructed him, “Whatever you are able to earn, offer as much of it as you can in seva.”
Ustad Haasso Mal faithfully followed this command and devoted his earnings to seva throughout his life.
Now, in the final stage of his life, he was fully aware that his time in this world was coming to an end. He also knew that the doors of heaven were already open to him.
Haasso Mal asked someone to bring him a bucket of water.
When the man returned with the water, Ustad Haasso Mal touched it and immediately remarked, “How have you brought such cold water in this cold weather?” He then instructed the man to add some warm water to it and bring it back.
When the bucket was brought to him again, he touched the water and said, “Now you have brought water so hot that it could burn me! Bring me water that is neither too cold nor too hot.”
Finally, when the water was prepared exactly as he wanted it neither too cold nor too hot Ustad Haasso Mal asked for his kafan, the cloth in which his body would be wrapped after his departure from this world.
He then turned to Sant Sai Kanwarram Saheb and said:
“You are a bhagat, and I am also a bhagat. But Shahanshah Satguru Swami Sai Satramdas Saheb spiritually lifted you through His divine grace and blessings and elevated you to the state of a Sant.
You are not only a beloved and true disciple of Shahanshah Satguru, but you are also a Sant. Therefore, come and sit here now, and let me rest my head in your lap. To rest my head in your lap is the same as resting my head in the lap of Swami Sai Satramdas Saheb. I know that the doors of heaven are already open for me, but if I leave this world with my head resting in your lap, then the doors of Vaikunth will also open for me, and I will attain liberation from the cycle of birth and death”
With these words, Bhai Haasso Mal, the music teacher and disciple of Sant Sai Kanwarram Saheb, placed his head in the lap of Sant Sai Kanwarram Saheb and peacefully departed from this world.
Thus, resting his head in the lap of a Sant, Ustad Haasso Mal attained mukti and became free from the cycle of countless births and deaths.
