When Guru Nanak was traveling, he came to a village where a robber lived. The robber’s name was Bhoomi Daku. No one liked him because he was a thief. When he saw Guru Nanak, he respectfully pleaded, “Guru ji will you honor me by coming to my house so I can serve you?” Guru ji took mercy on the thief and said “OK, but before I come to your house, you have to make me four promises. The first promise is: YOU WON’T STEAL FROM POOR PEOPLE. They don’t have much so that’s not fair. The second promise is that from now on: YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO SPEAK THE TRUTH. The third promise is: IF YOU GO TO SOMEONE’S HOUSE AND EAT FROM THEIR HOUSE, YOU WILL NOT STEAL FROM THEM. The fourth promise is: YOU WILL NEVER PUT THE BLAME ON SOMEONE ELSE. If you make all these promises, then I will come to your house.”
Bhoomi Daku promised, “I swear I will keep all four of these promises.” So Guru Nanak went to his house and they enjoyed a nice evening together. Bhoomi Daku felt very happy and blessed to have such a wise and spiritual soul grace his house.
Later Bhoomi Daku went out, as usual, to go steal from people. Since he couldn’t steal from the poor, he decided to go and steal from the king’s house. When he got to the kings house there were bodyguards blocking the way in. He tried to sneak in when they weren’t looking but a bodyguard caught him and said, “Who are you and why are you here.” Bhoomi Daku remembered his promise to tell the truth. So he told the body guard, “Well sir, my name is Bhoomi Daku and I have come here to steal from the king.” The body guard started laughing, “What a ridiculous joke! I bet you’re a friend of the king. Come on in sir.” What a surprise, it worked! He told the truth and got right in.
Bhoomi Daku walked into the king’s house. He thought to himself, “How great Guru Nanak is! Because of his promises I’m now near the most wonderful riches I have ever seen!” He saw all kinds of jewelry and treasures, which he proceeded to put in his bags. As he kept stealing he smelled something very, very good. It smelled like chocolate cake! He walked into the kitchen and opened the oven and there it was - a beautiful, delicious cake. Chocolate cake was his very favorite food! He could not help reaching out and taking a piece of the cake. It tasted so good! But right as he tasted the first bite he remembered his promise to the Guru. If he eats from someone’s house, he can not steal from them. So he dropped his bags right there and he sneaked out of the palace.
In the morning, the king noticed some of the cake missing, and he saw the bag of treasure lying on the ground. “Someone has been here! Find out who it is and bring him to me!” So the king’s men went to the town and started asking people about it, but no one knew anything. After a while the guards got annoyed and started beating people. The people cried out, “We have done nothing wrong!” But the guards kept beating the people. When Bhoomi Daku heard the people crying out, he remembered his fourth promise to the Guru.
So he ran out and said . “Stop, stop! Don’t beat them, they are innocent. I am the robber, punish me instead!” So they brought him to the king. Bhoomi Daku explained everything to the king, but the king was confused and asked, “I heard that no one suspected you. Why did you confess?” “Sir, the fourth promise I made to the Guru was that I wouldn’t put blame on others for what I do. These people were taking the blame for me, so I had to keep my promise.” The king was impressed. “You must have a great Guru because you have kept all these promises you made to him. I am impressed with your Guru, I’m not going to punish you. You are free to go.” Then Bhoomi Daku asked the king, “But what about those poor people who were beaten for no reason?”
The king decided to throw a big party and invite everyone. During the party, Bhoomi Daku stood up in front of everyone. He announced to everyone, “I don’t know where Guru Nanak is now but I kept the four promises I made to him. I now make a fifth promise: I WILL NEVER STEAL AGAIN, AND I WILL FOLLOW THE TEACHINGS OF THE GURU.” The people were happy to hear him say this. The king, Bhoomi Daku and all the people in the village ate chocolate cake together and they lived very happily from that day on.