Neither be a robber, nor be a cheat.
Be sincere to all, your dealings be neat.

'Sajjan' means a nice person, a friend, a helper. There was a man with this name living in Tulamba (now in Pakistan). He was known as a good man in his area. He had constructed an inn for travelers to rest for the night.

Whenever a traveler would forget anything in the inn, Sajjan kept it as his own. Slowly he developed the bad habit of stealing valuables of the travelers when they were sleeping at night. After some time, this bad habit made him a wicked man. He even killed people staying at his inn if he wanted to take away the travelers' belongings. The dead bodies were disposed of secretly by burying them in the compound at night. A 'sajjan', because of his bad habits, thus became a 'thug', or criminal. The people, therefore, called him Sajjan Thug.

On one of their journeys, Guru Nanak Dev and Bhai Mardana stayed with Sajjan Thug for the night. In the evening Guru Nanak Dev sang a shabad (sacred hymn) while Bhai Mardana played on the rebeck. The shabad explained that if a person is bad at heart, an outward show of good acts means nothing. God knows our mind and no one can bluff Him. The true friends (sajjan) are actually the good deeds of a person. These good deeds help the person not only here in this world but also after death in the next life. By evil acts, a person makes his own mind dirty, resulting in suffering.

Sajjan Thug had been listening to this shabad attentively. As the shabad went on, he started sensing the truth. He realized he was an evil man. He was taking away the belongings of innocent travelers to whom he was supposed to provide comfort and service.

Sajjan Thug went to the Guru, folded his hands and confessed before the Guru that he was Sajjan only by name. Actually, by his deeds he was a Thug. Sajjan Thug sincerely repented and promised to lead a holy life in the future.

The Guru was pleased by the change of his heart and he was, therefore, very kind to Sajjan Thug. Sajjan was advised to distribute all his ill-got money to needy people and to start his life afresh as an honest man. Sajjan Thug sincerely practiced what the Guru told him. He started helping his visitors and making their stay as comfortable as possible however he could.

Thus, a Sajjan by name, a Thug by profession, became a Sajjan by his deeds as well, after meeting Guru Nanak.

Our truest friend is not wealth or prestige, but integrity.