Guru Granth selections: Life of Guru Nanak and the Japji (The Sikh Religion vol. I)

They whom the Guru preserved have been saved ; all others have been entrapped by the bait. They who possess not God's name shall be rejected ; no one will assist them. God is the truest of the true, and His place is the truest of the true. They who obey the True One meditate on Him in their hearts. Even the perverse who obtain divine knowledge under the Guru's instruction are pure. Make supplication to the true Guru to unite thee with the Friend. When man meeteth the Friend he obtaineth happiness, and the myrmidons of death poison themselves. 1 The worldly man does not remember death. I abide in the Name, and the Name abideth in my heart. Without the Guru all is darkness ; without the Word nothing can be known. By the Guru's instruction light shineth, and man continueth to love the True One. Death entereth not where the soul's light is blended with God's. Thou, 0 God, art the Friend ; Thou art wise ; it is Thou who unitest men with Thee. Under the Guru's instruction, O man, praise Him who hath no end or limit. Death entereth not where there is the incomparable Word of the Guru.

By God's order all sentient beings were produced ; by God's order they perform their functions. By God's order they are in the power of death ; by God's order they are absorbed in the True One. Nanak, what pleaseth God shall happen ; there is nothing whatever in the power of His creatures.1 The boy to whom the above hymn was addressed was subsequently known as Bhai Budha on account of the complimentary expression of the Guru. He was held in such high estimation that he was commissioned to confer the tilaks or patches of Guruship on the first five successors of Guru Nanak. Kalu with all his people proceeded to where his son the Guru had fixed his habitation. Sikh societies then began to be formed. The Guru took off his extraordinary costume and dressed in a more con ventional manner. With a cloth around his waist, a sheet over his shoulder, and a turban on his head, he looked the impersonation of holiness. The string of his fame rose to heaven, it was said, like that of a kite. Every one addressed him, ' Hail, Nanak ! a great saint hath been born in the world.' 1 Sri Rag, Ashtapadi.

At Kartarpur, a watch before day, the Japji and the Asa ki War were repeated. Then followed reading and expounding of the Guru's hymns, until a watch and a quarter after sunrise. This was succeeded by singing and the reading of the Arati (Gagan mai thai). After this, breakfast was served. In the third watch there was again singing, after which in the evening the Sodar was read. Then the Sikhs all dined together. The repast ended with further singing. After a watch of night had elapsed the Sohila was read, and every one then retired. The Guru when not engaged in prayer occupied himself during the day in Kartarpur in giving instruction to all who sought it. He thus delivered himself to Malo and Bhago on the subject of Hindu penances : ' To burn in fire, to abide long in water, to fast, to endure heat and cold, to hold up one's arm permanently, to do penance with body reversed, to stand for a long time on one leg, to live on forest tubers and roots, to abide on the margins of rivers, to wander over the world as a pilgrim, to fast at full moon — all such penances are works of darkness.'

The Guru thus expressed himself on the subject of the devotional exercises of the Sikhs : ' To recall the wandering mind from the distraction of the senses, and then employ it in pious discourses and in devoutly singing and listening to songs of praise of the Almighty — know that these are merito rious acts which may be easily performed. They involve but little labour and bring great reward. The Hindu penances on the contrary involve great trouble while only small recompense is obtained therefrom.' The Guru replied to a man called Kalu who had asked him for a definition of a holy man : ' Recognize him as holy in whom are to be found friend ship, sympathy, pleasure at the welfare of others, and dislike of evil company. In the first place, the intentions of holy men are pure. Secondly, they are pleased on hearing the praises of others. Thirdly, holy men serve the virtuous. Fourthly, they honour those who can impart to them learning and good counsel. Fifthly, as there is a periodical craving for food or intoxicants, so they feel a craving for the Guru's word and for divine knowledge. Sixthly, they love their wives, and renounce other women. Seventhly, they avoid subjects from which quarrels may arise. Eighthly, they serve those who are superior to themselves in intelligence or devotion. Ninthly, even if strong, they'are not arrogant, and trample not on others. Tenthly, they abandon the society of the evil, and only associate with the holy/ Two Sikhs, called Bhagta and Ohri, asked Guru Nanak how rest was to be obtained, and transmigra tion avoided. The Guru replied as follows : ' You shall find rest by avoiding manmukh karm (perverse acts).' Being asked to define manmukh karm more particularly, the Guru replied : ' It is to be heartily envious of every one, to desire that worldly wealth and all happiness should forsake others and come to oneself, to suffer great pain as one beholdeth the houses and property of others, to believe all men one's enemies, and do good to no one. Expel all this evil from your hearts. In the second place, the perverse man is proud and relentless to every one. When he seeth such and such a person inferior to himself, he never adviseth him ; nay, he laugheth at him, and treateth him with contempt, saying, "His is not equal to my lofty intellect." In the third place, the perverse man is addicted to slander ; but do you renounce it and never utter it. If any one praise another who is superior to him, he cannot endure it, nay he becometh wroth, saying, "O! I am well acquainted with him." In this way he uttereth slander. How can he who is proud of his efforts and envious of others ever possess excellence ? In the fourth place, if the perverse man receive advice, he will not act on it through obstinacy; nay, he will

perversely do the very reverse. These vices — envy, pride, slander, and obstinacy — belong to the perverse. Relinquish them, acting as trees do when they drop their leaves in autumn/ The Guru was asked why the words Sat Nam — the True Name — were always written as an intro duction to his hymns. He replied, ' The Name is the God of all gods. Some propitiate Durga,1 some Shiv, some Ganesh,2 and some other gods ; but the Guru's Sikhs worship the True Name and thus remove all obstacles to salvation. Accordingly, the prefatory words, the True Name, are written in all compositions/ It was here the Guru composed his poem on the Twelve Months of the year. The description is of course suited to the climate of the Panjab, his native country. We here give a translation in extenso 3 :— Hear Thou, 0 God — according to men's acts in previous states of existence The weal or woe which Thougivest to each individual is just. 0 God, the Creation is Thine ; what is my condition ? I cannot live for a moment without Thee. 1 am miserable without my Beloved ; I have no friend ; yet from the Guru's instruction I drink nectar.

The Formless One continueth His creation;4 to obey God is the best of human acts. 1 Durga is the energy or consort of Shiv. 2 Ganesh is an elephant-headed god of the Hindus, who in one of his attributes presides over literature, and is specially invoked in the prefaces to literary works. 3 The Indian seasons and months are — i, Spring, which includes the months Chet and Baisakh ; 2, the hot weather, Jeth and Har ; 3, the rainy weather, Sawan and Bhadon ; 4, the temperate weather, Assu and Kartik ; 5, the cold weather, Maghar and Poh ; 6, Autumn, Magh and Phagan. These seasons are in Sanskrit and Hindi called respec tively — Basant, Grikham, Pawas, Sard, Him, and Sisar. The latter season, when the leaves fall, is contemporaneous with the European early spring. The Indian lunar year begins with Chet, which is movable, and the Indian solar year with Baisakh about the i2th of April. 4 In Indian sacred writings several creations and destructions of the world are alluded to. Nanak, the woman is waiting for Thee ; hear Thou, O Omnipresent Spirit. The chatrik l crieth ' Prio ! ' and the kokil 2 also singeth its lays.

The woman who is embraced by her Spouse enjoyeth every happiness. She whom God in His pleasure hath embraced is a happy woman. God established the nine mansions of the body ; the tenth which is superior to them all, is His home. Everything is Thine ; Thou art my Beloved ; I delight in Thee night and day. Nanak, the chatrik crieth ' Prio, prio ! ' and sweet is the kokil's song. 0 God, filled with delight, my Beloved, hear Thou me. Thou art contained in my soul and body ; I forget Thee not for an instant. Why should I forget Thee for an instant ? I am a sacrifice unto Thee ; I live by singing Thy praises. 1 have no one ; whose am I ? I cannot abide without God. I have sought the shelter of His feet, and dwell there ; and my body hath become pure. Nanak, he on whom God looketh with favour obtaineth peace in his home, and his mind is consoled with the Guru's teaching. It raineth a torrent of nectar, whose drops are de lightful, When the friend, the kindly Guru meeteth one, and love is established with God.

God entereth the temple of the body when it pleaseth Him, and the woman riseth up and repeateth His praises. 1 Its cry is ' prio ', a word which also means beloved. Hence it is said the bird calls to God and lives in His worship. 2 The black Indian cuckoo. Its name is derived from its cry, which increases in volume of sound as it progresses. It is larger than the chatrik. In every house the spouse enjoy eth his happy wife ; why hath my Spouse forgotten me ? Lowering clouds have overspread the heavens ; it raineth pleasantly and love comforteth my soul and body. Saith Nanak, Thou who rainest ambrosial speech, graciously come to mine abode. In Chet agreeable is the spring ; the bumble-bee is pleasing. In the Bar the forests are flowering ; may my Beloved return to me ! When her beloved returneth not home, how can a wife obtain comfort ? Her body wasteth away with the pain of separation. The kokil singeth sweetly on the mango-tree ; why should I endure pain of body ? The bumble-bee is flitting on the flowering branches; how shall I survive ? I am dying, O mother.

Nanak, in Chet comfort is easily obtained if woman obtain God in her home as her Spouse. The month of Baisakh is pleasant ; the trees are in blossom ; The woman is waiting for God at her gate, saying, ' Come, take compassion on me. ' Come home, my Beloved, make me cross the difficult ocean ; without Thee I am worthless. ' Who can appraise Thy worth, my Darling ? If it please Thee, I shall look at Thee and show Thee to others. ' I know that Thou art not distant ; I acknowledge that Thou art in my heart, and I recognize Thy mansion.' Nanak, in Baisakh God is found by him who meditateth on the Word and whose mind is thus happy. The month of Jeth is pleasant ; why should the Beloved be forgotten ? The land is burning like a furnace ; woman is making supplication — Woman is making supplication and praising His qualities : ' I shall be pleasing to the Lord if I utter His praises. ' The Bairagi l liveth in the true palace ; if He allow me to go to Him, I will go. ' Without God I am without honour and strength ; how shall I obtain comfort in His palace ? '

Nanak, in Jeth if a woman know God and embrace virtue, she shall by His favour become like unto Him. The month of Har is sultry ;2 the sun is burning in the sky ; The earth is suffering ; it is parched and heated like fire ; The heat is drying up moisture ; men die in anguish, yet the sun wearieth not of his toil. When his chariot turneth towards the south,3 woman looketh for the shade ; the grasshoppers chirp in the forest. She who hath departed with her sins shall suffer in the next world, while she who remembereth the True One shall obtain comfort. Nanak, with God, to whom I gave my heart, are death and life. In Sawan be happy, O my soul ; it is the season of clouds and rain. ' I love my Spouse with my soul and body, but the Dear One hath gone abroad ; ' My Spouse cometh not home ; I am dying with the pang of separation ; the flash of the lightning terrifieth me. ' I am alone on my couch and greatly grieved ; O mother, my pain is as bad as death. 'Say how can sleep and appetite come to me without God ? Raiment affordeth my body no comfort.'

1 God, in the sense that He loves not the sinner. The word Bairagi ordinarily means a man without love for the world. The Bairagis now form a special sect who worship Vishnu and wear sacrificial threads. They are distinguished from the Sanyasis who worship Shiv and dis pense with sacrificial threads. 2 We are obliged here to take a liberty with the word bhala, which means good. 3 After the summer solstice. Nanak, she is the happy wife who is embraced by her beloved Spouse. In the month of Bhadon woman in the bloom of youth is led astray by doubt, but afterwards repent eth. The lakes and the meadows are filled with water ; it is the rainy season — the time for pleasure. It raineth during the dark night ; how can the young wife have comfort without her mate ? Frogs and peacocks are croaking. 'Prio, prio' crieth the chatrik ; serpents go abroad biting ; Mosquitoes sting ; lakes are filled to the brim ; how shall man obtain comfort without God ? Nanak, I will ask my Guru and go where the Lord is. In Assu come, O Beloved ; the wife is pining and dying for Thee.

Man can meet the Lord when He granteth him an inter view ; but love of mammon ruineth him. When woman is spoiled by falsehood, her husband putteth her away ; then bloom the kukah and the kahi reeds.1 The heat is over, the cool season is approaching ; on seeing this my mind is uneasy.2 On all sides the trees are green and verdant ; that which slowly ripeneth is sweet. Nanak, the true Guru hath become my mediator ; may I meet my Beloved in Assu ! In Kartik what pleaseth God is recorded in man's destiny. The lamp which is lit by divine knowledge easily burneth. Love is the oil of the lamp ; the woman and her Beloved have met ; 3 she is overwhelmed with delight. She whom sin killeth shall not be acceptable at her death, while she whom virtue killeth shall really die. 4 God hath given His name and service to those who dwell in their own homes ; ever their prayer is — 1 Kukah is supposed to be the Saccharum munja, and kahi the Sac char um spontaneum. 2 That is, so much time has passed away, that I fear I shall never meet my Beloved.

3 Guided by the lamp's light. 4 Shall not suffer transmigration. ' Meet us, O God, and open the doors of our understand ing ; otherwise one hour shall be as six months.' The month of Maghar is pleasant for those who are blended with God's person by singing His praises. The virtuous woman through her virtues enjoyeth her spouse ; my Spouse is ever pleasing to me. While the whole world is movable, He is immovable, clever, wise, the Arranger. They who possess the merits of divine knowledge and meditation shall be blended with God. They are pleasing to God, and God is pleasing to them. The songs, music, and poems of bards have I heard ; but it is at the name of God sorrow fleeth away. Nanak, that wife is dear to her spouse who in his pre sence doeth him hearty service. In Poh it freezeth ; the moisture of the forest and of the grass drieth up. Why comest Thou not ? Thou dwellest in my body, in my soul, and in my mouth.1 The Life of the world pervadeth my soul and body ; I enjoy pleasure through the instruction of the Guru. The light of God is contained in the hearts of animals born from eggs, wombs, perspiration, and earth.

Lord of compassion, beneficent One, grant me a sight of Thee, and give me understanding that I may obtain salva tion. Nanak, the Enjoyer enjoyeth her with pleasure who beareth Him love and affection. In Magh woman becometh pure when she knoweth the place of Pilgrimage 2 within her. I have easily met the Friend, and, by adopting His attributes, have become blended with Him. Hear me, O beloved and beautiful God, I made Thine attributes mine ornaments ; if it please Thee, I shall bathe in Thy tank. 1 That is, I ever think of Thee and repeat Thy name, but am unworthy to receive Thee. 2 God. The Ganges, the Jamna, the meeting of the three rivers at Tribeni Priyag,1 the seven oceans, Alms, charity, and worship are all contained in God's name. I recognize Him as the One God in every age. Nanak, in the month of Magh, if I repeat God's name with great delight, I bathe at the sixty-eight places of pilgrimage.2 In Phagan the hearts of those to whom God's love is pleasing are happy. Night and day are pleasant to him who effaceth himself. When it pleased God, I effaced worldly love from my heart ; O Lord, mercifully come to my home.

Though I deck myself in various garbs, yet without the Beloved I shall not obtain a place in heaven. I decorated myself with necklaces, strings of pearls, per fumes,3 silks, and satins, when my Beloved desired me. Nanak, my Guru hath blended me with God, and I have obtained Him as my Spouse. The twelve months, the seasons, the lunar days, and the week days, The gharis, the mahurats,4 the moments, are all pleasant when the True One cometh and meeteth me of His own accord. 1 A famous place of Hindu pilgrimage, near Allahabad. The third river is the Saraswati, which is supposed to meet the Ganges and Jamna underground. The Saraswati, though no longer seen, was at one time an actual river. From a legend in the Mahabhdrat it would appear that it took its rise with other great rivers in the Himalayas, that it thence flowed through Rajputana, where it occasion ally disappeared in the sands of that country, and that it finally de bouched north of Dwaraka into the Arabian Sea. 2 Sixty-eight is the number of sacred places of pilgrimage in the estimation of the Hindus. 3 Ras really means relishes. 4 The following is the Hindi time-table :— 60 visias = i chasia 60 chasias = i pal 60 pals = i ghari

2 gharis = i muhurat 4 muhurats = i pahar 8 pahars = i day and night. When the dear Lord is obtained, everything is arranged ; the Creator knoweth everything. I am dear to Him who decorated me ; I have met Him and am happy. The couch of my home is beautiful when my Beloved enjoyeth me ; the holy have good fortune written on their foreheads. Nanak, the Beloved enjoyeth me day and night ; having obtained God as my Spouse, I am a permanent bride. At that time there was a man in very straitened domestic circumstances who had a daughter to marry. He appealed to Guru Nanak to assist in procuring her a wedding outfit. The Guru told him to give him a list of the things he required, and he would send for them. The man did so. The Guru called a servant of his, named Bhagirath, and ordered him to go to Lahore and fetch what was required. He warned him at the same time not to spend a night in that city.1 Bhagirath, on arriving in Lahore went to a shopkeeper, and asked him to supply the articles at once. The shopkeeper bade him remain for a day and everything should be ready. Bhagirath said it was impossible. The shopkeeper told him that everything should be ready on that day, but the bride's bracelets could not be made and coloured before nightfall. Bhagirath explained the order that had been given him. The shopkeeper inquired what sort of master he had who had issued such an order. Bhagirath replied that his master was the Guru. The shopkeeper inquired who the gurus of this generation were. Bhagirath could only reply that his master was a great Being. The shopkeeper rejoined, ' Wretch, where canst thou find a great being in this age ? ' After further colloquy and further praise of the Guru by Bhagirath, the shop keeper decided that he would go with him to his

1 Which he characterized as a city of poison and wrath — Lahaur shahr zahir qahir. By this the Guru meant the intemperance and licentiousness of that city. master. He had a set of coloured bracelets in his private house, which he would take and give the Guru. ' If he be a great being/ continued the shop keeper, ' he shall be my Guru as well as thine, and he shall have the bracelets for nothing ; but, if he be not a great being, I will exact the full price from him/ When the shopkeeper saw the Guru and heard his gentle remonstrance with Bhagirath for his delay, he became convinced that he was a great being and searcher of hearts, and he accordingly fell at his feet and was made happy. He remained three years with the Guru, during which time he committed to memory many of his hymns. When the shopkeeper returned to Lahore, he sent for merchants and bankers and sold them every thing he had in his shop. He then sailed to Ceylon to extend his commerce. There he took up his residence and began to trade. At the same time he led a religious life, and did not forget the Guru's hymns. He used to sing them late into the night, and again rise before day for his devotions and ablutions. On the subject of bathing the Guru had taught him that whoever bathed a watch before day in cold water and repeated God's name with love and devotion, shouldreceive nectar at God's door, and be blended with Him who is unborn and self-existent.

After bathing, the shopkeeper used to repeat the Japji and read the Guru's hymns. He was wont to take breakfast at daybreak, and then go to discharge his worldly duties. Though the people of Ceylon were said to corrupt strangers who went among them, they had no influence over the shopkeeper, who con tinued to adhere rigidly to the teachings of the Guru. The king of the country, whose name accord ing to the Sikh annals was Raja Shivnabh, hearing that the shopkeeper would not conform to the religious customs of his country, summoned him to his presence. The shopkeeper presented the Raja with a coco nut in token of his loyalty. In reply to the Raja's questions, he said that he had already obtained what others sought to obtain by fasting, religious cere monies, and austerities ; so why should he perform them ? The Raja asked him what it was he had obtained. The shopkeeper replied that he had beheld a great being and thus secured salvation. The Raja inquired if he had really obtained spiritual comfort by seeing the great being. The shopkeeper replied, ' Sire, when one hath met God, what further comfort is necessary ? ' The king asked, ' In this Kal age who is there, a sight of whom can confer salvation ? ' The shopkeeper replied, ' Such a per son is Guru Nanak ; the mere repetition of his name can confer salvation.' He then translated for him one of the Guru's hymns. The Raja on hearing it was satisfied, and joy thrilled through his frame. He then requested the shopkeeper to take him to where Nanak lived, so that he too might behold him. The shopkeeper replied, ' Sire, meditate on him in thy heart, and thou shalt meet him here.'

The shopkeeper loaded his ship with the products of Ceylon, and returned to India. Raja Shivnabh remained at home, thinking of the Guru and yearning to behold him.

Meanwhile the Guru made a journey to the south of India. He wore wooden sandals, took a stick in his hand, twisted a rope round his head as a turban, and on his forehead put a patch and a streak. On that occasion he was accompanied by Saido and Gheho of the Jat tribe. He proceeded to the Dravidian country now named Madras. His companions, seeing his morning ablutions, thought that he worshipped the river god, Khwaja Khizir,1 and derived his power from him. They 1 Le mot de Khedher, signifiant en Arabe verd et verdoyant, on determined to worship the same god, and advance themselves if possible to a higher spiritual eminence than the Guru had attained. While travelling one night for the purpose of their worship they met a man carrying a fish in his hand. After mutual interrogations he said that he was the river god taking an offering to the Guru, and that it was from the Guru he had obtained his power, and not the Guru from him. He added : ' I am water, he is air, a superior element ; I am often contained in him/ Saido and Gheho then went and prostrated them selves before the Guru. He asked them why they had come to him at that hour. They used formerly only to come after sunrise. They then confessed to him the whole story of their attempted worship of Khwaja Khizir, and begged his forgiveness. The Guru composed the following on that occasion :—

He who batheth in the immortal water of divine know ledge taketh with him the sixty-eight places of pilgrimage. The Guru's instruction is jewels and gems ; by serving him his disciples find them. There is no place of pilgrimage equal to the Guru ; The tank of consolation is contained in that Guru. The Guru is a river whence pure water is ever obtained, and by which the filth of evil inclinations is washed away. He who findeth the True Guru hath obtained perfect bathing, which maketh him a god out of a beast or a ghost. He who is imbued with the true Name obtaineth it ; that Guru is called sandal. Fix thine attention on His feet by whose odour vegetables are perfumed. pretend que ce nom fut donne* a ce prophete a cause qu'il jouit d'une vie florissante et immortelle depuis qu'il cut bu de 1'eau de la Fontaine. Plusieurs le confondent avec le prophete £lie, que nous disons faire sa demeure dans le Paradis terrestre et jouir de I'immortalite'. Parce que 1'arbre de vie e'toit dans ce Paradis, et qu'il y avoit aussi une Fontaine, les Musalmans donnent a cette Fontaine le nom de Fontaine de Vie, et croyent que c'est de la boisson de son eau, aussi bien que du fruit de 1'arbre de vie, qu'filie entretient son immortalite*. (D'Herbelot.)

Through the Guru man obtaineth real life, and through the Guru man departeth to God's home. Nanak, through the Guru man is absorbed in the True One ; through the Guru man obtaineth the special dignity of deliverance^ On the same occasion the Guru composed the following : — They who forget the Name go astray in worldly love and superstition ; They let go the stem and cling to the branches ; what shall they obtain ? Ashes. How can man be saved without the Name ? If any one know, let him tell it. If man be holy he shall be saved ; the perverse shall lose their honour. Perfect is the wisdom of those who serve the one God. Servants of God, take shelter in Him who was in the beginning, in every age, and who is the Bright One. My Lord is one ; there is none other, my brethren. By the favour of the True One happiness is obtained. Without the Guru no one hath obtained God, however much the matter be debated. He Himself showeth the way and fixeth true devotion in the heart. Even though thou advise the perverse man, he will still go to the wilderness ;

But without God's name he shall not be saved ; he shall die and go to hell. He who repeateth not God's name shall wander in birth and death. God's worth cannot be known without serving the true Guru. Whatever service God causeth men to do, that will be done. It is God Himself who acteth ; whom besides shall I men tion ? God beholdeth His own greatness. He whom God inspireth serveth the Guru. Nanak, they who give their lives shall be saved, and shall obtain honour in God's court.1 The Guru arrived at a Saravagi or Jain temple, which was much frequented. Narbhi, the Jain priest, went with his disciple to visit him. The Jains attach an exaggerated value to life in every form. The Jain priest heard that the Guru had not the same tender scruples on the subject, and began to catechize him. ' Eatest thou old or new corn ? ' (that is, dost thou eat corn with worms in it or not ?) ' Drinkest thou cold water ; shakest thou the trees of the forest to eat their fruit ? Who is thy guru, and what power hath he to pardon thee since thou violatest all rules and destroyest life ? ' The Guru in reply uttered the following pauri : —

When the True Guru is merciful, faith is perfected. When the True Guru is merciful, man shall never grieve. When the True Guru is merciful, man shall know no sorrow. When the True Guru is merciful, man shall enjoy divine pleasure. When the True Guru is merciful, what fear hath man of Death ? When the True Guru is merciful he ever bestoweth happi ness. When the True Guru is merciful, man obtaineth the nine treasures.2 When the Guru is merciful, man is absorbed in the True One.3 After this the Guru launched out into a satire on the Jains : — They have their hair plucked out, they drink dirty water, they beg and eat others' leavings ; 2 Nau nidhi. This expression is used in ihe sacred writings of the Sikhs to denote unlimited wealth and prosperity. In the sacred books of the Hindus the expression has a more definite numerical signification. 3 Majh ki War. They spread out their ordure, they inhale its smell, they are shy to look at water ; They have their heads plucked like sheep ; the pluckers' hands are smeared with ashes — They spoil the occupations of their parents ; their families weep and wail for them.

They give not their deceased relations lamps or perform their last rites, or place anywhere barley rolls and leaves for them.1 The sixty-eight places of pilgrimage grant them no access ; the Brahmans will not eat their food. They are ever filthy day and night ; they have no sacri ficial marks on their foreheads. They ever sit close as if they were at a wake, and they enter no assembly. They hold cups in their hands ; they have brooms 2 by their sides ; they walk in single file. They are not Jogis, or Jangams, or Qazis, or Mullas. God hath ruined them ; they go about despised ; their words are like curses. God killeth and restoreth animals to life ; none else may preserve them. The Jains make not gifts or perform ablutions ; dust lighteth on their plucked heads. From water gems arose when Meru was made the churning staff.3 The gods appointed the sixty-eight places of pil grimages, and holy days were fixed accordingly by their orders. 1 The Jains conform in many ways to Hindu customs. The Guru here censures them for not being altogether consistent. 2 To brush away insects and thus avoid treading on them.

3 According to the Hindus, Vishnu in his Kurmavatar assumed the shape of a tortoise which supported the mountain Mandara — in the Sikh writings called Meru — the Olympus of the Hindus, with which the gods churned the ocean. From the ocean were produced the fourteen gems or jewels here referred to. They are Lakhsmi, wife of Vishnu, the moon, a white horse with seven heads, a holy physician, a prodigious elephant, the tree of plenty, the all-yielding cow. &c. After ablution the Muhammadans pray ; after ablution the Hindus worship ; the wise ever bathe. The dead and the living are punned when water is poured on their heads. Nanak, they who pluck their heads are devils : these things l please them not. When it raineth there is happiness ; animals then perform their functions. When it raineth, there is corn, sugar-cane, and cotton, the clothing of all. When it raineth, kine ever graze, and women churn their milk. By the use of the clarified butter thus obtained burnt offerings and sacred feasts are celebrated, and worship is ever adorned All the Sikhs are rivers ; the Guru is the ocean, by bathing in which greatness is obtained.

If the Pluckedheads bathe not, then a hundred handfuls of dust be on their skulls.2 The Jain priest asked the Guru why he travelled in the rainy season, when insects are abroad and there is danger of killing them under foot. The Guru replied as follows :— Nanak, if it rain in Sawan, four species of animals have pleasure — Serpents, deer, fish, and sensualists who have women in their homes. Nanak, if it rain in Sawan, there are four species of animals which feel discomfort — Cows' calves, the poor, travellers, and servants. The Jain priest went and fell at his feet and be came a convert to his faith. On that occasion the Guru completed his hymns in the Majh ki War, and Saido and Gheho wrote them down from his dictation. It is said that the Guru then went to an island in the ocean, governed by an inhuman tyrant. The name of the island has not been preserved. Besides 1 That is, water and bathing. 2 Majh ki War. Saido and Gheho a third Jat called Siho accompanied him thither. On seeing them the tyrant resolved to put them to death for trespassing on his domain. He seized the Guru as the first victim of his rage. The Guru fell into a trance and sang the following :—

He to whom the Lord is compassionate and merciful, will do the Master's work. That worshipper whom God causeth to abide by His order, will worship Him. By obeying His order man is acceptable, and shall then reach his Master's court. He shall act as pleaseth his Master, and obtain the fruit his heart desireth ; And he shall be clothed with a robe of honour in God's court.1 It is said that on hearing this hymn the tyrant desisted from his intention, and prostrated him self before the Guru. Saido gave him water to drink in which the Guru had washed his feet, and thus made him a Sikh, and ensured him deliverance. The Guru on that occasion met a successor of Pir Makhdum Baha-ul-Din Qureshi, who had an extrava gant idea of his own spiritual and temporal impor tance. On being assured of the man's hypocrisy, the Guru uttered the following :— The heart which relinquisheth God's praises and magnifica tion and attacheth itself to a skeleton,2 Receiveth a hundred reproaches by day and a thousand by night.3 The Pir then fell at his feet, invited the Guru to abide with him and desist from his wanderings, upon which the Guru uttered the following reflection and instruction :—

1 Asa ki War. 2 That is, to the filth of the world. 3 Suhi ki War. Rest, sit at home, there is trouble in ever travelling. A place of rest is recognized when men dwell there per manently. What manner of resting-place is the world ? Tie up the practice of sincerity as thy travelling expenses, and remain attached to the Name. Jogis sit in devotional postures, mullas dwell at places of rest ; Pandits read books ; sidhs sit in the palaces of the gods ; Demigods, sidhs, heavenly musicians, munis, saints, shaikhs, pirs, and commanders Have gone, stage by stage, and others too are departing. Emperors, kings, princes, nobles have marched away. Man must depart in a ghari or two ; O my heart, under stand that thou too must go. This is told in hymns, yet few are they who understand it. Nanak humbly asserteth, God is contained in sea and land, in the upper and lower regions ; He is unseen, inscrutable, omnipotent, the kind Creator. The Merciful alone is permanent ; the whole world beside is transitory. Call Him permanent on whose head no destiny is recorded. The heavens and the earth shall pass away ; He the one God alone is permanent.

By day the sun travelleth, by night the moon ; hundreds of thousands of stars pass away. The one God alone is our resting-place, Nanak saith verily.1 Upon this the Pir was convinced that the Guru was an exalted spiritual leader.

The Guru then turned his thoughts towards Ceylon, and succeeded in reaching that country, where he took his seat in Raja Shivnabh's garden. 1 Sri Rag, Ashtapadi. At that time it was barren, but it is said to have become green on the Guru's arrival. The gardener requested the king to go and see the faqir who had caused the withered garden to bloom anew. The king sent beautiful damsels to dance before the Guru and tempt him with their charms. The Guru, wrapped up in his own thoughts, neither spoke to them nor noticed them. The king came and inquired his name, caste, and whether he was a Jogi. The Guru replied as follows :— The Jogi who is associated with the Name and is pure, hath not a particle of uncleanness. He who keepeth with him the name of the Beloved, which is ever true, hath escaped birth and death. The king asked if he were a Brahman. The Guru replied :— He is a Brahman who hath divine knowledge for his ablutions, and God's praises for the leaves l of his worship. There is but One Name, One God, One Light in the three worlds. The king asked if he were a shopkeeper. The Guru replied :—

Make thy heart the scale, thy tongue the beam, and weigh the inestimable Name. There is but one shop, one Merchant above all ; the dealers are many. The king again inquired if he were a Hindu or a Muhammadan. The Guru continued his enigmati cal replies :— The True Guru hath solved the problem of the two ways. It is he who fixeth attention on the One God, and whose mind wavereth not, who can understand it. 1 Brahmans use sweet basil and bel (Aegle Marmelos) leaves in iheir worship, the former in the worship of Vishnu and the latter in the worship of Shiv. He who abideth in the Word and ever worshippeth day and night, hath ended his doubts. The king then asked if he were Gorakhnath. The Guru showed no inclination to directly gratify his curiosity. Above us is the sky, Gorakh is above the sky ; His inaccessible form dwelleth there ; By the favour of the Guru, whether I am abroad or at home is the same to me ; Nanak hath become such an anchoret.1 When the Guru had ended, the king invited him to go to his palace and see his queen. He gave him an opportunity of expounding his doctrines to her.

It was during Guru Nanak' s visit to Ceylon that he composed the Pransangali, which contained an account of the silent palace of God, the manner of meditating on Him, the private utterances of the Guru, and the nature of the soul and body. The following are its opening verses : — The supreme state is altogether a void,2 all people say ; In the supreme state there is no rejoicing or mourning ; In the supreme state there are felt no hopes or desires ; In the supreme state are seen no castes or caste-marks ; In the supreme state are no sermons or singing of hymns ; In the supreme state abideth heavenly meditation ; In the supreme state are those who know themselves.3 Nanak, my mind is satisfied with the supreme state. Saido and Gheho subsequently wrote out the Pransangali from memory. 2 The Greek KOL\OV, the Latin caelum, heaven. 3 The meaning of this expression is totally different from that of yvui0i o-favrov. To know oneself, in the Sikh sacred writings, means to know God who is within one. On his return to India the Guru, having heard of the fair of Shivrat l, went to Achal Batala 2 to preach his doctrines. The whole country crowded to see and hear him, and showered offerings on him. The Jogis on witnessing his success became very jealous and determined to humble him. Bhangarnath, their superior, asked him why he mixed acid with his milk, that is, why he a holy man led a family life. ' When the milk becometh sour/ said Bhangarnath, ' no butter is produced by churning. Why hast thou doffed thy hermit's dress, and donned ordinary clothes ? '

The Guru replied : ' O Bhangarnath, thy mother was an unskilful woman. She knew not how to wash the churn, and so spoilt the butter in producing thee. Thou hast become an anchoret after abandoning thy family life, and yet thou goest to beg to the houses of family men. When thou doest nothing here, what canst thou obtain hereafter ? ' Bhangarnath made no reply to the Guru's ques tion but broached another subject : ' O Nanak, thou hast exhibited miracles to the world ; why art thou slow to exhibit them to us also ? ' The Guru replied : ' I have nothing worth showing you. Man hath absolutely no shelter except in the com panionship of the hymns of the Guru. Were man to move the earth, that would not induce God to grant him undeserved favours. Hear the Word ; I speak verily, I have no miracle except the True Name :— 1 A festival in honour of the god Shiv held on the I4th day of the dark half of Phagan (February-March). It was usual for Jogis to congregate on the occasion of this festival. In the Ain-i-Akbari it is stated that the Emperor Akbar used then to hold meetings of all the Jogis of the Empire and eat and drink with them. Under the in fluence of such carousals they used to promise him that he should live three or four times as long as ordinary mortals.

2 Achal, about three miles from Batala, contains the shrine of Samkartik, son of Shiv. For a full account of Batala see the Khuldsat-id-Tawdrikh, whose author was born there. Were I to put on a dress of fire, construct a house of snow and eat iron ; Were I to turn all my troubles into water, drink it, and drive the earth as a steed ; Were I able to put the firmament into one scale and weigh it with a tank ; l Were I to become so large that I could be nowhere con tained ; and were I to lead every one by the nose ; 2 Had I such power in myself that I could perform such things or cause others to perform them, it would be all in vain. As great as the Lord is, so great are His gifts ; He bestoweth according to His pleasure. Nanak, he on whom God looketh with favour obtaineth the glory of the True Name.' 3 In Batala the Guru vanquished in argument all priests who attended the fair, and obliged the followers of the six schools of philosophy to bow before him. The Jogis finally complimented him on his success and said : ' Hail, O Nanak, great are thy deeds ! Thou hast arisen a great being, and lit a light in this last age of the world/ It was the time the Jogis took their daily wine, and the goblet was accordingly passed around. On its reaching the Guru he asked what it was. They said it was the Sidhs' cup. He inquired what it contained. They said molasses and the flower of the dhava4 plant, of which Indian spirits are made. The Guru then uttered the following hymn : —

Make divine knowledge thy molasses, meditation thy dhava flowers, good actions thy fermenting bark 5 to put into them. Make the love of God thy furnace, devotion the sealing of the still ; in this way shall nectar be distilled. 1 In Hindi apothecaries' weight a tank is equal to four mashas, a masha is eight rattis, and a ratli is the weight of eight grains of rice. 2 As a camel is led. 3 Majh ki War. 4 The Bassia lafifolia. 5 This is generally the bark of the ktkar, or Acacia Arabica. Father, by quaffing the divine juice the mind becometh intoxicated and easily absorbed in God's love. I have arranged to fix my attention on God day and night, and heard the unbeaten sound. God is true, His cup is pure ; He giveth it to drink to him on whom He casteth a favouring glance. Why should he who dealeth in nectar feel love for paltry wine ? The Guru's word is a nectar-speech ; by drinking it man becometh acceptable. When man performeth service at God's gate l to obtain a sight of Him, what careth he for salvation or paradise ? He who is dyed with God's praises never loveth the world, and loseth not his life in the game.

Saith Nanak, hear, Jogi Bharthari, I am intoxicated with the nectareous stream.2 The Jogis inquired if he lived by begging. The Guru replied, ' Why should he who is absorbed in the Formless go to beg alms ? ' They then asked if he were an Udasi or hermit. The Guru replied :— He who taketh the sword of knowledge and wrestleth with his heart ; Who knoweth the secrets of the ten organs of action and perception 3 and of the five evil passions ; Who can knot divine knowledge to his mind ; Who maketh pilgrimage on each of the three hundred and sixty days of the year ; Who washeth the filth of pride from his heart — Nanak saith, he is a hermit. 1 Sikhs and Moslems use the expression ' Gate .of God ' for God's throne or God's court. The latent allusion is to a king who removes himself from his subjects' gaze. It is at his gate those who appeal to him for justice wait, and it is at his gate when he goes forth his subjects can obtain a sight of him. 3 The organs of action are the mouth, the hands, the feet, and the generative and excretory organs. The organs of perception are the five senses.

i6o THE SIKH RELIGION The Jogis then asked the Guru if he were an Audhut. The Guru told them what an Audhut ought to be :— He is a servant of the Guru who restraineth his sexual organs, Whose heart is free from worldly desires, whose words are true, And who receiveth as his alms the glance with which the Merciful One beholdeth him. Know him to be meek whose heart is meek, And whose instruction is the profitable Word. Nanak saith, he is an Audhut Whose mind is not fickle, who goeth not to spectacles, Or to gamble or play chaupar, Who attacheth not his mind to things bad or good, Who weareth on his body whatever is given by the Guru, Who, when he goeth to another's house, talketh not scandal, Who observeth the restraint put on him by the true Guru, And who receiveth the Guru's instructions — O holy man, Nanak saith, such a man is an Audhut. The Jogis then desired to know if he were a Jogi, and the Guru replied : — To remain seated without support, To collect and restrain the five evil passions, To sleep little and take scant food, To keep guard over the saintly body, To be constant in devotion, penance, self-restraint, and remembrance of God—

Nanak saith, these are the marks of a Jogi. When he speaketh, he uttereth divine wisdom ; He day and night waketh in the contemplation of God ; He attacheth a string to the vacant sphere,1 And by the Guru's favour never dieth. All the gods do obeisance to him 1 That is, he fixes his attention on God. Who in this way performeth the Guru's service, And who alloweth not his tongue to taste dainties — Nanak saith, these are the marks of a Jogi. He who effaceth wrath, avarice, and greed ; Who quencheth the fire of the five evil passions within his heart ; Who day and night flieth the kite By which divine knowledge is produced and evil inclina tions depart ; Who cherisheth holiness, restraineth his evil passions And repeateth no spell but the Guru's — The habits of that good man are the best — Nanak saith, these are the marks of a Jogi. He who maketh his body the vessel, remembrance of Who putteth pure truth into it as his acid, Who by contrivance and effort easily curdleth the milk — Without contrivance it would be spoiled — Who useth divine knowledge as his churning staff and

the Name as its string ; Who in this way repeateth only the Name, And who by rolling and rolling extracteth the butter — Nanak saith, these are the marks of a Jogi. The Jogis wondered if he were a Bairagi. The Guru defined the word for them : — He is a Bairagi who is sold to God, Who in the presence of God subdueth mammon, Who performeth the work of God and mammon,1 Who beareth an unbearable and intangible thing, Who hath abandoned wrath, avarice, and pride — Nanak saith, such a man is a Bairagi. He who abideth lonely in the house of enjoyment, And dwelleth in the house of worship — 1 That is, who performs his worldly avocations and thinks of God at the same time. Where the cat fleeth at the sound of a mouse l — Nanak saith, is a Bairagi. He is a Bairagi who embraceth contentment, Who reverseth his breath and is absorbed in God, Who subject eth to himself the five senses — Such a Bairagi shall rise higher than Shiv. He who renounceth evil ways and fixeth his attention on the one God, Nanak saith, is a Bairagi. Upon this the followers of Gorakhnath pressed the Guru to adopt the style of a Jogi. The Guru asked them to describe a Jogi. They replied : —

A Jogi weareth earrings, a patched coat, carrieth a wallet, a staff, And a deer's horn which soundeth through the world. The Jogis were proceeding to give a further de scription of their sect when the Guru interrupted and offered spiritual substitutes for all the externals of a Jogi :— Put the Guru's word into thy heart for the rings in thine ears ; wear the patched coat of forbearance ; Whatever God doeth consider as good ; in this way shalt thou easily obtain the treasure of jog. 0 father, in this way the soul which hath been a pilgrim in every age, uniteth with the Supreme Essence. He who obtaineth the ambrosial name of the Pure One, and maketh reflection his Jogi's cup, Divine knowledge his staff, and the Omnipresent the ashes he smear eth on his body, shall enjoy the great elixir of divine knowledge. Make God's praise thy prayer, the Guru's instruction thy sect of Atits,2 The renunciation of desires and quarrels thy sitting in contemplation in God's citadel 3 — 1 Where hypocrisy flees before humility. 2 By Atits here is meant a sect of Jogis who consider themselves liberated from worldly restraints. 3 The brain.

From the sound of thy horn a melody shall thus be pro duced which day and night shall fill thee with music. In everything is Thy light contained, 0 God, and many and various are its colours. Saith Nanak, hear, Jogi Bharthari, the Primal God is the sole object of my love.1 During his residence in Batala the Guru composed the Sidh Gosht, a treatise from which the Jogis are said to have derived spiritual consolation.

The Guru continued his journey to the north. He wore leather on his feet and on his head, twisted a rope round his body, and on his forehead stamped a saffron tilak. He was accompanied by Hassu, a smith, and Sihan, a calico-printer. The party went as far as Srinagar in Kashmir, where they stayed some time and made many converts. Brahm Das was then the most eminent of the Kashmiri pandits. On hearing of the Guru's arrival, he went to pay him a formal visit. The better to impress the Guru with his piety and learning, he wore an idol suspended from his neck, and took with him two loads of Sanskrit books. On seeing the Guru's dress he said, ' Is that the sort of faqir thou art ? Why wearest thou leather, which is unclean ? Why twistest thou a rope round thy body ? Why hast thou abandoned the observances of thy religion ? And why eatest thou flesh and fish ? ' The Guru, not paying much attention to these impertinent questions, thus unburdened him self of the thoughts which filled his mind : — There is but one road, one door ; the Guru is the ladder to reach one's home.

Beautiful is God ; Nanak, all happiness is in His name. 1 Asa. M 2 God Himself created and recognized His creation. He separated the earth from the sky and spread a canopy over it. He fixed the heavens without pillars by the utterance of a word. Having created the sun and moon, He infused His light into them. He made the wonderful play of night and day. Pilgrimage, religion, meditation, and bathing on holy days — None of these is equal to Thee, O God ; how can I describe Thee? Thou sittest on a true throne ; all else are subject to birth and death. After a pause the Guru again burst forth in God's praises : — Thou, 0 God, who didst diffuse truth, art the truest of the true. Thou sittest in an attitude of contemplation concealed in the lotus of the heart. Brahma called himself great, but he found not Thy limit. Thou hast no father or mother ; who begot Thee ? Thou art devoid of all form, outline, or caste. Thou f eelest not hunger or thirst ; Thou art satisfied and satiated. The great God is contained in Himself, and hath diffused His word.

They who are satisfied with the True One are absorbed in Him.1 Brahm Das then recognizing the Guru's piety and genius fell at his feet, and asked him what existed before creation ? The Guru in reply uttered the following hymn known as Solaha2 in Rag Maru : — 1 Malar ki War. 2 A hymn containing sixteen stanzas. In the beginning l there was indescribable darkness ; Then was not earth or heaven, naught but God's unequalled order. Then was not day, or night, or moon, or sun ; God was meditating on the void. Then were not the mines of production, or voices, or wind, or water ; Neither creation nor destruction, nor coming nor going, Then were not continents, or hells, or seven seas, or rivers, or flowing streams , Nor was there paradise, or a tortoise,2 or nether regions ; Or the hell or heaven of the Muhammadans, or the destroyer Death ; Or the hell or heaven of the Hindus, or birth, or death ; nor did any one come or go. Then was no Brahma, Vishnu, or Shiv : No one existed but the One God. Then was no female, or male, or caste, or birth ; nor did any one feel pain or pleasure.

There was no Jati, Sati,3 or dweller in the forest ; There was no Sidh, or Striver, or dweller at ease ; No Jogi, or Jangam, or religious garb ; nor did any one call himself a Nath ; 4 No devotion, penance, austerity, fasting, or worship ; Nor did any one speak or tell of duality.5 God Himself having created was pleased, and valued what He had done. There was no purification, or self-restraint, or necklace of sweet basil ; There was no milkmaid, or Krishan, or cow, or herdsman ; 1 A r bad is here understood to be for aramlh. Arbud in Sanskrit means a number of one hundred millions, so arbad narbad may also mean— for countless years. 2 Which some Hindus believe supports the earth. 3 Sati means a faithful wife, especially one who cremates herself with her deceased husband. 4 A superior of Jogis. 6 Dwait, duality, in the Sikh writings means the worship of other than God. No incantations or spells, no hypocrisy, nor did any one play on the flute.1 There were no acts attaching to the soul, or religion, or the gadfly of mammon. No one saw caste or birth with his eyes.

There was not the net of pride, nor was death written on man's brow, nor did man meditate on aught created.2 There was no slander, no seed, no soul, no life. There was no Gorakh or Machhindar.3 Nor was there divine knowledge, or meditation, or nobility; nor did any one have conceit of himself. There was no caste or religious garb, no Brahman or Khatri ; No demigod, no temple, no cow, no gayatri,4 No horn, no sacred feasts, no places of pilgrimage to bathe in, nor did any one perform worship. There was no Mulla or any Qazi ; No Shaikh, no Disciple, no Haji ; 5 No subject or king ; nor was pride in the world, nor did any one give himself a great name. There was no love, no service, no Shiv, or energy of his ; o No friend, no helper, no seed, no blood.7 God Himself was the merchant, Himself the dealer — such was the will of the True One — 1 One of Krishan's youthful accomplishments. 2 Literally — nor did any one meditate on any one else. That is, no one then worshipped the gods or idols of the Hindus. 3 Machhindar is described in a verse attributed to Gorakhnath as his father.

4 The gayatri is the spell of the Hindus. It is now recited as follows : Oam, bhur, bhuvas, svar, tat savitur varenyam, bhargo devasya, dhlmahi dhiyo yo nah prachodyat ' Oam, earth and air and sky, let us meditate on that excellent sun the bright god, which stimulateth our intellects.' The late Professor Max Miiller gave the following translation — ' We meditate on the adorable light of the divine Savitri, that he may rouse our thoughts/ 5 This word is applied to Muhammadans who have made the pilgrimage to Makka. 6 Shiv's energy or consort was variously named Parbati, Durga, &c. 7 ' No seed, no blood ' : this refers to the male and female func tions of generation. Then were no Veds or Muhammadan books,1 no Simritis, no Shastars ; No reading of the Purans, no sunrise, no sunset. The Imperceptible God was Himself the speaker and preacher ; Himself unseen He saw everything. When He pleased He created the world ; Without supports He sustained the sky. He created Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiv, and extended the love of mammon. He communicated the Guru's words to some few persons. He issued His order and watched over all.

He began with the continents, the universe, and the nether regions, and brought forth what had been hidden. His limit no one knoweth. From the True Guru I have learned, Nanak, that they who are imbued with the truth are wonderful, and delight in singing God's praises. Upon this Brahm Das again fell at the Guru's feet, cast away the idol from his neck, and, becoming a worshipper of God, performed service for the Guru. His evil desires, however, departed not. Whatever service he performed was brief and per functory, for he thought to himself that he had performed similar service before ; but whatever he did was of no avail on account of his pride. At one of their meetings the Guru told him to take a guru. He inquired, ' What guru shall I take ? ' The Guru bade him go to a certain house in the wilderness where he should find four faqirs, and they would inform him. The pandit went to them, and they, after some delay, pointed out a temple in which they said he should find his guru. The pandit pro ceeded thither, but instead of receiving a courteous reception, was shoe-beaten in a piteous manner by a woman in red who guarded the temple. Crying bitterly he returned to the four men who had dis-

1 They are described as the Psalms of David, the Old Testa ment, the New Testament, and the Quran. patched him on the unpleasant errand. They inquired if he had found a guru, and in reply he told them his painful story. They explained to him that the woman was Maya, or worldly love ; and that she for whom he had so longed was his guru. The pandit returned to the Guru, and fell at his feet. He then cast away his two loads of books, began to repeat God's name, and became so humble as to be, as it were, the dust of the earth. The pandit inquired who were happy in this world. The Guru replied with the following sloks, which Hassu and Sihan committed to writing : — Indar wept after his thousandfold punishment ; l Paras Ram wept on his return home ; 2 King Ajai3 wept after eating what he had obtained as alms — Such is the punishment meted out in God's court — Ram wept when he was expelled from his kingdom, And separated from Sit a and Lachhman.4 Rawan, who took away Sita with beat of drum, Wept when he had lost Lanka ;5

The Pandavs 6 though their master 7 had been with them, Became slaves and wept ; 1 Indar was the god of the firmament. His punishment was for his effort to seduce Ahalya, the wife of the sage Gautama. 2 Paras Ram. Ram with the axe was the sixth avatar of Vishnu and preceded the Ram of Indian popular worship. He is said to have cleared the earth twenty-one times of the Kshatriyas. He then gave it to the sage Kashyapa and retired to the Mahendra mountains. The text alludes to his subsequent homeward return. 3 Aj was grandfather of Ram Chandar. One day when hunting he dipped a cloth in the blood of a deer which he had shot, and in order to test his wife's affection sent it to her with a dying message that he had been killed in the hunting-field. She, believing the mes senger, at once cremated herself with the cloth she had received. King Aj on returning home found out what had occurred, and was so overcome with grief and sorrow, that he abandoned his throne and retired from the world to do penance for his crime. 4 Lachhman was Ram's brother. 5 Lanka. This was the ancient name of Ceylon, where Rawan ruled.

6 The opponents of the Kauravs in the great war which forms the subject of the Mahdbharat. 1 Krishan. Janameja l wept when he went astray ; — For one offence he was deemed a sinnerShaikhs, Disciples and Pirs 2 weep For fear of suffering at the last moment ; Kings wept when their ears were torn,3 And they went to beg alms from door to door ; The miser wept at his departure from the wealth he had amassed ; The pandit wept when he had lost his learning ; The young girl who hath no husband weepeth — Nanak, the whole world is in misery. He who revereth the Name is victorious ; No other act is of any avail.4 The Guru, leaving Srinagar, penetrated the Hima laya mountains, and scaled numerous lofty peaks 1 Janameja, king of Hastinapura, who listened to the long Sanskrit epic Mahdbhdrat in expiation of the sin of killing Brahmans. 2 Pirs are Muhammadan saints. 3 The reference is to Gopi Chand and Bharthari. Bharthari was king of Ujjain. In his stale there lived a Brahman who by his austeri ties had obtained the fruit of immortality. Not deeming it useful to himself he presented it as a fitting offering to his monarch. He being in love with his queen presented it to her. She being in love with the head police officer of the state presented it to him. He being in love with a favourite courtesan presented it to her. She being in love with the king presented it to him. On being informed of the strange vicis situdes of the fruit of immortality, and pondering on the instability of love and friendship, Bharthari abdicated and became a religious men dicant.

Gopi Chand was king of Bengal, whose capital, according to legend, was then Doulagarh. His mother Menawati was Raja Bharthari's sister. One day as Gopi Chand was bathing, his mother, seated in an upper chamber, admired his beauty, but at the same time felt that he was not so handsome as his father, her late husband. Death had taken him, it would also take Gopi Chand. Gopi Chand as he bathed felt moisture falling on him, and was told in reply to his inquiries that it was his mother's tears. He tried to console her and said that death was the way of the world, and one must not endeavour to resist Nature's primordial law. On reflection she decided that Gopi Chand should become a faqlr under the spiritual guidance of Jalandharnath. Gopi Chand abdicated, proceeded to him, and after many troubles received, it is said, instruction how to overcome death. 4 Ramkali ki War. until he arrived at Mount Sumer. He there met many renowned Sidhs. When the Guru had made his obeisance and sat down, they inquired whence he had come and in what state he had left Hindustan. He replied : — The Kal age is a knife, kings are butchers ; justice hath taken wings and fled.

In this completely dark night of falsehood the moon of truth is never seen to rise. I have become perplexed in my search : In the darkness I find no way. Devoted to pride, I weep in sorrow : Saith Nanak, how shall deliverance be obtained ? l On this the Sidhs requested the Guru to join them in praising God. Having done so he put his subse quent conversation with them into the following form :— The Sidhs holding an assembly sat in religious attitude — hail to the assembly of the saints ! I offer my prayer to Him who is the true and Infinite One. I will cut off my head and lay it before Him ; I will place before Him my soul and body. Nanak, by meeting a holy man the True One is found, and honour is easily obtained. Is the True and Pure One obtained by wandering ? There is no salvation without the True Word The Sidhs asked : — 1 Who art thou ? What is thy name ? What is thy sect and what thine object ? ' Speak the truth ; this is what we urge ; we are a sacrifice to saintly men.

' Where is thy seat ; where dwellest thou, O youth ? Whence hast thou come, and whither goest thou ? ' Hear, O Nanak,' said the Sidhs, ' What are thy tenets ? ' 1 Majh ki War. Nanak — ' I dwell in God who hath His seat in every heart ; I act according to the will of the True Guru. ' I came in the course of nature, and according to God's order shall I depart. Nanak is ever subject to His will. ' To be fixed in God is my prayerful attitude ; such know ledge have I obtained from the Guru. ' If one understand the Guru's instruction and know him self, then he being true shall be absorbed in the True One.' A Sidh called Charpat asked :— ' The world is an ocean, and is said to be difficult to cross ; how shall man traverse it ? ' Saith Chaipat, ' O Audhut Nanak, give a true reply.' Nanak — ' Thou sayest so ; thou thyself understandest ; What answer can I give thee ? ' I speak truly ; thou hast reached the distant shore ; how can I argue with thee ?

' As a lotus in the water remaineth dry, as also a water fowl in the stream, ' So by meditating on the Word and repeating God's name,' ' shalt thou be unaffected by the world.' Nanak is a slave to those who remain apart from the world, in whose hearts the one God abideth, who live without desires in the midst of desires, And who see and show to others the inaccessible and incomprehensible God.1 The Sidhs then said ' All hail ! ' The Guru replied, ' All hail to the Primal Being ! ' Several Sikhs suppose that Guru Nanak com posed the Sidh Gosht on that occasion when he found leisure and retirement for composition.

After his sojourn with the Sidhs the Guru returned to the plains of the Panjab and travelled in a north westerly direction until he reached Hasan Abdal, then a great centre of Muhammadan religious enthusiasm. There abode on a small hillock a bigoted and selfish priest known as Bawa Wali of Kandhar. The Guru and his minstrel needed water for their evening repast, and it could only be obtained from the Wali. Mardana told him that he and Guru Nanak had arrived, and he advised him to see the Guru, who was a great saint of God. Bawa Wali, who claimed exclusive holiness for himself, became offended on hearing the Guru's praises, and refused the required water. He said if Mardana' s master were such a holy man, he ought to provide water for himself. When this reply was communicated to the Guru, he sent Mardana back to the Wali with the message that he himself was a very poor creature of God, and laid no claims to the character of a saint. The Wali paid no heed to this protestation, but persisted in his refusal to afford water to the Guru and his minstrel. The Guru was then com pelled to bore a hole near where he had taken shelter, and a stream of water immediately issued forth. Upon this, the Wali's well dried up, there being only a limited supply of water in the locality. The Wali's rage naturally increased, and it is said that he hurled the hillock upon Guru Nanak' s un offending head. The Guru, on seeing the descend ing volume of earth, raised his right arm to protect himself. It is related that upon this the fall of the hillock was arrested. The impression of the palm of the Guru's hand was left on the descending mass, which is now known as 'Panja Sahib' and held in reverence by the Sikhs.

After a brief residence in Hasan Abdal the Guru proceeded to Gorakh-Hatari, a quarter of the city of Peshawar on the frontier of the Panjab where there is an ancient temple of Gorakhnath. The Jogis having heard of his fame were anxious to discover how he had acquired such moral and spiritual influence, and, when the Guru was seated, put him the questions contained in the first four verses of the following hymn. The Guru's replies follow : — What callest thou that gate at which thou sittest ? Who can see the gate within it ? Let some one come and describe to me that gate to attain which the Udasi wandereth. How shall we cross the ocean ? How shall we be dead when alive ? Sorrow is the gate, wrath the porter, hope and anxiety its folding-doors. Mammon is a moat, domestic life its water ; man abideth by taking his seat on truth. How many names hast Thou, 0 God ! Their limit cannot be known ; there is none equal to Thee. Man ought not to call himself exalted, but dwell in his own thoughts ; what God deemeth proper, He doeth. As long as there is desire, so long is there anxiety ; how can one who feeleth it speak of the one God ?

When man in the midst of desires remaineth free from desires, then, O Nanak, he meeteth the one God. In this way shall he cross the ocean, And thus be dead while alive.1 On uttering this hymn the Guru was pressed to adopt the style and religion of a Jogi. The principles of the Jogis' sect were explained to him. The Guru replied :— The Word is my meditation, divine instruction the music of my horn for men to hear ; Honour is my begging-wallet, and uttering the Name my alms. Gorakh is He who lifted the earth and fashioned it without delay ; Who enclosed water, breath, and life in the body, and made the great lights of the moon and sun ; Who gave us the earth as our abode, but whose many favours we have forgotten. Sidhs, Strivers, Jogis, Jangams, and Pirs are many. If I obtain the Name from them, I will sing their praises, and serve them heartily — Paper and salt melt not in clarified butter ; the lotus remaineth unaffected by water — What can Death say to them, O Nanak, who meet such saints ? l After his successful discussion with the Jogis the Guru decided to visit Makka, the pole star of Muhammadan devotion. He disguised himself in the blue dress of a Muhammadan pilgrim, took a faqir's staff in his hand and a collection of his hymns under his arm. He also carried with him in the style of a Musalman devotee a cup for his ablutions and a carpet whereon to pray. And when an oppor tunity offered, he shouted the Muhammadan call to prayer like any orthodox follower of the Arabian prophet. As usual in his peregrinations, he was accompanied by his faithful minstrel and rebeckplayer Mardana. It is recorded that whenever he met children on his journey he joined in their sports. He accidentally found a Muhammadan f aqir also bent on the Makkan pilgrimage, and passed a night with him in pleasant spiritual converse. The pilgrim offered him his bhang-pouch, and asked whether he was a Hindu or a Musalman. The Guru replied with the hymn he had previously addressed to the Emperor Babar when he inquired what intoxication that was whose effects should never depart.

As they proceeded on the road to Makka, it is said, a cloud they saw over their heads accompanied them. The pilgrim became alarmed at the unusual occur- rence, and said to the Guru, ' No Hindu hath ever yet gone to Makka. Travel not with me ; either go before or after.' The Guru told the pilgrim to precede him. When the pilgrim turned round to see where his companion was, it is said he could see neither him nor the cloud. The pilgrim then began to wring his hands, and said, ' It was God who was with me, but I could not endure the sight of Him. He worked illusion on me.' When the Guru arrived, weary and footsore, in Makka, he went and sat in the great mosque where pilgrims were engaged in their devotions. His disregard of Moslem customs soon involved him in difficulties. When he lay down to sleep at night he turned his feet towards the Kaaba. An Arab priest kicked him and said, ' Who is this sleeping infidel ? Why hast thou, O sinner, turned thy feet towards God ? ' The Guru replied, ' Turn my feet in a direction in which God is not.' l Upon this the priest seized the Guru's feet and dragged them in the opposite direction, whereupon, it is said, the temple turned round, and followed the revolution of his body. Some understand this in a spiritual sense, and say it means that Guru Nanak made all Makka turn to his teaching. Those who witnessed this miracle were astonished and saluted the Guru as a supernatural being.

The Qazis and the Mullas crowded round the Guru, and interrogated him on the subject of his religion. They admitted that he had accomplished a great feat, but the source of his power was not apparent. They opened his book, and seeing that it was on religious subjects, inquired which was 1 Curious it is to find the same expression in an Italian operatic writer of the eighteenth century. E se, dov' ei dimora, Non intendesti ancora, Confondimi, se puoi ; Dimmi dov' ei non e. superior, the Hindu or the Muhammadan religion. The Guru replied, ' Without good acts the professors of both religions shall suffer. Neither the Hindus nor the Muhammadans shall obtain entrance into God's court. All their devotions shall vanish like the fleeting dye of safflower. Both sects are jealous of each other. The Hindus insist on saying Ram and the Moslems Rahim, but they know not the one God. Satan hath led them both along his own flowery way/ On that occasion the Guru uttered the following hymn in the Tilang measure : — Thy fasting and worship shall be acceptable When thou, O man, keepest watch over the ten apertures of thy body, hatest the world,

Chastenest thy mind, restrainest thy sight, and fleest worldly desires and wr anglings. Every day of the month offer thy love to the Lord ; thus shalt thou be recognized as pure and gentle. Keep the fast of meditation, and let the renunciation of pleasure be thy dance ; Keep watch over thy heart, so shalt thou be a really learned man ; Abandon delights, ease, evil speaking, mental anxiety, and vexation ; Treasure kindness in thy heart, and renounce the devices of infidelity ; Extinguish the fire of lust in thy heart, and thus become cool. Saith Nanak, thus practise fasting, and thy faith shall be perfect.1 When the Guru had finished, the Qazi said, ' Well done ! I have to-day for the first time seen a real saint of God/ The Qazi then went and told the high priest that the darwesh Nanak had arrived. The high priest went to see him, shook hands with him, 1 This hymn is not found in the Granth Sahib. and sat down beside him. He thanked God that Nanak had come. The high priest asked Nanak if the Hindus who read the Veds, and the Musalmans who read the Quran, should or should not find God. The Guru courageously replied with the following outspoken hymn of Kabir :—

O brethren, the Veds and the Quran are false, and free not the mind from anxiety. If for a moment thou restrain thy mind, God will appear before thee. 0 man, search thy heart daily, that thou mayest not again fall into despair. This world is a magic show which hath no reality. Men are pleased when they read falsehood, and quarrel over what they do not understand. The truth is, the Creator is contained in the creation ; He is not of a blue colour in the guise of Vishnu. Thou shouldst have bathed in the river which floweth in heaven.1 Take heed ; ever fix thine eyes on Him who is every where present.2 God is the purest of the pure ; shall I doubt whether there is another equal to Him ? 3 Kabir, he to whom the Merciful hath shown mercy, knoweth Him. The high priest then asked how God might be obtained by men. The Guru replied that it was by humility and prayer. He added the following hymn in the Persian language :— 1 make one supplication before Thee ; lend Thine ear, O Creator. 1 In the brain instead of the Ganges and other sacred streams of the Hindus.

2 Also translated — Embrace perpetual poverty, fix thy mental eyes on God, and thou shalt behold Him everywhere present. 3 Also translated — If there be another like Him, then entertain doubt. 0 God, Thou art great and merciful ; Thou art the fault less Cherish er. The world is a perishable abode ; O my heart, know this as the truth. Azrail l seizeth me by the hair of my head ; yet thou knowest it not, O my heart. There shall be no wife, no son, no father, no brother, no one to take my hand. There shall be no one to hinder my falling at last when my fate 2 cometh. 1 have passed my nights and days in vanity, and my thoughts have been evil. I have never done a good act — this is my condition ; I am unfortunate, I am also miserly and negligent ; I see not, and I fear not. Nanak saith, I am Thy slave, and the dust of the feet of Thy servants.3 The high priest then asked the Guru to tell him the composition of matter, the nature of the God he adored, how He was to be found, and in what con sisted the essence of his religion. The Guru replied again in the Persian language :—

Know that according to the Musalmans everything is produced from air, fire, water, and earth ; But the pure God created the world out of five elements.4 However high man may leap, he shall fall on the earth again. Even though a bird fly, it cannot compete in endurance with the torrent and the wind which move by God's will. How great shall I call God ? to whom shall I go to in quire regarding Him ? 1 Azrall is frequently mentioned in the Sikh sacred writings. In the Muhammadan dispensation he is the minister of Death who separates men's souls from their bodies by violently tearing them asunder. The Quran, Suras 32 and 79. 1 Takbir is understood to be for the Arabic taqdir, destiny. 3 Tilang. 4 Akash, or ether, being the fifth. He is the greatest of the great, and great is His world ; men depart in their pride. I have consulted the four Veds, but these writings find not God's limits. I have consulted the four books of the Muhammadans, but God's worth is not described in them. I have consulted the nine regions of the earth ; one improveth upon what the other saith.

Having turned my heart into a boat, I have searched in every sea ; I have dwelt by rivers and streams, and bathed at the sixty-eight places of pilgrimage ; I have lived among the forests and glades of the three worlds and eaten bitter and sweet ; I have seen the seven nether regions and heavens upon heavens. And /, Nanak, say man shall be true to his faith if he fear God and do good works.1 In due time the Guru proceeded to Madina, where he vanquished the Muhammadan priests in argu ment. Thence he journeyed to Baghdad, and took up his position outside the city. He shouted the call to prayer, on which the whole population became wrapt in silent astonishment.2 The high priest of Baghdad, on meeting face to face the enthusiastic stranger, inquired who he was and to what sect he belonged. The Guru replied, ' I have appeared in this age to indicate the way unto men. I reject all sects, and only know one God, whom I recognize in the earth, the heavens, and in all directions.' Upon this the Guru began to repeat the Japji. As the high priest listened to its doctrines he said, ' This is a very impious faqir. He is working

1 Banno's Granth Sahib. 2 It is certain that the Guru omitted the words Muhammad ar rasul Allah of the creed, and substituted Arabic words of a similar sound to express his own ideas. Hence the astonishment of the people. i8o THE SIKH RELIGION miracles here, and informing us, contrary to the authority of our holy Quran, that there are hundreds of thousands of nether and upper regions, and that at last men grow weary of searching for them/ The high priest then called upon the Guru to give a manifestation of his power. Upon this, it is said, the Guru laid his hand on the high priest* s son and showed him the upper and lower regions described in the Japji.1 The Guru having accomplished his mission in the West resolved to return to his own country. When he arrived in Multan, the local high priest presented him with a cup of milk filled to the brim. By this he meant it to be understood that the city was full of holiness already, and that there was no room for another religious teacher. The Guru, in no wise disconcerted, took the milk and laid on it an Indian jasmin flower. The cup did not overflow. This typified that there was still room for the Guru in the midst of the Multanis, as there is still room for the ever flowing Ganges in the ocean.

The Guru, after a brief sojourn in Multan, set out for Kartarpur. His reputation daily increased in the world, and men meditated on his name. He insisted that praying for anything except God's name merely conferred on man a crown of sorrow. By this time the Guru had founded a pure religion and made his coin current in the world. In due time the Guru and his minstrel arrived at Kartarpur on the right bank of the river Ravi, opposite the present town of Dehra Baba Nanak. There he doffed his pilgrim's dress, and donned worldly garments in order to show that he did not desire men to devote themselves exclusively to an ascetic life. At the same time he sat on his re ligious stool, and began to preach to the people. During Guru Nanak's stay at Kartarpur he con- 1 Japji, Pauri xxiii. tinued to compose hymns which diffused spiritual light and dispelled mental darkness. He ever con versed on religious subjects, and divine measures were ever sung in his presence. The Sodar and the Sohila were chanted in the evening and the Japji repeated at the ambrosial hour of morning.1 At Kartarpur, Mardana, the Guru's faithful minstrel, advanced in years and wearied with his long wanderings and physical privations, fell ill. He felt that he had no hope of longer life, and resigned himself to man's inevitable fate. He had originally been a Muhammadan, but, being now a Sikh, the question arose as to how his body should be disposed of after death. The Guru said, ' A Brahman's body is thrown into water, a Khatri's is burnt in the fire, a Vaisya's is thrown to the winds, and a Sudra's is buried in the earth. Thy body shall be disposed of as thou pleasest.' Mardana replied, * Through thine instruction the pride of my body hath totally departed. With the four castes the disposal of the body is a matter of pride. I deem my soul merely as a spectator of my body, and am not concerned with the latter. Where fore dispose of it as thou pleasest.' Then the Guru said, ' Shall I make thee a tomb and render thee famous in the world.' Mardana replied, ' When my soul hath been separated from its bodily tomb, why shut it up in a stone tomb ? ' The Guru answered, ' Since thou knowest God and art therefore a Brah man, we shall dispose of thy body by throwing it into the river Ravi and letting it go with the stream. Sit down therefore on its margin in prayerful posture, fix thine attention on God, repeat His name at every inspiration and expiration, and thy soul shall be absorbed in the light of God.' Mardana accordingly sat down by the river, and his soul separated from its earthly enclosure the following morning at a watch

1 A translation of these divine services will be found in this volume. before day. The Guru then, by the aid of his Sikhs, consigned Mardana's body to the river Ravi,1 caused the Sohila to be read for his eternal repose, and con cluded the obsequies by distributing karah parshad z (sacred food). The Guru counselled Mardana's son Shahzada and his relations not to weep. There ought to be no lamentation for a man who was returning to his heavenly home, and therefore no mourning for Mardana.3 The Guru bade Shahzada remain with him in the same capacity as his father, and he would be held in equal honour. Accordingly Shahzada, the Guru's faithful friend and minstrel, accompanied him to the time of his death. In the Granth Sahib are found three sloks of the Guru, dedicated to Mardana, against the use of wine. The following, which may conveniently be given here, will suffice as a specimen : — The barmaid is misery, wine is lust ; man is the drinker. The cup filled with worldly love is wrath, and it is served by pride. The company is false and covetous, and is ruined by excess of drink. Instead of such wine make good conduct thy yeast, truth thy molasses, God's name thy wine ;

Make merits thy cakes, good conduct thy clarified butter, and modesty thy meat to eat. Such things, O Nanak, are obtained by the Guru's favour ; by partaking of them sins depart.4

There lived in a town called Khadur a Sikh named Jodha who used to repeat God's name while 1 It is stated in several Sikh works that Mardana's body was cremated. 2 The recipe for the preparation of karah parshad, or Sikh sacred food, will be given in the life of Guru Gobind Singh, vol. v. 3 Gydn Ratanawali. 4 Bihagre ki War. the rest of the inhabitants worshipped Durga. Their priest was a man called Lahina. One day when Jodha was repeating Guru Nanak's Japji, Lahina heard him and inquired whose composition it was. Jodha duly informed him, and they became intimate. On being introduced to the Guru, Lahina told his name, upon which the Guru said, 'Thy lahina is here, where else can it be found?' In the Panjabi language the word lahina means to take or receive, and the Guru meant, ' What thou desirest to receive — salvation — is here, and nowhere else.' After some spiritual instruction from the lips of the Guru, Lahina threw away the tinkling bells he wore on his hands and feet to dance before the goddess, and began to repeat God's name. He made it a practice afterwards to perform menial service for the Guru.1

It is said that Lahina in a vision saw a female in a red dress shampooing the Guru. Lahina asked her who she was. She replied that she was Durga, and that she came once a week to do service for the Guru. On this Lahina became convinced of the divine mission of Guru Nanak. A Jogi went to visit the Guru and congratulate him on the large number of converts he had made The Guru replied that he had few real Sikhs, as the Jogi himself would see. The Guru and the Jogi determined to proceed into the forest and there make trial of the Sikh converts who accompanied them in numbers. For this purpose the Guru assumed a terrible guise. He put on dirty, tattered clothes, took a knife in his hand, and proceeded with some hunting dogs into the forest, ostensibly in quest of game. On this several of his Sikhs fled. It was on that occasion the Guru composed the following :— 1 A fuller account of Jodha's influence on Lahina will be given in the Life of Guru Angad, Vol. II. I have a dog l and two bitches 2 with me ; Every morning they bark at the wind.3

Falsehood is my hunting-knife and carrion its handle. 0 Creator, I remain in the guise of a huntsman ; 1 do not follow my Master's counsel or do His work. I appear deformed and terrible. Thy Name alone saveth the world ; It is my support ; to obtain it is my desire. I utter calumny day and night ; I am base and worthless ; I covet my neighbour's house. Lust and anger, which are pariahs, dwell in my heart. 0 Creator, I remain in the guise of a huntsman ; In saint's dress I meditate to entrap others. 1 am a cheat in a country of cheats.4 / deem myself very clever, and bear a great load of sin. O Creator, I remain in the guise of a huntsman. Ungrateful that I was, I did not appreciate what Thou didst for me. How can I, who am wicked and dishonest, show my face ? Humble Nanak expresseth his thoughts — 0 Creator, I remain in the guise of a huntsman.5 As the party proceeded they found the road covered with copper coins. Some Sikhs took them up and departed. Further on were found silver coins. Several Sikhs took up the silver coins and returned home. As the Guru's party proceeded further, they saw gold coins on the road. Several of the remaining Sikhs took up the gold coins and quickly vanished. Only the Jogi, two Sikhs, and the Guru's attendant Lahina now remained.

On proceeding further they found a funeral pyre. Near the corpse were four lighted lamps. A sheet was stretched over it as it lay on the ground and emitted an offensive smell. The Guru said, ' Let 1 Avarice. 2 Desire and covetousness. 3 The line means that desire and covetousness call in vain to the saint. 4 Also translated — I am a cheat and cheat the country. whoever wisheth to accompany me eat of this.' The Sikhs quailed at the dreadful proposal, but Lahina remained staunch in his faith in the Guru. Without more ado he clasped his hands and asked the Guru if he should begin to eat the head or the feet of the corpse. The Guru told him to begin at the waist. Lahina lifted the winding-sheet in order to begin to eat, when lo ! it is said, a dish of sacred food appeared instead of the corpse ! Lahina offered the sacred food to the Guru first, and said he would partake of his leavings. The Guru replied, ' Thou hast obtained this sacred food because thou didst desire to share it with others. The wealth given by God which man useth himself or burieth in the earth, is like carrion ; but the wealth which man shareth with others is as sacred food. Thou hast obtained my secret ; thou art in mine image. I will tell thee the real thing, the spell which is the essence of religion, and by which thou shalt have happiness here and hereafter. The following, which is the preamble of the Japji, is the spell meant by the Guru : —

There is but one God whose name is True, the Creator, devoid of fear and enmity, immortal, unborn, self-existent, great, and bountiful. Repeat His name. The True One was in the beginning ; The True One was in the primal age ; The True One is, was, O Nanak ; the True One also shall be. The Guru instructed Lahina to utter the spell with a pure heart. It would fulfil all his desires, bestow happiness in this world and salvation in the next ; and by the continual practice of it the light of God should dawn in his heart. Upon this the Jogi said, ' O Nanak, he shall be thy Guru who is produced from thy body — ang.' Upon this the Guru embraced Lahina, addressed him as Angad, and promised that he should be his successor. The Jogi and the Guru then went to their respective homes. i86 THE SIKH RELIGION The Sikhs who had deserted the Guru, afterwards bitterly regretted their conduct. They who had found the copper money said, that if they had gone further they would have found the silver money; and they who had found the silver money said that if they had gone further, they would have found the gold money. Upon this the Guru composed the following : —

The words man speaketh shall be taken into account ; the food he eateth shall be taken into account ; Man's movements shall be taken into account ; what he heareth and seeth shall be taken into account ; Every breath he draweth shall be taken into account ; why should I go and ask the learned ? O father, attachment to Maya is deceitful. He who being spiritually blind forgetteth God's name, shall gain neither this world nor the next. Life and death are for everything that is born ; death devoureth everything here. Where the Judge sitteth and decideth, thither no one shall accompany thee. All who weep for thee tie up, as it were, a bundle of refuse.1 Everybody saith that God is great ; nobody detracteth from Him ; But no one hath found His price ; He becometh not great by what man saith. O True Lord, Thou art one Lord ; how many other worlds in which creatures dwell ! Nanak is with those who are low-born among the lowly ; Nay, who are lowest of the low ; how can he rival the great ? Where Thou, O Lord, watchest over the lowly, Thy look of favour shall be their reward.2

The successor of Pir Baha-ul-Din, the Musalman prelate of Multan, went accompanied by several of his followers to visit Guru Nanak. On meeting him he said, ' I have loaded the load ; do something 1 That is, they weep in vain. 2 Sri Rag. for me' — that is, pray that I may have a successful journey to the next world. The Guru replied :— He who filleth the sack shall load it on himself ; l the will of God is over all ; Nanak, they who have acted honestly shall depart with bright faces. The Guru, seeing the Pir prepared for death, said he would soon follow him himself. The Guru upon this composed the following hymn :— Wealth, youth, and flowers are guests2 only for four days ;3 They wither and fade like the leaves of the water lily. Enjoy God's love, O dear one, in the freshness of youth. Few are thy days ; thou art wearied and the vesture of thy body hath grown old. My merry friends have gone to sleep in the grave. I too shall depart in sorrow, and weep with a feeble voice. O fair one,4 why not attentively listen to this message ?

Thou must go to thy father-in-law's ; thou mayest not dwell for ever in thy father's house. Nanak, know that she who sleepeth 5 in her father's house, is robbed at an untimely season. She hath lost her bundle of merits and departed with a load of demerits.6

The Guru, knowing that his end was approach ing, appointed Angad his successor. The Guru's sons had not obeyed him. Their minds were insin cere, and they had rebelled and deserted him. Wherefore he subsequently placed the umbrella 1 Man shall take with him the result of his acts. 2 Ndthiare is connected with the Panjabi nathna, to run away. 3 Four days is a common Oriental expression for a short period. * The soul is here meant. Who awakes not in God's service. 6 Sri Rag. i88 THE SIKH RELIGION of spiritual sovereignty over Angad' s head, and bowed to him in token of his succession to the Guruship. Then it became known to his people^ that Guru Nanak was about to die. Whole troops < of Sikhs, Hindus, and Musalmans went to bid him J farewell. Angad stood up before him in an attitude of supplication. When Guru Nanak had invited him to speak, he said, ' O king, be pleased to attach again to thy skirt those who have seceded from thee.' By this Angad meant the Sikhs whose faith had been tried and found wanting. Guru Nanak replied, ' I have forgiven them all for thy sake/ Upon this Angad fell at his feet.

Guru Nanak went and sat under a withered acacia tree, when lo ! it became green, and produced leaves and blossoms. Angad again fell at his feet in adoration. Guru Nanak' s family, relations, and disciples began to weep. On that occasion he com posed the following : — Hail to the Creator, the True King, who allotted to the world its various duties ! When the measure 1 is full, the duration of life is at an end ; the soul is led away ; When the destined hour arriveth, the soul is led away and all one's relations weep. The body and soul are separated, O my mother, when one's days are at an end. Thou hast obtained what was allotted thee, and reaped the fruit of thy former acts. Hail to the Creator, the True King, who allotted to the world its various duties ! Remember the Lord, O my brethren ; all must depart. The affairs of this world are transitory, only for four days ; we must assuredly proceed onwards : We must assuredly proceed onwards like a guest ; why should we be proud ? 1 Pai. This is an Indian corn measure. Repeat the name of Him by whose worship thou shalt obtain happiness in His court.

In the next world thou canst in no wise enforce thine authority ; every one shall fare according to his acts. Remember the Lord, my brethren, every one must depart. That which pleaseth the Omnipotent shall come to pass ; this world is an illusion. The true Creator pervadeth sea and land, the nether regions, and the firmament. The true Creator is invisible, unequalled ; His limit cannot be found. Profitable is their advent into this world who have medi tated with their whole hearts upon Him. The Adorner by His order demolisheth and again constructeth. That which pleaseth the Omnipotent shall come to pass ; this world is an illusion. Saith Nanak, O Father, they shall be considered to have wept who weep through love. If men weep for the sake of worldly things, all their weeping, O Father, shall be in vain : All their weeping shall be in vain ; the world is not mindful of God, and weepeth for mammon. They know not good from evil, and thus lose their human lives. All who come into this world must depart ; false are you who practise pride. Saith Nanak. men shall be considered to have wept, O Father, if they weep through love.1

After this the assembled crowd began to sing songs of mourning, and the Guru fell into a trance. When he awoke therefrom, his sons, on seeing a stranger appointed to succeed their father, inquired what provision had been made for themselves. Guru Nanak replied, ' O my sons, God giveth to His creatures ; you shall obtain food and clothing in igo THE SIKH RELIGION abundance, and if you repeat God's name you shall be saved at last.' The Musalmans who had received God's name from the Guru, said they would bury him after his death. His Hindu followers on the contrary said they would cremate him. When the Guru was invited to decide the discussion he said, ' Let the Hindus place flowers on my right, and the Musal mans on my left. They whose flowers are found fresh in the morning, may have the disposal of my body.' Guru Nanak then ordered the crowd to sing the Sohila : — In the house in which God's praise is sung and He is meditated on, Sing the Sohila and remember the Creator. Sing the Sohila of my fearless Lord ; I am a sacrifice to that song of joy by which everlasting comfort is obtained.

Ever and ever living things are watched over ; the Giver regardeth their wants. When even Thy gifts cannot be appraised, who can appraise the Giver ? The year and the auspicious time for marriage* are re corded ; O relations, meet and pour oil on me the bride.2 0 my friends, pray for me that I may meet my Lord. This message is ever sent to every house ; such invita tions are ever issued. Remember the Caller ; Nanak, the day is approaching.3 The concluding slok of the Japji was then sung. The Guru drew a sheet over him, uttered 1 Wahguru ', made obeisance to God, and blended his light with Guru Angad's. The Guru remained the same. There was only a change of body pro duced by a supreme miracle. 1 Death is here considered a marriage as among the ancient Greeks. 2 Before marriage the bride's relations anoint her with oil. 3 Rag Gauri Dlpaki. Guru Nanak caused this hymn to be repeated for him in token of rejoicing when he was dying. It is still read as a funeral service. When the sheet was removed next morning, there was nothing found beneath it. The flowers on both sides were in bloom. The Hindus and the Musalmans removed their respective flowers. All the Sikhs reverently saluted the spot on which the Guru had lain. He breathed his last on the tenth day of the light half of the month of Assu, Sambat 1595 (A.D. 1538) at Kartarpur in the Panjab.

The Sikhs erected a shrine and the Muhammadans a tomb in his honour on the margin of the Ravi. Both have since been washed away by the river, perhaps providentially, so as to avoid idolatrous worship of the Guru's last resting-place. Bhai Gur Das, a brief account of whom we have given in the Introduction, draws a gloomy picture of the wickedness of the world at the rise of the Sikh religion: — Men's ideas and aspirations were low. Mammon fascinated the world and led every one astray. Good acts no longer commended themselves to men. They burned with pride, and respected not one another. The high and the low forgot their mutual duties. Monarchs were unjust, and their nobles were butchers who held knives to men's throats. Everybody thought he possessed knowledge, but none knew in what knowledge or ignorance consisted. Men did what pleased themselves. Alchemy and thaumaturgy were professed, incantations and spells practised, and men indulged in strife, wrath, and mutual jealousies. In the general disorder every one adopted a religion of his own. Out of one God they made many, and carved gods attractive and unat tractive from wood and stone. Some worshipped the sun or moon, others propitiated the earth, sky, wind, water, or fire, and others again the god of death, while the devotion of many was addressed to cemeteries and cremation grounds. Thus did mankind go astray in vain religions and vain worship.

Men despised one another and hence caste received religious sanction. The Brahmans set the Veds, the Purans, and the Shastars at variance. The professors of the six schools of Hindu philosophy quarrelled with one another, and while so employed indulged to their hearts' content in hypocrisy and superstition. Not only were the Hindus divided into four castes, but the Muhammadans were divided into four sects,1 and while the Hindus worshipped the Ganges and Banaras, the Muhammadans addressed their devo tions to Makka and the Kaaba. The devil fascinated the members of both religions ; they forgot their holy books ; they went astray on every road ; and truth was the one thing they failed to discover. There was no guru or religious guide, and without one the people were pushing one another to their destruction. Sin prevailed throughout creation. Pure religion was weeping day and night, and finally began to disappear from men's gaze beneath the earth. She was weighed down by human trans gressions. In lowly attitude she appealed to God for a guide. God observing men's anguish and hearing their piteous cries, conferreoT^supernatural attributes on Guru Nanak. _ He bestowed on him the supreme wealth of the Name and humility, and sent Mm into the world to relieve its sufferings. When Guru Nanak contemplated the world, he everywhere saw spiritual darkness, and heard the cry of pain. He endured the greatest privations and travelled to different countries in order to regenerate the human race.

He pointed out to men the straight way — that there was but one God, the primal and omnipreaent. He restored the three legs which religion had lost, and reduced to one the four castes of the Hindus. He placed the king and the beggar on a spiritual equality, and taught them to respect each other. 1 Hanifi, Shafai, Maliki, and Hanbali. He preached to all a religion of the heart as distin guished from a religion of external forms and unavailing ritual. He found that the acts and austerities practised by professedly religious men of his age and country were without divine love or devotion, and conse quently contained no merit before God. He satisfied himself that Brahma, the reputed author of the Veds, did not include love in them, nor was it men tioned in the Simritis. He declared that God who has no form or outline was not found by wearing religious garbs, but by humility, and that if men rejected caste and worshipped God in spirit they should be accepted in His court. The Guru examined all religious sects, contem plated the gods, goddesses, and spirits of earth and heaven, and found them all immersed and perishing in spiritual pride. He scrutinized Hindus, Moslems, priests, and prophets, and found not one godly person among them. They were all groping in the blind pit of superstition.

Religious men who ought to be guiding their flocks, had retreated to the solitude of mountains. There was no one left to instruct and save the world. Though hermits rubbed ashes night and day on their bodies, they possessed no knowledge, and the world was rushing to its ruin for want of a divine guide. Rulers were everywhere oppressive. The fence began to eat the field instead of protecting it. Guardians proved faithless to their trusts and con sumed the wealth of their wards. Some disciples played while their spiritual guides danced. Other disciples sat at home while, contrary to all custom, their spiritual guides waited on them. Judges took bribes and perpetrated injustice. Women only paid regard to their husbands for the wealth they pos sessed, and sin was diffused throughout the world. When Guru Nanak appeared, the fog of spiritual ignorance dispersed, and light shone in the world, i94 THE SIKH RELIGION as when the sun rises the stars disappear and dark ness fades away, or as when the lion roars in the forest the timid deer incontinently disappear. Wherever the Guru planted his foot, there was established a seat of worship. Every house of his followers became a temple in which the Lord's praises were ever sung and the Lord's name continually repeated. The Guru established a separate religion, and laid out an easy and simple way of obtaining salvation by the repetition of God's name. The Guru extri cated men from the terrible ocean of the world, and included them in the boon of salvation. He cut off the fear of transmigration, and healed the malady of superstition and the pain of separation from God. Until the Guru's advent death's mace ever impended over men's heads, and the apostate and the evil spent their lives in vain. When men grasped the feet of the divine Guru, he gave them the true Word and effected their deliverance. He inculcated love and devotion, the repetition of God's name, and the lesson that as men sow so shall they reap. The four castes of the Hindus he reduced to one. Whether a Sikh had a caste or not, he was distin guished in the society of the holy. The six schools of philosophy are like the six seasons of the year, but the sect of the Guru is the sun which shines over them all. Guru Nanak having abolished all sects shed great splendour on his own. Setting aside the Veds and the books of Islam, he taught his sect to repeat the name of the infinite God who surpasses all conception. By falling at one another's feet and by practising humility are the Guru's Sikhs recognized. They live as hermits among their fami lies, they efface their individuality, they pronounce the ineffable name of God, and they transgress not the will of the Creator by uttering blessings or curses upon their fellow-creatures. Thus were men saved in every direction and Guru Nanak became the true support of the nine regions of the earth.

THERE is but one God whose name is true, the Creator, 2 devoid of fear and enmity, immortal, unborn, self-existent ; 3 by the favour of the Guru.4 The True One was in the beginning ; the True One was in the primal age. The True One is 5 now also, O Nanak ; the True One also shall be.6 1 The Japji is considered by the Sikhs a key to their sacred volume and an epitome of its doctrines. It is silently repeated by the Sikhs early in the morning. Every Sikh must have it by heart, otherwise he is not deemed orthodox. It is the duty of all Sikhs, even if they cannot read, to have themselves taught this great morning divine service. The composition appears to have been the work of Guru Nanak in advanced age. 2 Karta pumkh. It is perhaps not necessary to translate the word puriikh. It means male or creative agency. The all-pervading spirit in union with a female element uttered a word from which sprang creation. 8 Saibhan is derived from the Sanskrit swayambhu, which we have found in this passage in a very ancient Sikh MS. 4 Gur Par sad. We have translated these words in deference to the opinions of the majority of the Sikhs ; but with several learned gyanis we have no doubt that they were intended as epithets of God — the great and bountiful. Guru Nanak had no human guru ; as we have already seen, his guru was God. It was during the spiritual supremacy of his successors the favour of the Guru was invoked, and deemed indis pensable for deliverance. Moreover, though gur par sad does sometimes in the Granth Sahib mean the Guru's favour, this appears to be more often expressed by gur parsddi.

6 Bhi. There are two this in this line which some say are idiomatic. We have very little doubt that the first bhi is an obsolete past tense of the defective verb bhu, and that the verse ought to be translated — 1 The True One is, was, and also shall be.' Compare — ' Guru Nanak, Shahu hai, bhi, hosi.' — Suhi Ashtapadi i. 6 Also translated — God was true in the beginning, He was true in the primal age ; He is true now also, Nanak, and He also will be true. By thinking I cannot obtain a conception of Him, even though I think hundreds of thousands of times. Even though I be silent and keep my attention firmly fixed on Him, I cannot preserve silence. The hunger of the hungry for God subsideth not though they obtain the load of the worlds. If man should have thousands and hundreds of thousands of devices, even one would not assist him in obtaining God. How shall man become true before God ? How shall the veil of falsehood be rent ? l By walking, O Nanak, according to the will 2 of the Com mander as preordained.

By His order bodies are produced ; His order cannot be described. By His order souls 3 are infused into them ; by His order greatness is obtained. By His order men are high or low ; by His order they obtain preordained pain or pleasure. By His order some obtain their reward ; 4 by His order others must ever wander in transmigration. All are subject to His order ; none is exempt from it. He who understandeth God's order, O Nanak, is never guilty of egoism.5 Who can sing His power ? Who hath power to sing it ? 6 Who can sing His gifts or know His signs ? 7 This translation appears to be unmeaning, for it is not doubted that God was true in all ages. With the translation in the text compare 'Eyw et/xi TTOLV TO yeyovos, KOL ov, KOL e(ro/xeyoi/, * I am all that was, and is, and will be.' — Inscription on a Greek temple. 1 Also translated — How shall the line of falsehood be broken ? 2 Rajdi, the Arabic razd, the divine pleasure. 3 In these two lines some suppose akdr to refer to the non-sentient, jiv to the sentient world. 4 That is, to be blended with God.

5 Literally — would not be guilty of saying haun main, i.e. I exist by mvself independently of God. This is the sin of spiritual pride. 6 Also translated — Whoever has the power. 7 Also translated — He who knows his signs. Who can sing His attributes, His greatness, and His deeds?1 Who can sing His knowledge whose study is arduous ? Who can sing Him, who fashioneth the body and again destroyeth it ? Who can sing Him, who taketh away life and again restoreth it ? Who can sing Him, who appeareth to be far, but is known to be near. Who can sing Him, who is ^//-seeing and omnipresent ? 2 In describing Him there would never be an end. Millions of men give millions upon millions of descriptions of Him, but they fail to describe Him. The Giver giveth ; the receiver groweth weary of receiving. In every age man subsisteth by His bounty. The Commander by His order hath laid out the way of the world. Nanak, God the unconcerned is happy. True is the Lord, true is His name ; it is uttered with endless love.3 People pray and beg, * Give us, give us ' ; the Giver giveth His gifts ;

Then what can we offer Him whereby His court may be seen ? What words shall we utter with our lips, on hearing which He may love us ? At the ambrosial hour of morning meditate on the true Name and God's greatness. 1 Char is understood to be a contracted form of achar. Some translate the word ' excellent,' and make it an epithet of wadidi. 2 This and the preceding lines of this pauri are also translated— Some sing His power according to their abilities ; Some sing His gifts according to their knowledge of His signs ; Some sing His attributes, His greatness, and His deeds; Some sing His knowledge whose study is arduous ; Some sing that He fashioneth the body and again destroyeth it ; Some that He taketh away the soul and again restoreth it ; Some that He appeareth far from mortal gaze ; Some that He is all-seeing and omnipresent. 3 Also translated — His attributes are described in endless languages. The Kind One will give us a robe of honour, and by His favour we shall reach the gate of salvation.1 Nanak, we shall thus know that God is altogether true.2

He is not established, nor is He created. The pure one existeth by Himself. They who worshipped Him have obtained honour. Nanak, sing His praises who is the Treasury of excellences. Sing and hear and put His love into your hearts. Thus shall your sorrows be removed, and you shall be absorbed in Him who is the abode of happiness.3 Under the Guru's instruction God's word is heard ; under the Guru's instruction its knowledge is acquired', under the Guru's instruction man learns that God is everywhere contained.4 The Guru is Shiv ; the Guru is Vishnu and Brahma ; the Guru is Parbati, Lakhshmi,5 and Saraswati.6 1 This verse is also translated — By our former acts we acquire this human vesture, and by God's favour reach the gate of salvation. The body is first formed, and then the soul from another body enters it. God decides in what body the soul is to have residence until the body perishes. The acts of previous births are adjusted when the soul attains a human body. It is the acts done in a human body which accompany the soul to future states of existence. 2 This verse is commonly translated — we shall then know that God is all in all Himself; but this translation does not appear to harmonize with the preceding part of the pauri.

3 Also translated — and you shall take happiness to your homes. 4 This very difficult verse is also translated — (a) Under the Guru's instruction God's word is heard • under the Guru's instruction the knowledge of it is acquired '; it is contained in the Guru's instruction. (&) The voice of God is found as well in other compositions as in the Veds ; the voice of God is all-pervading. (c) The pious know the Guru's instruction, that God is every where contained. (d) The voice of the Guru is as the Veds for the holy ; they are absorbed in it. 5 The Hindu goddess of wealth and riches, consort of Vishnu, and mother of Kam the god of love. 1 The goddess of eloquence and learning and patroness of arts and sciences. This verse is also translated — If I knew Him, should I not describe Him ? He cannot be My Guru hath explained one thing to me — That there is but one Bestower on all living beings ; may I not forget Him ! If I please Him, that is my place of pilgrimage to bathe in ; if I please Him not, what ablutions shall I make ?

What can all the created beings I behold obtain without previous good acts ? Precious stones, jewels, and gems shall be treasured up in thy heart if thou hearken to even one word of the Guru. The Guru hath explained one thing to me — That there is but one Bestower on all living beings ; may I not forget Him ! Were man to live through the four ages, yea ten times longer ; Were he to be known on the nine continents, and were everybody to follow in his train ; l Were he to obtain a great name and praise and renown in the world ; If God's look of favour fell not on him, no one would notice him. He would be accounted a worm among worms, and even sinners would impute sin to him. (a) He is greater than Shiv ; greater than Vishnu and Brahma ; greater than Parbati, Lakhshmi, and Saraswati. (6) For the holy the Guru is Shiv; the Guru is Vishnu and Brahma ; the Guru is Parbati, Lakhshmi, and Saraswati. The tenth Guru says :— Khanda prithme saj ke Jin sab sansdr upaiya — God first created the sword, the emblem of Death, and then the world.

So here Shiv obtains precedence as the agent of destruction. The word uttered by God became the source of knowledge of Him through the Guru in the three forms of Shiv, Vishnu, and Brahma. 1 That is, to show him respect. Nanak, God may bestow virtue on those who are devoid of it, as well as on those who already possess it ; But no such person is seen as can bestow virtue upon Him. By hearing the name of God men become Sidhs, Pirs, Surs,1 and Naths ; By hearing the Name man under standeth the real nature of the earth, its supporting bull,2 and Heaven ; By hearing the Name man obtaineth a knowledge of the continents, the worlds, and the nether regions. By hearing the Name death doth not affect one.3 Nanak, the saints are ever happy. By hearing the Name sorrow and sin are no more. By hearing the Name man becometh as Shiv, Brahma, and Indar. By hearing the Name even the low become highly lauded.4 By hearing the Name the way of Jog and the secrets of the body are obtained. By hearing the Name man understandeth the real nature of the Shastars, the Simritis, and the Veds.

Nanak, the saints are ever happy. By hearing the Name sorrow and sin are no more. By hearing the Name truth, contentment, and divine knowledge are obtained. Hearing the Name is equal to bathing at the sixty-eight places of pilgrimage. By hearing the Name and reading it man obtaineth honour.5 1 Surs are spiritual heroes. 2 The bull which the Hindus believe supports the earth. This is not believed in by the Sikhs. See below, pauri xvi. 3 Man shall not die again, but obtain deliverance. 4 Also translated — By hearing the Name one is praised by high and low. 5 Also translated — On hearing the Name man obtaineth honour by the knowledge acquired. By hearing the Name the mind is composed and fixed on God.1 Nanak, the saints are ever happy. By hearing the Name sorrow and sin are no more. By hearing the Name, the depth of the sea of virtue is sounded.2 By hearing the Name men become Shaikhs, Pirs, and Emperors. By hearing the Name a blind man findeth his way By hearing the Name the unfathomable becometh fathom able. Nanak, the saints are ever happy. By hearing the Name sorrow and sin are no more.

The condition of him who obeyeth God cannot be described. Whoever trieth to describe it, shall afterward repent. There is no paper, or pen, or writer To describe the condition of him who obeyeth God. So pure is His name— Whoever obeyeth God knoweth the pleasure of it in his own heart.3 By obeying Him wisdom and understanding enter the mind ; By obeying Him man knoweth all worlds ; By obeying Him man suffereth not punishment; By obeying Him man shall not depart with Jam 4— So pure is God's name — Whoever obeyeth God knoweth the pleasure of it in his own heart. 1 Or — by hearing the Name man easily meditateth upon God. 2 Also translated — man acquireth the best virtues. 3 Literally — he knows it in his own mind, that is, he obtains a pleasure which is incommunicable. 4 The god of death, previously called Dharmraj. This verse means that man shall not die again, but be absorbed in God. By obeying Him man's path is not obstructed ; By obeying Him man departeth with honour and distinc tion ; By obeying Him man proceedeth in ecstasy 1 on his way ; By obeying Him man formeth an alliance with virtue —

So pure is God's name — Whoever obeyeth God knoweth the pleasure of it in his own heart. By obeying Him man attaineth the gate of salvation ; By obeying Him man is saved with his family ; By obeying Him the Guru is saved, and saveth his disciples ; By obeying Him, O Nanak, man wandereth not in quest of alms 2 — So pure is God's name — Whoever obeyeth God knoweth the pleasure of it in his own heart. The elect 3 are acceptable, the elect are distinguished ; The elect obtain honour in God's court ; The elect shed lustre 4 on the courts of kings. The attention of the elect is bestowed on the one Guru.5 If any one say he can form an idea of God, he may say so, 1 Magun. This word is understood to be for magan. Those who read magu na translate — (a) By obeying Him man proceedeth not by the path of destruction. (l>) Man proceedeth by the broad, not the narrow way. 2 This is explained to mean — does not wander in transmigration. 3 Panch, literally five. The number conveys the idea of selection. There is a Hindustani proverb, Panchon men Parameshwar hat, Where five are assembled, God is in the midst of them. Others say that panch refers to the five classes of persons previously mentioned — those who walk according to God's will, who know Him to be true, who praise Him, who hear His name, and who obey Him.

1 This is the interpretation of sohahi given by Bhai Chanda Singh in his commentary on the Granth Sahib. 5 The elect have one God as their Guru or spiritual guide, and meditate on Him. But the Creator's works cannot be numbered. The bull that is spoken of is righteousness, the offspring of mercy, Which supported by patience maintaineth the order of nature.1 Whoever understandeth this is a true man. What a load there is upon the bull ! 2 Beyond this earth there are more worlds, more and more. What power can support their weight ? The names of living things, their species, and colours Have all been written with a flowing pen. Doth any one know how to write an account of them ? If the account were written, how great it would be ! What power and beautiful form are Thine, O God ! Who hath power 3 to know how great Thy gifts are ? By one word 4 Thou didst effect the expansion of the world, Whereby hundreds of thousands of rivers were produced. What power have I to describe Thee ? So powerless am 7, that I cannot even once be a sacrifice unto Thee.