Praises of the Guru :—
When the Name is obtained the mind is satisfied ; without the Name accursed 1s life.
Let some holy friend who meeteth me point out to me God the Lord of excellence.
I would be quartered for him who showed me the Name.
O my Beloved, I live by meditating on the Name.
Without the Name I could not live; O my true Guru, implant it in me.
The Name is a priceless jewel ; the perfect true Guru possesseth it.
By applying myself to the service of the true Guru, he bringeth forth and displayeth the jewel of the Name.
Blest are the very fortunate who come to the Guru and meet him.
They who have not met the true Guru are unfortunate and subject to death.
They shall again wander in birth, and be placed in terrible filth.
Approach not those in whose hearts is the pariah wrath.
The true Guru is a tank of nectar; very fortunate are they who come to bathe therein.
Their impurities of every birth depart, and the pure Name is implanted in them.
The slave Nanak, by fixing his attention on the true Guru, hath obtained the highest dignity.
The excellence of the Name is obtained through the Guru :—
Let me sing God’s praises, let me proclaim God’s praises, Ict me utter God’s praises, O mother.
[p. 287] The holy man who repeateth His praises is my friend ; with him I will sing God’s praises.
When I pierced the diamond of my heart with the diamond of divine knowledge, the deep colour of the Name appeared.
O my God, let me sing Thy praises that my soul may be gratified.
My heart thirsteth for God’s name; may the Guru be pleased to grant it me!
Dye your hearts with the love of God, O ye very fortunate, and the Guru will be pleased to confer on you favours.
yl am a sacrifice to that true Guru who lovingly fixeth the Name in my heart.
Without the true Guru, God’s name is not found even though one perform hundreds of thousands and millions of ceremonies.
Without good fortune God is not found, even though He dwell in our homes and be for ever near,
Because a screen widely separateth Him from those in whose hearts there is the pain of ignorance and superstition.
Without meeting the true Guru man becometh not gold ; the perverse sink like iron while the boat is hard by.
God’s name is the boat the true Guru provideth ; how shall we go on board ?
He who walketh according to the will of the true Guru shall sit in the boat.
Hail, hail to the greatly fortunate persons, O Nanak, whom the true Guru blendeth with God !
Man even though silly may be blended with God by piety. This hymn was composed by Guru Ram Das when after his marriage he was invited to make soime request —
The girl is silly, how shall she behold God in this world ?
When God is merciful the holy learn the affairs of the next world :
The holy learn the affairs of the next world and ever meditate on God.
[p. 288] Woman shall then roam happy among her companions, and triumphantly swing her arm in God’s court.
What balance of Dharmraj’s account shall remain after repeating God’s name ?
The girl even though silly shall behold God in this world through the Guru’s instruction.
The marriage is ended, my father; I have found God under the Guru’s instruction.
The Guru hath dispelled the darkness of ignorance, and lit the lamp of divine knowledge :
The Guru hath lit the lamp of divine knowledge, darkness is dispelled, and I have discovered the precious jewel of God’s name.
The malady of pride hath departed, sorrow hath fled, and I have cured my pride under the Guru’s instruction.
I have obtained as my spouse the Deathless One, the Imperishable, who shall never die or be born.
The marriage is ended, O my father; I have obtained God under the Guru’s instruction.
God is very true, my father; when God’s saints meet, the marriage procession is beautiful.
She who repeateth God’s name shall be happy in this world and be really beautiful in the next :
In the next she shall be very beautiful who in this world hath remembered the Name.
Profitable are the whole lives of those who under the Guru’s instruction have conquered their minds by throwing the dice of God’s name.
By meeting God’s saints my work hath prospered ; for my spouse I have obtained the Joyful Being.
God is very true, my father; when God’s saints meet, the marriage procession is beautiful.
My father, give me God as a gift and dowry.
Give me God as my raiment ; give me God as my glory that my work may succeed.
By devotion to God the marriage is easy ; the Giver gave me the gift of the true Guru’s name.
Thy glory, O God, shall fill the earth’s continents and the [p. 289] universe ; this dowry of the Name cannot be confounded with others.
Any other dowry the perverse may display is false pride and worthless gilding.
My father, give me God as a gift and dowry.
My father, woman on meeting her beloved God extendeth the vine.
God, who is in every age, ever setteth a-going the Guru’s race ;
In every age increaseth the true Guru’s race who under his instruction meditate on the Name.
God shall never be destroyed; what He giveth ever increaseth.
Nanak, the saints and God are one; by repeating God’s name woman is adorned.
My father, woman on meeting her beloved God extendeth the vine.[1]
True men eat the bread of labour; the false and the deceitful live by begging :—
Thou didst create all things, O Lord; Thou givest sustenance to Thy creatures.
Some live by deceit and fraud, and drop from their mouths falsehood and deception.
Thou hast subjected creatures thereto; Thou doest what pleaseth Thyself.
To others Thou hast explained the truth and given unfailing stores thereof.
The food of those who remember God is profitable, they who remember Him not, stretch out their hands fo beg.
There is none to beg from except God, the universal Benefactor :—
Every one belongeth to Thee; Thou art every one’s ; Thou art the capital stock of all.[2]
All beg of Thee and ever supplicate Thee.
[p. 290] He to whom Thou givest hath obtained everything ; Thou art distant from some and to others Thou art near.
Except Thee there is none to beg from; let some one investigate this in his mind.
All praise Thee ; Thy door is open to the holy.
The Guru in a vision presented himself at God’s door :—
I a minstrel of the Lord God went to His door.
God from within heard my cries, and called the minstrel into His presence.
Having called the minstrel, He asked him for what object he had come.
‘Thou ever bestowest gifts, merciful Lord, grant me to meditate on Thy name.’
Nanak, God the Giver caused me to repeat His name and clothed me with a robe of honour.
The advantage of the society of the saints :—
I meditate on God’s excellences and name,
And in company with the saints I cause His name to dwell in my heart.
The Lord God is inaccessible and inapprehensible ; but His deligkts are obtained on meeting the true Guru.
Blessings on those men of God who know Him.
I shall go and ask them to tell me of God.
On meeting the men of God, I will shampoo their feet, rub and wash them, and drink the divine essence.
The true Guru the giver made fast in me God’s name.
Very fortunate am I who have obtained a sight of the Guru.
In uttering the true ambrosial Name which is received from the perfect Guru, I drink nectareous essence.
O God, cause me to meet the society of the saints, the true beings.
On meeting them I shall meditate on God’s name.
Nanak, may I under the Guru’s instruction hear of God, speak of Him, and regale myself with His name !
[p. 291]
The Guru shows the one God who pervades all things but is distinct from them :—
Come, my sisters, meet me, my dear ones :
I am a sacrifice to her who shall show me my Beloved.
On meeting the society of the saints I have found God the Friend, and am a sacrifice to the true Guru.
Whithersoever I look, there is the Lord.
Thou pervadest every heart, Thou Searcher of hearts.
The perfect Guru hath shown me God who is with me; I am ever a sacrifice to the true Guru.
There is but one breath, one matter, and one light in all things.
One light pervadeth all things but is distinct in each ; there is no light equal thereto.
By the favour of the Guru the one God hath been seen ; in everything I am a sacrifice to the true Guru.
Nanak speaketh words of nectar
Which are dear and pleasing to the hearts of his disciples.
The perfect true Guru giveth instruction; he is beneficent to others.
Some of the attributes of the Guru :—
He in whose heart there is truth hath the true Name, and uttereth the truth with his mouth ;
He walketh in God’s way himself, and causeth others to do so.
If there be a river on our way, it will wash away filth ; by bathing in a pond[3] more filth attacheth to one.
The true Guru who meditateth on God night and day is the perfect river.
He is saved himself with his family,-and by giving God’s name he saveth the whole world.
The slave Nanak is a sacrifice to him who repeateth God’s name and causeth others to do so.
[p. 292]
Ram Das is happy beyond expression in the society of Guru Amar Das :—
The beggar is happy when a householder giveth him alms ;
The hungry man is happy when he taketh food ;
The disciple is happy and contented when he meeteth his Guru.
Grant me, O Lord, a sight of Thee in whom is my hope.
Mercifully fulfil my desires.
The chakwi is happy when she seeth the sun :
She then meeteth her beloved and all her sorrow departeth.
The disciple is happy when he beholdeth his Guru ;
The calf is happy when it sucketh milk ;
Its heart 1s glad when it seeth its dam ;
The disciple is happy when he beholdeth his Guru.
All other affections are worldly and false,
And shall perish like false and temporary gilding.
The slave Nanak is happy and contented with the true Guru.
Happy is the family in which a religious son has been born :—
As the mother nourisheth her foetus in the hope of its being a son—
‘ When he is big he will earn and allow me money which will give me enjoyment— ’
So the man of God loveth God, and God will render him assistance.
O my God, I am foolish, preserve me, O my Lord.
Thy servant’s praise is Thy glory.
They to whose hearts God’s praises are pleasing, rejoice in their palaces and homes.
When they sing God’s praises, they taste all sweets.
The man of God is the saviour of his family ; he shall deliver twenty-one generations,[4] yea, the whole world.
[p. 293] Whatever hath been done hath been done by God and is His glory. 7
O God, all creatures are Thine ; Thou pervadest them all, and causest them to worship Thee.
O God, Thou causest them to acquire the treasure of devotion and Thou Thyself apportionest it.
I am Thy slave purchased ina shop; what skill hath this creature ?
Wert Thou, O God, to seat me on a throne, I should still be Thy slave; cause me even as a lowly grass-cutter to utter Thy name.
Nanak is God’s slave, and magnifieth Him.
The earnings of the holy :—
The husbandman laboureth and hopeth in his heart,
While yoking his plough and making his efforts, that his sons and daughters shall eat the fruits of his labour ;
So the man of God uttereth God’s name that God may at last deliver him.
O my God, accomplish my salvation, foolish though Tam!
Apply me, O God, to the work of serving the true Guru.
As the merchant who taketh horses for traffic,
Earneth money and entertaineth hopes that his wealth shall increase ;
So the man of God uttereth the name of God, and 1s happy in uttering it.
The shopkeeper collecteth wares and sitting in his shop dealeth in them :
His wealth is false, its display is false, he is wrapped up in falsehood.
The man of God collecteth divine wealth and taketh God with him as his viaticum.
Love of wealth and family is a snare when man turneth away from God.
He who is the slave of God’s slaves shall be saved under the Guru’s instruction.
Nanak, they who ponder on the Name under the Guru’s instruction shall be enlightened.
[p. 294]
The fervour of the Guru’s devotion :—
The desire for God is ever in my mind and heart ; O God, how shall I behold Thee ?
He who loveth God knoweth the pleasure thereof ; God is very dear to my mind and heart.
I am a sacrifice to my Guru who hath caused me to meet my Creator from whom I had been separated.
O God, Ia sinner have taken refuge at Thy gate.
My understanding hath no merit; mercifully cause me to meet Thee some time.
O God, my demerits are very great, and could never be numbered.
It is Thou who possessest merits; it is Thou who art compassionate ; it is Thou who pardonest when Thou pleasest.
I am a sinner, but Thou hast saved me by association with the Guru, who, by teaching me God’s name, hath delivered me.
O my true Guru, how can I recount thy merits ? When thou speakest, I become astonished.
Can any one else preserve a sinner like me as the true Guru hath preserved and saved me ?
Thou, O Guru, art my father, thou art my mother, thou art my relation and companion.
O God, my True Guru, Thou knowest of Thyself my condition.
I was wandering astray ; no one cared for me when the great God placed me a worm near the true Guru.
Hail! hail to the slave Nanak’s Guru, by meeting whom all my sorrow and trouble are at an end.
The Guru ever cherishes his disciples :—
As a woman having given birth to a son nourisheth him and keepeth her eye on him—
In and out of doors she feedeth him and continually fondleth him—
So the true Guru watcheth over his disciple who beareth love and affection to God.
[p. 295] O my God, we are silly children of Thine.
Hail! hail to the Guru, the true Guru, the teacher who hath rendered us wise by divine instruction !
As the white-robed bird [5] circling and flying in the heavens
Keepeth her thoughts on her young left behind, and ever remembereth them in her heart,
So the true Guru claspeth to his heart that disciple who loveth God.
God preserveth the tongue made of flesh and blood within the scissors of the thirty or thirty-two teeth.
Let any one consider if the tongue or the teeth have any power of themselves ; know that everything is in the power of God.
When men calumniate the saints, God preserveth His servants’ honour.
My brethren, let no one suppose that any one hath any power ; every one acteth as God causeth him to act.
Old age, death, fever, headache, snakebite are all in the power of God. None of these may occur without God’s will,
Nanak, ever so meditate on God’s name in thy heart, that at the last moment it may deliver thee.
The advantage of meeting the true Guru :—
He is called the true Guru whose presence maketh the heart glad ; |
Then mental doubt vanisheth, and the supreme dignity is obtained.
How shall I meet my beloved true Guru ?
I every moment make obeisance that I may meet him.
God mercifully caused me to meet my perfect true Guru.
On applying the ashes of the true Guru his slave’s desires are fulfilled.
Meet such a guru as shall implant God’s service in the heart and teach it to thee.
Thus shall there never be any deficiency ; God’s profit shall ever be obtained.
[p. 296] He in whose heart there is divine pleasure hath no love for mammon.
Nanak, if such a guru be found, man shall be saved, singing God’s praises.
The debt men owe to the Guru :—
This mind of many whims resteth not for a moment ; it roameth and wandereth in every direction.
They who are very fortunate, have found the perfect Guru who giveth God’s spell by which their minds become fixed.
O God, we are slaves of the true Guru :
The brand hath been branded on our foreheads ; we owe a great debt to the Guru :
He conferred on us many kindnesses and favours, and rescued us from the dangerous ocean of fear.
They who have not the love of God in their hearts plot deceitful schemes.
As paper is spoiled by water, so the perverse are ruined by pride.
We know nothing of the past or future ; as God placeth us so shall we stand.
O Guru, be merciful to us sinners ; saith the slave Nanak, we are thy dogs.
The Guru’s happiness on meeting God :—
O my Gobind,[6] Thou art in my heart, Thou art in my heart : because Thou art in my heart, I am dyed with Thy lowe:
O my Gobind, the sportive Hari is with me, yet cannot be seen ; but the perfect Guru hath shown me the Unseen.
O my Gobind, all poverty and misery depart from him to whom the name of God hath been made manifest.
The highly fortunate have obtained God, the highest dignity, O Gobind, and are absorbed in His name.
O my Gobind, my beloved, hath any one seen the Lord God with his eyes ?
[p. 297] My mind and body are very sad, O my Gobind, without God I a woman waste away.
On meeting the saints, O my Gobind, I have found my God, Friend, and Companion.
God, the life of the world, hath come to me, O my Gobind ; I pass the night in happiness.
Ye saints, cause me to meet my God, the Friend ; my soul and body hunger for Him.
I cannot live without seeing my Beloved; separation from Him weigheth upon my heart.
God is my Friend and Beloved ; the Guru introduced me to Him and my heart revived.
The desires of my soul and body have been fulfilled, O my Gobind ; on meeting God my heart expanded.
I am a sacrifice, O my Gobind, my Beloved; I am a hundred times a sacrifice unto Thee.
In my soul and body is the love of the Beloved, O my Gobind, O God preserve my capital.[7]
O my Gobind, let me meet the true Guru, the mediator who will show me the way, and cause me to meet God !
Through Thy mercy, O my Gobind, I have obtained God’s name; the slave Nanak hath entered Thine asylum.
The Guru’s longing for God :—
J suffer from separation from God’s name and from God.
May I meet my Lord, my Friend, and obtain happiness !
On beholding the Lord God I survive, O my mother,
His name is my companion and brother.
Ye dear saints, sing the praises of my Lord God.
Ye greatly fortunate ones, repeat the Name under the Guru’s instruction.
God and God’s name are my life and soul.
By repeating the Name man hath not again to cross the terrible water.
How shall I behold the Lord God, my soul and body’s desire ? |
Present me to God, ye dear saints, my heart loveth Him.
By the Guru’s word the beloved King is obtained.
[p. 298] Ye greatly fortunate ones, utter His name.
In my soul and body I have a great longing for God.
Ye saints, cause me to meet Gobind who is my Lord God.
By the true Guru’s instruction the Name is ever manifest (O-ie ;
So the desires of the slave Nanak’s heart have been fulfilled.
Man ought to keep watch over his refractory mind :—
O refractory [8] soul[9] who comest from afar, how shalt thou meet God <
When I found the Guru by perfect good fortune, the Beloved came and embraced me.
O refractory soul, meditate upon the True Guru ;
O refractory and wretched soul, meditate on God’s name,
And when thy account is called for, God Himself will release thee.
O refractory soul, once very pure, the filth of pride hath now attached to thee.
The Beloved Spouse was present in thy house; when thou didst separate from Him, thou wert punished.
O refractory soul, my dear, search for God within thee.
He is not found by contrivance; the Guru showeth Him in thy heart.
O refractory soul, my dear, day and night fix thine attention on God.
When thou findest God through the Guru thou shalt go home and obtain the painted palace.
O refractory soul, my friend, abandon hypocrisy and eneed. ;
The hypocritical and the greedy shall be smitten ; Death will punish them with his mace.
[p. 299] O refractory soul, who art dear to me as my life, rid thyself of the filth of hypocrisy and superstition.
The perfect Guru is a tank of divine nectar; when the company of saints is obtained filth departeth.
O refractory soul, my dear, listen only to the instruction of one guide the Guru—
Worldly love may be widely diffused, yet at last nothing shall go with one—
O refractory soul, my friend, take God’s name for thy travelling expenses, and thou shalt obtain honour.
Thou shalt have a dress of honour in God’s court, and God Himself will embrace thee—
O refractory soul, he who obeyeth the Guru shall under the Guru’s instruction accomplish his work.
Make obeisance before the Guru, O slave Nanak, and he will blend thee with God.
O refractory soul, gifted with the power of reflection, meditate and carefully look.
They who dwell in forests are tired of wandering in them ; while they may under the Guru’s instruction behold the Beloved in their own hearts.
O refractory soul, remember God ;
O refractory and wretched soul, the perverse are caught in a great net,
While the pious are delivered byremembering God’s name.
O refractory soul, my beloved, search for the True Guru in the society of the saints.
Attached to the society of the saints meditate on God and He will go with thee.
O refractory soul, greatly fortunate are they on whom the one God looketh with favour.
If God deliver thee, thou shalt be delivered ; worship the true Guru’s feet.
O refractory soul, my beloved, think of is Light within thy body.
When the merciful God conferreth a gift on ae the Guru will show thee the Name which is the nine treasures.
O refractory soul, thou fickle-minded, lay aside thy perverse cleverness.
[p. 300] Remember God’s name, and at the last moment He will grant thee deliverance.
O refractory soul, very fortunate shalt thou be if thou treasure the gem of divine knowledge.
The divine knowledge of the Guru is a sword held in the hand to destroy the god of death.
Within thee is the treasure, O refractory soul, yet thou wanderest abroad in doubt searching for it.
When thou meetest the perfect Guru, thou shalt find God the Friend who is with thee.
O refractory soul, ever remember the love of God and thou shalt be imbued with it.
By serving the Guru and remembering his instruction the dye of God shall never fade.
We are birds, O refractory soul, and God the immortal Being 1s a tree.
Nanak, very fortunate are the pious who remembering the Name find the Tree.
A message of love :—
Hear, my Friend, this message of love ; mine eyes are fixed on Thee.
When the Guru is pleased he blendeth me with the Friend, and then the slave Nanak sleepeth in peace.
Men should not be jealous of the Guru, who is specially favoured of God :—
Kknow that he is great whom the Lord maketh great.
God pardoneth him who is pleasing to Him.
If any one try to rival Him he is an insensate fool.
He whom the true Guru causeth to meet Him, singeth His praises and dilateth on them.
Nanak, true is the True One; he who knoweth Him is absorbed in the truth.
The Guru is the soil in which religion is planted :—
The true Guru is the field of religion ; as man planteth in it, so he gathereth fruit.
[p. 301] The Guru’s Sikhs plant ambrosia and obtain God as their ambrosial fruit.
Their faces are bright in this world and the next, and they shall obtain a true robe of honour in God’s court.
Some whose hearts are base ever act basely; as they plant, so the fruit they eat.
When the true Guru the banker looketh at them and assayeth them, their gilding is all laid bare.
As they meditate, so they obtain, and so God maketh them known.[10]
Nanak, the Lord God Himself pervadeth both the good and the bad ;[11] he ever beholdeth the acts of all.
Man’s regeneration must depend on himself :—
Man hath one mind ; the one God pervadeth it ; as the mind turneth,[12] such is its acceptance.
Man may say what he pleaseth; it is what he hath at home he eateth.[13]
Without the true Guru there is no understanding, and pride departeth not from the heart.
The spiritually proud are miserable and hungry ; they put out their hands and beg from door to door.
Falsehood and robbery remain not concealed ; gilding and adulteration are laid bare.
The true Guru meeteth, and God cometh to, him who was so fated in the beginning.
As iron touched by the philosopher’s stone assumeth a bright colour, so doth man when he meeteth the company of the saints.
O slave Nanak’s Lord, Thou guidest men as Thou pleasest.
Reference to the fate of those who calumniated Guru Amar Das :—
Him who slandereth the perfect true Guru the Creator will punish.
[p. 302] The slanderer shall not have such an opportunity again ; as he soweth so shall he eat.
He shall be taken away to terrible hell with blackened face and a halter on his neck like a thief ;
But, if he return to the Guru’s protection and meditate on God’s name, he shall be saved.
He who obeyeth not the Guru’s order is perverse and robbed by mental ignorance and poisonous mammon :
In his heart is falsehood and he deemeth every one false ; God hath fastened unworthy disputes on his neck.
He talketh a great deal, but what he saith pleaseth nobody ;
He wandereth from house to house like an abandoned woman ; whosoever meeteth him beareth the mark thereof.
The holy man keepeth aloof from him; he leaveth him to go and sit with the Guru.
He who denieth the Guru is base ; O elect, he hath lost all his capital and profit.
At first, O Nanak, men recited the Shastars and the Veds, but the words of the perfect Guru have superseded them.
The magnification of the perfect Guru is pleasing to his disciples ; the perverse shall never more have this opportunity.
The world, which is God’s field, yields ambrosial produce to the Guru’s disciples :—
The whole world is God’s field ; God Himself causeth the tillage to be performed.
The holy man hath made God’s grace germinate; the perverse have lost their capital.
Every one cultivateth for his own advantage ; if it please (,od, He causeth the field to germinate.
The Guru’s disciples sow ambrosia, and obtain God’s name as the ambrosial fruit.
Death the mouse ever gnaweth the produce ;[14] but God the Creator killeth and expelleth it.
With God’s love the tillage succeedeth, and the harvestheap is produced by His favour.
[p. 303] God hath removed all the trouble and anxiety of those who have meditated on Him.
The slave Nanak hath worshipped the Name ; he is saved himself, and saveth the whole world.
The Guru encourages his Sikhs to hear his instruction :—
True Sikhs sit with the true Guru; and the false toil and find no place even by search.
Are their faces bright to whom the words of the true Guru are not agreeable ? Nay, they wander contemned of God.
God causeth their acts to prosper who have the wealth of His name within them.
They cease to be subject to others; God sitteth near to assist them.
When God is on our side, every one is on our side; and every one who seeth us praiseth us.
Kings and emperors, all the work of God, come and salute God’s servant.
Great is the greatness of the perfect Guru; he who greatly serveth God obtaineth unequalled happiness.
God hath given the perfect Guru a permanent gift, and what He hath given ever increaseth.
No slanderer can endure his greatness; God Himself destroyeth the slanderer.
The slave Nanak uttereth the praises of the Creator who ever preserveth His saints.
Guru Ram Das addressed the following to the pretended Tapa, or penitent, who perpetually slandered Guru Amar Das :—
Thou didst not at first show respect to Guru Amar Das ; thy excuses now are of no avail.
How can the wretched perverse man who wandereth half way obtain happiness by mere words ?
He who loveth not the true Guru cometh with a lie and departeth with a lie.
[p. 304]
A pretended guru leads man astray :—
When the master is naked and hungry, whence shall his servant eat to repletion ?
If the master have anything in his house, the servant can get it; how can he get what there is not ?
If a Sikh serve a false guru and Death afterwards call on him for an account, such service shall be hurtful.
Nanak, perform service for the great God, a sight of whom is profitable, and no account shall afterwards be taken from thee,
The following was addressed to Guru Amar Das’s enemies :—
Nanak, the saints consider and the four Veds tell
That what the saints utter with their mouths cometh to pass.
In the extension of the world this appeareth manifest : all people hear of it.
The fools obtain not happiness ; they are at enmity with the saints.
The saints desire virtues for them, but they burn with pride.
What can the wretches do, since their fate was evil from the beginning ?
They whom the supreme Being smiteth have none to succour them.
It is real justice that they who bear enmity to those who are without it should perish.
They whom the saints curse shall wander again and again :
When a tree is cut up by the roots, its branches wither.
A magnification of the Guru :—
The whole world come and fall at the feet of those to whom God giveth greatness.
We may fear if we do anything by ourselves ; but it is the Creator who putteth forth His might in all things.
Lo! my brethren, this is the arena of the true Beloved who by His power hath made every one subject to Him.
[p. 305] The Lord God preserveth His saints and blackeneth the faces of slanderers and enemies.
The greatness of the true Guru ever increaseth; the saints themselves ever sing God’s praises.
Night and day repeat the Name, ye disciples of the Guru, and through the true Guru implant the Creator in your hearts.
O Guru’s Sikhs, know that the true Guru’s hymn is most true; the Creator Himself hath caused him to HEUCE It.
The beloved God maketh bright the faces of the Guru’s Sikhs, and the whole world wisheth victory to him.
Nanak is God’s slave ; God preserveth the honour of His servants.
The fate of those who deny the Guru :—
They who leave the Guru, who is present with them, shall find no entrance into God’s court.
Let any one go and meet those slanderers, and he will see their faces pale and spat upon.
They who are accursed of the Guru are accursed of the whole world, and shall ever be vagrants.
They who deny their Guru shall wander about groaning.
Their hunger shall never depart ; they shall ever shriek from its pangs.
No one heareth what they say; they are ever dying of fear.
They cannot bear the true Guru’s greatness ; they cannot find room in this world or the next.
Whoever goeth to meet those cursed by the true Guru shall lose the remnant of his honour.
They who were cursed by the Guru became leprous ; whoever meeteth them shall catch the leprosy.
O God, allow me not to see those who turn their hearts to mammon.
There is no escape from what the Creator Himself wrote in the beginning.
Slave Nanak, worship the Name; nothing can equal it.
Great is its greatness, and it ever increaseth.
[p. 306]
Guru Ram Das continues to magnify Guru Amar Das :—
Great is Amar Das’s greatness who was appointed in the presence of Guru Angad.
The world boweth to him ; all fall at his feet ; his praise filleth the worlds.
The continents and the universe bow to him; he on whose forehead the perfect Guru put his hand became perect:
The Guru’s greatness ever increaseth ; none can equal it.
Slave Nanak, the Creator Himself appointed Guru Amar Das, and will preserve his honour.
Evil shall be the fate of the Guru’s slanderer :—
He who slandereth the perfect true Guru shall find his position difficult in the world.
Death shall seize and throw him into terrible hell which is a pit of sorrow.
No one will hear his cries and lamentations; he shall weep In pain.
He hath cast away all his chances in this world and the next ; his capital and profit, all hath he lost.
He shall become as an oilman’s ox which his master yoketh when he riseth in the morning.
God ever seeth and heareth everything ; nothing is concealed from Him.
As man sowed in a former life, so shall he reap in this.
He to whom God showeth mercy shall wash the feet of the true Guru ;
He shall be saved through the true Guru like iron attached to timber.
Slave Nanak, meditate on and repeat God’s name and thou shalt be happy.
Animate and inanimate nature congratulate the Guru and his family :—
That land where my true Guru sitteth groweth green. The creatures who saw my true Guru have become happy.
[p. 307] Hail, hail to his father! hail, hail to his family! hail, hail to the good mother who gave him birth !
Hail, hail to the Guru who worshippeth the Name! he is saved himself and he saveth those who saw him.
O God, mercifully cause me to meet the true Guru; the slave Nanak will wash his feet.
The man who is separated from God is compared to one who suffers from a malignant ulcer :—
They who have a malignant[15] ulcer within them know what torture is.
They know what separation from God is; I am ever a sacrifice unto them.
O God, unite me with the friend, and I will place my head as a sacrifice beneath his feet.
I am a slave to the slaves of those disciples of the Guru who perform his work.
Moist with God’s dye are the robes[16] of those who are imbued with God’s deep dye.
Nanak, mercifully cause me to meet the Guru, and I will sell my head to him as the price of God’s name.
The holy and unselfish man deserves congratulations :—
O beloved, the holy man who meeteth the society of the saints in which God is praised,
And who preacheth instruction for the good of others, is worthy of gratulation among mortals.
The Guru excommunicates the hypocritical apostates :—
The apostates go and bow to the Guru, but their hearts are base and filled with falsehood.
When the Guru saith to them ‘Rise and work, my brethren,’ they go and squeeze themselves in somewhere like cranes.
The true Guru abideth among his disciples ; he picketh out and expelleth the monkeys.
[p. 308] They sitting here and there conceal their faces, and being counterfeit may not associate with the holy.
There is no food for them there; they go and eat filth like sheep.
If you desire to feed the apostate, he will spew and vomit poison on you.
O God, give me not the company of the apostate ; he is accursed of the Creator.
He who made this play beholdeth it; the slave Nanak remembereth His name.
God protects the true Guru :—
The true Guru who claspeth God to his heart 1s inscrutable.
None can touch the true Guru on whose side God is.
Devotion to God 1s the true Guru’s sword and armour by which the torturer death 1s destroyed.
God Himself is the protector of the true Guru, and will save all who follow him.
Him who meaneth evil to the true Guru the Creator Himself will destroy.
This 1s the word of the true God’s court ; the slave Nanak uttereth this prophecy.
Whether asleep or awake man should remember God :—
What 1s sleeping? what waking? the holy are the acceptable.
They who never forget God are perfect and distinguished.
They obtain the true Guru from the Merciful One, and fix their thoughts on him night and day.
May I continue to meet such persons and obtain honour at God’s gate !
Nanak, bright are the faces of those who ever as they awake remember God,
And who repeat His praises whether sleeping or waking.
The Guru has found God and His mediator :—
Searching for God in my soul and body I have found the God whom I desired ;
[p. 309] And I have found the Guru the mediator who hath blended me with Him.
There is no alliance between God and mammon :—
They who love mammon have no faith in the holy man.
They come and go and wander in transmigration, and have no happiness even in their dreams.
They act falsely ; they speak falsely ; attached to falsehood they become false.
Worldly love is all trouble ; through trouble man perisheth ; through trouble he weepeth.
There is no union between worldliness and love of God, however all may desire it.
They whose treasure-houses contain meritorious acts are happy under the Guru’s instruction.
The Guru’s instruction is communicated from one Man to another :-—
The pious propagate God’s vine ;
It beareth God’s fruit which epicures enjoy.
Utter the name of God which containeth endless delights ;
Utter God’s name and praises under the Guru’s instruction, so shalt thou destroy the serpents which are Death’s myrmidons.
God implanted His worship in the Guru ;
If the Guru be pleased, he conferreth it on his disciple, my brethren.
Religious ceremonies produce pride ; on account of them the way is not known ;
They are idle as the dust the elephant throweth on his head after bathing.
He whose fortune is very great and very exalted,
Shall, O Nanak, by uttering the true Name become true and pure.
The fourth Guru was fond of hearing the hymns of his predecessors sung. On one occasion when he [p. 310] ordered a seance, the musicians were not ready. Then the following hymn was composed :—
How long will they take to search for anklets and cymbals ?) when will some one play the rebeck ?
While a messenger is going and they are coming a short time must elapse; in the meantime let me repeat God’s name,
Such devotion hath been produced in my heart
That without God I cannot live for an instant ; asa fish dieth out of water.
How long will it take to find five or seven singers ? When will some one raise the voice of song ?
In tuning the instruments and selecting the music some little time must elapse ; meanwhile let my soul sing God’s praises.
When will some one dance and stretch forth his feet ? when will some one wave his hands ?
In stretching out one’s hands and feet some little delay must take place ; meanwhile let my heart remember God.
When will some one satisfy the people? Yet by satisfying people no honour is obtained in heaven.
Nanak, ever meditate on God in thy heart, then shall every one congratulate thee.
The Guru ardently desires to behold God :—
O my mother, show me my beloved God :
I cannot remain for a moment without Him ; on beholding Him ; am as pleased as a camel with creepers.
My soul through divine love hath renounced the world with the object of beholding God the Friend.
As the bumble-bee cannot abide without the lotus, so can I not abide without God.
Preserve me in Thy sanctuary, O beloved Lord of the world ; fulfil my desires, O Lord God.
Nanak’s soul is glad when God showeth Himself even for a moment.
[p. 311]
The supreme importance of the Guru’s instruction :—
Through love of the Guru’s instruction I have obtained real life during life.
The Guru gave me God’s name, and implanted it in my Heart:
He implanted it in my heart, and all doubt and trouble have departed.
Under the Guru’s instruction I have meditated on the Unseen and Inapprehensible ; I have obtained the pure and supreme dignity.
On singing the true Guru’s hymns the voice of the unbeaten strain ever resoundeth.
Nanak, God the Giver bestowed on me a gift—my light hath blended with His.
The perverse die in their perversity, saying their property was their own.
They attach their hearts to skin-covered filth? which cometh for a moment and in a moment departeth :
They attach their hearts to skin-covered filth which 1s fleeting as the dye of the safflower.
They go now to the east, and now to the west, as a potter’s wheel revolveth.
In sorrow they eat, in sorrow they amass and enjoy ; they extend their increase of sorrow.
Nanak, if man enter the Guru’s asylum, he shall easily cross the dangerous ocean.
My God is good, inaccessible, and unfathomable.
I asked my merchant, the true Guru, for God as my stock-in-trade :
I asked for God as my stock-in-trade and bought His name ; since then I sing God’s praises and they are pleasing LOnime.
I have banished sleep and hunger and become absorbed in divine tranquillity.
[p. 312] Dealers of one description[17] come and take away God’s name as their profit :
Nanak, it is they who offer their souls and bodies to the Guru who acquire it.
The great ocean of God is full of jewels upon jewels ;
They obtain them to whom the Guru’s words are pleasing :
They to whom the Guru’s words are pleasing obtain the priceless unrivalled jewels.
They who have obtained Thy unrivalled name, O God, have their storehouses filled with Thy service.
I have churned the ocean of the body; I have seen a rare thing come toxiew,
The Guru is God and God is the Guru; Nanak, there is no difference between them, my brethren.
The following hymn is in effect a glorification of the Sikh religion which sprang up in the Kal or fourth and last age of the world. The Kal age is therefore here made out to be the best of all the four ages :—
In the Sat age all men were contented ; religion had four legs, and men meditated on God.
They sang of God with heart and soul, acquired the greatest happiness, and every heart possessed a knowledge of God’s excellences.
A knowledge of God’s excellences was men’s wealth ; He was their salvation, and the pious became illustrious.
At home or abroad there was but the one God and no other.
Men fixed their attention on Him; His name was their helper; in His court they acquired honour.
Then came the Treta age—though worldliness began to press on men’s hearts, yet they practised continence and austerities.
One leg of religion dropped off; three legs remained ; in men’s minds and hearts wrath was inflamed.
A great poisonous fermentation in men’s hearts and souls was wrath; kings made war and suffered in the conflict.
[p. 313] Men’s hearts were attacked by the diseases of egotism and pride ; their conceit and arrogance increased.
If my God be merciful, the poison shall depart by the Guru’s instruction and God’s name.
The Dwapar age came—men wandered in doubt ; God created the milkmaids and Krishan.
Penitents practised not penances, men initiated sacrifices and offerings, and performed many religious ceremonies :
They performed religious ceremonies ; the second leg of religion dropped off, and two legs remained.
Many heroes engaged in great wars; through pride they ruined themselves and others.
He who is compassionate to the poor caused man to meet the sainted Guru, and on meeting him impurity departed.
When God made the Kal age, religion had lost three legs and only the fourth remained.
They who acted according to the Guru’s instruction obtained God’s name as their medicine, and in singing His praises obtained divine rest.
The season for the praises of God arrived ; His name was magnified, and the field of God’s name germinated.
If in the Kal age any other seed than the Name be sown, men lose all their profit and capital.
Nanak, when the true Guru hath been found, he showeth the Name in man’s heart.
God’s attributes :—
My great God is inaccessible, inapprehensible, eternal, pure, formless.
His condition cannot be described ; immeasurable is His glory ; my God is invisible and illimitable :
God is invisible, illimitable and boundless; only He knoweth Himself.
What can this poor creature utter, O God, which would be a description of Thee ?
He on whom Thou castest Thy glance of favour, meditateth on Thee under the Guru’s instruction.
Thou, great God, art inaccessible, inapprehensible, eternal, pure, formless.
[p. 314] Thou art the primal Male, the boundless Creator ; Thy limit cannot be ascertained.
Thou art uninterruptedly within every heart, and in everything art Thou contained.
Within the heart is the Supreme Brahm, the Supreme God, whose end cannot be found.
He hath no form or outline ; He is unseen and inapprehensible ; but under the Guru’s instruction the Invisible becometh visible.
He who beholdeth God shall ever be happy day and night, and shall be easily absorbed in His name.
Thou art the primal Male, the boundless Creator ; Thy limit cannot be ascertained.
Thou art the true Supreme Being, ever indestructible ; O God, Thou art the treasury of excellences.
O God, Thou alone art the Lord, there is none besides ; Thou art the omniscient Being.
Thou art omniscient and most exalted ; there is none so great as Thou.
Thine is the Word; Thou pervadest everything ; what Thou doest cometh to pass.
The one God is contained in everything ; the pious behold Thee, O God, on repeating Thy name.
Thou art the true Supreme God, ever indestructible ; O God, Thou art the treasury of excellences.
Thou art the Creator of all; Thy glory is everywhere ; Thou settest everything in motion as Thou pleasest :
Thou settest everything in motion as Thou pleasest ; everything is subject to Thy word :
Iverything is subject to Thy word; when it pleaseth Thee, man obtaineth greatness therefrom.
If man obtain wisdom from the Guru’s instruction and efface himself, he shall be absorbed in the Word.
Thy word cannot be grasped; it can be obtained from the Guru’s instruction : Nanak, he who obtaineth it, shall be absorbed in the Name.
Thou art the Creator of all, Thy glory is everywhere; Thou settest everything in motion as Thou pleasest.
[p. 315]
The Guru’s soul is thoroughly saturated with God’s love :—
Mine eyes are wet with God’s nectar; my soul is dyed with His love.
God applied His touchstone to the heart, and found it brightest gold.
Through the Guru my soul and body are dyed with a deep colour.
The slave Nanak hath perfumed himself with the musk of God’s love, and his whole life is supremely blest.
The word of God’s love which is a pointed arrow hath smitten his heart.
He who feeleth the pain of love knoweth its torment.
He who in life is dead is said to have obtained deliverance while alive.
Nanak prayeth, O God, may the true Guru cause me to meet Thee that I may cross over the dangerous world !
I ignorant and stupid have sought Thine asylum; may I obtain the love of God!
I have obtained God from the perfect Guru; I pray for the service of God alone.
My soul and body are pleased with Thy word; I repeat it with endless pleasure.
On meeting the saints, Nanak hath obtained God in their association.
O Thou compassionate to the poor, hear my supplication ; O God, Lord, King.
I pray for the protection of God’s name and God putteth it into my mouth.
O God, it is Thy function to love Thy saints and preserve their honour.
The slave Nanak hath sought Thy protection ; Thy name hath saved him.
The Guru has found God, who is a diamond in the golden fortress of the body :—
On searching and searching for God, the Friend, I have found Him under the Guru’s instruction.
It is known that God is in the golden fortress of the body.
[p. 316] God is a diamond and a jewel with which my soul and body are pierced.
Having been very fortunate at my birth I have obtained God; Nanak is kneaded with His essence.
I a young woman continually arise and inquire the road to my Spouse.
The true Guru reminding me of God’s name putteth me on His road.
The Name, the antidote to the poison of pride, is the support of my soul and body.
The slave Nanak prayeth, O God, grant me to meet the true Guru who hath already met Thee.
Through the Guru, O Beloved, come to me who have been so long separated from Thee.
My soul and body are very sad ; mine eyes are moist with God’s love.
O Guru, show me God the Beloved ; on meeting Him my soul shall be happy.
Nanak, God hath appointed me, a fool, to perform His duty.
The Guru’s body is moistened with God’s nectar, and he sprinkleth it on his disciples.
They whose hearts are pleased with the Guru’s words drink their fill of nectar.
The Guru being pleased, I have obtained God and I shall no longer be buffeted.[18]
Nanak, the man of God and God have become one,
God ever preserves His saints :—
God produced saints in every age, and continueth to preserve their honour.
God destroyed the wicked Harnakhas and saved Prahlad.
God turned His back on the proud and the slanderers, but showed His face to Namdev.
Nanak hath so served his God that He will deliver him at last.
It is said that the following hymn was composed by Guru Ram Das before he had become Guru.
[p. 317]
Guru Amar Das was highly pleased with this and other compositions of his saintly son-in-law :—
Come home, O my beloved soul, which hath wandered afar.
O Guru, cause me to meet God, my Beloved, that He may dwell in my heart.
Thou shalt be happy, O my dear, if God show thee mercy.
Nanak, when the Guru is pleased, my dear, he will blend man with God.
I did not heartily taste God’s love, my dear ;[19]
So the thirst of my heart hath never been slaked ; my dear, it formeth ever new desires.
Youth is ever passing away, my dear, the god of death stealeth away the breath.
Nanak, she is a fortunate wife, my dear, who claspeth God to her heart.
Mine eyes are refreshed by the Beloved, my dear, as the chatrik with his raindrops.
On drinking the raindrops of God, my dear, my heart is comforted.
Separation from God kept me awake, my dear, and I could by no means sleep.
But now Nanak by loving the Guru hath obtained God, the Friend, my dear, and is at rest.
In the month of Chet, my dear, beginneth the pleasant season of spring ;
But without my Beloved, my dear, the dust was flying about my court.[20]
There was hope in my heart and I was waiting, my dear ; both mine eyes were fixed on Him.
But now Nanak on seeing the Guru is happy, my dear, as a mother on seeing her child.
My dear, the true Guru hath repeated to me tales and legends of God.
I am a sacrifice to the Guru, my dear, who hath caused me to meet God.
[p. 318] God hath fulfilled all my desires, my dear ; I have obtained the fruit my heart desired.
When God is pleased, my dear, the slave Nanak is absorbed in the Name.
Without the love of my beloved God, I rejoice not.
How shall I find the Guru through whom I may behold my Beloved ?
If the bounteous God cause me to meet the great Guru, I shall meet Him.
Nanak, he on whose forehead it was so written in the beginning shall find the Guru, my dear.
On Guru Amar. Das. —
The saints of God are the best ;_ their speech is the best ; what they utter is for others’ advantage.
God mercifully saveth those who hear their words with faith and devotion.
O God, grant me to meet the dear saints of God.
The true Guru, the perfect Guru, dear to me as my Hie, will save us sinners.
Very fortunate, very fortunate are the pious whose support is God’s name.
Under the Guru’s instruction they obtain God’s nectar, God’s essence, and a storehouse of devotion.
They who have not obtained a sight of the true Guru, the true man, are unfortunate, and shall be punished by Death.
They shall be born again as dogs, swine, and donkeys, and God will punish them as wilful murderers.
O compassionate to the poor, have mercy on Thy servant and save him.
The slave Nanak hath sought Thine asylum ; if it please Thee, O God, Thou wilt save him.
The Guru prays never to forget God’s name :—
Mercifully so dispose my heart, O God, that I may night and day continually meditate on Thy name.
[p. 319] God is all comfort, all excellence, all wealth ; by uttering His name all misery and hunger depart.
O my soul, God’s name is my companion and my brother.
Under the Guru’s instruction let me sing the praises of God’s name; it will be at the last hour my helper, and deliver me in God’s court.
O God, the Searcher of hearts, Thou Thyself art the Giver ; Thou didst mercifully infuse the longing for Thee into my soul.
The longing of my heart and soul is for God; He hath fulfilled my longing since I have entered the asylum of the true Guru.
Through meritorious acts I have obtained human birth, but without the Name it would be accursed and useless.
He who is without the Name shall eat sorrow as his relish ; his countenance shall grow pale, and men shall spit on his face.
God will give glory in His court to those who have entered His asylum.
Nanak, God welcometh and applaudeth His servant, embraceth him and blendeth him with Himself.
The advantage of the Name and of the Guru’s instruction :—
He who through the true Guru hath found the Lord God hath made Him dear to me by his instruction.
My soul and body have become refreshed and happy [21] since through good fortune I have meditated on God’s name.
My brother, may some one come to meet me who will implant God’s name in my heart!
He is my Beloved, my life, my soul, and my body; all would I give him who would tell me of my Lord God.
I have obtained patience, faith, and God from the Guru’s instruction; may he ever apply my mind to God and His name !
Nectar droppeth into the mouth of him who uttereth the true Guru’s nectareous words and hymns.
[p. 320] Pure is the Name; no soil attacheth to it; under the Guru’s instruction repeat it with devotion.
The man who hath not found the wealth of the Name is unfortunate and dieth again and again.
Meditate on God, the root of joy, the life of the world, who giveth to all men, and thou shalt be happy.
Thou art the Giver; all creatures are Thine, saith the slave Nanak ; thou pardonest the pious and blendest them with Thyself.
Guru Ram Das expresses his humility and_ his faith in family life :—
Mother, father, son are all made by God; God established all their relationships.
All my strength is as nothing before God, O my friend.
The body, soul, and person are all in God’s power.
God Himself inspired His saints with faith.
Ikven in their families they abide as hermits.
When hearty love is established with God,
Then what man doeth is pleasing to Him.
Whatever work God hath appointed us to do,
That we do with His permission.
Nanak, they whose devotion is pleasing to my Lord,
Fix their attention on God’s name.
The first two lines of the following embody an inquiry made by Sangatia, a Sikh. The remainder of the hymn is the Guru’s reply :—
Tell me in what street I shall find my Beautiful One :
O saints of God, show me the way, and I will follow you.
The word of the Beloved comforteth the heart ; good is this custom which hath been established.
She who whether bent with age[22] or of small stature is pleasing to the Lord, is beautiful and becometh united with Him.
[p. 321] There is but one Beloved ; all are His handmaidens ; she who pleaseth Him is good.
What shall the poor wretch Nanak do? Let him walk in the way which pleaseth the Lord.
The Guru has completely devoted himself to God :—
I have now come weary to God:
Since I have come to Thy protection, save me, O God, or destroy me.
I despise [24] men’s artifices and praises.
Whether one speak well or ill of me, I have humbled my body.
God mercifully preserveth him who cometh to His protection.
The slave Nanak prayeth, O God, preserve mine honour who have sought Thy shelter !
The Guru encourages men to lead a religious life :—
They who think not on God’s name, O my life, are perverse, foolish, and silly.
They who think on worldly love, O my life, shall regret it at their final departure.
The perverse, O my life, who are led away by sin shall not enter God’s court.
Nanak, O my life, they who meet the Guru, who repeat God’s name, and who are absorbed in it shall be saved.
All ye people, go and meet the Guru, O my life, who will fix God’s name in your hearts.
Make no delay in repeating God’s name, O my life; nobody knoweth whether he shall draw another breath or not.
That time, that juncture, that ghari, that moment are profitable, O my life, when my God cometh into the mind.
Nanak, by remembering the Name, O my life, Death’s myrmidons approach not.
[p. 322] God always beholdeth and heareth everything, O my life ; it is he who committeth sin who feareth.
All fear departeth from him, O my life, whose heart is pure within him.
He who hath faith in God’s name is fearless, O my life, though all the hostile and the shameless slander him.
They who have worshipped the perfect Guru Nanak, O my life, make all men bow at their feet.
Ever worship such a God, O my life, as is the great Lord of all.
They who have worshipped the one God with single mind, O my life, care for no one.
By serving the Guru God’s palace is attained, O my life ; all slanderers talk foolishness and give causeless annoyance.
O my life, the Lord God hath written good fortune on that man’s forehead in the beginning who meditateth on Him.[23]
It is God who performs all the agricultural and culinary operations by which man subsists. The following hymn is sung after Sikh entertainments :—
God Himself is the soil, Himself the tiller; it is He who causeth the corn to spring up and be ground ;
It is He who cooketh it ; it is He who putteth the food into dishes and serveth it; it is He who sitteth down to eat it.
He is the finger-water ; He giveth the toothpick; He holdeth the water to wash the mouth.
It is He who ever seateth the saints at His banquet ; it is He who dischargeth them.
God causeth him to whom He is merciful to obey His order.
The following, in which the body is compared to a steed to be kept under subjection, is sung at marriages :—
The body is a steed which God created.
[p. 323] Hail to human birth obtained by meritorious acts !
Human birth is obtained by greatly meritorious acts ; the body is fine gold
Which by the Guruw’s instruction is dyed a rich colour, O God, a new colour.
This body by which God’s name is repeated is beautiful as adorned by His name.
It is obtained by great good fortune; the Name is its companion : O slave Nanak, it is God who created it.
Having well reflected put a saddle thereon.[24]
Mount it, Sir, and thou shalt cross the dangerous ocean.
The dangerous ocean in which there are many waves shall be crossed through the Guru’s instruction.
Very fortunate people, making God the boat, embark thereon and cross over; the pilot Guru ferrieth men over by the Word.
Him who night and day singeth God’s love and God’s praises, God the Lover imbueth with His love.
The slave Nanak hath obtained the rank of nirvan, God’s highest and best rank.
The Guru hath put divine knowledge as a bit into the mouth,
And applied God’s love as a whip to the body :
The pious man who hath conquered his own mind, applieth God’s love as a whip to his body.
He obtaineth the Word, fashioneth his unfashioned mind, and drinketh God’s nectar.
He who heareth the Word which the Guru uttereth, dyeth his steed with God’s colour,[24:1]
Traverseth the great and difficult way, O Nanak, and crosseth over.
God created the body a fleet mare.
The body by which God’s name is repeated is blest, is blest.
The body by which God’s name is repeated, the result of prenatal acts, is to be congratulated and praised.
Man having under the Guru’s instruction mounted his [p. 324] body as a mare, crosseth the difficult way and meeteth the Primal Joy. The perfect God hath arranged the marriage feast; a company of saints hath come as the marriage procession. O slave Nanak, I have obtained God as my Spouse ; the holy men meeting rejoice and utter gratulations.
The relation of God to His servants :—
God loveth His slaves ; God is a friend of His slaves.
God is in the power of His slaves as a musical instrument in the power of the musician.
God’s slaves meditate on God and bear affection to the Beloved.
Mercifully hear me, O God; may rain fall throughout the whole world !
The praise of God’s slaves contributeth to God’s greatness.
God is pleased with His own greatness when His slaves are congratulated.
It is they who meditate on God’s name ; God and God’s saints are the same.
The slave Nanak is God’s servant ; O God, preserve his honour.
He who has no faith in the Guru 1s stupid and deceitful :—
He in whose heart is spiritual ignorance and who hath no faith in the Guru hath but a poor understanding.
He in whose heart there is deceit deemeth every one deceitful ; through this deception he is ruined.
What is pleasing to the Guru entereth not his mind ; he wandereth about for his own object.
If God be merciful, Nanak shall be absorbed in His words.
The fate of him who is accursed of the Guru :—
He who is accursed of the true Guru shall leave his home and wander for ever:
[p. 325] He shall be followed by hootings and his face shall be blackened in the next world :
Incoherent words shall ever issue from his lips, and he shall die spluttering them forth.
What if anybody do anything ? he shall only obtain the result of his prenatal acts.
Wherever he goeth he shall be proved a liar ; falsehood pleaseth no one.
Brethren and saints, behold God’s graciousness ; as man doeth so shall he receive.
This will be God’s decision in His true court ; the slave Nanak foretelleth this.
How man’s impurities are removed :—
The rust of the sins of many births attaches to man ; but when he joins the guild of holy men it is filed away : So when gold is heated in the fire, its impurity is removed,
Obedience to the Guru inculcated :—
We are totally blind, saturated with the greatest sins ; how shall we walk in the Guru’s way ?
May the true Guru, the bestower of happiness, mercifully take us under his protection !
Sikhs of the Guru and friends, walk in God’s way.
Faithfully obey[25] what the Guru preacheth; Divine teaching is unique.
Hear, servants of God and brethren, serve the Guru very promptly.
Tie up service to the Guru as thy travelling expenses to God ; think not of to-day or to-morrow.
Saints of God, repeat His name; saints of God, let us walk with God.
He who repeateth God’s name becometh as God, and meeteth God who sporteth.
To repeat God’s name is the longing of my heart: O God, Dweller in the forest, have mercy.
[p. 326] Thy slave Nanak prayeth—O God, cause me to meet the company of holy men and be the dust of their feet.
Let God be ever in man’s thoughts :—
Read of God, write of God, repeat God’s name, sing God’s name, and He will cause thee to cross the terrible ocean. Meditate on God in thy heart with thought and word, and so repeat His name that thou mayest be happy. Mentally repeat the name of God, the Lord of the world ; And, O my friends, meet the company of the saints. Sing of God, the Dweller in the forest, and you shall be happy day and night. When God cast a look of favour on me, then I made mental effort ; by repeating God’s name I have been saved. O my Lord, preserve Thy servant Nanak’s honour ; he hath entered Thine asylum.
God is a diamond which the Guru has made his own for the benefit of others :—
A diamond or a ruby, however priceless or heavy, is, without a purchaser, as a blade of grass.
When the holy Guru the purchaser saw the jewel, he bought it for hundreds of thousands.
God was concealed as a diamond in my heart.
When God, compassionate to the poor, caused me to meet the saintly Guru, I assayed the Diamond.
In the house of the perverse is the darkness of ignorance ; in their houses the Diamond is not seen.
The pagans die wandering in the wilderness ; they have tasted of the poison of the serpent mammon.
O God, cause me to meet Thy saint, the good man; O God, keep me under the saint’s protection !
O Lord God, accept me; I have hastened to Thy side.
What praise of Thine can my tongue recount ? Thou art great and inaccessible, the greatest Being.
The slave Nanak prayeth—O God, show mercy to me; O God, preserve me who am sinking like a stone.
[p. 327]
Men are as silly children without the Guru :—
I am a child, foolish, stupid, and silly, and know nothing of Thy state or condition.
O God, be merciful, grant me the best understanding, and make me who am stupid wise.
My mind is lazy and drowsy.
O God, bring the holy Guru to meet me; let me meet him, and the doors of my understanding shall open.
Love the Guru every moment, O my heart, that God’s name may become my love and life.
Without the Name I should die, O my Lord, as a drunkard craveth for intoxicants.[26]
The hearts of those who have good fortune from the beginning love God.
I worship at all times the feet of those who have made God dear to me.
O God, my Lord, have mercy on me, cause me, who hath long been separated from Thee, to meet Thy saint.
Hail! hail to the true Guru who hath implanted God’s name in me! The slave Nanak is a sacrifice unto him.
The repetition of God’s name and praises secures salvation :—
O God, the mothers of those who keep not God’s name in their hearts ought to have been barren.
They who wander without the Name pine away and dic in agony.
O man, repeat the name of God who is within thee.
God the merciful hath shown me mercy ; when the Guru gave me divine instruction my mind understood it.
The praise of God in the Kal age holdeth the highest place ; God is obtained through the true Guru.
I am a sacrifice to my true Guru who hath disclosed to me God’s hidden name.
A sight of the holy man is obtained by great good fortune ; he removeth all sin.
I have found the true Guru who is a very clever merchant ; [p. 328] he hath made me a partner in God’s many attributes.
They to whom the Life of the world hath shown mercy, have clasped Him to their hearts.
Dharmraj in his court hath torn up my papers[27] the slave Nanak hath settled his account.
The position and occupation of the child in the womb :—
When the child reversed was praying in the pit of fire, God preserved him in the womb.
God is supreme and has no partner :—
All come by the Master’s order; His order extendeth over all.
True is the Lord, and true is all His play.
Praise the True One; God the Master is over all.
He hath no partner ; of whom shall I take account ?
God hath built His temple out of air, water, earth, and ether.
He Himself abideth in the centre; say what can be accounted false ?
Instruction for the faithless :—
The proud man of evil mind ever doeth fruitless work.
When he practiseth deceit and falsehood, he thinketh he hath conquered the world.
Such is his way in this life; he never remembereth God’s name.
In a moment everything that is false shall perish ; O my mind, meditate on God.
The time cometh not to thy memory when the torturer Death shall seize thee.
Nanak, God will redeem him in whose heart He metcifully dwelleth.
[p. 329]
Guru Ram Das’s devotion to Guru Amar Das and his disciples :—
My friend the Guru hath told me tales and parables of God.
I. am a sacrifice to my Guru ; to the Guru I am a sacrifice.
Come to me, Sikhs of the Guru; come to me, beloved of my Guru.
God’s praises are pleasing to Him; I have obtained them from the Guru.
To those who obey the will of the Guru I am ever a sacrifice ;
I am a sacrifice to those who have beheld the beloved true Guru ;
I am ever a sacrifice to those who have served the Guru.
O God, Thy name is Hari, because Thou effacest suffering.[28]
Thou art obtained by service to the Guru; through his instruction is salvation.
They who meditate on God’s name are accepted :
Nanak, I am a sacrifice to them, and ever and ever offer myself for them.
That, O God, is Thy praise which is pleasing unto Thee.
The holy men who serve the Beloved obtain Him as their reward.
God is with the souls of those who hold Him dear.
They repeat and remember the name of the beloved God, and live for ever.
I am a sacrifice to the holy ones who have served the Beloved.
They are saved themselves with their families, and have freed the whole world.
The Guru who hath served the Beloved God is blest, is blest.
The Guru who hath shown God’s way hath performed merit, the greatest merit.
The Guru’s disciples who serve him are meritorious beings :
The slave Nanak is a sacrifice unto them, and ever and ever offereth himself for them.
[p. 330] They are holy friends and companions ; they are pleasing to God Himself.
God in His court clotheth them with robes of honour and embraceth them.
Grant me, O Lord, a sight of the holy men who meditate on Thy name:
I will bathe their feet, stir and drink the dirt thereof.
They who, while eating betel leaf and betel nut and dyeing their lips therewith,
Never think of God, shall be seized and taken away by Death ;
But Death shall never approach those who remember God’s name,
And clasp it to their hearts—the Guru’s Sikhs are dear to the Guru.
God’s name is a treasure : some rare pious person knoweth this.
Nanak, they who meet the true Guru shall enjoy the highest pleasure.
The true Guru is the giver ; being pleased he bestoweth favours.
I am ever a sacrifice to the Guru who gave me the Name.
The Guru who giveth God’s love is congratulated and praised.
As I behold the Guru I am glad; the Guru is true, the Guru is the giver.
The Guru’s tongue uttereth nectar, and is adorned with God’s name.
All the hunger of the Sikhs who hear and obey the Guru departeth.
Men speak of God’s way ; say how shall we walk therein ?
Har Har is Thy name, O God; take Har[29] with thee, O man, as thy travelling expenses.
The pious who have adored God are wealthy and very Wise.
I am ever a sacrifice to the true Guru; I am absorbed in the Guru’s word.
Thou art Master, Thou art Lord, Thou art my sovereign.
[p. 331] If it please Thee, we perform Thy service ; Thou art an ocean of merits.
Thou art, O God, of one phase, and Thou art of many phases.
Saith Nanak, whatever pleaseth Thee is good.
Instructions for the deceitful :—
If man while publicly invoking God ever practise deceit, his heart shall never become pure.
He may day and night perform many ceremonies, but he shall not have happiness even in his dreams.
Without the Guru possessed of divine knowledge there can be no devotion.
Unbleached clothes can never be dyed, however much all may desire it.
The malady of the perverse departeth not, even though they perform lip-worship, penance, austerities, and fasting.
Their internal malady is great pride ; they are ruined by worldly love.
He who while in a religious garb practiseth cunning, who alloweth his mind to wander in every direction,
Who is filled with pride and regardeth not the Word, shall wander in transmigration again and again.
Nanak, he on whom God looketh with favour understandeth, meditateth on the Name,
By the Guru’s favour knoweth the one God, and shall be absorbed in Him.
Men of the lowest castes obtain salvation by devotion :—
He who even of low caste repeateth God’s name shall obtain the highest dignity.
Ask Bidur[30] the son of a handmaiden, in whose house Krishan stayed.
[p. 332] Hear the ineffable word of God, my brethren, by which all anxiety, pain, and hunger are removed.
Men praise Rav Das the tanner who every moment sang the one God’s praises.
Though of fallen caste he became the best: the four castes came and fell at his feet.
The Khatris and Brahmans called Namdev who loved God a calico-printer ;
But God turned His back on them and showed His face to Namdev.
The sixty-eight places of pilgrimage yield the palm of victory [31] to the worshippers and saints of God.
May the slave Nanak through God’s mercy night and day touch their feet !
The worship of God, the only permanent good, is inculcated :—
Where God is remembered, there He becometh a friend and helper.
God dwelleth in the heart by the favour of the Guru ; He is not otherwise obtained.
Amass God’s wealth, my brethren,
So that God may assist you in this world and the next.
God’s wealth is earned in the company of the holy ; God’s wealth is not obtained elsewhere or by other effort.
The holy who deal in God’s jewels purchase the jewel of God’s wealth : dealers in glass acquire not God’s wealth by idle words.[32]
God’s wealth is as jewels, ornaments, and gems :
God’s saints fix their attention on it at the suitable ambrosial hour.
When God’s wealth is sown at the suitable ambrosial hour, God’s saints eat it, spend it, and it never faileth.
Both in this world and the next the saints who deal in God’s wealth are congratulated.
There is no fear for God’s wealth; it ever remaineth [p. 333] immovable and permanent ; it cannot be destroyed by fire or by water; it is not the prey of thieves or of Death’s myrmidons.
Pickpockets cannot approach God’s wealth, nor can the tax-gatherer Death impose a tax on it.
The apostates through sin have amassed sinful wealth, but not a particle of it shall go with them.
In this world the apostate is miserable when wealth slippeth from his hands : the apostate shall not find entrance into God’s court hereafter.
The dealer in this wealth of God, O saints, is God Himself; he to whom He giveth it, loadeth it and taketh it away.
This wealth of God shall never suffer deficiency; the Guru hath given this knowledge to the slave Nanak.
The Guru’s passionate desire to obey and serve God :—
I will sell myself to him who bringeth my dearly Beloved to me.
I desire to behold God.
By God’s mercy the true Guru will cause me to meet Him and meditate on His name.
If Thou give me happiness, O God, I will worship Thee ; even in misery I will meditate on Thee.
If Thou give me hunger even then I shall be satiated with it ; and in its torture I shall feel happy.
I would cut up my body and soul and dedicate them all to Thee, or I would burn myself in fire ;
I would fan Thee and draw Thee water; what Thou givest me I should eat.
Poor Nanak hath fallen at Thy door, O God; Thine acceptance of him will be to Thy glory.
I would take out mine eyes and put them beneath Thy feet : having wandered over the whole earth I have gained this wisdom.
If Thou seat me near Thee, I will still reverence Thee ;
[p. 334] even if Thou strike me and thrust me away, I will still meditate on Thee.
If men praise me, then the praise is Thine ; if they slander me, even then I will not leave Thee.
If Thou art on my side, men may say what they please ; if Thou forget me, I die.
I am a sacrifice to the perfect Guru: falling at their feet I propitiate the saints.
Poor Nanak is mad for a sight of Thee.
The following, which Guru Ram Das composed on the occasion of his marriage, is now an epithalamium of the Sikhs.
I
God by this first round?[33] hath ordained secular life.[34]
Accept the Word instead of Brahma and religion instead of the Veds,
And God will free you from your sins.
Hold fast to religion, meditate on God’s name, and let it be fixed in your memory.
Worship the true Guru, the perfect Guru, and all your sins shall depart.
Very fortunate is man when God is near to his heart ; then he feeleth composure and happiness.
The slave Nanak hath given out the first round and made a beginning of the marriage.
II
In the second round God hath caused me to meet the true Guru.
[p. 335] The fear in my heart hath departed, and the filth of my mind hath been washed away.
I have obtained a pure state by singing God’s praises and beholding Him before me.
The Lord God the soul of the world is everywhere diffused and filleth every place.
Within and without us is the one God; on meeting the saints, hymns of rejoicing are sung.
The slave Nanak hath finished the second round and heard the strain of ecstasy.
III
God hath appointed the third round, and pleasure and contempt of the world are produced in the mind.
The saints have caused me to meet God, and I have found Him by great good fortune.
I have found the pure God by singing His praises and uttering His hymns.
I have by great good fortune found the company of the saints wherein tales of the Ineffable are told.
The absorbing thought of God hath arisen in my heart, and I have repeated His name by the destiny recorded on my forehead.
The slave Nanak hath given out the third round, and God’s love hath been produced in his heart.
IV
At the fourth round divine knowledge is produced in the heart, and I have obtained God.
Under the Guru’s instructions I have obtained a good disposition, and God is dear to my soul and body :
God is dear and pleasing to me; I meditate on Him night and day.
By singing the praises of God’s name I have obtained the fruit my heart desired.
God hath finished the work, and woman’s heart delighteth in His name.
The slave Nanak hath given out the fourth round, and obtained God the Imperishable.
[p. 336]
The Guru composed the following also on his marriage :—
The Lord God hath accomplished the work ;
He came to wed a holy bride :
He came to wed a holy bride who thus found God; that bride is dear to her Spouse.
On meeting the saints songs of rejoicing are sung; God Himself hath decorated the bride.
Demigods, men, and heavenly minstrels have come in a body, and formed a marriage procession never seen before.
Nanak, I have found the true God who never dieth or is born.
Association with the holy and acceptance of their teachings are superior to the life of a Jogi :—
By intercourse with the true Guru the rings I wear are in my heart, and the instruction of the Guru I have applied as ashes to my body.
I renounced family life and wandered in the forest, but my heart was not at rest even for a moment.
After wandering I returned home, and fell at the feet of God’s saints.
Even the Sanyasi who abandoneth his children conceiveth many desires in his heart :
He conceiveth desire upon desire, and knoweth not that under the Guru’s instruction man is freed from desires and is happy.
When the wish for separation ariseth, man becometh a Digambar, yet his mind wandereth in every direction.
He roameth about, but his thirst is not quenched ; it is only when he meeteth the saints that he attaineth the abode of mercy.
The Sidhs study many postures and earnestly desire wealth and the tricks of supernatural power.
They are not satisfied or contented, nor doth peace enter their minds: it is by meeting the saints man is satisfied, and by God’s name he obtaineth perfection.
[p. 337]
As God made all men on an equality, so they obtain salvation :—
God made the sources of production, human beings, and animals of all colours and forms :
He who taketh the saints’ protection shall be saved. Kkhatris, Brahmans, Sudars, Vaisyas, the whole race of Chandals,
Namdev, Jaidev, Kabir, Trilochan, the low caste Rav Das, the currier,
And those who met the company of holy men, such as the blessed Dhanna Jat and Sain, obtained God.
God, to whom His saints are dear, protecteth their honour and accepteth them.
Nanak, he who entereth the asylum of God, the life of the world, is mercifully preserved by Him.
Place all thy hopes in God :—
O man, if thou rest thy hopes on God thou shalt obtain the fruits, however various, that thy heart desireth.
God knoweth everything that passeth in the mind; He alloweth not man to lose a particle of his labour.
O my soul, put thy hope in that Lord God who is contained in everything :
O my soul, put thy hope in God, the Lord of the world.
The hopes which are put in any other than God are fruitless and all in vain.
The Guru is completely penetrated by God’s love :—
My soul, like a thirsty man without water, greatly yearneth for a sight of God.
The arrow of God’s love hath pierced my heart.
God knoweth my suffering, the pain within my heart.
He who telleth me anything of my beloved God, is my brother, is my friend.
Join, join, my companions, sing the praises of my Lord, and adopt the counsel of the patient true Guru.
[p. 338]Fulfil, O Lord, every desire of the slave Nanak; on beholding Thee my mind is at rest.
They who unselfishly meet the saint shall obtain their reward :—
If I have very great good fortune I shall have no delay in meeting the saint.
God’s saints are my excellent tank of nectar: by great good fortune shall man bathe therein.
O God, apply me to the service of the saint :
I will draw water, fan him, grind his corn, shampoo his feet, and put the dust thereof on my face.
The saint of God, who causeth man to meet the true Guru, 1s very great and exalted.
There is none so great as the true Guru; on meeting him meditate upon God.
They who entered the true Guru’s protection obtained God, and He preserved their honour.
Some people come for their own objects, and sit in front of the Guru like cranes in the act of meditation.
When the crane gocth into the society of the base crow, he putteth his beak into a poisonous carcass.
Saith Nanak, O God, cause me to meet holy company, that meeting it I may be made a saint of Thine.
The advantage of holy company :—
O God, bathe me in the nectareous tank.
The true Guru’s knowledge is the best thing wherein to bathe ; by obtaining it the filth of sin departeth.
The advantages of holy company are very great—the courtesan was saved by teaching her parrot to repeat God’s Mame ;[35]
The touching of Krishan’s feet took the hunchback [36] to heaven.
[p. 339] Ajamal bore love to his son, and called out, ‘N arayan!’[37]
His faith pleased my God’s heart and He smote and expelled the myrmidons of Death.
Man preacheth and dictateth to others, but practiseth not what he preacheth ;
But, on meeting the company of the saints, obtaineth staunchness of faith, and God’s name saveth him.
As long as the mind and body are healthy, man remembereth not God.
When the house is on fire, is that the time for the waterman to dig a well from which to draw water ?
O man, associate not with the apostate who hath forgotten God’s name.
The word of the apostate stingeth like a scorpion ; leave the apostate far away.
When love is bestowed, it increaseth greatly ; attachment to the holy regenerateth.
They who accept the Guru’s words as absolutely true, are very dear to my Lord.
According to our dealings in previous births, God’s name becometh dear.
By the favour of the Guru the ambrosial juice of the Name is obtained ; man singeth and pondereth on it.
O God, my Jewel, my Darling, all forms and colours are Thine.
Everything shall be according to the colour Thou givest ; saith Nanak, what is wretched man ?
God’s word and the Guru are interchangeable Certs t=
The Word is the Guru and the Guru is the Word; in the Word is the essence of ambrosia.
The worshipper who obeyeth what the Guru’s word teacheth shall be saved by the Guru in person.
[p. 340]
Ablutions and decorations are of no avail without listening to the Guru :—
Man continually washeth his body, and rubbeth it and adorneth it ;
But the beautiful decorations of him whose heart accepteth not the words of my true Guru are all in vain.
The Guru is potent to save under all circumstances: —
I will embark on the boat and proceed, however agitated be the sea.
The true boat cannot be stopped if the Guru give encouragement.
I will disembark at that landing-place where the Guru is seen on the alert.
Nanak, if I obtain God’s look of favour I shall be honoured in His court.
The presence of God in every heart :—
As the light of the sun’s rays is diffused,
So is God the warp and woof contained in every heart.
Man’s life is ever decreasing, and he ought to remember God the Saviour :—
Night and day are both calling—
Remember God in your hearts: He is the Saviour at last and for ever.
O my soul, ever remember God.
When man completely removeth the disease of sloth, he obtaineth God and under the Guru’s instruction singeth His praises.
The obstinate die again and again of pride.
They who are destroyed by the demon Death shall go to his city.
[p. 341]
The Guru preaches the necessity of controlling the mind :—
A child[38] dwelleth in the city of the body; it will not rest even for a moment.
We weary of our various efforts and struggles to restrain it, but yet it wandereth incessantly.
My Lord, bring the child to a fixed home.
By meeting the true Guru the Perfect One is obtained ; by repeating His name He is manifested.
All men’s bodies in which God’s name dwelleth not, are earth in graves.
When the Guru causeth man to taste the water of God’s name, he enjoyeth it and again reviveth.
I have thoroughly examined and searched my body ; the holy man showed me a sight—
All the apostates were dying of searching abroad, while I under the Guru’s instruction found God at home.
God hath been compassionate to the poorest of the poor as when Krishan went to Bidur’s house.
Sudama[38:1] went to Krishan with love, upon which Krishan removed his poverty, and rendered him happy.
Great is the honour of God’s name; my Lord Himself hath bestowed it on me.
If all the apostates were to practise slandering it, that would in no wise lessen it.
God’s name is His servant’s praise by which he obtaineth honour in every direction.
The slanderer and the infidel cannot endure it; they have set fire to their houses.
God’s servant meeting another obtaineth honour, as virtue springeth from virtue.
The men who are the slaves of slaves of my God are dear and beloved by me.
[p. 342] The Creator is as the ocean; He is without limit; it is He who blendeth man with Himself.
Nanak, the holy man is naturally blended with God as water with water.
The following was addressed to a hypocritical faqir :—
Thou smearest thy body with ashes, but in thy heart is ignorance.
Thou hast a patched coat, a wallet, and many sectarial garbs, but thou art evil-minded and proud.
Thou hast never uttered the Word of God; thy heart is filled with the love of fleeting things.
In thy heart are avarice and superstition ; thou wanderest a pagan.
Saith Nanak, thou hast not remembered the Name and hast lost thy game.
Hypocrisy cannot for ever be concealed :—
They who are clean outside, but in whose hearts is the filth of deception,
Practise falsehood and deception, and their falsehood becometh apparent.
What is within cometh forth and cannot be ie)
He to whom falsehood and avarice attach, shall again enter the womb.
Nanak, what man soweth he eateth: he obtaineth what the Creator destined for him.
The fate of the slanderer. —
They in whose hearts is the enemy slander cut their own noses and cause others to cut theirs.
They become very ugly and pained, and their faces ever appear black.
When they rise in the morning, they take and steal others’ property with God’s name in their mouths.
[p. 343] O God, associate me not with such; preserve me from them, O God.
Nanak, such perverse persons act according to their destiny and are unhappy.
Man may be holy in his own home :—
Even in one’s own house and one’s own family man may be absorbed in God.
Nanak, they who are imbued with the Name are the true hermits.
Men cannot be compelled to holiness :—
Service is not performed by calculation ; what is so done is not acceptable.
He who hath not a relish for the Word, shall never love the True One.
The obstinate person to whom the Guru is not dear, shall come and go in transmigration.
When he maketh one step forward he retreateth ten.
Man ought not to rail at Providence :—
Saith Nanak, why, O man, be angry with Him who taketh thought for us,
Without whom we cannot live for a moment, and by forgetting whom we cannot succeed in any degree ?
In the rainy reason men obtain respite from outdoor occupation, so that is the time for either love or devotion :—
When rainy Sawan cometh, meditate on God’s name under the Guru’s instruction.
All trouble, hunger and pain shall be at an end when the rain falleth in torrents.
The whole earth becometh green, corn groweth, and there appear harvest heaps.
God Himself mercifully calleth man when he expecteth it not and assigneth him a place.
[p. 344]
The advantages of listening to the Guru’s instruction :—
O man, act according to the instruction of the Guru.
As the iron goad subdueth the furious elephant, so let the goad of the Guru’s instruction restrain thy heart.
The wandering mind wandereth in every direction; if the Guru restrain it, it will fix its attention on God.
If the true Guru put the Word into the mind, the nectar of the Name shall trickle into the mouth.
Man is filled with the poison of the serpents[39]; the Guru’s instruction is the jay which swalloweth them.
The serpent mammon will not then approach such a person ; he will reject the poison and fix his attention on Cred,
The dog covetousness is very powerful in the citadel of the body, but the Guru will in a moment smite and expel it.
He will plant truth, patience, and faith instead ;_ then shall man sing God’s praises.
Mortal would sink into the mire of worldly love, did the Guru not save him from sinking.
When man repeating ‘Save! save!’ cometh into the Guru’s sanctuary [40], the Guru reacheth his hand and extricateth him.
The world is all like the play of a dream ; God causeth the whole game to be played.
Under the Guru’s instruction take the Name as your profit, and you shall be honoured in God’s court.
Pride acteth and causeth to act: pride bringeth and putteth the charcoal of sin on man’s head.
The torturer Death shall come, and cause man to eat what he hath sown.
[p. 345] O saints, lay up God’s name; take it as your travelling expenses and you shall obtain honour :
Fat it, spend it, and bestow it freely, and God will so give you that there shall be no deficiency.
The wealth of God’s name is in the heart ; they who enter the Guru’s protection shall obtain it.
O slave Nanak, the Lord of mercy hath shown mercy, removed my misery and poverty, and blended me with Himself.
The Guru does for man what the philosopher’s stone does for iron :—
O man, bethink thee of the Guru’s protection.
As iron becometh gold by touching the philosopher’s stone, so do the virtues of the Guru, who is the philosopher’s stone, enter his disciples.
The great being, the true Guru, is a philosopher’s stone ; he who is touched by it shall obtain his reward.
As by the guru’s instruction Prahlad was saved, so the Guru protecteth the honour of the servant.
The true Guru’s word is good; by means of it man obtaineth nectar.
God’s praises :—
Thou O God, art the Sidh and the Striver ; Thou art the Jogi of Jogis.
Thou art the Taster of tasters; Thou art the Enjoyer of enjoyers.
Thou pervadest all things ; what Thou doest taketh place.
Hail to the true congregation! hail to the true Guru by meeting whom man repeateth God’s name !
All ye people, proclaim Har, Har, Hare, Har, Har, Hare; by thus uttering God’s name all sins depart.
The Guru’s instruction dispels poverty and sorTOW :—
Poverty and sorrow shall depart from those who walk as pleaseth the true Guru.
[p. 348] God is pleased with the saints who are pleased with Him.
The Lord of light will blend their light with His, and both lights shall unite.
When God is merciful, He will fix man’s attention on Him.
The slave Nanak hath sought the asylum of God’s gate, and God will protect His honour.
An injunction to speedily seek the society of the saints :—
O God, make me the slave of Thy slaves ;
As long as there is breath in my body, nourish me with the dust of the saints’ feet.
Shiv, Narad, Sheshnag[41], and the Munis long for the dust of the saints’ feet.
Every house where the saints put their feet becometh holy.
Renounce shame of the saints’ service ; renounce all pride ; when you meet a saint abide with him.
He will cause you to disregard Dharmraj, and extricate you though drowning in a sea of poison.
They who are parched by superstition are thoroughly parched, but they shall bloom again by association with the saints :
Wherefore make not a moment’s waiting or delay: go and take the protection of the saints’ feet.
The singing of God’s name is a precious thing which God deposited with His saints.
It is offered him who obeyeth the Guru’s word as the truest of the true.
Hear, hear, ye brother saints ; the Guru raiseth his arm and calleth unto men.
Let him who desireth supreme mental happiness, enter the true Guru’s protection.
[p. 349] Let him who is greatly fortunate and very virtuous, fix
the Name in his heart under the Guru’s instruction.
All worldly love is troublesome, but, by drinking the
elixir of God’s name, man shall cross the world in comfort.
They who possess excessive worldly wealth pine away in
the midst of it.
The way of ignorance is very gloomy and difficult, specially
when man is weighted with the load of pride.
Nanak, by ever repeating God’s name salvation is obtained.
By meeting the true Guru the Name is fixed in the heart,
and by it man is blended with God.
God is not found even by search without the true Guru :—
I love my Dear One; how shall I meet my beloved Friend ?
I search for that Friend who is adorned with truth.
The true Guru is my friend ; if I meet him I will sacrifice my life unto him.
The dear one will show me God the Friend, the Creator.
Nanak, I was searching for my Beloved, but the true Guru hath shown Him unto me.
The holy man is the true lover who finds the truly Beloved :—
The holy man is the true lover by whom the truly Beloved is found.
Nanak, man is then happy night and day and naturally absorbed in God.
The love and affection vouchsafed by God through the Guru are not forfeited :—
True love and affection are obtained from the perfect Guru ;
They shall never be forfeited; Nanak singeth God’s praises.
[p. 350]
The holy man may be cheerful or serious :—
The holy man may laugh, the holy man may weep ;
Whatever he doeth is in God’s service.
Only those who possess discrimination and reflection serve the Guru :—
The service of the Guru and of Pirs[42] is very difficult, yet in it is the essence of happiness.
God inspireth him on whom He casteth His glance with love and affection.
The world will cross the terrible ocean if it attach itself to the true Guru’s service.
He in whose heart there is discrimination and reflection, shall obtain the fruit his heart desireth.
Nanak, when man meeteth the true Guru, he findeth God the remover of all sorrow.
It is only the holy man who can regenerate and save by giving God’s name :—
Even though the perverse man perform service, he attacheth his heart to mammon.
Sons, wives, and families increase his worldly love :
None of them will save him when his account is at last called for in God’s court.
Without God’s name all is misery ; worldly love causeth misery.
Nanak, when the holy man appeareth all worldly love departeth.
The condition of the perverse :—
The perverse feel love of the world, not love of the Name :
They act falsehood, they amass falsehood, and they eat falsehood.
They die amassing the wealth of poisonous mammon and at last all become dust.
[p. 351] They perform religious ceremonies, purifications, and self-restraint, but within them is the sin of greed.
Nanak, what the perverse do is not acceptable ; they are despised in God’s court.
It is good to sing God’s praises, but they may also be uttered by ordinary speech :—
That is the best of all musical measures by which God abideth in the heart.
Musical measures to which the Word is sung are all true ; their worth cannot be described ;
But God is independent of musical measures and airs; His order cannot be understood merely from them.
Nanak, he who understandeth God’s order becometh free from desires, and obtaineth understanding from the true Guru.
Everything cometh from Him according to His will.
END OF VOL. II
OXFORD
PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
BY HORACE HART, M.A.
PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
That is, produces a holy offspring. ↩︎
Vide Vol. i. p. 60, n. I. ↩︎
By having recourse to a hypocritical guru. ↩︎
This includes seven generations of the father’s family, seven of the mother’s, and seven of the father-in-law’s. ↩︎
The kulang. ↩︎
Gobind and Hari are both names of God. They are retained in the translation of this hymn to avoid confusion. ↩︎
That is, make my human life profitable. ↩︎
Karhale, a camel. In a secondary sense it means a camel which does not obey its bridle, thence stubborn. The gyanis also translate the word—make effort. ↩︎
In the original m_an, a word which is used sometimes for mind and sometimes for man, but here appears to mean the soul which has migrated from a distant body. ↩︎
They reap the fruit of their evil intentions and obtain an evil reputation. ↩︎
Literally—both ends, men of both moral extremes. ↩︎
As man’s mind is disposed towards God. ↩︎
Better to depend on God ‘who is with one than go abroad in search of Him. ↩︎
That is, human life. ↩︎
Also translated—chronic. ↩︎
Metaphorically for understandings. ↩︎
Who deal in the Name, holy men. ↩︎
Either by transmigration or the god of death. ↩︎
I did not love Him, so I did not taste His love. ↩︎
Instead of spring it was autumn for me. ↩︎
Literally—become cooled and green. ↩︎
Latari may also mean a hunchback. ↩︎
That is, the privilege of meditating on God is obtained by destiny. ↩︎
Also translated—Accept as good. ↩︎
That is, in a paroxysm of desire. ↩︎
As was done by Indian bankers after accounts were adjusted. ↩︎
Hri, to take away, is the root of Harz. ↩︎
That is, God’s name. ↩︎
Krishan, once stayed at the house of Bidur (Vidur), a man of low caste, and was hospitably entertained by him. Krishan at his departure was pleased to bless his host. ↩︎
Literally—put patches on their foreheads. ↩︎
The holy meditate on God; the perverse continue their vain babbling. ↩︎
Lawan is that part of the marriage ceremony which consists in tying together the upper garments of the bride and bridegroom, and causing them to go four times round the Granth Sahib, while this hymn is repeated by the Sikh priest. ↩︎
The first two lines of each stanza end in the original with the word Balram Jiu, which may mean, O Dear One, or, I am a sacrifice unto Thee. The Sikh reader may supply the word for himself. ↩︎
The courtesan (Ganika) by the advice of a holy man taught her parrot to repeat God’s name. ↩︎
A hunchbacked handmaiden had ground sandal for Krishan’s uncle, but on accidentally meeting Krishan applied it to his feet. He raised her from her stooping posture, upon which it is said her hump disappeared, and her body became perfect. ↩︎
Narayan, one of God’s names, is frequently given to children. Ajamal, a worldly man, called on the point of death to his son so named, and obtained salvation because he had once mentioned God’s name. ↩︎
The deadly sins. ↩︎
It cannot be said that the Hindus had an actual sanctuary corresponding to the ασυλον of the Greeks, but whoever approached a great man saying, trahi, trahi—protect me—might not be refused protection. ↩︎
The serpent which, in the Hindu dispensation, supports the earth. It is said to possess a thousand heads which formed the couch of Vishnu whilst sleeping between the different creations and destructions of the world. ↩︎
This verse was obviously intended for Sikhs and Muhammadans. By Pirs here are meant living saints, and not their cemeteries, as the word frequently means in India. ↩︎