Sikhs from distant countries visited Amritsar during the Guru’s absence, but their hearts withered and pined like a lotus without the sun. Prithia made many efforts to convince them that he was the real Guru, but the crane is not made a swan by pretence or by a coat of paint. He who has no spiritual peace, consolation, truth, love and devotion cannot communicate these gifts and virtues to others.
Har Gobind was born at Wadali on the aist of the month of Har, Sambat 1652 (A.D. 1595). On his birth the Guru composed the following :—
The True Guru sent me a son ;
A long-lived son hath been born by destiny.
When he took up his dwelling in the womb,
His mother’s heart was exceeding glad.
A son, a saint of God hath been born, .
The destiny recorded in the beginning hath become manifest to all.
By God’s order the boy hath been born in the tenth month,
There is no more anxiety ; great joy hath taken its place.
Our female friends sing the Anand, the composition of the Guru,[1]
Which is pleasing to the true Lord.
The vine of my race hath extended and shall last for many generations.
God hath erected the machinery of the faith.
The True Guru hath granted me what my heart desired.[ p. 36 ]
Having fixed my attention on the one God, I have become free from anxiety.
As a child who is very proud of its father, obeyeth his words,
So I speak as it pleaseth God to have me speak.
It is not a secret or a concealed matter
That Guru Nanak, being pleased, bestowed this gift on me.[2]
The Guru composed the following also on the same occasion :—
God hath remembered His function and conferred all happiness on me.
The saint[3] hath been merciful, and all my family is delighted.
The True Guru himself hath accomplished the matter.
Long be the life of Har Gobind! God hath consulted our comfort, happiness, and peace of mind.
The woods, the dales, the three worlds are blooming and all creatures rejoice.
Nanak hath obtained the object of his heart’s desires ; God hath fulfilled them.[4]
On hearing of the birth of a son to the Guru, Karmo, Prithia’s wife, became very sorrowful. She said to her husband: ‘ Hast thou heard of the rejoicings at Wadali? Arjan’s glory is now like that of the sun, and thou art hidden like the stars before his brightness. All thy talk and boasting have been in vain.’ Prithia’s heart also burnt, and he impudently replied: ‘My words are ever true. What if a son hath been born to Arjan? Shall I cherish grief in my heart? I will not allow the child to live.’ Karmo took no sustenance the following night, and was quite unable to sleep. The birth of a young heir reminded the Sikhs of the time when the whole of Ajudhia rejoiced at the accession of Ram to the sovereignty, and Kekai, one of his father’s wives, alone mourned the event.
Next morning Karmo sent for an old nurse of the [ p. 37 ] family, and after some preliminary conversation asked her to go to Wadali, pretend to be a friend of the Guru’s family, and find an opportunity of poisoning his newly-born son. Should the nurse succeed in this, she should have as much money as she pleased. At present she could have one hundred rupees, and, when Karmo’s son Mihrban obtained the Guruship, she should be rewarded with a further pecuniary grant, an excellent house, and maintenance for life. The nurse replied: ‘I have been employed in your family for many generations, and now when it is my turn to obtain the post of nurse, the Guru’s wife hath employed another. My heart was already distressed before I heard thy tale. In a few days thou shalt see I will accomplish thy work.’ Karmo gave her the promised money and a splendid shawl as a retaining fee.
The deceitful nurse went home, applied poison to the nipples of her breast, mixed some more in a medicine called gurhti given to infants in the East, and proceeded to Wadali. It was at a time when, owing to some temporary indisposition, the child refused the breast, and the family was in great anxiety In consequence. Sage women recommended each her own medicine. When Karmo’s nurse arrived, Ganga the Guru’s wife was much pleased to see her, and the nurse too rejoiced in the hope of being able to carry out her hostile design. She hypocritically said, ‘O Queen Ganga, hundreds of thousands of congratulations to thee! May thy child and thy husband live for ever! Thou hast not remembered me, but I have remembered thee. I have come to wish thee happiness.’
Ganga told her the child was not well and ceased to suckle. The nurse replied, ‘Bring him hither ; I will give him infants’ medicine. I understand infants’ complaints, and I treat numbers of them who are brought to me from distant countries. After one dose of my infants’ mixture they require no [ p. 38 ] more. Prithia’s wife always had her infant treated by me, and he was never ill afterwards.’ The upshot of it was, that Ganga, deceived by her specious words, entrusted the child to her. The nurse took Har Gobind in her lap, and offered him the poisoned medicine, but he refused it. She caressed and fondled him and succeeded in putting the drug into his mouth, but he would not swallow it. She then drew out her breast, and offered it to him. The moment she did so she fainted and fell backwards. Some put water into her mouth, others sprinkled rosewater on her with the object of restoring her. Having become conscious, she looked about her and said, ‘ The bribe of one hundred rupees which Prithia and his wife gave me hath undone me. Why did I poison my breasts and undertake to kill ae Child ?”
The story of Prithia’s instigation of the child’s murder spread from house to house and caused him deserved obloquy. The Guru composed the following hymn on the occasion :—
The perfect Guru hath stretched forth His hand and preserved him.
The glory of His servant hath become manifest.
Ever repeat the Guru’s name ; ever meditate on the Guru,
And lay before him thy heart’s desires.
I have sought the protection of the true divine Guru,
And His servant’s service hath been successful.
He hath preserved my soul, body, youth, and life.
Saith Nanak, I am a sacrifice to the Guru.[5]
During Har Gobind’s illness suggestions were made to the Guru that recourse be had to a local witch who possessed a high reputation for skill in sorcery, in the hope of obtaining from her a charm for the recovery of the child. This was to be done by repeating some cabalistic words over water and then giving it to the child to drink. The Guru [ p. 39 ] ridiculed such suggestions and such remedies, and composed the following on the occasion :—
The name of the Pure One is holy water ;
By repeating it with the tongue sins fly away.
God dwelleth in everything ;
God shineth in every heart.
By repeating God’s name man descendeth not to hell ;
By serving God all boons are obtained.
God is the support of the soul ;
God is the ship of the world.
By repeating His name Death fleeth away.
God breaketh the witch’s teeth.
God is ever the pardoner,
He giveth comfort and happiness,
God manifesteth His glory ;
He is the father and mother of saints :
God is with the holy ;
They continually sing of Him.
The Invisible Thing [6] is obtained by meeting the Guru.
His servant Nanak hath taken God’s shelter.[7]
Owing to the perpetual importunity and taunting speeches of his wife Karmo, Prithia’s mind became daily sadder, and he again plotted nefarious designs. He sent for a snake- charmer, gave him some money, and promising him a further large reward on his success, induced him to undertake to kill the child by exposing him to a cobra. As the mother was sitting at her door rejoicing in the sight of her son, and pleased with his youthful gambols, the snake-charmer escaping her notice let a black snake loose in the court-yard. Har Gobind took the hissing creature in his hand as it rushed towards him, and killed it immediately. Guru Arjan arrived on the spot soon after, and composed the following :—
Here and hereafter our protector
Is God, the true Guru, compassionate to the poor.[ p. 40 ]
He Himself protecteth His servants ;
His voice speaketh in every heart.
I am a Sacrifice to the Guru’s feet.
By day and night, at every breath we draw,
He who filleth every place should be remembered.
Thou, O God, art my protector ;
True is the support of the True One.
Greatness is obtained by devotion to Thee.
Nanak, O God, hath sought Thy shelter.
When Har Gobind was about two years of age a deputation of the inhabitants of Amritsar went to the Guru at Wadali. They said to him, ‘ Wherever thou abidest there is happiness. Conscious of the advantage of beholding thee, we have abandoned our villages, our homes, and our relations to dwell in Amritsar, but thou continuest to dwell apart. Other Sikhs too come from distant countries to behold thee. When they arrive in Amritsar and find thee not, they return to their homes. Come now with us. KRamdaspur shall long prosper by thy presence.’
The Guru acceded to their request, and set out for his capital Amritsar. On arriving there he sent his wife, child, and servants to his private dwelling, and then walked to the Golden Temple. He bathed in the tank and distributed sacred food with the usual prayers. Then was sung the following hymn :—
I have meditated on my Guru,
And reached my home in comfort.
This is due to the greatness of the Name
Whose worth cannot be expressed.
Ye saints, worship God, God, God :
By worshipping Him ye shall obtain everything, and all your affairs shall be adjusted.
Very fortunate is He who findeth
Love and devotion to God.
The slave Nanak hath meditated on the Name,
And thus received the reward of all happiness.
[ p. 41 ]
On that occasion, also, the Guru composed the following :—
I have meditated on God in my heart,
And so have returned home safe and sound.
Everybody is consoled
That the perfect Guru hath saved us.
O saints, my God is ever merciful.
God taketh no account from His worshippers, but preserveth them as His children.
I have clasped God’s name to my heart,
And He hath arranged all mine affairs.
The perfect Guru being pleased gave it me.
Nanak shall have no further anxiety.[8]
The Guru, taking his son, waited with some sacred food on Prithia, as his eldest brother. Prithia hated the sight of the Guru and his son, but, pretending to be pleased, ironically said, ‘May you both live long!’ The Guru then went with his son to visit Mahadev, his second elder brother, and receive his blessing.
There were great rejoicings and illuminations when the Guru, after such long absence, returned to Amritsar accompanied by the young heir to the Guruship. Prithia and his wife Karmo alone burned with jealousy. Karmo addressed her husband: ‘ My lord, thou hast made many efforts to secure for thyself the Guru’s throne and kill Har Gobind, but thou hast not succeeded. Now our rivals who are near us indulge in ostentatious rejoicings. My breast is burning, I suffer intense agony and cannot endure their happiness. Thou didst formerly say—and thus consoled me—that the Guruship belonged to our house, and that after Arjan’s death our son Mihrban should inherit it. Now even that hope is shattered, since a young prince hath been born in Arjan’s house. Wherefore contrive some other plan by which the desires of our hearts may [ p. 42 ] be fulfilled.’ Prithia replied, ‘ Hear me, my beautiful, have no anxiety ; thy son shall sit on the Guru’s throne. Har Gobind, Arjan’s son, shall be the victim of small-pox. If he survive, then shall we contrive some other plan for his destruction. He must not live.’
When this conversation was reported to the Guru, he repeated the following composition of Guru Ram Das :—
The perverse are all day occupied with avarice, though they pretend otherwise ;
At night oppressed by drowsiness and their nine apertures relaxed, they worship not God.
Women exercise power over the perverse, and ever make fair promises ;
But they who act as women tell them, are impure, thoughtless, and foolish.
The impure who feel lust ask the way from women and travel thereby ;
But he who walketh as the true Guru telleth him, is a true man, the best of the best.
God produced all women and men ; He playeth every play.
Saith Nanak, all is the work Thou, O God, hast made— the best of the best.[9]
Har Gobind exhibited some feverish symptoms. On the third day afterwards his body became inflamed and showed red pustules which eventually assumed a confluent form. The child’s eyes closed as if in perpetual sleep. Small-pox of a very virulent type had declared itself. The child’s mother prayed, ‘O great God, I have one son obtained after long waiting. May he be able to bathe and rise in health!’ The Guru administered to his wife such consolation as suggested itself to him. The people of the city advised him to make an offering to the goddess of small-pox, and propitiate her by worshipping a young virgin. They said, ‘The goddess is [ p. 43 ] pleased when an immaculate virgin is worshipped by offering her food and money, and paying her other abject service.’ According to the ‘Skand Puran’ of the Hindus, the goddess of small-pox should be thus addressed: “I bow to Sitala Devi who rideth on a donkey, who is naked, who weareth a broom as her diadem, and whose forehead is adorned with a sieve.’ Hindus are in the habit of repeating this as an incantation in the hope of obtaining recovery from the malady. The Guru rejecting the advice of his Hindu friends addressed them the following :—
God is my sole prop; I have relinquished other hopes.
God, the perfect Lord of excellences, is powerful over all.
The Name is the support of God’s slave who entereth His protection.
Reliance on God is in the saints’ hearts.
He Himself preserveth ; He Himself bestoweth ; He Himself cherisheth.
The compassionate to the poor, the ocean of favour remembereth us at every breath we draw.
What the Creator continueth to do is for our advantage.
The perfect Guru hath taught that happiness ¢s obtained by the will of God.
They who dismiss care, anxiety, and calculations, recognize God’s order. |
Nanak, they who are imbued with God’s love perish not, nor are they abandoned by Him.[10]
The child gradually began to show signs of recovery, upon which the Guru uttered the following :—
I have ever and ever repeated God’s name,
And God Himself hath preserved my child.
The small-pox is stayed ;
Our troubles are removed by God’s name.
My God is ever merciful.
He who is merciful to all creatures hath heard the prayer of His worshipper.[ p. 44 ]
God is omnipotent to act and cause to act.
By remembering Him all sorrows depart.
He hath heard the supplication of His servant ; Nanak, every one may now sleep in comfort.[11]
On the ninth day of the disease the child opened his eyes, whereupon the Guru composed the following :—
The divine Guru hath opened his eyes,
My anxieties have fled, my prayers have been successful.
God hath preserved my son from the small-pox ;
The Lord, the Supreme Being hath shown mercy.
Nanak, he who repeateth the Name shall live,
And quaff God’s nectar in the company of His saints.
The Guru composed the following also on the same occasion :—
The fever hath departed, God hath granted relief.
My son is now well by the grace of God.
It is by God’s favour men become happy,
And they who through various births were separated from God become united with Him.
By ever remembering His name
The abode of all diseases is destroyed.
With composure and devotion utter God’s hymns,
And remember Him, O mortal, through the eight watches of the day.
Sorrow and pain and Death approach him not,
Saith Nanak, who singeth God’s praises.[12]
God hath protected the honour of His servant.[13]
The Guru gave the medicine of God’s name, and all the fever hath departed.
God of His mercy hath preserved Har Gobind.
The calamity was removed ; he obtained all happiness by ever reflecting on God’s attributes.[ p. 45 ]
My Creator consented to the magnification of the perfect Guru.
Guru Nanak laid a fixed foundation which ever groweth more secure.[14]
O God, Thou hast been merciful.
There is comfort and joy, O God; my boy hath recovered.
Clasping both hands I made supplication and meditated on the Supreme Being in my heart.
God giving His hand hath preserved him and removed all his sufferings.
The husband and wife joined in rejoicing and singing victory to God.
Saith Nanak, I am a sacrifice to the man who saveth all.[15]
The following also was composed by the Guru on the same occasion :—
The primal Brahm, the Supreme Being, pardoned, and all my son’s maladies are healed.
They who enter the asylum of the perfect Guru are saved, and all their affairs adjusted.
God’s servant remembereth the Name which is his support.
The True Guru being compassionate hath cured his fever.
Be ever happy, my beloved friends; the Guru hath preserved Har Gobind.
Nanak, great is the greatness of the Creator ; true is His word and true His speech.[16]
The authors of the ‘Gur Bilas’, the ‘ Suraj Parkash’, the ‘Guru Samhita’ and other works, without paying due regard to the Guru’s hymns, falsely asserted, each according to his own Hindu proclivities, that the Guru’s wife went to worship in the temple of Durga, performed the Hindu ceremony of hom, and adored virgins, all for her son’s recovery. There is no indication of this [ p. 46 ] superstitious worship in the Guru’s hymns. On the contrary, it is only the Anand of Guru Amar Das and the other hymns quoted herein which were repeated or sung on the occasion.
The third Guru, as we have already seen, composed the Anand on the birth of his grandson called Anand. ↩︎
Asa. ↩︎
That is, Bhai Budha. ↩︎
Bilawal. ↩︎
Asa. ↩︎
God’s name. ↩︎
Gaund. ↩︎
Sorath. ↩︎
Gauri ki War I. ↩︎
Bilawal. ↩︎
Sonath. ↩︎
Gauri. ↩︎
In the Granth Sahib protecting honour frequently means protecting life. ↩︎
Giijari. ↩︎
Devgandhari. Guru Nanak is the man referred to in the last line of the hymn. ↩︎
Sorath. ↩︎