When the Guru’s Sikhs in response to his summons arrived from all quarters in Kiratpur, the Holi festival was being celebrated according to Sikh ritual. On that occasion the following hymn of Guru Arjan was sung :—
Let us worship the Guru[1] and make obcisance to Him.
To-day is our day of rejoicing ;
To-day we are very happy ;
Our anxieties have departed since we have met God.
To-day spring is in our hearts,[2]
And, O God, we sing Thine endless praises.
To-day our Phagan is celebrated.[3] [ p. 234 ]
We begin to play on meeting God’s companions ;
Our service to them shall be our Holi.
The very red colour of God attacheth to us ;[4]
Our souls and bodies bloom beyond comparison, And wither not in shade or sunshine ;
They flourish in all seasons.
It is ever spring when we meet the divine Guru:
Then the tree of life is produced for us,
And beareth many gems of flower and fruit.
We are cloyed and satiated singing God’s praises—
The slave Nanak meditateth on God.[5]
The following hymn was sung to remind the Sikhs that their time must not be spent in frivolity :—
Man is led astray by recreation and varied amusements and by the pleasures of the eyesight.
Such delights are unreal, for even kings and emperors are involved in anxiety.[6]
My brethren, happiness is obtained by association with saints.
Sorrow and anxiety depart from him for whom God hath so destined.
I have wandered through all countries, and observed that
Lords of wealth and great lords of the soil perished speaking of their property ;
They fearlessly enforced their orders, and treated men with haughtiness ;
They subjected every one to them, but being without the Name they were blended with the dust.
Great monarchs, at whose gates stood the thirty-three karors of gods, Sidhs, and Strivers as servants,
Whose dominion was over mountain and sea, all passed away, Nanak, like a dream.[7]
[ p. 235 ]
The Guru added the following more particular instructions regarding the observance of the Holi festival : “He who drinketh wine and throweth mud and dust and blackeneth his face, shall have dust thrown on his head, and his face shall be blackened in the next world ; while he who uttereth lascivious expressions shall suffer pain in the lowest hell. It is those who take delight in the true Name who enjoy the real Holi; and it is for this purpose the soul obtaineth human birth in this world. Guru Arjan hath said :—
Man hath come to hear and read God’s word.
Vain is the human birth of those mortals who, forgetting the Name, conceive worldly desires.
Understand this, O thoughtless man, that the saints have told the story of the Ineffable One.
Receive the gain of worshipping God in thy heart, and thy transmigration shall be at an end.
Effort, power, and cleverness are Thine; if Thou grant them to me, I will repeat Thy name.
They are servants, and it is they, O Nanak, who are attached to service, who are pleasing to God.’[8]
A day was appointed for a great assemblage at which the Guru’s successor was to be consecrated. When all were assembled Guru Har Gobind rose, clasped his hands in an attitude of supplication, and uttered a prayer to the Supreme Being for the success of the day’s proceedings. Then, taking Har Rai by the hand, he seated him on the throne of Guru Nanak. Bhai Bhana, son of Bhai Budha, affixed the tilak to Har Rai’s forehead and decorated him with a necklace of flowers. The Guru putting five paise—farthings—and a coco-nut on a tray offered them to Har Rai. He then circumambulated him- four times, bowed to him, and gave him the following instructions :—‘ A watch and a quarter before day, shake off sleep, rise, bathe, and recite [ p. 236 ] the Japji, which is the Guru’s spell. Be gentle in thy demeanour. Obtrude not thyself, repeat the Name, and cause others to do so. Sit in the company of thy holy Sikhs twice a day.’ After this and similar instruction to his successor, the Guru addressed the Sikhs, ‘ In Har Rai now recognize me. The spiritual power of Guru Nanak hath entered him.’ Upon this the assembled Sikhs shouted congratulations and the minstrels began to sing. The heralds then announced that this was the seventh Guru duly appointed and consecrated. Bards and minstrels chanted the young Guru’s genealogy and eulogies. All were unanimous in saying that Har Rai, who by service had pleased his grandfather Guru Har Gobind, well merited the exalted position he had attained.
Guru Har Gobind’s wife Nanaki thus addressed her spouse: ‘Thou didst promise that my son should be a Guru of the world, and that thy grandson should be a greater warrior than thou. My lord, when shall this prophecy be fulfilled >’ The Guru replied, ‘I have told thee that thy son shall be a Guru, and he certainly shall. Everything cometh by patience.’ Go now to the village of Bakala, where my mother Ganga’s cenotaph is, and there abide. The Guru asked Suraj Mal what boon he desired for himself. He at once replied, ‘ To be a real Sikh.’ The Guru said, ‘ Well done! my son, well done! mayest thou live long! Thou shalt greatly flourish. Thine offspring shall be rich and reverenced. Abide with Har Rai, and thou shalt obtain all spiritual and temporal blessings.’
The Guru then retired for introspection and divine meditation into a house called Patalpuri, which he had constructed on the margin of the Satluj, and, as the other Gurus had done, exhorted his people not to mourn for him. ‘ This visible and tangible body is false, God alone is true.’
Bibi Viro his daughter came to him with tears [ p. 237 ] in her eyes and said, “My mother departed and left me. Thou hast since then been a mother as well as a father to me. What shall I do without thee ?’ The Guru gave her every consolation, and thus concluded his address to her, ‘Sorrow not for me. Everything that is born must perish. Thou shalt have sons who shall fight on the side of thy nephew the tenth Guru, and display great valour.’ Guru Har Gobind then addressed words of parting or of advice and instruction to his friends and relations around him.
Guru Har Rai put the departing Guru a question which needed an urgent reply—‘ O great king, thine enmity with the Turks hath ceased. The Emperor is possessed of treasure, arms, and fortresses. If he proceed against me, how am I to act?’ Guru Har Gobind replied, ‘Have no anxiety. He who proceedeth against thee with enmity in his heart shall never prevail against thee. God will be with thee and assist thee. Keep two thousand two hundred mounted soldiers ever with thee.’
To his Sikhs generally he said, ‘ The seventh king Guru Har Rai is now on Guru Nanak’s throne. I have attached you to the hem of his garment. If you serve him you shall obtain the fruit your hearts desire. He holdeth the storehouses both of salvation and of worldly enjoyment.’ When the Sikhs pressed him for further instruction he repeated the following hymn of Guru Arjan :—
What is the moonlight on your floor? Better is God’s light within you.
Among forms of worship, the best is the worship of God’s name.
Among things to be relinquished, the best is the relinquishment of lust, wrath, and avarice.
Among things to be prayed for, best is it to pray to the Guru for God’s praises.
Among vigils, the best is to awake to sing God’s praises. [ p. 238 ]
Among things to be attached to, the best is attachment to the Guru’s feet.
These things shall be obtained by him on whose forehead such destiny hath been written.
Saith Nanak, he who hath entered God’s asylum findeth everything good.[9]
The Guru, having recited this hymn, thus addressed his Sikhs and his family: ‘When I am gone, be glad and rejoice. I am now departing to my final home. Let there be no mourning in my house, but let every one rely on God. He who obeyeth my words shall be dear to me, and shall obtain salvation with me. Ever love the Guru’s hymns, and regale your hearts by reading and listening to them. Remember the true Name with devotion, and be daily more and more intoxicated with its sweetness.’
The Guru then caused attar of roses, saffron, and sandal to be sprinkled in all his apartments, and a great feast to be provided for his Sikhs. His rebeck-players he rewarded with money, clothes, and sweets.
The Sikh writers state that at the Guru’s death the sky appeared rose-red, and there was soft singing heard in the firmament. Cool and fragrant zephyrs blew. All good-hearted and saintly men, dwellers on high who had attained the most exalted position, demigods, and Sidhs, singing his praises came to receive him, and shouted ‘ Victory! victory!’
The Guru was borne on a beautiful bier amid the singing of hymns, amongst which the following passage from the Sukhmani received special prominence :—
He who knoweth God must always be happy,
And God will blend him with Himself.
He in whose heart God dwelleth is wealthy,
Of high family, honoured, and obtaineth salvation during life. [ p. 239 ]
Hail! hail! hail! a man hath come
By whose favour the whole world shall be saved.
The object of his coming was
That through him the Name might be remembered.
He was saved himself and he saved the world :
To him, Nanak, I ever make obeisance.
The author of the Dabistan-i-Mazahab, who appears to have been present at the Guru’s death, states that he died on Sunday the third day of the Muharrim, A. H. 1055 (A. D. 1645), after a spiritual and temporal reign of thirty-seven years and ten months.[10]
After the Guru’s cremation Lal Chand, son of Bidhi Chand, read the Granth as far as his father Bidhi Chand had copied it, that is, as far as the end of the Bilawal Rag.
When the death ceremonies were all completed, Mata Nanaki and her son Teg Bahadur set out, according to the late Guru’s order, for Bakala, where they both dwelt until Teg Bahadur obtained the Guruship. Bhai Budha’s son Bhana entrusted his son Sarwan to the new Guru, and went to Ramdas, where he died.
Bhai Gur Das in the following has briefly summed up the attributes of the first six Gurus :—
The divine Guru Nanak was the Guru of gurus ;
In an unseen and inscrutable manner he was absorbed in Angad,
Who was absorbed in an unseen and invisible manner in Amar the immortal. [ p. 240 ]
The nectar trickled into the mouth of him who was called Ram Das, the destroyer of enemies :[11]
Guru Arjan by serving him bore his burden.
Guru Har Gobind the measureless churned the nectar,
And took his seat on eternal truth.
He strung the Word of the Ungraspable and Unknowable Spirit.
Under the Guru’s instruction he filled what could not be filled, and dispelled doubt and fear.[12]
Another poet has composed the following on the same subject :
The first Guru established this custom—he became the Guru’s slave and was called the Guru of his slaves (Sikhs).
Amar Das by serving Guru Angad was proclaimed the true Guru.
Ram Das by serving Amar Das as his servant pleased thie Gad.
Guru Arjan obtained the nectareous fruit from Guru Ram Das whose nature was incomprehensible.
Guru Har Gobind, the superior being, caused Guru Arjan to hail him as Guru. |
The Guru cannot possibly be concealed from those who have obtained some knowledge by his favour.
God. ↩︎
Literally—houses, but the word is often used for the heart. ↩︎
The Holi is celebrated in the month of Phagan. ↩︎
The word rang means either colour or love. ↩︎
Basant. ↩︎
These two lines are also translated—
Those who enjoy much recreation, varied amusements, and pleasures which lead the senses astray ;
Who enjoy regal and imperial state, are involved in anxiety. ↩︎
Guru Arjan, Sri Rag. ↩︎
Sarang. ↩︎
Maru Ashtapadi. ↩︎
Hinduised Sikh chroniclers have invented a story that the Guru caused himself to be shut up in Patalpuri, and ordered Guru Har Rai to lock the door and not open it until the seventh day. This, according to Abulfazl, was deemed by the Hindus the most meritorious form of death, and so ignorant and superstitious persons have attributed to the Guru this form of suicide. Had it occurred, it would certainly have been recorded by Muhsan Fani among the other details given by him. ↩︎
That is, the deadly sins. ↩︎
Gur Das, War III. ↩︎