A handsome young goldsmith one day presented himself before the Guru and began to fan him. He said that his father had taken the charanpahul in vogue at the time of the preceding Gurus, and he himself had received baptism according to the new rite. The youth’s mother accompanied him, and the Guru invited them both to stay with him. The Guru, to make trial of the goldsmith’s skill, gave him ten gold muhars to convert into ornaments. When the work was subsequently submitted for the Guru’s inspection he was pleased, and ordered his treasurer to keep the young artisan supplied with gold, and store all the ornaments he made from it in his treasury. The Guru asked the goldsmith if he had any faults. He replied, ‘O great king, I am the slave of thy feet, I only seek the society of the saints.’ Upon this the Guru replied, ‘ He who hath ereat talents must ever possess some fault. What is thine ? The man possessing talent who hath no fault must be in God’s own image.’ The young man, however, would not admit any imperfection.
After this he was allowed to take as much gold as he pleased to work upon. It was never weighed to him, and he was never asked how much he had taken. One day the Guru told his treasurer to weigh for the future, without the goldsmith’s knowledge, all the gold dispensed to him. Upon this the treasurer weighed him out twenty tolas of gold. When the goldsmith presented the ornaments made therefrom, they were found to weigh only seventeen tolas. Upon this the Guru _ ordered all the ornaments the youth had made since his arrival to be produced and weighed. The treasurer found them to be far short of the amount of gold taken from the treasury. On this the Guru remonstrated with the young goldsmith. ‘Thou impliedst [ p. 112 ] that thou hadst no fault. What greater fault can there be than to misappropriate what is entrusted thee ? Didst thou not receive thy wages from the Guru’s house, and was that not sufficient remuneration for thee ? Thou art as evil as the masands whom I have been punishing. I am pleased with those who, though they may wear coarse garbs, eat what they lawfully earn.’ It is said that on this censure the youth reformed his ways.
The Guru being: asked by a devout Sikh what he should do to cross over the world’s ocean, that is, to be saved and obtain deliverance from rebirth, gave the following recipe. ‘My brother, repeat the name Wahguru. Eat what thou hast diligently earned. As Baba Nanak hath said, ‘‘ He who bestoweth a little out of his earnings recognizeth the right way.’ Bear no one enmity. Know that God is with thee at all times and remember death. Recognize the world as unreal, and God alone as real.’
A Sikh went to the Guru and told him that he had abandoned the world, as it contained only trouble and anxiety. He added that he had come in quest of rest, and requested the Guru to point out the way to him. The Guru congratulated him on having diverted his attention from the wickedness of men, and inquired if he could read. The Sikh replied in the negative. The Guru then said, ‘ It is necessary that thou shouldst read little or much so as to acquire understanding and improve thy mind. Thou shalt thus learn the difference between good and evil, and what thou oughtest and what thou oughtest not to do. There are besides many other advantages in reading. Thou mayest thereby obtain everything beginning with the knowledge of God. The heart of him who is uninstructed remaineth in blind ignorance. He who readeth Gurumukhi is the best and obtaineth good understanding. There is great merit in reading the Japji and the other hymns of morning and evening divine service, for they [ p. 113 ] erase the sins of many births. He who orally or mentally fixeth his attention on the Name, who worketh with his hands, who gladdeneth the hearts of holy Sikhs, who ever performeth noble deeds, and preserveth his mind humble, is very dear to me, and it behoves me to minister unto him.’
The Sikh expressed his earnest desire to learn, if he could only find a tutor. The Guru appointed his own Granthi, or reader, to instruct him. When the Sikh read as far as the line in the Anand, ‘Joy, my mother, that I have found the true Guru!’ he brought his tuition to an end, and never afterwards pursued his studies. The Guru, after some months, asked his Granthi how the pupil was progressing. The Granthi replied that he had not seen him since he had read that particular line of the Anand. Upon this the Guru sent for him, and asked him why he had ceased to attend his tutor. He replied that he had read enough, and had attained happiness on meeting the Guru. The Guru smiled and said, Even with this little learning thou hast obtained a knowledge of God, and shalt eventually find deliverance.’
The Guru once asked his Sikhs to tell him who was emperor of India in Kabir’s time. One Sikh said Humayun; a second, Alexander the Great ; a third, Madanpal. In short none of them could tell the emperor’s name. The Guru made this a text from which to preach the advantages of knowledge, as well as holiness, and the good repute obtained from them in both worlds—‘ Every one, even down to ignorant women, knoweth the name of Kabir, though he was only a weaver. That is because he repeated God’s name and practised true devotion. Sikandar Lodi was then emperor; but none of you even knoweth his name, and there is no trace of him left in the world, while Kabir’s fame is blazoned in every country and his memory is universally honoured. Wherefore, members of the Khalsa, [ p. 114 ] remember the true Name, serve the saints, be humble, lay your love and devotion at the feet of the immortal God, and you too shall be honoured here and hereafter.’
As the Guru’s power daily increased, the hill chiefs thought it expedient to send a resident to his court who would inform them of his movements and proceedings. A man called Paramanand was accordingly selected for that delicate mission. When he came to the Guru he told him that his object was to be in a position to behold him continually, and thus gain spiritual advantages. He added that he desired to send the rajas occasionally accounts of the Guru’s good health and welfare, and to preserve the amicable relations which already subsisted.
Some Sikhs asked the Guru how karah parsad or sacred food should be prepared. He replied: ‘Wash and clean the cooking-place, then procure equal portions of refined sugar, fine flour, and clarified butter. Boil the sugar in water and render it liquid. Put the clarified butter and flour into another vessel, and boil them until they assume a reddish colour. Then mix the liquefied sugar with the clarified butter and flour, and boil all together. When this is done a Granthi must repeat certain prescribed prayers. The mixture then becomes sacred food (karah parsad) and is fit for use.’[1] The cook must be a Sikh who has bathed in the morning and who can repeat at least the Japji from memory.
A Sikh married couple came to the Guru in order to complain against their son. They said they were satisfied with the wealth God had given them ; their only trouble arose from their son’s contumacy. He was ever in attendance on religious men, and paid no regard to what he ate or what he wore. If [ p. 115 ] the subject of marriage, so natural to a young man, were mentioned to him, he was ready to die as if poisoned. When pressed on the subject, he said that the Guru had forbidden his marriage. When they represented to him that the Guru himself was a married man, the youth would only say, ‘ He can do what he pleaseth himself. He hath forbidden me. The Guru sent for the youth and asked when he had forbidden him. He replied, ‘O Guru, in the Anand which thou wrotest as Guru Amar Das for the instruction of the Sikhs, there is the following passage :—
O dear man, do thou ever remember the True One.
This family which thou seest shall not depart with thee ;
It shall not depart with thee; why fix thy thoughts On it?
Never do what thou shalt have to repent of at last.
Listen thou to the instruction of the true Guru, it is that which shall go with thee.
Saith Nanak, O dear man, ever remember the True One.
‘ This instruction,’ said the youth, ‘is imprinted on my mind.’ The Guru was so pleased on hearing this that he embraced him, and said to his parents, ‘ Men are continually warned, but none taketh heed. Blest is he who hath forsaken mammon. It is his good fortune that he hath awakened to contempt of the world. This son of yours shall save both your families, and you shall have another son besides to gladden your hearts.’ The Guru detained the youth, and dismissed his parents. He was pleased that the spontaneous love of God had sprung up in the young man’s heart, and he instructed him in the duties both ofa husband andahermit. After a comparison of both, he embraced domestic life.
Once in the sultry weather, as the Guru was perspiring, his servants took his bed from the ground floor to the top of his house. From there he heard an altercation between two Sikhs regarding a debt [ p. 116 ] of seven rupees. Mala Singh had lent this sum to Lahaura Singh, but the latter would not return it. When, at the suggestion of Mala Singh’s wife, Lahaura Singh was further dunned, he composed this couplet :—
O Sikh, eat the wealth of a Sikh without anxiety ;
Thou hast come to annoy me at which I am very angry ;
and added:—
A Sikh shall receive whatever is written in his destiny.
Mala Singh replied, “ Thou embezzlest my money, and then lecturest me; thou forgettest what hath been said :—
They whose acts are deceitful shall be punished in God’s court :
Death shall smite them; they shall greatly weep and regret when they enter hell.’
Lahaura Singh capped this with another :—
No one shall ask for an account as long as God pardoneth.[2]
The Guru overhearing this interchange of verses cried out, ‘ They who live and spend money by deceiving others shall be bound in God’s court. Ponder on all your acts so as to preserve your honesty.’ The Guru then quoted for the disputants the lines of Baba Nanak against dishonesty.
After hearing the Guru; Lahaura Singh began to speak civilly to Mala Singh, and promised to give him his money on the morrow. Lahaura Singh kept his promise, and then went to the Guru to solicit his pardon. The Guru upon this repeated for the first time his ‘Muktnama’, or means of salvation. The following are its principal injunctions : ‘ O Sikhs, borrow not, but, if you are compelled to borrow, faithfully restore the debt. Speak not falsely and associate not with the untruthful. Associating with [ p. 117 ] holy men, practise truth, love truth, and clasp it to your hearts. Live by honest labour and deceive no one. Let not a Sikh be covetous. Repeat the Japji and the Japji before eating. Look not on a naked woman. Let not your thoughts turn towards that sex. Cohabit not with another’s wife. Deem another’s property as filth. Keep your bodies clean. Have dealings with every one, but consider yourselves distinct. Your faith and daily duties are different from theirs. Bathe every morning before repast. If your bodies endure not cold water, then heat it. Ever abstain from tobacco. Remember the one immortal God. Repeat the Rahiras in the evening and the Sohila at bedtime. Receive the baptism and teaching of the Guru, and act according to the Granth Sahib. Cling to the boat in which thou hast embarked. Wander not in search of another religion. Repeat the Gurus’ hymns day and night. Marry only into the house of a Sikh. Preserve thy wife and thy children from evil company. Covet not money offered for religious purposes. Habitually attend a Sikh temple and eat a little sacred food therefrom. He who distributeth sacred food should do so in equal quantities, whether the recipients be high or low, old or young. Eat not food offered to gods or goddesses. Despise not any Sikh, and never address him without the appellation Singh. Eat regardless of caste with all Sikhs who have been baptized, and deem them your brethren. Abandon at once the company of Brahmans and Mullas who cheat men out of their wealth, of ritualists who lead Sikhs astray, and of those who give women in marriage with concealed physical defects, and thus deceive the hopes of offspring.
‘Let not a Sikh have intercourse with a strange woman unless married to her according to the Sikh rites. Let him contribute a tenth part of his earnings for religious purposes. Let him bow down [ p. 118 ] at the conclusion of prayer. When a Sikh dieth, let sacred food be prepared. After his cremation let the Sohila be read and prayer offered for his - soul and for the consolation of his relations. Then sacred food may be distributed. Let not the family of the deceased indulge in much mourning, or bevies of women join in lamentation. On such occasions let the Gurus’ hymns be read and sung, and let all listen to them.
‘Worship not an idol, and drink not the water in which it hath been bathed. The rules of caste and of the stages of Hindu life are erroneous. Let my Sikhs take care not to practise them. O Sikhs, listen to me and adopt not the ceremonies of the Hindus for the supposed advantages of the manes of ancestors.
“My face is turned towards him who calleth out to a Sikh “ Wahguru ji ki Fatah !” my right shoulder towards him who returneth the salutation with love, my left shoulder towards him who returneth it as a matter of custom, and my back towards him who returneth it not at all.[3] To him who abideth by these rules I will grant a position to which no one hath yet been able to attain, and which was beyond the conception of Shankar Acharya,[4] Dattatre, Ramanuj,[5] Gorakh, and Muhammad.
‘As, when rain falleth on the earth, the fields yield excellent and pleasant fruit, so he who listeneth to the Guru and attendeth to all these injunctions shall assuredly receive the reward thereof. Whoever accepteth the Guru’s words, and these rules which he hath given, shall have his sins pardoned ; he shall be saved from transmigration through the eightyfour lakhs of animals, and after death shall enter [ p. 119 ] the Guru’s abode. If any very worldly man devoted to pleasure tell you to the contrary, listen not to him, but ever follow the Guru’s instruction.’
The Hindus in the preparation of their sacred food use the same ingredients, but add coco-nut as a donne bouche for the goddess Durga, and anise seed as a relish for the monkey-god Hanuman. ↩︎
Guru Arjan, Maru ki War II. ↩︎
Mani Singh’s Gyan Ratanawall. ↩︎
The great expounder of the Vedant or pantheistic philosophy and opponent of the Buddhists. He lived in the eighth century. ↩︎
An account of this saint will be given in the final volume of this work. ↩︎