[ p. 260 ]
In the year A.D. 1734 while in Amritsar Bhai Mani Singh compiled the compositions and translations of Guru Gobind Singh and of the bards who were associated with him. The compilation was subsequently known as the Granth of the tenth Guru, though Mani Singh did not give it that title.[1] We [ p. 261 ] now proceed to give translations from it of such doctrinal and historical portions as we believe to represent the Guru’s own opinions and acts.
JAP
There is one God, the true, the great, and the bounteous :—
The tenth Guru spoke with his holy mouth [2]—
God hath no quoit[3] or marks, no colour, no caste, no lineage,
No form, no complexion, no outline, no costume ; none can in any way describe Him.
He is immovable, fearless, luminous, and measureless in might ;
He is accounted King of kings, Lord of millions of Indars ;
He is Sovereign of the three worlds, demigods, men, and demons; the woods and dales declare Him indescribable.
O Lord, who can tell all Thy names? the wise call Thee special names according to Thy deeds.
AKAL USTAT
(Praise of the Immortal)
May we have the protection of the immortal Being ! [4]
[ p. 262 ]
May we have the protection of All-steel !
May we have the protection of All-death !
May we have the protection of All-steel !
I bow to the one primal God
Who extended sea and land, the nether regions, and the firmament.[5]
He is the primal Being, unseen, and immortal ;
His light is manifest in the fourteen worlds.
He is contained in the ant as in the elephant ;
He deemeth the rich and the poor alike ;
He is unequalled, unseen, and eternal ;
He is the Searcher of all hearts ;
He is invisible, indestructible, and without distinguishing dress [6] ;
He is without passion, colour, form, or outline ;
He is devoid of caste marks of every kind ;
He is the primal Being, peerless and changeless ;
He hath no enemy, no friend, no father, no mother ;
He is far from all and near all ;
His dwelling is in sea and land, the nether and upper regions.
Boundless is His form, and boundless His voice ;
In the shelter of His feet dwelleth Bhawani [7];
Brahma and Vishnu have not found His limits ;
The four-faced Brahma pointeth out that God is indescribable.
He made millions of Indars and Bawans ;[8]
He created and destroyed Brahmas and Shivs.
The fourteen worlds He made as a play,
‘And again blended them with Himself.
He made endless demons, deities, serpents,
Celestial singers, Yakshas, excellent and beautiful.
.He is spoken of in the past, the future, and the present,
And He knoweth the secrets of every heart. [ p. 263 ]
He is not attached to any one love ;
He is contained in the light of all souls ;
He recognizeth all people and all places ;
He is free from death and immortal ;
He is the invisible, imperceptible Being, distinct from all the world.
He is immortal, undecaying, imperishable, and of changeless purpose,
He is the Destroyer and Creator of all ;
He is the Remover of sickness, sorrow, and sin.
He who with single heart meditateth on Him even for a moment
Shall not fall into Death’s noose.
Thou art without sorrow, without form, yet beautiful, the King of kings, the Giver of great gifts.
The Preserver of life, the Giver of milk and sons, the Remover of sickness and sorrow, sometimes honourable and inspiring great honour.
Thou art a student of science, an unrivalled incarnation, Thou appearest as a Sidh, Thou art the glory of purity.
Thou art the net[9] of youth, the death of Death, the torment of enemies, the life of friends.
The following ten Sawaiyas, or quatrains, are recited at the administration of the pahul or baptism according to the rites of the tenth Guru :—
I
I have wandered and in their own homes seen crowds of Saravagis, Sudhs [10], Sidhs, Jogis, and Jatis,
Brave demons, demigods feasting on nectar, and crowds of saints of various sects. [ p. 264 ]
I have seen the religions of all countries, but none appeared to be that of the Lord of life.
Without a particle of the love and favour of God they are only worth a ratti [11].
II
Emperors before whom strong armed kings used to lowly bow their heads in countless numbers ; [12]
Who possessed proud elephants with golden trappings, incomparable, tall, painted with bright colours ;
Millions of horses which bounded like deer, and were fleeter than the wind—
What mattered it how great those emperors were? they at last departed barefooted.
III
Though they roamed and conquered all countries beating their various drums ;
Though many beautiful elephants trumpeted loud, and thousands of horses of royal breed neighed for them—
Who can number such kings in the past, the future, and the present ? They cannot be counted—
Yet without worshipping the name of God the Lord of wealth, they went at last to their final home.
IV
Men bathe at places of pilgrimage, exercise mercy, curb their passions, bestow gifts, exercise abstinence, and perform various special ceremonies—
The Veds, the Purans, the Quran, and the other books of the Musalmans, the earth and heaven all have I seen ;
Thousands of fasters, Jatis who practised continence, all have I carefully observed ; [ p. 265 ]
Yet without worshipping the name of the one God and loving Him even kings are of no account.
V
Trained soldiers, powerful, irresistible, well accoutred with coats of mail crush their enemies ;
Filled with high martial spirit they would put mountains to flight, themselves unshaken ;
They would shatter their enemies, destroy rebels, crush the pride of furious elephants ;
Yet without the favour of God, the Lord of wealth, they should all depart at last and leave the world.
VI
Countless heroes very valiant without hesitation face the edge of the sword,
Subdue countries, crush rebels, and the pride of furious elephants,
Break powerful forts and even without fighting [13] conquer in every direction—
But their efforts avail not ; the Lord is the Commander of them all—the suppliants are many while there is but one Giver.
VII
Even the demons, gods, serpents, and ghcsts who repeat God’s name in the past, future, and present ;
All the beings which in sea and land every moment set up God in their hearts,
Shall find their good deeds and glory increase; they shall hear the voices of gratulation and the multitude of their sins shall depart.
The congregations of saints wander happy in the world ; all their enemies on beholding them are cowed.
[ p. 266 ]
VIII
Lords of men, and elephants, rulers who reign in the three worlds,
Who perform millions of ablutions, make gifts of elephants and other animals, and marry brides at various splendid swayamvars [14]—
They with Brahma, Shiv, Vishnu, and Indar shall at last be entangled and fall into Death’s noose ;
But they who touch the feet of the Lord of wealth shall not again resume a body.
IX
What availeth it to sit closing both eyes and meditating like a crane ?
This world is lost, and the next also for those who go about bathing in the seven seas.
They pass their lives in vain, dwelling in the midst of sin.[15]
I speak verily; hear me all ye people—they who love God have obtained Him.
X
Some worshipping stones put them on their heads, some suspend lingams from their necks.
Some see God in the south, some bow their heads to the west.
Some fools worship idols, others busy themselves with worshipping the dead. |
The whole world entangled in false ceremonies hath not found God’s secret.
God is not subject to birth or death, He is acquainted with the excellent fourteen sciences,[16] [ p. 267 ]
He is without stain and infinite,
He is of unfading brightness and generous,
His form is not quickly recognized,
He is head of the saints of the whole world,
He is the highest object of praise; by Him the earth and sun are supported ;
He is the treasury of the eighteen supernatural powers,[17]
He is the Dispeller of sorrow in all the worlds,
He is not subject to time, to death, or to karma,
He is versed in all religious ceremonies,
His glory is infrangible and unequalled,
He established all establishment,
He is without sorrow, indivisible, and impenetrable.
Brahma by his four Veds sings His praises,
The Veds speak of Him as indescribable,
Brahma speaks of Him as endless—
His glory is unknowable and unequalled.
Indivisible, immeasurable, and unestablished by any one
He made the extension of the world :
He created it with the utmost thought.
His form is endless and infrangible,
His glory is peerless and dazzling,
He is invisible and noble,
He made millions of Indars and kings;
Many Brahmas and Vishnus who meditate on Him,
Many Rams, Krishans, and prophets—
No one is acceptable without devotion.
There are many oceans, mountains great as Bind,[18]
Many fishes, tortoises, and serpents,[19] [ p. 268 ]
Many deities and sons of Brahma,
Many incarnations of Krishan and Vishnu,
Many Indars to sweep before His door,
Many Veds and Brahmas,
Many Rudars[20] and Bawans,
And many unequalled Rams and Krishans.
Many men recite amatory poetry,
Many tell the secrets of the Veds,
Many recite the Shastars and Simritis,
And some read the Purans.
Many perform fire sacrifices,
Many painful penances with bodies reversed,
Many lift their arms in the fashion of the Sanyasis.
Some don the garb of Jogis and abandon the world,
Some perform the niwali feat,
Some practise painful fasting,
Some go on pilgrimages and give boundless alms,
Some are generous in their worldly acts,
Some perform unequalled burnt offerings,
Some obtain regal state and dispense justice,
Some act according to the Shastars and the Simritis,
And some in opposition to the Veds.
Many wander in different countries,
And many remain fixed in one place.
Some pray in water,
Some endure five fires on their bodies,
Some dwell in the forest,
Some perform the endless duties of a family man,
Some are generous in the fashion of kings,
Some are free from sickness and error,
Some perform good and others bad acts,
Some pose as Shaikhs, others as Brahmans,
Some perform the duties of kings in an incomparable manner,
Some are free from bodily and mental suffering,
Some are subject to the service of a special god,
Some are poor, others the sons of kings, [ p. 269 ]
And some are the incarnations of Vyas.
Many Brahmas read the Veds,
And many Sheshnags repeat God’s name.
Some are Bairagis, others Sanyasis,
And some wander in the guise of Udasis.
Know that all these things are vain,
And that all such religion is fruitless.
Without the support of the One Name
Deem all religious ceremonies as superstition.
God is in the water, God is in the dry land,
God is in the heart, God is in the forest,
God is in the mountain, God is in the cave,
God is in the earth, God is in heaven,
God is here, God is there,
God is in space, God is in time,
God is invisible, God is without a garb,
God is without sin, God is without enmity,
God is deathless, God is uncherished,
God is impenetrable, God is invulnerable.[21]
God is not moved by charms or spells ;
God has His own light, He cannot be moved by incantations.
God is without caste, God is without lineage,
God is without friends, God hath no mother,
God feeleth no physical or mental suffering.
God is without doubt, God hath no karma,
God is invincible, God is fearless,
God is infrangible, God is indissoluble.
God cannot be punished, God is radiant,
God is transcendent, God is inscrutable.
Repeat God’s name, establish God’s name in thy heart :
Do penance unto God, and repeat His name.
Thou, O God, art in the water, Thou art in the dry land,
Thou art in the river, Thou art in the sea, [ p. 270 ]
Thou art in the tree, Thou art in its leaves,
Thou art in the earth, Thou art in the firmament.
Thy name is repeated again and again, Thy name is in man’s heart.
Thou art space, Thou art time,
Thou art the occupant, Thou art the place,
Thou art unborn, Thou art fearless,
Thou art impalpable, Thou art indestructible,
Thou art continence, Thou art fasting,
Thou art deliverance, Thou art wisdom,
Thou alone art, Thou alone art.
The following is a satire on various penances and austerities practised by Hindu sects in India :—
Swine eat filth ; elephants and donkeys bespatter themselves with dust ; jackals live at places of cremation :
Owls live in tombs; deer wander alone in the forest ; trees ever die in silence.
The man who restraineth his seed should only have the credit of the hermaphrodite; monkeys ever wander barefooted.
How shall the wretch who is subject to a woman and devoted to lust and wrath, be saved without the knowledge of the one God ?
It is known that demons live in the forest, all children on earth drink milk, and serpents live on air.
They who eat grass and renounce the desire of wealth, are no more than calves and oxen.
They who fly in the heavens have only the attribute of birds; they who engage in meditation resemble cranes, cats, and wolves.
All great gyanis who knew, but asserted not themselves, never allowed such deceit as the above to enter their hearts even by mistake.
[ p. 271 ]
They who live in the earth should be called the offspring of worms; they who live in the heavens should be called birds.
They who eat fruit should be called the offspring of monkeys ; they who wander unseen should be accounted as ghosts.
They who float on water are like gangeris ;[22] they who eat fire like chakors ;
They who worship the sun have the attribute of the lotus ; they who worship the moon of water-lilies.
The tortoise, the fish, and the shark may all be called Narayan[23]; if you speak of God as Kaulnabh, the lake in which there is a lotus is also Kaulnabh.[24]
If you speak of God as Gopinath, all Gujars are Gopinaths, all cowherds Gopals; if you call God Rikhikesh, that is a name taken by superiors of religious orders.
If you call God Madhav, that is the bumble-bee ; Kaniya is the name of the woodpecker ; if you speak of God as the Destroyer of Kans, you speak of the myrmidons of Death.
Fools utter names, but know not their meanings, and worship not Him by whom man is protected.
God is the Protector and Destroyer of the world, Compassionate to the poor, Punisher of enemies, ever the Cherisher, and free from Death’s noose.
Jogis, wearers of matted hair, celibates, the true, great Brahmacharis who undergo hunger and thirst in their divine meditation,
They who perform the niwali feat, who sacrifice to water, fire, and wind, who hold their heads down, who stand or one leg and never sit,
Men, serpents, deities, and demons find not God’s secrets ; the Veds and the books of the Musalmans say that God is indescribable.
[ p. 272 ]
Peacocks skip about dancing, the thunder roareth and the lightning presenteth many phases.[25]
If God be obtained by being cold or hot, there is nothing colder than the moon, nothing hotter than the sun, if by being a raja God may be obtained, there is no king equal to Indar who filleth the whole world.
Nowhere can be found a penitent like a Shiv, a reader of the Veds like primal Brahma, or penitents like the sons of Brahma ;
Yet without divine knowledge they are all subject to the noose of Death and ever wander through the cycle of the ages.
One Shiv was born, one died, and one was born again ; there have also been many incarnations of Ram Chandar and Krishan.
How many Brahmas and Vishnus have there been! how many Veds and Purans! how many collections of Simritis have been and passed away !
How many preachers and Madars![26] how many Castors and Polluxes! how many Ansavatars[27] have succumbed to death !
How many priests and prophets have there been! they are so many that they cannot be counted ; from dust they sprang and to dust they returned.
Jogis, Jatis, Brahmacharis[28], and very great kings, the shadow of whose umbrellas extended for many miles,
Who wandered subduing kingdoms and crushing the pride of very great kings,
Sovereigns like Man[29] and lords of the umbrella like [ p. 273 ] Dilip,[30] great kings who prided themselves on the strength of their arms,
Proud men like Dara,[31] like the kings of Dihli, and like Durjodhan, having enjoyed the earth in their turn at last were blended with it.
Artillerymen, huntsmen wearing decoy dresses, and they who eat opium bow their heads many times.
What availeth it that men perform prostrations of different kinds to God ? they are like wrestlers practising the exercise of dand.[32]
What availeth it that men lie with their faces turned up? If they do not heartily bow to the supreme God, they are only as sick men.
How can he who is the slave of worldly desires and ever clever in obtaining wealth, obtain the one Lord of the world without faith in Him ?
He into whose ear an earwig hath entered shaketh his head ; he who hath lost a friend or son beateth his head in mourning.
For grazing on akk, eating fruits and flowers, and ever wandering in the forests, there is no animal like a goat.
What if a sheep rub its head against trees and thus take off its hair? as for eating earth, call the leech and ask it.
How can he who is a slave to worldly desires and addicted to lust and wrath, find God without faith ?
The peacocks dance, the frogs croak, and the clouds ever thunder ;
The tree ever standeth on one leg in the forest; as for those who take not life, the Saravagi bloweth on the ground before putting his feet on it ; [ p. 274 ]
The stones through several ages remain in one place; the ravens and the kites travel from country to country.
How can the wretch who is without divine knowledge and who is never absorbed in the great Benefactor, be saved without faith in Him ?
Like an actor man sometimes poseth as a Jogi or Bairagi ; sometimes he assumeth the guise of a Sanyasi.
Sometimes he appeareth to live on air, sometimes he sitteth in an attitude of contemplation, sometimes in his infatuation for pelf he singeth many praises of men.
Sometimes he is a Brahmachari, sometimes he produceth a garden in his hand, sometimes he holdeth a fakir’s staff and deceiveth men’s senses.
He who is subject to worldly desires danceth with gestures; but being devoid of divine knowledge, how shall he obtain heaven ?
In the cold season the jackal barketh five times, and the elephant and the donkey utter various cries.
What availeth it to be cut in twain by the saw at Banaras? thieves cut men in pieces and kill them with axes.
What availeth it that a fool hath put a halter round his neck and drowned himself in the Ganges ? Thags put men to death by putting halters round their necks.
Without meditation on divine knowledge fools are drowned in hell’s river; and without faith how can there be any such meditation ?
If any one were to obtain by penance the Lord who suffereth not pain, the wounded man suffereth pain of many kinds.
If any one were by repeating God’s name to obtain God who cannot be obtained by lip-worship[33], the warbler ever uttereth ‘Tu hi! tu hi!’
If any one were to obtain God by flying in the heavens, the bird called anal wandereth in the firmament. [ p. 275 ]
If salvation be obtained by burning oneself in the fire, why should not the Sati and also the serpent which liveth in hell be saved ? [34]
The following is a homily on the equality of men and on the Hindu and Muhammadan forms of worship :—
One man by shaving his head is accepted as a Sanyasi, another as a Jogi or a Brahmachari, a third as a Jati.
Some men are Hindus and others Musalmans ; among the latter are Rafazis,[35] XImams, and Shafais—know that all men are of the same caste.
Karta (the Creator) and Karim (the Beneficent) are the same, Razak (the Provider) and Rahim (the Merciful) are the same; let no man even by mistake suppose there is a difference.[36]
Worship the one God who is the one divine Guru for all ; know that His Form is one, and that He is the one light diffused in all.
The temple and the mosque are the same; the Hindu worship and the Musalman prayer are the same; all men are the same ; it is through error they appear different.
Deities, demons, Yakshas, heavenly singers, Musalmans, and Hindus adopt the customary dress of their different countries.
All men have the same eyes, the same ears, the same body, the same build,[37] a compound of earth, air, fire, and water.
Allah and Abhekh are the same; the Purans and the [ p. 276 ]
Quran are the same; they are all alike; it is the one God who created all.
The following gives the Sikh conception of the manner in which souls emanated from God and are again absorbed in Him :—
As from one fire millions of sparks arise; though rising separately, they unite again in the fire ;
As from one heap of dust several particles of dust fill the air, and on filling it again blend with the dust;
As in one stream millions of waves are produced; the waves being made of water all become water ;
So from God’s form non-sentient and sentient things[38] are manifested, and, springing from Him, shall all be united in Him again.
How many tortoises and fishes and how many eaters of them! how many excellent young animals become strongwinged and fly !
How many birds of prey in the firmament eat the excellent birds! and how many animals eat and digest the birds of prey when they see them !
What mattereth it whether things live in water or land, or fly in the firmament ? God made them and will destroy them all.
As light blendeth with darkness and darkness with light, so all things have sprung from God and shall be united in Him.
How many go about howling! how many die weeping ! how many are drowned in the water! how many are burnt in the fire !
How many dwell by the Ganges! how many in Madina and Makka! how many wander as anchorets !
How many undergo the pain of being cut by the saw! how many of burying themselves in the earth! how many of being impaled. [ p. 277 ]
How many fly in the firmament! how many dwell in water! but they shall all be burnt in the fire[39] for want of divine knowledge.
The demigods have grown weary searching for God; the archdemons have grown weary striving with Him; the wise have grown weary exercising their wisdom ; they who repeat His name have grown weary of watching.
Men have grown weary of grinding and applying sandal to themselves ; they have grown weary of applying excellent atar of roses ; they have grown weary of worshipping stones and offering them pudding.
They have grown weary of visiting cemeteries and Jogis’ places of burial, they have grown weary of smearing walls and of being marked with the brand of idols.[40]
The celestial musicians have grown weary of singing; all the Kinnars have grown weary of their penance, but none of them hath found God.
The following is Guru Gobind Singh’s conception of the divinity :—
God is without passion, without colour, without form, without outline ;
He is without worldly love, without anger, without enmity, without jealousy ;
He is without karma, without error, without birth, and without caste ;
He hath no friend, no enemy, no father, no mother ;
He hath no worldly love, no house, no desires, no home ;
He hath no son, no friend, no enemy, no wife ;
He is invisible, without distinguishing dress, and unborn ;
He is ever the Bestower of supernatural power and wisdom ; He is of size beyond measure.
His form and outline cannot be known,
Nor where He dwelleth, nor in what disguises He wandereth, [ p. 278 ]
Nor what His name is, nor what He is called.
How shall I describe Him ? He cannot be described. He hath no disease, or sorrow, or worldly love, or mother, No karma, no superstition, no birth, no caste ;
He hath no jealousy, no garb, and is unborn.
I bow to Him as one! I bow to Him as one!
He is beyond all things, and from the beginning the Dispenser of wisdom.
He is indivisible, indestructible, primal, peerless, and imperishable.
He hath no caste, or lineage, or form, or colour.
I bow to the primal and infrangible One.
How many millions of worms like Krishan
He created, built, fashioned, again destroyed, and created !
He is unfathomable, fearless, primal, unrivalled, imperishable.
He is beyond all things, from the beginning, and perfect is His splendour.
He feeleth nor mental nor bodily pain: He is unfathomable.
His glory is infrangible ; He is from the beginning, and His majesty is indestructible.
He hath no birth, no death, no caste, no pain.
He is infrangible, radiant, unamercible,[41] impossible to be controlled ;
He hath no worldly love, nohome; He hath affection for men and is His own master.
He is powerful, cannot be anywhere contained, radiant, the Torturer of enemies.
He cannot be depicted in the past, the present, or the future.
He is not rich or poor ; He hath no form or outline.
He feeleth not covetousness or mental anxiety; He is not formed out of the elements ; He belongeth to no sect.
He hath no enemy, no friend, no worldly love, no home. [ p. 279 ]
He is eternal and ever contained in all things ; He beareth love to all.
He hath no lust, no wrath, no avarice, no worldly love ;
He is unborn, indestructible, primal, peerless, invisible ;
He is not subject to birth or death; He hath no caste, no pain ;
He hath no sickness, no sorrow; He is fearless, and without affliction.[42]
He is impenetrable, indivisible, without karma, and without death.
He cannot be destroyed or defamed; He is bright and without a cherisher ;
He hath no father, no mother, no caste, no body ;
He hath no worldly love, no home, no doubt, no fear ;
He hath no form, there is no king over Him, He hath no body, no acts attach to Him ;
He hath no fear; He cannot be killed or pierced; He hath no doubts.
He is eternal, ever perfect, and of size beyond measure.
I bow to Him as one! I bow to Him as one!
His glory is inexpressible ; He is from the beginning,
He is unassociated, imperishable, imperceptible, and unestablished.
I bow to Him as one! I bow to Him as one!
He hath no worldly love, no home, no grief, no relation.
He is afar off, pure, undefiled, none can behold Him.
He hath no caste, no lineage, no friend, no minister.
I bow to the one independent Being! I bow to the one independent Being !
He hath no religion, no superstition, no shame, no relatiom, No armour, no shield, no karma, no fear, [ p. 280 ]
No enemy, no friends, no son. I bow to the primal Being ;
I bow to the primal Being.
The bodies of some undergo cold, heat, and rain,
Some sit in one posture for an age,
Some make efforts to study the science of Jog.
Men strive but even then find not God’s limits.
Some with their arms raised wander in different countries 7
Some scorch themselves between the sun and surrounding fires ;
Some recite the Simritis, the Shastars, the Veds :
Some expound amorous poetry, others the books of the Muhammadans ;
Some perform fire sacrifice, some live on air ;
Some millions eat carrion ;
Some consume vegetables, some milk, some leaves ;
But even so God becometh not manifest unto them.
The following sawaiyas also are sometimes read at the administration of the pahul.
I
God ever cherisheth the poor, saveth saints, and destroyeth enemies.
Birds, beasts, mountains, snakes, and kings—all he ever -cherisheth.
He cherisheth animals in sea and land; he considereth not their evil acts.
Compassionate to the poor, an ocean of mercy, He beholdeth man’s sins, but wearieth not of giving.
II
He destroyeth misery and sin; He crusheth an army of evil men in a moment ;
He breaketh those unbreakable by human power; he smiteth the very valiant, but cherisheth love for those who truly love Him.
Vishnu, the lord of Lakshmi, cannot find His limit ; the [ p. 281 ] Veds and the books of the Musalmans cannot utter His secret.
The Beneficent One ever beholdeth men’s secrets; yet He becometh not angry, and withholdeth not their daily bread.
III
He made worms, moths, deer, serpents, the past, the future, and the present.
The demigods and demons were Cnimnit through their pride; they knew not God’s secret, and were led astray by error.
The Veds, the Purans, the Quran, and other Muhammadan books have grown weary of taking God’s account, but they have not found it.
Without the light of true love hath any one obtained the honour of finding God ?
IV
He is primal, endless, unfathomable, without enmity, and fearless in the past, future, and present.
He is without end, One out of many, without blemish, sin, or stain, and indestructible.
He is the Creator and Destroyer of worlds; He supporteth life on sea and land.
Compassionate to the poor, a mine of mercy, beautiful is the holy Lord of wealth.
V
He hath not lust, or wrath, or covetousness, or worldly love, or sickness, or sorrow, or enjoyment, or fear.
He is without a body ; He beareth love to all, yet is He devoid of sensual love; He is homeless and indestructible.
To those who know Him He giveth; to those who know Him not He also giveth; He giveth to the earth; He giveth to the heavens.[43]
O man, why waverest thou ? the beautiful and holy Lord of wealth will care for thee.
[ p. 282 ]
VI
He preserveth men in many ways—from sickness, from sorrow, from water, and from sprites.
When enemies aim blows at us, none of them may reach our bodies,
For He holdeth out His hand to protect us and hinder the army of sin from approaching us.
What else need I say to thee, O man; God protecteth thee with the screen of the womb.
VII
The Yakshas, serpents, demons, demigods, all meditate on Thee, the Inscrutable One.
On earth, in heaven, and in the nether regions of hell [44], Yakshas, serpents, all bow their heads unto Thee ;
But they cannot find the limit of Thy glory; the Veds describe Thee as indescribable.
All the demigods who searched for Thee have grown weary of their search; they have not found Thee, O God.
VIII
Beings like Narad, Brahma, Rumna[45] the Rikhi all combine to sing Thy praises.
The Veds and the books of the Musalmans have not found Thy secret ; all have grown weary in their search: God hath not been found by any one.
Shiv, the lord of Uma,[46] cannot find Thy limit. The Sidhs with their spiritual leaders and the sons of Brahma meditate on Thee.
O men, meditate in your hearts on Him whose immeasurable power is diffused:throughout the whole world.
IX The Veds, the Purans, the Quran, and other Musalman [ p. 283 ] books, have not found His secret; all kings[47] have grown sore weary searching for it.
They could not find the secret of the Inscrutable ; after great travail they proclaimed Him invulnerable.
Thou, O Lord, hast no passion, no form, no outline, no colour, no relation, no sorrow, no companion.
Thou wast in the beginning and yet hadst no beginning ; Thou art unfathomable, without distinguishing dress,[48] and without jealousy: he who repeateth Thy name shall save his relations.
X
Men have performed millions of ablutions at places of pilgrimage ; they have made many offerings and endured great fasts.
Putting on the dress of great penitents and wearing long hair, they have wandered in many countries, but they have not found the Beloved God.
They have made millions of attitudes of contemplation and prostrations, many offerings of their limbs to tutelary divinities,[49] and blackened their faces ;
But without meditating on the name of the Compassionate to the poor, the Deathless, they have at last gone to Death’s abode.
Thou art the Discharger of arms, the Holder of the earth and the umbrella, the Betrayer of kings, the great Tormentor of enemies ;
The Bestower of gifts, the great Enhancer of honour, the Giver of a resting-place, the Cutter of Death’s noose ;
Conqueror in the fight, Remover of obstacles, great Bestower of wisdom, Thou art honoured even among the most honoured.
Thou art learned in divine knowledge ; Thou art the great Giver of wisdom, the Destroyer of the god of death.
[ p. 284 ]
The dwellers of the East know not Thy limit, the goddess Hingula[50] who dwelleth in the Himalayas meditateth on Thee ; the Gurdezis of Ghor[51] sing the praises of Thy name.
The Jogis practise Jog to be united with Thee; how many suspend their breath to obtain Thee. The Arabs of Arabia worship Thy name.
The Firangis of France worship Thee, the Kandharis and Qureshis know Thee, the residents of the West Tecognize Thee as the object of their love.
The Marathas, the Magadhis [52] heartily do Thee penance, the natives of Tilang [53] fix Thee in their hearts, and recognize Thee as the abode of religion.
Like milk in Giese like buttermilk in Chhatraner, like moonlight on the banks of the Jamna,
Like a female swan in Turkey of the Shiahs, like a diamond in Husainabad, like the stream of the Ganges when it blendeth with the seven seas,
Like quicksilver in Palaugarh, like silver in Rampur, like saltpetre in Surangabad,
Like the champa flower in Chanderikot, like moonlight in Chandagarh, Thy rer flourisheth like the malati flower.[54]
Like crystal in a and Kashipur, like a mirror: in Surangabad,
Like snow in the Himalayas, like Shiv’s necklace [55] in Halbaner, like a swan in Hajipur on seeing which the heart is fascinated ;
Like white sandal in Champawati, like the moon in Chandragir, like moonlight in Chandagarh,
Like the Ganges on Shiv’s head, like cranes in Bulandabad shineth the light of Thy praises.
[ p. 285 ]
The Persians, the English, the double-faced men of France, the mirdang [56]—players of Makran sing Thy praises.
The inhabitants of Bhakhar, of Kandhar, and of Ghor, the Gakhars, the Gurdezis, and those who live on air meditate on Thy name.
In the east in Palau, in Kamrup, and Kamaun, wherever man goeth there Thou presidest.
Thy glory is perfect; written and spoken incantations cannot affect Thee, O Lord, and none can find the limit of Thy praises.
God is peerless, imperishable ; His throne is immovable ;
He is peerless, endless ; His praise is unrivalled ;
He is indestructible and the invisible Lord.
He is everywhere king ; He blossometh in the forests and the glades.
His splendour is like the spring everywhere diffused.
The Great One pervadeth the woods and glades, birds and quadrupeds.
He everywhere blossometh, He is beautiful and wise ;
He blossometh like flowers, and glittereth like the peacock.
Cupid on recognizing Him waveth a chauri over Him.
His power is perfect, He is the Bestower of food, the Merciful,
The Treasury of favour, the Perfect, the Bounteous.
Wherever we look there appeareth His splendour.
He is free from anger and a treasury of favour.
He everywhere blossometh ; He is beautiful and wise.
He is the great king of the woods and glades, of sea and land.
His splendour appeareth everywhere ; He is the treasury of favour.
His light dazzleth, His glory is perfect.
The sky and the earth repeat His name.
Over the seven heavens and the seven hells
His net of karma is spread unseen.
[ p. 286 ]
VICHITAR NATAK
I
Guru Gobind Singh addresses God as a sword to destroy his enemies.
I bow with love and devotion to the Holy Sword.
Assist me that I may complete this work.
Thou art the Subduer of countries, the Destroyer of the armies of the wicked, in the battle-field Thou greatly adornest the brave.
Thine arm is infrangible, Thy brightness refulgent, Thy radiance and splendour dazzle like the sun.
Thou bestowest happiness on the good, Thou terrifiest the evil, Thou scatterest sinners, I seek Thy protection.
Hail! hail to the Creator of the world, the Saviour of creation, my Cherisher, hail to Thee, O Sword !
I bow to Him who holdeth the ara in His hand: bow to the Fearless One ;
I bow to the God of gods who is in the present and the future.
I bow to the Scimitar, the two-edged Sword, the Falchion, and the Dagger.
Thou, O God, hast ever one form; Thou art ever unchangeable.
I bow to the Holder of the mace
Who diffused light through the fourteen worlds.
I bow to the Arrow and the Musket,
I bow to the Sword, spotless, fearless, and unbreakable ;
I bow to the powerful Mace and Lance
To which nothing is equal.
I bow to Him who holdeth the discus,
Who is not made of the elements and who is terrible.
I bow to Him with the strong teeth ;
I bow to Him who is supremely powerful,
I bow to the Arrow and the Cannon [ p. 287 ]
Which destroy the enemy.
I bow to the Sword and the Rapier
Which destroy the evil.
I bow to all weapons called Shastar (which may be held).
I bow to all weapons called Astar (which may be hurled or discharged).
Thou turnest men like me from blades of grass into mountains; than Thou there is none other cherisher of the poor.
O God, do Thou Thyself pardon mine errors; there is none who hath erred like me.
The houses of those who have served Thee are all seen filled with wealth.
In this Kal age and at all times there is great confidence in the powerful arm of the Sword,
Which in one moment destroyed millions of demons like Sumbh and Nisumbh ;[57]
Which in an instant subdued demons such as Dhumarlochan, Chand, Mund, and Mahikh ;
Which in a trice repelled demons such as Chamar Ranchichhar and Raktichhan—
What careth Thy slave since he hath found a good Lord lie Thee ?
Which crushed millions like Mund, Madhu, Kitabh, Mur, and Agh ;
They who never sought shelter in the battle-field and who retreated not even two paces when blows were dealt around them,
The demons who could not be drowned in the sea, and who could not be burnt by fiery arrows,
On beholding thy flash, O Sword, cast aside shame and fled.
[ p. 288 ]
Thou in a moment didst destroy such heroes as Rawan, Maharawan [58], Kumbhkaran [59],
Meghnad, and Akampan,[60] in waging war with whom even Death grew wearied—
Kumbh, Akumbh, who having conquered the whole world washed their arms in the seven seas.[61]
They who were invulnerable and huge were all wounded and killed by the sword in the hand of God.
If any one flee to save himself from the Destroyer, say in what direction shall he flee.
Can man run away from God who stoppeth him with a drawn sword thundering and brandishing it ?
No contrivance hath been made by which man may escape from the wound God inflicteth.
Why, O fool, seekest thou not cheerfully the asylum of Him from whom thou canst not escape ?
Thou hast millions of times repeated the names of Krishan and Vishnu, and fully meditated on Ram Chandar and the Prophet ;
Thou hast repeated Brahma’s name and established Shiv in thy heart, but none of them will save thee.
Thou hast performed millions of penances for millions of days, but none of them will avail thee a kauri.
Incantations to obtain thy desires will not be worth thee half a paisa; none of them will save thee from the stroke of Death.
Why performest thou false penance to the gods? it will not avail thee a kauri.
How can they save thee when they cannot protect themselves from the stroke of Death ?
They will suspend thee in the fiery pit of terrible wrath as they are suspended themselves. [ p. 289 ]
Think, think even to-day in thy heart, O fool, without the favour of God nothing can avail thee.
It is not by the practice of perpetual silence, nor by the ostensible relinquishment of pride, nor by the adoption of a religious dress, nor by shaving the head,
Nor by wearing a wooden necklace, nor by twisting matted hair round the head that God is found.
I speak the truth, hear it attentively—without entering the protection of the Compassionate to the poor
And loving Him can God be found? the Merciful One is not pleased with circumcision.
Were I to make all the islands my paper, and the seven seas my ink ;
Were I to cut down all trees, and turn them into pens for writing ;
Were I to make Saraswati dictate for millions of ages ; were I to write with the hand of Ganesh,
O Thou who holdest the destroying sword, I could not please Thee even a little without offering Thee homage.
II
Thy greatness is endless and boundless ;
No one hath found its limits.
Thou art God of gods, King of kings, Compassionate to poor, and Cherisher of the lowly.
The dumb would recite the six Shastars, cripples would climb mountains,
The blind would see, and the deaf hear, if God would only show favour.
How can my feeble intellect, O God, Describe Thy greatness ?
I cannot utter Thy praises,
Do Thou correct this work :[ p. 290 ]
How far can this worm speak ?
It is only Thou, O God, who knowest Thine own praises.
As a son knoweth not the time of his father’s birth,
How can I tell Thy secret ?
Thy greatness becometh Thee ;
It cannot be described by others.
Thou knowest Thine own works, O God.
How shall high or low describe Thee ?
Sheshnag whom Thou didst create with a thousand heads,
Whom two thousand tongues[62] adorn,
Until now is uttering Thy boundless names ;
Yet even still he cannot find their limit.
How far can any one describe Thy works ?
The intellect is perplexed in trying to understand them.
Thy subtile form cannot be described ;
I shall describe Thy great form.
When I have obtained Thy love and service,
Then shall I put aside all other narratives and describe Thee.
I shall now relate my own history, And how the Sodhi family originated.
At first when God extended Himself, The world was created by Him.
The man who doeth good deeds
Is called a demigod in the world ;
He who doeth bad deeds in the world Is styled a demon.
Kalsain was the first king ;
His strength and form were unsurpassed, incomparable, and unrivalled.
Kalket was the second king ;
Krurbaras was appointed the third king in the world ;
Kaldhuj was the fourth king who graced sovereignty.
In this line Raghu was born,
From whom the Raghu race was descended. [ p. 291 ]
From them an excellent son Aj was born,
A great charioteer and archer.
When he assumed the garb of a Jogi,
He bestowed his empire and throne on Dasarath,
Who also became a great archer.
He felt desire and married three wives.
His first son was the prince Ram,
The second Bharat, the third Lachhman, and the fourth Shatrughan.
They ruled for a long time ;
They then died and went to heaven.
Sita’s sons, Lahu[63] and Kushu, afterwards both became kings,
And graced kingdoms and thrones.
On their marriage with the daughters of the king of the Panjab,
They performed various sacrifices.
They built there two cities,
One Kasur, the second Lahaur (Lahore).
Both became very famous.
Ceylon and Amrawati, the city of Indar, became ashamed on beholding them.
Kushu and Lahu reigned for a long time,
But were at length caught in the noose of Death.
Their sons and grandsons
Also ruled in this world.
How far shall I tell their history ?
I cannot even recount their names.
It is related that Kalket [64] and Kalrai[65]
Had innumerable sons in their homes.
Kalket possessed peerless strength,
And expelled Kalrai from the city.
He fled to the Sanaudh [66] country
Where he married a king’s daughter. [ p. 292 ]
The son born in his house of that marriage
He named Sodhi Rai.
The Sodhi race began from that time.
It was made by the supremely pure Creator.
The sons and grandsons who sprang from Sodhi Rai
Were all called Sodhis in this world.
They became very distinguished among men,
And their wealth increased day by day.
They exercised independent sway
And conquered the kings of many countries.
They enforced religion everywhere,
Caused umbrellas to wave over their heads,
And on many occasions performed sacrifices at royal coronations.
Afterwards dissension arose among them,
And no holy man could arrest its progress.
Heroes and invincible warriors went about caparisoned,
Took arms and went to fight in the field of battle.
For wealth and land ancient is the struggle,[67]
To compass which men willingly die.
Worldly love and pride have extended quarrels ;
Lust and wrath have conquered the whole world.
Nobody can compute the time
When enmity, dissension, and pride were diffused.
In this world their basis is greed,
By the desire for which every one killeth himself.
III
The Sodhis returned to the Panjab and waged war with the descendants of Kushu who had been left behind. The descendants of Kushu being defeated fled to Banaras, where they became readers of the Veds.
IV
Those of the expelled descendants of Kushu who read the Veds were called Bedis. [ p. 293 ]
They carefully attended to their religious duties.
The king of the Panjab dispatched them a conciliatory letter
To forget the enmity that prevailed among them.
The raja’s messenger arrived in Banaras,
And explained the contents of the missive to all the Bedis.
Upon this all the readers of the Veds proceeded to the Panjab,
And on their arrival made obeisance to the king.
He caused them to recite the Veds.
While all his brethren were seated near him in the assembly,
They recited the Sam Ved, the Yajur Ved,
Then the Rig Ved, making gesticulations with their hands,
And finally the Atharav Ved.
The raja was pleased
And gave them all his possessions.
He elected to live in the forest
To remove his great sins.
On giving them his kingdom
He assumed the garb of a Rikhi.
The people tried to restrain him,
But he dismissed all regret,
And, relinquishing wealth and place,
Became absorbed in God’s love.
The Bedi chief was pleased on obtaining the kingdom,
And in the joy of his heart blessed the Sodhi king, saying,
‘When I come in the Kal age under the name of Nanak,
I will make thee worthy of worship in the world, and thou shalt attain the highest dignity.
Thou hast heard the three Veds from us, On hearing the fourth Ved thou gavest thy territory. Having assumed three births[68],[ p. 294 ]
In my fourth I will make thee Guru.[69]
On the one hand the Sodhi king went to the forest,
On the other the Bedi king was happy in his sovereignty. How far shall I amplify this story ?
I very much fear to swell my book.
V
Afterwards again quarrels increased among the Bedis,
Which no one could adjust.
It was the will of God
That sovereignty should pass from their family.
Only twenty villages remained to the Bedis, Which they began to till.
A long time passed in that way
Until the epoch for the birth of Nanak arrived.
Nanak Rai, born in the line of those Bedis,
Conferred happiness on all his disciples, and assisted them in this world and the next.
He established religion in the Kal age,
And showed the way unto all holy men.
Sin never troubleth those Who follow in his footsteps.
God removeth all suffering and sin
From those who embrace his religion :
Pain and hunger never annoy them,
And they never fall into Death’s noose.
Nanak assumed the body of Angad,
And made his religion current in the world.
Afterwards Nanak was called Amar Das,
As one lamp is lit from another.
When the time for the fulfilment of the blessing came,
Then Ram Das Sodhi became Guru.
Amar Das gave him the Guruship according to the ancient blessing, [ p. 295 ]
And took the road to paradise himself.
The holy Nanak was revered as Angad,
Angad was recognized as Amar Das,
And Amar Das became Ram Das. _
The pious saw this, but not the fools,
Who thought them all distinct ;
But some rare person recognized that they were all one.
They who understood this obtained perfection—
Without understanding perfection cannot be obtained.
When Ram Das was blended with God,
He gave the Guruship to Arjan.
When Arjan was going to God’s city
He appointed Har Gobind in his place.
When Har Gobind was going to God’s city,
He seated Har Rai in his place.
Har Krishan his son afterwards became Guru.
After him came Teg Bahadur,
Who protected the frontal marks and sacrificial threads of the Hindus,
And displayed great bravery in the Kal age.
When he put an end to his life for the sake of holy men,
He gave his head but uttered not a groan.
He suffered martyrdom for the sake of his religion ;
He gave his head but swerved not from his determination.[70]
God’s people would be ashamed
To perform the tricks of mountebanks and cheats.[71]
Having broken his potsherd on the head [72] of the King of Dihli, he departed to paradise.
None came into the world who performed such deeds as he. [ p. 296 ]
At his departure there was mourning in this world : There was grief through the world, but joy in paradise.
VI
Guru Gobind Singh nowspeaks regarding himself:—
I shall now tell my own history,
How God brought me into the world as I was performing penance
On the mountain of Hem Kunt,[73]
Where the seven peaks are conspicuous—
The place is called the Sapt Shring [74]—
Where King Pandu practised Jog.
There I performed very great austerities
And worshipped Great-death.
I performed such penance
That I became blended with God.
My father and mother had also worshipped the Unseen One,
And strove in many ways to unite themselves with Him.
The Supreme Guru was pleased
With their devotion to Him.
When God gave me the order
I assumed birth in this Kal age.
I did not desire to come,
As my attention was fixed on God’s feet.
God remonstrated earnestly with me,
And sent me into this world. with the following orders :—
‘When I created this world
I first made the demons, who became enemies and oppressors.
They became intoxicated with the strength of their arms,
And ceased to worship Me, the Supreme Being.
I became angry and at once destroyed them.
In their places I established the gods : [ p. 297 ]
They also busied themselves with receiving sacrifices and worship,
And called themselves supreme beings.
Mahadev called himself the imperishable God.
Vishnu too declared himself to be God ;
Brahma called himself the supreme Brahm,
And nobody thought Me to be God.
Then I made the eight Sakhis[75]
Who were appointed to keep watch over creatures.
They told people to worship them,
And said, “ There is no God but us.”
They who did not recognize the Primal Essence,
Worshipped them as God.
How many worshipped the sun and moon !
How many made burnt offerings ! how many worshipped the wind !
Some recognized a stone as God.
How many bathed in the water according to Shastrik rites!
How many, recognizing Dharmraj as their supreme judge,
Performed religious ceremonies through fear !
They whom I appointed to watch over creatures,
On coming into this world called themselves God.
They altogether forgot My orders,
And became absorbed each in his own praise.
When they did not recognize Me,
Then I created men.
They too fell under the influence of pride,
And made gods out of stones.
Then I created the Sidhs and the Sadhs,
But they too found not the Supreme Being.
Whoever was clever in the world
Established his own sect,
And no one found the Creator.
Enmity, contention, and pride increased.
Men began to burn trunk and leaves in their own fire,[76] [ p. 298 ] :
And none of them went My way.
They who obtained a little spiritual power
Struck out their own way.
None of them recognized the Supreme Being,
But became mad boasting of themselves.
None of them recognized the Real Essence,
But each became absorbed in himself.
Then I created the supreme Rikhis
Who afterwards made their own Simritis current.
They who were smitten by the Simritis
Abandoned My worship.
They who attached their hearts to My feet
Did not walk in the way of the Simritis.[77]
Brahma made the four Veds
And caused all to act according to them ;
But they whose love was attached to My feet
Renounced the Veds.
They who abandoned the tenets of the Veds and of other religious books,
Became devoted to Me, the supreme God.
They who follow true religion
Shall have their sins of various kinds blotted out.
They who endure bodily suffering
And cease not to love Me,
Shall all to go paradise,
And there shall be no difference between Me and them.
They who shrink from suffering,
And, forsaking Me, adopt the way of the Veds and Simritis
Shall fall into the pit of hell,
And continually suffer transmigration.
Afterwards I created Dattatre
Who also struck out his own path.
He pared not his finger nails, he decorated his head with matted hair,[78]
And paid no heed to My worship.
Then I created Gorakh [ p. 299 ]
Who made great kings his disciples,
And tearing their ears put rings in them :
But he thought not of the way of My love. Then I created Ramanand
Who wore the garb of a Bairagi,
Put a wooden necklace on his neck,
And paid no heed to My worship.[79]
They who were created by Me
Struck out their several paths.
I then created Muhammad,
And made him king of Arabia.
He too established a religion of his own, Cut off the foreskins of all his followers, And made every one repeat his name ; [80]
But no one fixed the true Name in man’s heart.
All these were wrapped up in themselves,
And none of them recognized Me, the Supreme Being.
I have cherished thee as My son,
And created thee to extend My religion.
Go and spread My religion there,
And restrain the world from senseless acts.’
I stood up, clasped my hands, bowed my head, and replied :—
‘ Thy religion shall prevail in the world when Thou vouch-safest assistance.’
On this account God sent me.
Then I took birth and came into the world.
As He spoke to me so I speak unto men:
I bear no enmity to any one.
All who call me the Supreme Being
Shall fall into the pit of hell.
Recognize me as God’s servant only : [ p. 300 ]
Have no doubt whatever of this.
I am the slave of the Supreme Being,
And have come to behold the wonders of the world. I tell the world what God told me,
And will not remain silent through fear of mortals.
As God spoke to me I speak,
I pay no regard to any one besides.
I am satisfied with no religious: garb ;
I sow the seed of the Invisible.
I am not a worshipper of stones,
Nor am I satisfied with any religious garb.
I will sing the Name of the Infinite,
And obtain the Supreme Being.
I will not wear matted hair on my head,
Nor will I put on earrings ;
I will pay no regard to any one but God.
What God told me I will do.
I will repeat the one Name
Which will be everywhere profitable.
I will not repeat any other name,
Nor establish any other God in my heart.
I will meditate on the name of the Endless One,
And obtain the supreme light.
I am imbued with Thy name, O God ;
I am not intoxicated with any other honour.
I will meditate on the Supreme,
And thus remove endless sins.
I am enamoured of Thy form ;
No other gift hath charms for me.
I will repeat Thy name,
And avoid endless sorrow.
Sorrow and sin have not approached those Who have meditated on Thy name.
They who meditate on any one else
Shall die of arguments and contentions.
The divine Guru sent me for religion’s sake : On this account I have come into the world— ‘Extend the faith everywhere ; [ p. 301 ]
Seize and destroy the evil and the sinful.’
Understand this, ye holy men, in your souls.
I assumed birth for the purpose
Of spreading the faith, saving the saints,
And extirpating all tyrants.
All the first incarnations
Caused men to repeat their names.
They killed no one who had offended against God,
And they struck out no path of real religion.
The Ghauses[81] and Prophets who existed
Left the world talking of themselves.
None of them recognized the great Being
Or knew anything of real religion.
Nothing is to be obtained by putting hopes in others ;
Put the hopes of your hearts in the One God alone.
Nothing is obtained by hoping in others ;
Put the hopes of your hearts in Him.
Some millions read the Purans together ;
How many silly persons recite the Quran !
But these books shall be of no assistance at last,
And shall save no one from Death’s toils.
Why not, O brethren, repeat the name of Him
Who will aid you at the last moment ?
Consider spurious religion as superstition.
No such things will avail you.
On this account God created me ;
Having communicated to me the secret,[82]
He sent me into the world.
I shall proclaim to all men what He told me.
I will repeat God’s name,
And all my affairs shall prosper.
I will not close mine eyes,[83]
Or do anything for show. [ p. 302 ]
They who wear a religious garb
Are deemed naught by the saints of God.
Understand this, all men, in your hearts,
That God is not obtained by hypocrisy.
They who act for the sake of display,
Shall not obtain salvation in the next world ;
And it is only for life their affairs prosper.
Kings on seeing their acting worship them;
But God is not to be found by mummery.
Yet every one wandereth about thus searching for Him.[84]
He who keepeth his heart in subjection
Recognizeth the Supreme Being.
They who by wearing a religious garb keep the people of the world in subjection,
Shall at last be cut with the shears of Death and take up their abode in hell.
They who present appearances to the world,
Experience extreme pleasure in fleecing [85] others.
Spurious, and not worth a kauri, is the religion
Of those who practise suspension of breath by stopping their noses.
They who practise spurious religion in the world
Shall fall into the pit of hell.
He who can in no way subdue his heart
Shall not go to heaven by gesticulation.
What God Himself told me I proclaim to the world.
They who meditate on Him shall go to heaven at last.
God and God’s servant are both one—deem not that there is any difference between them—
As waves produced from water are again blended with it.
[ p. 303 ]
God remaineth apart from those
Who indulge in wrangling and pride.
He is not found in the Veds or the books of the Muhammadans.
Know this in your hearts, O saints of God.
They who practise hypocrisy by closing their eyes
Should be treated as blind men.
Since the road is not seen by closing one’s eyes,
How can such persons, my brethren, meet the Infinite ? [86]
How far could any one amplify this ?
Men would grow weary trying to understand it.
Though one had a million tongues,
Even then he would fail to recount God’s praises.
VII
My father departed for the East
And bathed at various places of pilgrimage.
When he arrived at the Tribeni (Priyag),
He passed his days in meritorious works and alms. There was I conceived.
I was born in Patna city,
And afterwards taken to the Panjab,
Where nurses of different kinds fondled me,
And tended my body in every way.
I received instruction in various forms.
When I arrived at the age to perform my religious duties,
My father departed to God’s city.
VIII
When I obtained sovereignty,
I promoted religion to the best of my power.
I hunted various sorts of game in the forest,
And killed bears, nilgaus,[87] and elks,
I afterwards left that country,
And proceeded to the city of Paunta. p`[ p. 304 ]
I enjoyed myself on the bank of the Kalindri (Jamna),
And saw amusements of every kind.
There I selected and killed many lions,
And slew many nilgaus and bears.
Fatah Shah who was the king became angry with me,
And came to blows with me without cause.
Here follow in the Vichitar Natak an account of the battle of Bhangani ; the dispatch of Mian Khan and Alif Khan to Jammu and Nadaun respectively to collect revenue ; the victory gained with the Guru’s assistance by Raja Bhim Chand over Alif Khan ; the dispatch of General Dilawar Khan against the hill chiefs and of his son against the Guru, who was left unmolested owing to the son’s flight ; the dispatch by Dilawar Khan of Husain Khan to reduce the Guru to subjection ; the failure of Husain Khan to carry out his orders; his attack on the weaker of the hill chiefs ; the victory of Gopal, King of Guler, and of Ram Singh, King of Jaswan, over Himmat, one of Husain Khan’s officers, whom they put to death; the single-handed combat between Raja Ram Singh and Jujhar Singh, Raja of Chander, in which the latter was slain; the dispatch by Aurangzeb of his son to the Panjab, where the masands, fearing that he would attack the Guru, deserted him and fled to the highest mountains ; the dispatch of an officer named Mirza Beg to support the young prince and the subsequent expedition of an army under four other officers who, believing that the masands were men of wealth, destroyed their houses and plundered their property. All these details have been given at length in the Guru’s life.
IX
They who turn away from the Guru
Shall have their houses demolished in this world and the next.
They shall be laughed at here, have no dwelling hereafter, [ p. 305 ]
And be debarred from all hope.
Sorrow and hunger shall ever attach to those
Who forsake the service of the Saint.
Nothing that they do shall succeed in this world,
And at last they shall fall into the pit of hell.
They who turn and fly from the Guru’s feet,
Shall have their faces blackened in this world and the next.
The successors of both Baba Nanak and Babar
Were created by God Himself.
Recognize the former as a spiritual,
And the latter as a temporal king.
Babar’s successors shall seize and plunder those
Who deliver not the Guru’s money.
They who love the Guru’s feet
Shall never see misery.
Wealth and supernatural power shall enter their houses,
And sin and suffering not touch even their shadows.
What is a wretched enemy?[88] to him whom the Friend preserveth ?
An enemy could not even touch his shadow; the fool would lose his labour.
Who can meditate anything against those who enter the Saint’s protection ?
God preserveth them as the tongue is preserved among the teeth ; He destroyeth their enemies and allayeth their suffering.
What can a miserable enemy do to him whom the Friend preserveth ?
He cannot even touch his shadow; the fool shall pass away.
[ p. 306 ]
X
All-death saveth all His saints ;
He hath tortured and destroyed all sinners ;
He hath shown wonderful things to His saints, And saved them from all misery.
Knowing me to be His slave He hath aided me ; He hath given me His hand and saved me.
GYAN PRABODH
Neither the Veds, nor Brahma knoweth God’s secret,
Neither Vyas nor his father Parasar, nor his son Shukdev, nor the sons of Brahma, nor Shiv knoweth God’s limit.
All four sons of Brahma know not God’s time.
Lakhs of Lakshmis, lakhs of Vishnus, and many Krishans declare Him indescribable.
Thou art incomprehensible, O God, and fearless ; Thou art most powerful, the Creator of sea and land.
Thou art the unshaken, endless, unequalled, immeasurable Lord ; Pure One, I seek Thy protection.
Here follow in the tenth Guru’s Granth translations and abridgements of tales from the Purans on the twenty-four Hindu incarnations. The following is the Guru’s introduction to them :—
O God, Thou art the Creator and the Destroyer ;
Thou killest and puttest the blame on the heads of others.[89]
Thou dwellest apart and none can find Thee ;
Wherefore Thou art called the Endless One.
They who are called the twenty-four incarnations
Have not found even a trace of Thee, O God.
On seeing Thy saints distressed Thou becomest uneasy ; [ p. 307 ]
Wherefore Thou art styled the kinsman of the poor.
At last Thou shalt destroy the whole world ;
Wherefore the world calleth Thee Death.
Thou aidest all the saints as occasion requireth ;
Wherefore they call Thee their helper.
On beholding the poor, Thou art compassionate to them ;
So we deem Thee the Friend of the poor.
Since Thou sheddest the juice of favour on the saints,
The world calleth Thee the Ocean of favour.
Thou ever removest the troubles of the saints ;
Wherefore Thou hast obtained the name of the Remover of trouble.
Thou hast come to dispel the sorrows of the saints ;
Wherefore, O God, Thou art called the Dispeller of sorrows.
Thou remainest endless; Thy end cannot be found ;
Wherefore Thou hast obtained the name of the Endless One.
Thou didst appoint the forms of all things in the world ;
Wherefore Thou art called the Creator.
No one hath ever seen Thee anywhere ;
Wherefore Thou art called the Unseen.
Thou wert never born in the world ; [90]
Wherefore every one describeth Thee as Unborn.
Brahma and the rest all grow weary of searching for Thine origin.
Vishnu and Shiv—what are the wretched beings ?
After consideration and deliberation God made the moon and sun ;
Wherefore He is known as the Creator.
Ever without a garb He remaineth without a garb ;
Wherefore the world calleth Him the Garbless.
Invisible is His form, no one knoweth Him ;
On this account he is called the Unseen.
His form is incomparable and unequalled ;
He hath no concern with garbs or no garbs.
He bestoweth on all but beggeth from none
Wherefore He is recognized as the Provider. [ p. 308 ]
He is not concerned with celestial appearances or omens ;
This fact is known to the whole world.
He is not appeased by incantations, written or spoken, or by charms.
No one hath found Him by adopting a garb.
Men are entangled with their own affairs ;
No one knoweth the Supreme God.
Some (Hindus) go to places of cremation ; others (Musalmans) to cemeteries ;
But God is at neither.
They who visit either are ruined by worldly love and contention,
And the Lord remaineth separate from them.
What is a Hindu or a Musalman to him
From whose heart doubt departeth ?
The Muhammadans use tasbis,[91] the Hindus malas ;[91:1]
The former read the Quran and the latter the Purans.
Fools have died over the discussion ;
They were not imbued with God’s deep love.
They who are imbued with love for the one God,
Disregard human opinion and are happy.
They who recognize the Primal Being as the one God,
Allow no other belief to enter their hearts.
They who cherish any other belief,
Shall be debarred from meeting the Friend.
He who knoweth the one Supreme Being even a little,
Knoweth the Real Thing.
All the Jogis and Sanyasis,
The multitudes of Shaven-heads and Musalmans,
Have plundered the world by their garbs.
The holy men whose support is God’s name remain unknown.
The unholy practise hypocrisy for the sake of their bellies :
Without hypocrisy they can obtain naught.
The men who meditate on the one Being
Never practise hypocrisy on any one.
Without hypocrisy they would obtain nothing,
For no one would bow before any of them. [ p. 309 ]
If no one had a belly,
Who would describe any one as rich or poor ?
They who have concluded that God is one
Never practise hypocrisy on any one.
They give their heads, but abandon not their determination :[92]
They regard their bodies as nothing.
Men who split their ears are called Jogis ;
With great deceit they betake themselves to the forest.
They who know not the virtue of the One Name,
Belong neither to the forest nor to the household.
In the beginning God was the father of the whole world ;
From Him light first proceeded.
I have not sufficient ability to tell the tale,
Or to mention the names of the different creatures He created.
Things strong and weak were produced ;
Things high and low were shown separately.
The primal light which is called the one God,
He at last infused into all His creatures.
Know that the light of the one God
Is in all the souls which are in this world.
The whole world shall be blended with God,
Who is described as Kalrup.[93]
Whatever is visible and perceptible by the senses
Man considereth Maya.
The one God is contained in all things,
But He established them all separately.
And He pervadeth them all unseen :
He will call them all separately to account.
They who have considered Him as One
Have obtained the real thing.[94]
The form of the one God is unequalled :
He is sometimes poor, sometimes a prince or a king.
He hath given to all men their several entanglements ;
He is separate from them, and none of them hath found Him. [ p. 310 ]
He created all things separately,
And will destroy them all separately.
God accepteth not censure from any one ;[95]
It is He who casteth censure on others.
We now give the Guru’s remarks on the translations and abridgements of the stories of the Hindu incarnations.
RAM AVATAR
Since I have embraced Thy feet I have paid regard to none besides.[96]
The Purans of Ram (the God of the Hindus) and the Quran of Rahim (the God of the Musalmans) express various opinions, but I accept none of them.
The Simritis, the Shastars, and the Veds all expound many different doctrines, but I accept none of them.
O holy God, by Thy favour it is not I who have been speaking ; all that hath been said hath been said by Thee.
Forsaking all other doors I have clung to Thine. It is to Thine honour to protect me whose arm Thou hast grasped ; Gobind is Thy slave.[97]
KRISHAN AVATAR
I do not at the outset propitiate Ganesh ; [98]
I never meditate on Krishan or Vishnu ; [ p. 311 ]
I have heard of them but I know them not ;
It is only God’s feet I love.
Great-death, be Thou my protector ;
All-steel, I am Thy slave.
Deeming me Thine own, preserve me ;
Think of mine honour, whose arm Thou hast taken.
Deeming me Thine own, cherish me,
Single out and destroy mine enemies.
May both my kitchen and my sword prevail in the world ! [99]
Preserve me and let none trample on me ;
Be Thou ever my cherisher !
Thou art the Lord, I am Thy slave.
Deeming me Thine own, be gracious unto me ;
Perform everything for me Thyself ;
Thou art the King of kings ;
It is Thou alone who cherishest the poor ;
Deeming me Thy slave, bestow Thy favour on me ;
I have arrived and am lying weary at Thy door.
Thou art my Lord, I am Thy slave.
Deeming me Thy slave, reach me Thy hand and save me ;
Destroy all mine enemies.
They who loved not God, while performing great penance, who endured self-torment, excessively heated their bodies,
Went to Banaras, and read the Veds very many times, obtained not the Real Thing.
They gave alms so that Vishnu might come into their power, but they lost all their wealth.
They who loved God with hearty affection found Him.
What availeth it if a crane sit closing his eyes and displaying a religious garb to the world ? [ p. 312 ]
If man ever go about bathing in water like a fish, how shall he obtain possession of God ?
If man croak day and night like a frog and fly like a bird, how shall he obtain possession of God ?
Siam[100] and all these saints say, hath any one without love pleased God ?
Of those who through greed of wealth continued to loudly sing and recite God’s praises,
And who danced but gave not their hearts thereto, hath any found the way to God’s wonderful world ?
They excited laughter in the world, and knew not the essence of wisdom even in their dreams.
The poet Siam asketh if God hath been obtained by any one without love.
Several meditated in the forest, and returned home weary.
Sidhs in meditation and Munis in deep research have sought for God, but found Him not.
Siam saith, all the Veds and the Muhammadan books and the wisdom of the saints have thus decided.
Hearken, O saints, the poet speaketh, they who search with love obtain God.
I am the son of a brave man, not of a Brahman; how can I perform austerities ?
How can I turn my attention to Thee, O Lord, and forsake domestic affairs ?
Now be pleased to grant me the boon I crave with clasped hands,
That when the end of my life cometh, I may die fighting in a mighty battle.
Blest is his life in this world who repeateth God’s name with his mouth and meditateth war in his heart. [ p. 313 ]
The body is fleeting and shall not abide for ever; man embarking in the ship of fame shall cross the ocean of the world.
Make this body a house of resignation ; light thine understanding as a lamp ;
Take the broom of divine knowledge into thy hand, and sweep away the filth of timidity.
PARASNATH AVATAR
O thoughtless fool, why knowest thou not thy Maker ?
O man, why knowest thou not God ?
O heedless beast bound with worldly love, they on whom thou reposest confidence—
Ram, Krishan, and the Prophet—whose names thou continually utterest on rising—
Where live they now in the world,[101] and why singest thou their praises ?
Why recognizest thou not Him who is now and ever shall be ?
Why idly worship stones; will they yield thee any return ?
Worship Him by whose worship thy work shall be accomplished,
And by taking whose name all thy desires shall be fulfilled.
O Jogi, Jog consisteth not in matted hair.
Why wear thyself out and kill thyself wandering ? Consider this in thy mind.
The man who knoweth the supreme divine knowledge shall obtain the great reward ;
He shall then restrain his mind in one place, and not run wandering from door to door.
What availeth it to leave one’s home, run away, and dwell in a forest,
When one’s heart ever remaineth at home? Such a person is not an Udasi. [ p. 314 ]
Boasting of thy religious fervour, thou deceivest the world by the exercise of great deception.
Thou thinkest in thy heart that thou hast abandoned worldly love, but worldly love hath not abandoned thee.
O man with the garb, religion consisteth not in wearing a garb.
It consisteth not in wearing matted hair and long nails, or in smearing ashes on the body, or dyeing thy raiment.
If man obtain Jog by dwelling in the forest, the bird ever dwelleth there.
The elephant ever throweth dust on his head; consider this in thy heart.
Frogs and fishes ever bathe at places of pilgrimage.
The cat, the wolf, and the crane meditate; what know they of religion ?
As thou endurest pain to deceive men, do so also for God’s sake,
Thus shalt thou know great divine knowledge and quaff the supreme nectar.
The following thirty-three sawaiyas are also read in Abchalangar and other places while the Sikh baptismal water is being prepared. Several orthodox Sikhs say that these are the sawaiyas which ought always to be read at the baptism, and of this indeed there is internal evidence.
I
He who repeateth night and day the name of Him whose enduring light is unquenchable, who bestoweth not a thought on any but the one God ;
Who hath full love and confidence in God, who putteth not faith even by mistake in fasting, or worshipping cemeteries, places of cremation, or Jogis’ places of sepulture ;
Who only recognizeth the one God and not pilgrimages, alms, the non-destruction of life,[102] Hindu penances, or austerities ;[ p. 315 ]
And in whose heart the light of the Perfect One shineth, he is recognized as a pure member of the Khalsa.
II
God is true, Eternal, true to His promise; He is from the beginning, without beginning, unfathomable, and invincible.
Bounty, mercy, self-control, austerities, daily ceremonies, continence, fasting, clemency, religious observances are all contained in the name of the Immutable One. =
He is from the beginning, pure, without a beginning, infinite,[103] endless, without enmity, without fear.
He hath form, and is without form or outline; He groweth not old, He is compassionate and merciful to the poor,
III
God is from the beginning, without enmity, without garb, great, true, refulgent, and resplendent.
He filleth the inmost hearts of all; meditation on Him, the Real Thing, curbeth natural inclinations.
Thou wert in the beginning, before the ages, before the world ; O God, Thou art all-pervading and dwellest in every heart,
Compassionate to the poor, merciful mine of mercy, from the beginning, unborn, invincible, indestructible.
IV
In the beginning, indestructible, imperishable, everlasting :—O God, the Veds and the books of the Musalmans have found not Thy secret.
Compassionate to the poor, merciful, Ocean of mercy, true, everlasting, diffused in every heart,
Sheshnag, Indar, Ganesh, and Shiv have searched the Veds, but found not Thy depth.
O foolish man, say why hast thou forgotten God who is ever manifest ?
[ p. 316 ]
V
God is immovable, from the beginning, stainless, infinite, true, and everlasting.
He is adored as primaeval, unconceived, unborn, free from old age, supremely pure, illimitable.
He is well known[104] as the self-existent, renowned in the whole world, One, yet in different places.
O base man, why recognize not God who is without stain ?
VI
O Creator, thou art imperishable, from the beginning, without blemish, without limits, true, and eternal.
Thou ever providest sustenance for all animals which are in sea and land.
The Veds, the Purans, the Quran, describe Thee in various ways.
In the rest of the world there is at last naught but Thee; O divine One, Thou art Sovereign Ruler over ail.
VII
Thou art known as from the beginning, unfathomable, imperishable, indivisible, invisible, invincible, and illimitable.
Thou art in the past, the future, the present ; Thou art adored in every place.
Demigods, demons, Sheshnag, Narad, and Saraswati recognize Thee as true and eternal.
The Purans and the Quran know not the secrets of the Compassionate to the poor, the Ocean of mercy.
VIII
O true and eternal One, perpetual is Thy dominion ; it is Thou who madest the Veds and the Quran.
Thou didst appoint demigods, demons, Sheshnag the past and the present.
From the beginning, before the ages, the stainless, the indestructible, Thy light is seen, though Thou art unseen. [ p. 317 ]
O foolish man, who hath come to tell thee of the invisible God ? [105]
IX
Demigods, demons, Sheshnag, serpents, famous Sidhs have done great penance ;
The Veds, the Purans, the Quran, all have grown weary singing Thy praises, O God, but Thou art not known unto them.
Thou knowest all hearts on earth, in heaven, in the nether regions, and in every direction.
Thy praises fill the earth; they entering my heart told me this.
X
The Veds and the books of the Musalmans have not found God’s secret; all the Sidhs have grown weary contemplating Him.
The Simritis, Shastars, Veds, and Purans all describe Him in various ways ;
But God who was in the beginning, and who had no beginning, whose story is unfathomable, cannot be known. He saved such as Dhru, Prahlad, and Ajamal.
The courtesan was saved by repeating God’s name; that name is my support, the object of my thoughts.
XI
All recognize that God was in the beginning, that He had no beginning, that He is unfathomable, eternal, and perfect.
The Gandharbs,[106] the Yakshas, Sheshnag, the earthdwelling serpents, the firmament, and the four quarters of the world know God.
The visible and invisible worlds, the eight directions, the demons as well as the demigods all worship God.
O man of ignorant mind, through regard for-whom hast thou forgotten the Omniscient, the Self-existent, the Treasure ?
[ p. 318 ]
XII
Some fasten an idol firmly to their breasts; some say that Shiv is God ;
Some say that God is in the temple of the Hindus ; others believe that He is in the mosque of the Musalmans_ ;
Some say that Ram is God; some say Krishan; some in their hearts accept the incarnations as God ;
But I have forgotten all vain religion and know in my heart that the Creator is the only God.
XIII
Ye say that God is unconceived and unborn; how could He have been born from the womb of Kausalya ?
If He whom we call Krishan were God, why was he subject to death ?[107]
Why should God whom ye describe as holy and without enmity have driven Arjan’s chariot ? [108]
Worship as God Him whose secret none hath known or shall know.
XIV
Say if Krishan were the Ocean of mercy, why should the hunter’s arrow have struck him ? [109]
If he can save other families, why did he destroy his own ?
Say why did he who called himself the eternal and the unconceived, enter into the womb of Devaki ?
Why did he who had no father or mother call Vasudev [110] his father ?
XV
Why call Shiv God, and why speak of Brahma as God ? [ p. 319 ]
God is not Ram Chandar, Krishan, or Vishnu whom ye suppose to be lords of the world.
Shukdev, Parasar, and Vyas erred in abandoning the one God and worshipping many gods.[111]
All have set up false religions; I in every way believe that there is but one God.
XVI
Some worship Brahma as God, others point to Shiv as God ;
Some say that Vishnu is the Lord of the world, and that by worshipping him all sins are erased.
Think on this a thousand times, O fool, at the last hour all thy gods will forsake thee.
Meditate on Him in thy heart who was, is, and ever shall be.
XVII
He who made millions of Indars, He who made and destroyed some millions of Bawans,
Demons, demigods, serpents, Sheshnags, birds and beasts innumerable,
To whom till to-day Shiv and Brahma are doing penance without finding His limit,
He whose secrets the Veds and the Quran have not penetrated, is the great Being whom the Guru[112] hath shown me.
XVIII
O man, by attitudes of contemplation, matted hair, and the overgrown nails of thy hands thou deceivest all people.
Thou goest about with ashes smeared on thy face and cheatest all the demigods and the demons.
Addicted to avarice thou wanderest from house to house ; the means by which Jog is obtained thou hast all forgotten.
Thou hast lost all shame and succeeded in nothing ; without love God cannot be obtained.
[ p. 320 ]
XIX
O foolish man, why play the hypocrite? thou losest thine honour by practising hypocrisy.
O cheat, why cheat people? this world is lost to thee and so is the next.
Where the Compassionate to the poor dwelleth, there shalt thou find no place.
Think, O think, thou thoughtless and great fool, the Unseen is not found by assuming garbs.
XX
Why worship a stone? God is not in a stone.
Worship Him as God, by the worship of whom all thy sins shall be erased,
And by uttering whose name thou shalt be freed from all thy mental and bodily entanglements.
Make the meditation of God ever thy rule of action ; no advantage can be obtained by the practice of false religion.
XXI
False religion is without fruit ; by the worship of stones thou hast wasted millions of ages.
How can perfection be obtained by touching stones? nay, strength and prosperity thus decrease, and the nine treasures are not obtained.
Time passeth away while saying to-day, to-day: thou shalt not accomplish thine object ; art thou not ashamed ?
O fool, thou hast not worshipped God, so thy life hath been passed in vain.
XXII
If for ages thou do penance to a stone, it will never rejoice thee.
O fool, it will never generously lift its arm to requite thee.
Say what confidence can be placed in it? when trouble ariseth, it will not come to save thee.
O ignorant and obstinate man, be assured that thy false religion and superstition will ruin thee.
[ p. 321 ]
XXIII
All are bound in the meshes of Death; no Ram or Moslem prophet was able to save himself.
God having created destroyed, and will again create and destroy demons, demigods, and Sheshnags.
They who were wen incarnations in the world at last died before men’s eyes[113] in remorse.
O fickle man, why not run to touch the feet of God above.
XXIV
Brahma appeared by God’s order and taking his staff and waterpot wandered upon earth.
We know that Shiv was born at the appointed time, and visited all countries.
The world was created and destroyed at the appointed time ; wherefore let all recognize God.
Renouncing all the subtleties of the Veds and the Quran, I worship God alone, the Treasury of mercy.
XXV
O blockhead, thy life hath passed in thy present occupations; thou hast not thought in thy heart of the merciful God.
Abandoning shame thou hast grown shameless, and leaving thy proper work hast done useless work for thyself.
When thou hadst horses and great royal elephants, thou foolishly thoughtest to ride on donkeys.[114]
Thou didst not worship God, O fool, and so didst shamefully spoil thy good business.
XXVI
Thou hast for long read the Veds and the books of the Musalmans, but not found a secret in them.[115]
Thou hast wandered in various places to worship, but the one God thou hast never seated in thy heart.
Thou hast bowed thy head to stones and cemeteries, but obtained naught. [ p. 322 ]
O foolish man, forsaking the manifest God, why art thou entangled in thine obstinacy?
XXVII
If any one go to a monastery of Jogis, they will ask him to repeat the name of Gorakh ;
If any one go to a monastery of Sanyasis, they will say that only Dattatre is true, and they will give him his name as the spell of initiation ;
If any one go to the Musalmans, they will seize and convert him to the faith of Muhammad—
Every sect deemeth that the Creator is with itself alone ; but no one can disclose the Creator’s secrets.
XXVIII
If any one go to the Jogis they will tell him to give every thing—house and property—to them ;
If any one haste to the Sanyasis, they will tell him te part with his house in the name of Dattatre ;
If any one go to the masands, they will tell him to bring all his property at once and give it to them.
Every one saith, ‘Bring me, bring me,’ but nobody will show me God.
XXIX
If any one serve the masands, they will say, ‘ Fetch and give us all thine offerings.
‘Go at once and make a present to us of whatever property is in thy house.
‘Think on us night and day, and mention not others even by mistake.’
If they hear of any one giving, they run to him even at night,[116] they are not at all pleased at not receiving.
XXX
They put oil into their eyes to make people believe that they are shedding tears. [ p. 323 ]
If they see any of their own worshippers wealthy, they serve up sacred food and feed him with it.
If they see him without wealth, they give him nothing, though he beg for it ; they will not even show him their faces.
Those beasts plunder men, and never sing the praises of the Supreme Being.
XXXI
They close their eyes like cranes and offer the world a spectacle of deceit.
They go about with their heads bowed down like poachers ; cats on seeing such attitudes would be ashamed.
The more they go about clinging to the hope of wealth, the more they lose this world and the next.
Thou hast not repeated God’s name, O fool; why art thou entangled in thy domestic affairs ?
XXXII
Why impress false religion on the world? It will be of no service to it.
Why run about for the sake of wealth ? thou shalt not be able to fly from Death’s myrmidons.
Son, wife, friends, disciple, companions—none of these will bear witness for thee.
Think, O think, thou thoughtless and great brute, thou shalt at the last moment have to depart alone.
XXXIII
Hear, O fool, when life leaveth thy body, thy wife crying out ‘ Ghost, ghost ’, will flee thee.
Thy son, thy wife, thy friends, and companions will give orders to remove thee quickly.
When life leaveth thy body all thy mansions, storehouses, lands, and forts[117] will become the property of others.
Think, O think, thou thoughtless and great brute, thou shalt at the last moment have to depart alone.
[ p. 324 ]
HAZARE SHABD
O man, practise asceticism in this way :—
Consider thy house altogether as the forest, and remain an anchoret at heart.
Make continence thy matted hair, union with God thine ablutions, thy daily religious duties the growth of thy nails,
Divine knowledge thy spiritual guide; admonish thy heart and apply God’s name as ashes to thy body.
Eat little, sleep little, love mercy and forbearance.
Ever practise mildness and patience, and thou shalt be freed from the three qualities.
Attach not to thy heart lust, wrath, covetousness, obstinacy, and worldly love.
Thus shalt thou behold the Real Soul of this world, and obtain the Supreme Being.
O man, practise Jog in this way :—
Make truth thy horn, sincerity thy necklace, and apply meditation as ashes to thy body ;
Make restraint of thy heart thy lyre, and the support of the Name thine alms ;
Play the primal essence as thy strings, and thou shalt hear God’s sweet song.
By the practice of the songs of divine knowledge, waves of melody and exquisite pleasure shall be produced.
The demons and the demigods in their celestial chariots will be astonished and the munis intoxicated with delight.
Admonish thy heart, don the garb of self-restraint, and utter God’s name inaudibly,
So shall thy body ever remain like gold, and Death never approach thee.
O mortal, touch the feet of the Supreme Being.
Why sleepest thou the sleep of worldly love? be sometimes wakeful and alert.
Why instruct others, O beast, since thou hast no knowledge thyself ? [ p. 325 ]
Why ever accumulate sin ? even now lay aside the love of it.
Deem such things simply as errors and love truly religious acts.
Ever lay up the remembrance of God ; renounce and flee from mortal sin.
By this means shalt thou not encounter sorrow or sin, and escape from Death’s noose.
If thou desire ever to have happiness of every kind, be absorbed in God’s love.
O God, my honour resteth with Thee.
It is Thou who art the blue-throated, man-lion, moving in the water, blue-robed, wearing a necklace of flowers.[118]
It is Thou who art the primal Being, supreme God, Lord, pure, living on air ;
It is Thou who art the Lord of Lakshmi, great Light, Destroyer of the pride of Madhu, Bestower of salvation, Destroyer of Mur.[119]
It is Thou who art changeless, undecaying, sleepless, without evil passions, Preserver from hell,
Ocean of mercy, Seer of the past, present, and future, Effacer of evil acts.
It is Thou who hast the bow in the hand, who art patient, Supporter of the earth, changeless, Wielder of the sword.
I of feeble intellect have taken the protection of Thy feet ; take my hand and save me.
O man, worship none but God, not a thing made by Him.
Know that He who was in the beginning, unborn, invincible, and indestructible is God.
What if Vishnu coming into this world killed some of the demons,
And exercising great deceit induced every one to call him God ?
How can he who himself did not escape from the stroke of the sword of death, [ p. 326 ]
Be deemed God the Destroyer, the Fashioner, the Omnipotent, the Eternal ?
Hear, O fool, how can he who was drowned in the ocean of the world save thee ?
Thou shalt only escape from Death’s noose when thou seizest the feet of Him who existed before the world. [120]
When the Guru left Damdama, his disciples sent a messenger after him to tell him of their sad plight. The following is the complaint as versified by the
Guru. Others say that the hymn was addressed to God by the Guru himself :—
Tell the dear Friend the condition of His disciples—
Without Thee the wearing of our blankets is a disease to us, and dwelling in our houses is as if we dwelt with serpents.
Our water-pots are stakes of torture, our cups are daggers ; Thy turning away from us is like what animals endure from butchers.
Our Beloved’s pallet would be pleasant to us; living in towns is like living in a furnace.
God alone is the Creator,
The beginning and the end of all things, endless, the Fashioner, and the Destroyer,
To whom blame and praise are the same, who hath no enemy, no friend.
What necessity had He to become the driver of Arjan’s chariot ?
The Bestower of salvation hath no father, mother, caste, son, or grandson.
Why should He have come into the world to be called the son of Devaki ?
When He who created demigods, demons, the eight directions, and all extension,
Is called by the name of Murar, what glory is it to Him ?
[ p. 327 ]
How can God be in human form ?
Sidhs have grown weary sitting in contemplation of Him, but they have not been able to see Him in any way.
Such persons as Narad, Vyas, Parasar, and Dhru have deeply meditated on Him.
The Veds and the Purans have grown weary and abandoned their purpose, since hey could form no conception of Him.
Demons, demigods, fiends, sprites, describe Him as indescribable.
The faithful consider Him as the subtilest of the subtile, and again pointed Him out as the largest of the large.[121]
The one God having made the earth, the heaven, and all the nether regions they call many.
He who entereth God’s asylum shall be saved from Death’s noose.
I recognize none but the one God :
I know God as the Destroyer, the Fashioner, the Omnipotent and Eternal Creator.
What availeth it to men to worship stones in various ways with great love and devotion ?
The hand groweth weary by touching stones, and no spiritual power is obtained.
Rice, incense, lamps are offered to stones, but they eat nothing.
What spiritual power is in them, O fool? what blessing can they bestow on thee ?
If they had life, they might give thee something ; be assured of this in thought, word, and deed—
Except in the protection of the one sole God nowhere is salvation.
Without God’s name thou canst not be saved.
How shalt thou flee from Him who holdeth the fourteen worlds in His power ?
Ram and Rahim whose names thou repeatest cannot save thee. [ p. 328 ]
Brahma, Vishnu, Shiv, the sun and moon are all in the power of Death.
The Veds, the Purans, the Quran, all sects, Indar, Sheshnag, the kings of the Munis,
Meditated for many ages on Him who is called the Indescribable, but could form no conception of Him.
Why should He whose form and colour are not known be called black ? [122]
When thou shalt seize and cling to God’s feet, thou shalt be freed from the noose of Death.
PRAYER
CHAUPAI
O God, give me Thy hand and protect me,
And all my desires shall be fulfilled.
May my heart be ever attached to Thy feet !
Deem me Thine own and cherish me ;
Destroy all mine enemies ;
O Creator, may my family and all my servants and disciples live in peace !
Destroy all mine enemies to-day,
And all my hopes shall be fulfilled.
May the thirst for repeating Thy name abide with me;
And may I not, forsaking Thee, meditate on any one besides !
May I obtain from Thee whatever boon I crave !
Save my servants and my disciples ;
Single out mine enemies and smite them.
Remove from me the fear of the hour of death.
Be Thou always on my side;
O Thou with the sword on Thy banner, protect me ;
Preserve me, O Thou Preserver,
Beloved Lord, Protector of the saints,
Friend of the poor, Destroyer of tyrants—
Thou art Lord of the fourteen worlds.
At the proper time Brahma obtained a body,
At the proper time Shiv became incarnate, [ p. 329 ]
At the proper time[123] Vishnu appeared—
That was all the play of God.
My obeisance to that God
Who made Shiv a Jogi,
Who made Brahma the king of the Veds,
And who fashioned all the world.
Know that He is my Guru
Who made the whole world,
Who created demigods, demons, and Yakshas,
Who is the only God incarnate from beginning to end,
My obeisance to Him alone
Who Himself adorneth all His subjects,
Who bestoweth divine attributes and happiness on His servants,
Who destroyeth their enemies in a moment,
Who knoweth what is within every heart,
And the sufferings of the good and bad.
He is pleased as He casteth a look of favour on all
From the ant to the huge elephant.
He is grieved when His saints are grieved,
And happy when His saints are happy.
He knoweth every one’s sufferings
And every secret of man’s heart.
When the Creator projected Himself,
His creatures assumed endless shapes ;
Whenever Thou drawest creation within Thyself, O Lord,
All embodied beings are absorbed in Thee.[124]
All creatures endowed with speech [125]
Speak of Thee according to their understanding.
Thou dwellest apart from everything ; [ p. 330 ]
The wise and the learned know the secret of this.[126]
O Formless One, Thou art changeless and independent ;
Thou art the Primal One, stainless, without beginning, self-existent. :
The fool boasteth that he knoweth the secrets of Him
Whose secrets are not known even to the Veds.
The great fool supposeth that God is a stone,
And knoweth not the difference between them ;
He ever calleth the Eternal God Shiv,
And knoweth not the secrets of the Formless One.
Men according to their different understandings
Give different descriptions of Thee, O God.
Thine extension cannot be conceived,
Nor how Thou didst first fashion creation.
Thou hast but one form, and that form is incomparable.
Thou art in different places a poor man, a lord, or a king ;
Thou madest life from eggs, wombs, and perspiration,
And again Thou madest a mine of vegetables.
Sometimes Thou sittest as monarch on the lotus flower, [127]
Sometimes as Shiv Thou gatherest up creation.
Thou didst display the whole creation as a miracle;
Thou art the Primal One from the beginning of time;
Thy form was uncreated.
O God, protect me now ;
Save those who are my disciples,
And destroy those who are not.
The enemies who rise in rebellion,
And all infidels destroy Thou them in the battle-field.
The enemies of those who sought Thy protection,
O God, have died in misery.
Thou hast removed all the troubles of those
Who fall at Thy feet. ;
Death shall never approach those
Who even once meditate on Thee, O God ; [ p. 331 ]
They shall be protected at all times,
And their enemies and their troubles shall instantly vanish.
Thou removest in an instant the sufferings of those
Whom Thou beholdest with a look of favour.
They possess in their homes all temporal and spiritual blessings,[128]
And no enemies can touch even thei shadows.
Him who even once remembereth Thee
Thou savest from the noose of Death.
He who repeateth Thy name
Shall be free from poverty and the assaults of enemies.
O, Thou with the sword on Thy banner, I seek Thy protection ;
Give me Thine own hand and save me ;
Be Thou everywhere my helper,
And save me from the designs of mine enemies.
After the completion of the morning and evening obligatory divine services and of the uninterrupted reading or chanting of the Granth Sahib the Sikhs repeat a prayer or supplication called—
ARDAS
which may now suitably end our presentation of the Lives and Writings of the ten Gurus :—
SRI WAHGURU JI KI FATAH!
Having first remembered the Sword meditate on Guru Nanak ;
Then on Guru Angad, Amar Das, and Ram Das; may they assist us !
Remember Arjan, Har Gobind, and the holy Hari Rai ;
Meditate on the holy Hari Krishan, a sight of whom dispelled all sorrow.
Remember Teg Bahadur, and the nine treasures shall come hastening to your homes.
Ye holy Gurus, everywhere assist us.
May the tenth king, the holy Guru Gobind Singh, everywhere assist us. [ p. 332 ]
God Himself knoweth, He Himself acteth; it is He who adjusteth.
Standing in His presence, Nanak, make supplication.
Sikhs of the true Immortal God, turn your thoughts to the teachings of the Granth Sahib and the deeds of the Khalsa ; utter Wahguru !
Meditating on the Deathless One, endowed with all power, compassionate, and just, utter Wahguru !
Meditating on the deeds of those who worshipped the Name, plied the sword, ate and distributed their food in companionship, and overlooked others’ faults, O Khalsa, utter Wahguru !
O Deathless Creator, illimitable, this creature forgetting Thy name is so attached to worldly goods, that he hath forgotten the Real Thing. Without Thy supreme mercy how shall we cross the ocean of the world? O great King, lust, wrath, greed, worldly love, jealousy, and other evil passions greatly trouble our minds, but on coming towards Thee worldly maladies and afflictions are healed and dispelled. Show us such favour that we may by word and deed be Thine, and that in all things we may obtain Thine assistance and support.
Grant to Thy Sikhs the gift of Sikhism, the gift of the Gurwu’s instruction, the gift of faith, the gift of confidence in Thee, and the gift of reading and understanding the holy Granth Sahib.
May the Sikh choirs, mansions, and banners ever abide! Victory to the faith! May the minds of the Sikhs be humble but their intellects exalted! Utter Wahguru! Wahguru !! Wahguru ! !!
We offer this Ardas in Thy presence and at Thy lotus feet. Pardon our errors and mistakes. May all Sikhs who read and hear the Gurus’ hymns be profited !
Through Nanak, may Thy name, O God, be exalted,
And all prosper by Thy grace!
Sri Wahguru ji ka Khalsa! Sri Wahguru ji ki Fatah !
After Mani Singh’s execution the Sikhs took the volume for examination and approval to a village in the Patiala State called Talwandi Sabo, now known among the Sikhsas Damdama. Damdama was selected for examination of the volume as several learned Sikhs resided there, and that distant village was also deemed a place of safety.
Several intelligent Sikhs were of opinion that the tales and translations in the volume, as at present found, ought not to have been included in it, for many of them are of Hindu origin, others not fit for perusal, and none comparable with the hymns contained in the Ad Granth. ‘The Sikhs therefore maintained that the Hikayat or Persian tales, and the whole of the Tria Charitar, or stories illustrating the deceit of women, should be omitted, and included ina separate volume, which might be read, not for a religious purpose, but for the entertainment and delectation of the public.
While this discussion was in progress, one Mahtab Singh of Mirankot arrived from Bikaner at Damdama. He had vowed to kill one Massa Ranghar, a Muhammadan official, who had obtained possession of the Golden Temple, and who used the place as a theatre for dancing women; and he was on his way to Amritsar to carry out his design. Mahtab Singh vowed that if he succeeded and returned to Damdama, Mani Singh’s Granth should remain in one volume as he had arranged it. If, on the contrary, Massa killed him, the Granth might be arranged according to the wishes of the objectors. Mahtab Singh slew Massa Ranghar, returned in triumph to Damdama, and Mani Singh’s Granth was allowed to remain according to his design.
There are many obvious defects in the arrangement of the tenth Guru’s Granth as it stands. For instance, there are several questions put in doharas 201 to 210 of the Akal Ustat to which no answer is given. Chhands 211 to 230 are obviously out of place, and belong to the second Chandi Charitar; and the last Chhand of the Akal Ustat is not complete. The Gyan Parbodh too has been left incomplete. There are besides many defects of arrangement. ↩︎
This line is Bhai Mani Singh’s composition. ↩︎
Chakr. This word is also applied to depressions in the body noticed for mystical, astrological, or cheiromantic purposes. ↩︎
The tenth Guru invented_new names_for God—Akal (the Immortal), Sarbloh (All-steel), Mahanloh (Great-steel), Sarbkal (Alldeath), Mahankal (Great-death), Asidhuj, Asiketu, and Kharagketu (having the sword on His banner), Asipani (sword in His hand), that is, God as the impersonation and source of bravery. ↩︎
This is the traditional meaning of mahial, but it receives no support from dictionaries. See Pandit Tara Singh’s Nirnai Sagar. ↩︎
Anbhekh. The word also means without form. ↩︎
Parbati or Durga, the consort of Shiv. ↩︎
Bawan was the dwarf incarnation of Vishnu. ↩︎
This is said to mean—Thou attractest the world by Thy beauty. ↩︎
Sudhs mean the clean in contradistinction to the Saravagis who are reputed to be dirty in their habits. ↩︎
The seed of the Abrus precatortus (N. O. Leguminosae) used in India as a small weight (see Vol. I, p. 138, n. 1). ↩︎
Also translated—regardless of their own position. ↩︎
Subatanhi. Also translated—at a word, rapidly. ↩︎
Assemblages in ancient times at which young women selected their husbands. ↩︎
Also translated—sitting in the company of the vicious. ↩︎
These included all ancient Indian knowledge. Different writers have given different lists of them. ↩︎
There are generally only eight sidhis or supernatural powers enumerated—anuma, to become so small as to be invisible ; mahzma, to be able to increase one’s size indefinitely; guruzwata, to make oneself heavy ; laghuma, to make oneself light ; prapti, to go wherever one pleases ; wasi karna, to be able to reduce others to subjection ; ishta, to obtain glory or regal greatness ; kam, to be able to satisfy all one’s desires. A list of the eighteen supernatural powers may be left to the reader’s imagination. ↩︎
Bindhiachal, a holy peak of the Himalayas. ↩︎
The Sheshnag of the Hindus. ↩︎
Rudar was the god who wielded the thunder. ↩︎
Abhed is often translated inscrutable. ↩︎
Small black flies on Indian rivers. ↩︎
God who moves in the waters. ↩︎
One of the names of Vishnu. He was supposed by the Hindus to have a lotus in his navel. ↩︎
The reference is to dancing and roaring faqirs. ↩︎
Monadi Madar—Monadi is understood to be the Arabic munadi, a proclamation or preaching. Madar was a celebrated Muhammadan saint. If mommin-i-din madar be read, the translation will be—How many orthodox Muhammadans and supporters of the faith! ↩︎
An incomplete incarnation of Vishnu. ↩︎
Brahmacharis are young men who preserve continence during their studentship. Manu, the Hindu law-giver, fixes its limit at twenty-five years of age. ↩︎
Mandhatri, a son miraculously born to Yuvanashwa of the line of Ikshwaku, and author of a hymn in the Rig Veda. ↩︎
He belonged to the solar race, and was ancestor of Ram Chandar. ↩︎
Darius. ↩︎
An oriental exercise in which a man first lies down flat on the ground, then leans on his hands so as to lift his body, and again depresses it so as almost to touch the ground with his chest. ↩︎
Ajap Dev, also translated—God who repeats no name. ↩︎
The Guru rejects the belief that a widow who cremates herself with her husband’s corpse obtains salvation. The second part of the line may also be translated—If salvation were obtained by dwelling beneath the earth, the snake which dwelleth in the nether regions should also be saved. ↩︎
Certain Shiahs or followers of Ali who renounced their allegiance to Zaid, grandson of Husain. ↩︎
There is not one God for the Hindus and another for the Musalmans. ↩︎
Ban, also translated—customs, habils. ↩︎
Abhiilbhut, also translated—incorporeal and corporeal beings. ↩︎
Jak=zakka (83). The gyanis translate obstinacy. ↩︎
In Dwaraka men are branded with a hot iron bearing the ensigns of Vishnu. ↩︎
He is not liable to be fined like mortals as a punishment. ↩︎
Bikhad; in wodern Panjabi this word means a quarrel. ↩︎
Zaman is here understood to be for asman. ↩︎
There are said to be seven hells. Patal is the seventh and lowest. ↩︎
Also known as Lomash, who was remarkable for his long life. ↩︎
One of the names of Parbati. ↩︎
Such as Harischandar, and others. ↩︎
Without the distinguishing dress of a religious sect. ↩︎
Bahu nias kare, also translated—(a) made many renunciations, (J) made many efforts. ↩︎
Hingula is another of the names of Parbati or Durga. ↩︎
A mountainous tract of Afghanistan south-east of Harat. ↩︎
Natives of the country of Magadha, now South Bihar. ↩︎
The Telegu country on the east coast of India between Urisa (Orissa) and Madras. ↩︎
A kind of jasmin with fragrant white blossoms. ↩︎
Har har. Shiv was believed to wear a white snake as a necklace. ↩︎
A small drum or tambourine. ↩︎
See that part of the Markandeya Puran which treats of the exploits of Chandi. The names of the demons mentioned in these quatrains will be found there. ↩︎
A first cousin of Rawan. ↩︎
Rawan’s brother. ↩︎
Rawan’s sons. ↩︎
They never again expected to find an adversary. ↩︎
It is wiitten in Hindu books that Sheshnag has two tongues in each head. ↩︎
Lav in the Ramayan. ↩︎
Descended from Kushu. ↩︎
Descended from Lahu. ↩︎
Near Banaras, Its inhabitants, the Sanaudhis, were afterwards called Sodhis. ↩︎
Compare the Hindustani proverb—zan, zamin, zar, tinen jhagre ka ghar ‘Women, land, and money are the sources of strife among men.’ ↩︎
When I have become Guru Nanak, Guru Angad, and Guru Amar Das. ↩︎
The reference is to Guru Ram Das. ↩︎
Sirar. If this is a Panjabi word, its meaning is as we have given. Among the Sikhs, however, there is current what purports to be the Persian original of the line, as spoken by Guru Teg Bahadur himself on the eve of his execution—سیر جدید مسیر زندگی را داریم which is generally translated—I gave my head but not God’s secret. ↩︎
That is, Guru Teg Bahadur might have performed a miracle and saved himself, but he scorned to do so. ↩︎
Having made the King of Dihli responsible for his death. ↩︎
In Sanskrit Hemakuta, the golden peak, a chain of mountains between the Himalayas and Mount Meru. ↩︎
Meaning seven horns. ↩︎
These are believed to be the Dikpals or regents of the eight points of the compass. ↩︎
An Indian idiom for anarchy. Big and little perished by their own contentions. ↩︎
The Simritis purport to follow the Veds. ↩︎
The milk of the leaves of the banyan-tree is used by faqirs to wet the hair. It is then smeared with ashes. ↩︎
This is not the Ramanand whose hymn is found in the Granth Sahib. The author of that hymn lived long after this, and subsequent to the era of Muhammad. He was the Guru of Kabir who flourished in the fifteenth century a.p. ↩︎
Muhammad, rasul Alla. ↩︎
Muhammadan saints of excessive devotion. ↩︎
That spurious religion is of no avail. ↩︎
As some Indian faqirs do. ↩︎
Also translated—Since God is not to be found by mummery, why should everybody wander about thus searching for Him? ↩︎
Also translated—In shaving the heads of others and then making them their disciples. ↩︎
Who cannot be seen at all. ↩︎
The Indian antelope. ↩︎
Or—What are the designs of an enemy against him? ↩︎
Compare the Panjabi proverb :— Lain dia ap; Nam dhardaia tap. Death cometh to take one, But he is called by the name of fever. The meaning of the verse in the text is, that all acts ultimately proceed from God, though they appear to be done by His human instruments. ↩︎
This is an explanation of the word ajoni in the Japji. ↩︎
As Guru Teg Bahadur did. ↩︎
Absorber by death. ↩︎
Deliverance. ↩︎
For destroying him. ↩︎
Literally—I have not brought any one under my eye. ↩︎
The Guru, with the joy of an author at the end of his toil, was pleased to note the date and place of the conclusion of his History of Ram—
On the first day of the dark half of Har, a day of pleasure to me,
In the Sambat year seventeen hundred and fifty-five,
At the base of the lofty Naina Devi, on the margin of the Satluj waters,
Through God’s help I finished the history of Ram— that is, the translation of the Ram Avatar into Hindi from Sanskrit. ↩︎
As is usual in Hindi literary works. The Guru no doubt meant these verses as an introduction to his Hindi translation of the Krishan Avatar, which forms the tenth chapter of the Bhagwat. ↩︎
The pot to feed the poor and the stranger, regardless of caste and religion, and the sword to destroy the oppressors of humanity. An inscription on a sword in the possession of the Raja of Nabha is, Badhe degh te ya tegh te, that is, man becomes great either by entertaining his friends or destroying his enemies. ↩︎
Some suppose that Sidm is the Guru’s takhallas or nom de plume. Others maintain that it was the real name of one of the fifty-two bards 's Guru entertained, ↩︎
That is, they were mortal like others, and what is the use of worshipping them ? ↩︎
As practised by the Jains. ↩︎
Anahad. If anahat be read it must be translated invulnerable or invincible. ↩︎
Sidh. Some translate this word miracles. ↩︎
The answer to this is found in the last line of the following
sawaiya. ↩︎
Heavenly musicians. ↩︎
In this line in the original the first Kal means God, and the second death. ↩︎
Krishan, who was Arjan’s charioteer, proclaimed himself to be God. ↩︎
It is supposed that the hunter was an incarnation of Bali whom Ram Chandar had slain. Krishan was supposed to be an incarnation of Ram Chandar. ↩︎
Father of Krishan. ↩︎
Also translated—The abandonment of one God and the worship of several gods have been shown by Shukdev, Parasar, and Vyas to be vain. ↩︎
Guru Teg Bahadur. ↩︎
Literally—on earth. ↩︎
Leaving God thou hast turned to idolatry. ↩︎
That is, they have no secret. ↩︎
Also translated—The night long they pretend to worship. ↩︎
Also translated—hoarded and buried savings. ↩︎
The gyanis translate danwari—dweller in the forest. ↩︎
The names in this and the preceding lines of this hymn are epithets of Shiv, Vishnu, Balbhadar (brother of Krishan), and Krishan. ↩︎
That the Guru was a decided monotheist is proved by all his writings. ↩︎
Since He exists in everything. ↩︎
The reference here is to the Hindu gods Vishnu and Krishan. ↩︎
The expression kal pai in this and the two preceding lines is also translated—having first died. ↩︎
The universe comes from God, lives in Him, and returns to Him’ is an expression commonly used in the Upanishads and Mahabharat. In the Bhagavat Gita creation is represented as evolving from God as the world at the approach of day slowly emerges from the darkness of night, and again dissolving or vanishing in Him as the world disappears after evening twilight. ↩︎
Badan, the mouth, literally—all things in creation which have a mouth. ↩︎
Also translated—Thou knowest the secret of divine knowledge and of the world. Others suppose that bed and alim are epithets of Hindus and Musalmans respectively. ↩︎
That is, as Brahma, through whose agency, according to the Hindus, the world was created. ↩︎
Ridh sidh, literally—wealth and supernatural power. ↩︎