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The Guru and Mardana again set out on their travels. It is said that they went to the west and crossed the rivers Rav…
Thou art the tablet, Lord, Thou art the pen, and Thou art also the writing.
Speak of the one God ; O Nanak, why should there be a second ?
Shaikh Kamal went and, after obeisance, sat down near them, and asked to have the couplet repeated. This was done, an…
< There is one Lord and two ways ;
Which shall I adopt, and which reject ?
The Guru replied :
There is but one Lord and one way ; Adopt one and reject the other. Why should we worship a second who is born and di…
The Muhammadan priest then said in turn :
Tear thy coat into tatters and wear a blanket instead ;
Adopt a dress by which thou mayest obtain the Lord.
The Guru traversed this instruction : It is not necessary for me to tear my coat or adopt a religious garb. Men who r…
A young wife sitteth at home, her Beloved is abroad; she continually thinketh of Him and pineth away.
She shall have no delay in meeting Him if she have good intentions.
Shaikh Brahm replied to the latter couplet :
When she was little, she enjoyed not her Spouse; when she grew up she died.
Lying in the grave she calleth out, I have not met Thee, O Lord.
Guru Nanak then gave utterance to the following, to the effect that salvation depends upon virtue and not on a pleasi…
A woman may be stupid, untidy, black, and impure-minded ; Yet, if she possess merits, she meeteth her Beloved ; other…
Humility is the word, forbearance the virtue, and civility the priceless spell.
Make these three thy dress, O sister, and the Spouse shall come into thy power.
The Spouse shall be hers who serveth Him. Forsaking all His other companions He will go to her.
The Shaikh then said he wanted a knife Give me such a knife as will make those who are killed with it acceptable to G…
Truth is the knife, truth is pure steel ; Its fashion is altogether incomparable. Put it on the hone of the Word, And…
On hearing this the Shaikh raised his head in amazement and said, Well done. Thou hast seen God, and art dear to Him.…
There is friendship between beauty and love, alliance between hunger and dainty viands ;
Companionship between greed and wealth, between a sleepy man and a bed and coverlet. The anger which barketh is despi…
To be silent, O Nanak, is good ; without the Name the mouth is defiled.
The Shaikh asked the Guru to let him hear a strain in praise of the one God. My idea is , said the Shaikh, that adora…
I am a sacrifice, Nanak, to my Guru a hundred times a day,
Who without any delay made demigods out of men. Nanak, they who, very clever in their own estimation, think not of th…
Shall be left like spurious sesames in a reaped field They shall be left in the field, saith Nanak, without an owner.…
He made Maya by His power ; seated He beheld His work with delight. Creator, Thou art the Giver ; being pleased Thou …
The Shaikh then rose to take his leave, and said, O Nanak, thou hast found God. There is no difference between Him an…
The Guru next proceeded to Dipalpur. During his journey a Sanyasi asked him to define the word udas. The Guru replied…
The Guru then visited Kanganpur, Kasur, and Patti in the Lahore District. He thence proceeded to Windpur, not far fro…
The Guru thence proceeded to a village on the site of the present Goindwal, where he desired to stay, but no one exce…
My mind is ever and ever troubled. In many troubles my body pineth away and ever groweth worse. The body which forget…
If he meet Thy favour, God, he repeateth Thy name.
By attaching himself to it he is saved ; he hath no other resource.
Even if he be drowning in sin, God will still take care of him.
Nanak, the True One is beneficent to all.
The Guru further warmed towards the leper and blessed him. The leper was cured of his malady, fell at the Guru s feet…
He who made the world watcheth over it ; what shall we say, O brother ?
He Himself who hath laid out its garden knoweth and acteth.
Sing the praises of the Beloved ; sing His praises by which happiness is ever obtained.
She who enjoy eth not her Spouse with love shall after wards repent.
She shall wring her hands, and beat her head as the night passeth away.
She shall not be able to repent when the whole night is at an end ;
But she may again enjoy her Husband when it cometh to her turn. 1
The wife whom the Spouse hath chosen is better than I.
I have not her merits ; whom shall I blame ?
I will go and ask the female companions who have enjoyed their Spouse ;
I will touch their feet, implore them, and induce them to show me the way.
Nanak, she who obeyeth her Spouse s order, applieth fear as her sandal,
And performeth the incantation of merits, shall find her Beloved.
She who meeteth Him with her heart shall continue to meet Him ; that is called a real meeting.
However much one may desire it, a meeting is not effected by words.
1 That is, in a future birth. Metal blendeth with metal and love hasteneth to love.
Know the Guru’s favour, and thou shalt find the Fearless One.
A garden of betel may be in the house, but the donkey knoweth not its merits.
When one is a judge of perfume, then may one appreciate flowers.
He who drinketh nectar, Nanak, putteth an end to his doubts and transmigration ;
He easily blendeth with God, and obtaineth the undying dignity.
The Guru continued his wanderings and visited Batala in the Gurdaspur District. Thence he pro ceeded a second time to…
As the word of the Lord cometh to me, so I make known, O Lalo
Bringing a bridal procession of sin, Babar hath hasted from Kabul and demandeth wealth as his bride, O Lalo.
Modesty and religion have vanished ; falsehood marcheth in the van, O Lalo.
The occupation of the Qazis and the Brahmans is gone ; the devil readeth the marriage service, O Lalo.
Musalman women read the Quran, and in suffering call upon God, O Lalo.
Hindu women whether of high or low caste, meet the same fate as they, O Lalo.
They sing the paean of murder, O Nanak, and smear themselves with the saffron of blood. Nanak singeth the praises of …
Bodies shall be cut like shreds of cloth ; Hindustan will remember what I say.
They shall come in 78, depart in 97, and then shall rise another disciple of a hero.
Nanak uttereth the word of the True One, and will proclaim the truth at the True One s appointed time.
Lalo asked the Guru what he meant by saying that God had assigned men different positions. The Guru replied as follows :
God can cause lions, hawks, kestrels, and falcons to eat grass ;
And the animals which eat grass He can cause to eat meat such a custom can He establish.
He can cause hills to appear in rivers, and unfathomable rivers in sandy deserts.
He can appoint a worm to sovereignty, and reduce an army to ashes.
What wonder would it be if God caused to live without breath all the animals which live by breathing ?
Nanak, as it pleaseth the True One, so He giveth us sustenance.
A Brahman came to the Guru, offered him a basket of fruit, and said, My friend, thou art uttering hymns of wrath.’ Th…
The lives of the Guru and Mardana were spared, probably because they were strangers, but they were imprisoned and pla…
I am a purchased slave, my name is Lucky.
I have sold myself in the shop for God s word ; where He placed me, there am I placed.
What cleverness hath Thy slave ?
He cannot obey the Lord s order.
My mother was a slave, my father a slave, I was born a slave.
My mother danced, my father sang, I perform Thy service, O King.
If Thou drink I will fetch Thee water, O Lord ; if Thou eat I will grind Thee corn.
I will fan Thee, I will shampoo Thy limbs, and continue to repeat Thy name.
Saith Nanak, ungrateful is Thy slave ; if Thou pardon him, it will be to Thy glory.
In the beginning, in every age, Lord of mercy, Bestower, without Thee salvation is not obtained.
When the Guru had finished this hymn, Mardana saw some women weeping and shrieking as they passed along, and asked hi…
They who wore beautiful tresses and the partings of whose hair were dyed with vermilion,
Have their locks now shorn with the scissors, and dust is thrown upon their heads.
They dwelt in their private chambers; now they cannot find a seat in public
Hail, Father! hail!
Primal Being, Thy limit is not known; Thou makest and beholdest the different phases of existence When they were marr…
They came in their sedans adorned with ivory ;
Water was waved round their heads, and glittering fans over them.
They had hundreds of thousands waiting on them sitting, and hundreds of thousands waiting on them standing.
Eating coco-nuts and dates they sported on their couches ; But now chains are on their necks, and broken are their st…
The wealth and beauty which afforded them pleasure have now become their bane.
The order was given to the soldiers to take and dishonour them.
If it please God, He giveth greatness; and if it please Him, He giveth punishment.
If they had thought of Him before, why should they have received punishment ?
But they had lost all thought of God in joys, in spectacles, and in pleasures.
When Babar’s rule was proclaimed no Pathan prince ate his food. Some lost their five times of prayer, others their ho…
How shall Hindu women now bathe and apply frontal marks without their sacred squares ?
They who never thought of Ram 1 are not now allowed even to mention Khuda. 2
One may return to her home ; another may meet and in quire after the safety of a relation ; But others are destined t…
After this, Mir Khan, the governor of the jail, arrived. He saw that the Guru s bundle was raised a cubit over his he…
1 The Hindu name of God.
2 The Muhammadan name of God, which Hindus shrink from pronouncing.
3 Compare God of our fathers ! what is man, That thou towards him with hand so various, Or might I say contrarious, T…
MILTON, Samson Agomstes. No one can kill him, O Kind One, whom Thou preserves!. How can Thy praises be numbered ? Tho…
Preserve me, O Beloved, preserve me ! I am Thy slave. My true Lord pervadeth sea and land, the nether and the upper r…
Thou didst preserve Jaidev and Nama, Thy beloved saints Thou didst save those on whom Thou didst bestow Thy name Thou…
Thou didst preserve Ravdas, the tanner, who is numbered among Thy saints.
Nanak, who is without honour or family, uttereth supplication.
Extricate him, O Lord, from the ocean of the world, and make him Thine own.
It is said that the Emperor, on hearing this, fell at Nanak s feet, and declared that God appeared on his face. Upon …
The Emperor asked him to accept a present from him. The Guru replied that he wanted nothing for himself, but he reque…
Where those bugles and clarions ?
Where are those who buckled on their swords and were mighty in battle ? where those scarlet uniforms ?
Where those mirrors and fair faces ? we see them no longer here.
This world is Thine, O Lord of the earth.
In one ghari Thou establishest and disestablishest; Thou distributest wealth as Thou pleasest.
Where are those houses, those mansions, and those palaces?
where those beautiful seraglios ?
Where are those easy couches and those women a sight of whom banished sleep ?
Where is that betel, those betel-sellers, and those fair ones ? They have vanished.
For wealth many are ruined ; this wealth hath disgraced many.
It is not amassed without sin, and it departeth not with the dead.
Him whom the Creator destroyeth He first depriveth of virtue.
Millions of priests tried by their miraculous power to restrain the emperor when they heard of his approach.
He burned houses, mansions, and palaces ; he cut princes to pieces, and had them rolled in the dust.
No Mughal hath become blind ; no priest hath wrought a miracle.
There was a contest between the Mughals and Pathans ; the sword was wielded in the battle.
One side aimed and discharged their guns, the other also handled their weapons :
They whose letter hath been torn in God s court must die, my brethren.
There were the wives of Hindus, of Turks, of Bhattis, and of Rajputs. The robes of some were torn from head to foot ;…
How did they whose husbands came not home pass the night ?
The Creator acteth and causeth others to act ; to whom shall man complain ? Misery and happiness are according to Thy…
The Commander is pleased issuing His orders ; Nanak, man obtaineth what is allotted him. 1
A propos of the change of circumstances in India the Guru uttered the following: God -hath given fixed time for all e…
The dwellers at every hearth are Thy slaves, and religion is their ruler.
The earth is Thy cooking-pot, Thou gavest once for all; destiny is Thy storekeeper.
Instigated by their hearts 4 men lose patience and beg again and again to their ruin.
Covetousness is a black dungeon, demerits the fetters on the feet.
Wealth ever beatei;h the soul with its mallet, while sin sitteth as judge.
Man shall be either good or bad, O Lord, as Thou lookest on him.
1 Asa.
2 The Hindus and the Muhammadans agree in believing that there are fourteen worlds, seven above and seven, including …
3 The Veds.
4 Narad the Muni is here understood by the gyanis to mean the human heart. Some furiher account of Narad will be give…
There is a tax on the shrines of the gods ; such is the practice established.
There are ablution-pots, calls to prayer, five daily prayers, prayer-carpets, and God appeareth dressed in blue. 1
In every house all say Mian ; 2 your language hath been changed.
Since Thou, who art Lord of the earth hast appointed Babar a Mir, 3 what power have we ?
In the four directions men make Thee obeisance, and
Thy praises are uttered in every house.
The profit which is obtained from pilgrimages, repeating the Simritis, 4 and bestowing alms all day long,
Is, O Nanak, obtained in one ghari by remembering the Name which conferreth greatness. 5
The Hindus and the Musalmans who returned to Saiyidpur began to dispose of their dead, and there was weeping and mour…
As herdsmen stay for a short time in the pasture-ground, 6 so do men stay in this world.
Men by the exercise of falsehood build houses for themselves.
Awake, awake, ye sleepers ; lo ! the soul the dealer departeth.
If ye are to remain here for ever, then build houses.
The body shall fall and the soul depart, if any one desire to know the truth.
The Muhammadans frequently vcar blue clothes, a custom which has descended from the ancient Egyptians.
2 Mian, a title of respect addressed to Muhammadans. In the hill districts of India it is given to the sons of Rajput…
3 Mir, a lord or master.
4 Simrifit, the traditional ceremonial and legal institutes of the Hindus. The principal Simritis are twenty-seven in…
f) Basant Ashtapadi.
This refers to the nomadic life which prevailed around the Guru’s natal village. Why criest thou Alas ! alas ! 1 God …
Ye weep for others, but who will weep for you ?
Ye worry with worldly occupations, my brethren, and practise falsehood.
The dead hear not at all ; ye only cry to be heard of others.
He who laid them to sleep, Nanak, will awake them.
If man know his own home in God, then shall he not sleep.
If any one know of any one at his departure taking any thing with him,
Then let him with open eyes amass wealth know and consider this.
Do thy dealing ; gain thine object ; be not sorry here after. Thou shalt be known as a true dealer if thou take profi…
Sow the seed of truth in the soil of honesty ; in that way practise tillage.
Forsake vice, practise virtue, so shalt thou obtain the Real Thing.
If it be God s favour, man shall meet the true Guru, understand his instruction,
Repeat the Name, hear the Name, and deal in the Name.
As is the profit so the loss ; that is the way of the world.
What pleaseth Him, O Nanak, is my glory. 2
One day Mardana took it into his head to ask the Guru to explain the cause of the Saiyidpur massacre, and said, Sir, …
1 Ohi, ohi ! There is a pun on the word ohi. It means, Alas ! and He (God) is. 2 Asa Ashtapadi. that one insect had b…
After this the Guru returned to the Emperor s camp with the object of obtaining another interview with him. He visite…
Babar ruled over Khurasan and hath terrified Hindustan.
The Creator taketh no blame to Himself ; it was Death disguised as a Mughal who made war on us.
When there was such slaughter and lamentation, didst not Thou, O God, feel pain ?
Creator, Thou belongest to all.
If a tyrant slay a tyrant, one is not angry ;
But if a ravening lion fall on a herd, its master l should show his manliness.
The dogs of Lodi 2 have spoiled the priceless inheritance ; when they are dead no one will regard them.
God, Thou Thyself joinest and Thou Thyself separatest lo ! this is Thy greatness.
If any one give himself a great name and enjoy himself to his heart s content,
In God s view he is as a worm which nibbleth corn ;
But he who while alive is dead, may gain something, O Nanak, by repeating the Name. 3
When Babar had heard this hymn, he ordered the Guru to be sent for. When the Guru appeared, the Emperor asked him to …
1 The master of Hindustan at the time was Sultan Ibrahim Lodi. He only met Babar s force at Panipat, where he was def…
2 The Pathan dynasty of the Lodis who ruled in India prior to the advent of the Mughal Babar.
3 Asa. the Guru did so. Upon this, it is said, Babar s brain opened for the reception of spiritual truths. He praised…
God, fear of Thee is my bhang, my heart its pouch ;
1 am an intoxicated hermit.
My hands are the cup ; it is for a sight of Thee, God, I hunger,
And ever beg at Thy door
For a sight of Thee I crave.
I beg at Thy door ; grant me Thine alms.
Saffron, flowers, musk, gold, and sandal are all applied to the body ;
So the bright perfume of the saints rendereth all souls fragrant.
No one calleth clarified butter or silk impure ;
Such is a saint in regard to caste.
May Nanak obtain alms at the doors Of those who are imbued with Thy name and continue to love Thee ! 2
The Emperor was so pleased with the Guru that he asked him to accompany him. The Guru would at first only promise to …
1 That is, no one despises them. 2 Tilang. covery. Upon this the Guru stood up, and there then shone such light as if…
At the final parting, the Emperor pressed the Guru to embrace Islam, which recognized only one God, as the Guru himse…
There are hundreds of thousands of Muhammads, but only one God.
The Unseen is true and without anxiety.
Many Muhammads stand in His court.
So numberless they cannot be reckoned.
Prophets have been sent and come into the world.
Whenever He pleaseth He hath them arrested and brought before Him.
The slave Nanak hath ascertained
That God alone is pure and all else impure.
The Emperor, instead of being incensed at this outspoken language, invited the Guru to ask him a favour. The Guru rep…
It is the one God Who hath commissioned me.
Every one partaketh of His Gifts.
(He who looketh for human support
Loseth both this world and the next.
^There is but one Giver, the whole world are beggars.
They who forsake Him and attach themselves to others lose all their honour.
Kings and Emperors are all made by Him. There is none equal to Him.
Saith Nanak, Hear, Emperor Babar,
He who beggeth of thee is a fool.