One day Prithia took Sulahi to admire some brickkilns he had made. On arriving, Sulahi's horse started at the accidental flight of a bird from under his feet, and ran with his rider straight into a kiln in full blast. In a few minutes horse and rider became a mass of cinders. On hearing of this event the Guru composed the following :—
If any one flout the poor by stroking his beard at them,
The supreme God will burn him in the fire.
The Creator who protecteth His servant
Hath administered perfect justice.
Before and through the ages His glory was manifest—
The calumniator died in great agony.
None saveth him who is accursed of God :
In this world and the next evil shall be his reputation.
God embraceth and protecteth His servant :
Nanak, meditate on God’s name, and seek His shelter.
The Guru composed the following also on the same subject:—
God preserved me from Sulahi.
Sulahi by no means succeeded ; Sulahi died unclean.
God drew forth His axe and smote off his head, and in a moment he became ashes.
He was consumed ever meditating evil; He who created him thrust him into the fire.
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Son, friend, wife, nothing remaineth for him now; his brethren and relations have all abandoned him.
Saith Nanak, I am a sacrifice to that God who fulfilled the words of His servant. 1
The following was uttered by the Guru on the same occasion :—
The slanderer by the Guru’s favour hath been turned away.
God the supreme Being was merciful: He killed him with unerring arrow.
Death and Death’s noose cannot affect me since I have established the sect of the True One.
The jewel of God’s name I have earned as wealth, which will never decrease by eating and spending.
In one moment the slanderer became ashes and obtained his deserts.
Nanak foretold what was hidden; the whole world saw the truth of his prophecy. 2
Prithi Chand was naturally most displeased at the death of his faithful ally in evil. In the meantime Chandu was considering how he could procure the marriage of his daughter with Har Gobind or avenge himself on the Guru. He accordingly wrote to Prithia to request him to use all his influence to bring about the marriage, and in the event of his failure threatened to confiscate the fief he had recently obtained from the Emperor. Prithia, however, required no threats ; he was only too willing to assist Chandu in his nefarious designs. He wrote in reply that Arjan, who had deprived him of his rights, was already his enemy; and he would be only too happy to assist in meting him adequate punishment. He begged Chandu to use his influence with the Emperor to bring the Guru to justice. On receiving this letter Chandu summoned Prithia to Dihli. There they both concocted a plan to induce the Emperor by some means to visit the Panjab, where they would have an opportunity of entering
into some conspiracy against the Guru. Chanda informed the Emperor of the abundance of game in the Lahore district, and also explained that Lahore would be a convenient place to rest on the Emperor’s way to Kashmir, where he ought to spend the summer on account of the beauty of its scenery and the salubrity of its climate. Upon this Prithia returned home.
Chandu’s scheme proved successful. In a short time the Emperor proceeded to the Panjab. On reaching the Bias he encamped on its banks and went a-hunting. Chandu, in conversation with him, represented that there were several thieves in the country who, during the night, had stolen some of the Emperor’s property. The Emperor inquired how thieves could exist in his empire. Chandu replied that the Emperor had a rival in the Panjab, namely Guru Arjan, who entertained thieves and exercised independent authority. Upon this the Emperor issued an order to the Guru through Sulabi Khan, nephew of the late Sulahi Khan, to abstain from such practices. The Guru's business, he said, was to restrain others from evil, and it behoved him not to do evil himself. Chandu wrote on his own account to Sulabi Khan to endeavour to induce the Guru to consent to the marriage alliance, and also to grant a more liberal distribution of property and offerings to Prithia than had been formerly agreed on. Sulabi Khan went to Amritsar to endeavour to carry out these measures.
When the Sikhs heard of Sulabi Khan’s intention they proposed that they should be allowed to kill him, but they were dissuaded by the Guru. He was already sufficiently armed and protected against his enemies. On that occasion he composed the following:—
Humility is my mace,
And being the dust of the dust of all men’s feet my two- edged sword :
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These no evil doer can withstand.
The perfect Guru hath arranged this matter. 1
On Sulabi’s journey to Amritsar his party fell in with a Saiyid who was accompanied by several Pathans. The Saiyid represented to him that these Pathans had been in his uncle Sulahi Khan’s service, and. that a year’s salary was due to them. Sulabi put them off with excuses, whereupon an affray arose. Sulabi’s escort, reverencing the Saiyid as a descendant of the Prophet, did not strenuously defend their master, and he was killed. When Chandu heard of Sulabi Khan’s death he represented to the Emperor that it had been done through the machinations of the Guru. He added that the Guru had perpetrated many other misdeeds. For instance, he had deprived his elder brother Prithia of the Guruship, and had endeavoured to deprive the Hindus and Muhammadans of their religions. Prithia had made complaints in person to the late Emperor, who promised to summon the Guru when he visited the Panjab. When His Majesty on one occasion did visit the Panjab, he had not time to make the necessary inquiry into the charges against Guru Arjan, but now was the time to do so. The Guru only became bolder with delay and impunity. Upon this the Emperor ordered Chandu to send for Prithia, and he accordingly did so. Prithia was overjoyed on receiving the invitation. On the way he for some business of his own visited Tarn Taran, where the Sikhs invited him to bathe. He said that the Guru’s tank there was only a common pool, and he would only bathe in his own tank at Hehar. Thither he accordingly proceeded, and after bathing in it and eating a surfeit at dinner, he got cramp in the stomach, and died the same night.
Mihrban, son of Prithia, took advantage of the Guru’s gift to Khusro to rouse the ire of the Emperor
go
against the Guru. He informed Chandu of it, and Chandu informed the Emperor, adding that the Guru had blessed Khusro and promised him that he should become Emperor. Chandu also represented to the Emperor that, if he did not have Khusro quickly arrested, the pretender would receive great military assistance from the followers of the Guru. The people of the Panjab, he said, were all highway robbers. The pandits and the qazis also thought it a favourable opportunity to institute new proceedings against the Guru on the old charge of having compiled a book which blasphemed the worship and rules of the Hindus and the prayers and fastings of the Muhammadans. By such accusations Chandu induced the Emperor to summon Guru Arjan. Chandu’s heart was now gratified, for he knew he had at last secured his revenge.
Chapter X
The Guru now felt that his enemies were victorious and that his end was near, but he was confident at the same time that the vials of God’s wrath would burst on their heads. Before his departure for Lahore he appointed his son Har Gobind his successor with all ancient ceremony and formality, and gave him injunctions suitable for the occasion. The Guru then addressed his wife Ganga: ‘ This body abideth not for ever. Wherefore a wise person should not love it. Whatever is born perisheth, and whatever is high falleth sooner or later. This is nature’s law. To love the body is a grievous error. All bodies daily grow old and preserve not their original strength. From a child one groweth to be a man, and then cometh old age, which seizeth on the body and causeth it to waste away until it falleth into its final sleep. Live thou when I am gone, mourn not for me, and make no effort of
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thine own to separate thy soul from thy body.’ The latter was an injunction not to cremate herself on his death.
The Guru took with him Bhai Bidhi Chand, Bhai Langaha, Bhai Paira, Bhai Jetha, and Bhai Pirana. The Emperor J ahangir was at first disposed to treat the Guru with respect, but Chandu reminded him of the Guru’s pecuniary assistance to Khusro. The Emperor then addressed him: ‘ Thou art a saint, great teacher, and holy man; thou lookest on all, rich and poor, alike. It was therefore not proper for thee to give money to my enemy Khusro.’ The Guru replied: ‘ I regard all people, whether Hindu or Musalman, rich or poor, friend or foe, without love or hate; and it is on this account that I gave thy son some money for his journey, and not because he was in opposition to thee. If I had not assisted him in his forlorn condition, and so shown some regard for the kindness of thy father the Emperor Akbar to myself, all men would despise me for my heartlessness and ingratitude, or they would say that I was afraid of thee. This would have been unworthy of a follower of Guru Nanak, the world’s Guru.’
The conclusion of this speech was not calculated to soothe the Emperor’s feelings. He ordered the Guru to pay a fine of two lakhs of rupees, and also to erase the hymns in his Granth which were opposed to the Hindu and Musalman religions. The Guru replied: ‘ Whatever money I have is for the poor, the friendless, and the stranger. If thou ask for money thou mayest take what I have; but if thou ask for it by way of fine I shall not give thee even a kauri, for a fine is imposed on wicked worldly persons and not on priests and anchorets. And as to what thou hast said regarding the erasure of hymns in the Granth Sahib, I cannot erase or alter an iota. I am a worshipper of the Immortal God, the Supreme Soul of the world. There is no monarch save Him; and what He re-
vealed to the Gurus, from Guru Nanak to Guru Ram Das, and afterwards to myself, is written in the holy Granth Sahib. The hymns which find a place in it are not disrespectful to any Hindu incarnation or any Muhammadan prophet. It is certainly stated that prophets, priests, and incarnations are the handiwork of the Immortal God, whose limit none can find. My main object is the spread of truth and the destruction of falsehood; and if, in pursuance of this object, this perishable body must depart, I shall account it great good fortune.’
The Emperor made no reply, but rose and left the hall of audience. After this a magistrate informed the Guru that he must pay the fine or be imprisoned in default. When the Sikhs of Lahore heard this decision, they proposed to unite and raise a subscription to discharge the Guru’s obligation. The Guru would not agree, and sent them word, that whoever contributed to pay the fine imposed on him should be deemed a pervert, and would for the sake of momentary gratification imperil his future salvation. Men devoted to religion, the Guru said, never paid fines. Fines were for thieves, adulterers, slanderers, and robbers. As the Guru would not allow the fine to be paid, he was placed under the surveillance of Chandu. The qazis and Brahmans offered the Guru the alternative of being put to death or of expunging the alleged objectionable passages in the Granth Sahib and inserting the praises of Muhammad and of the Hindu deities.
The Guru replied, ‘ The Granth Sahib hath been compiled to confer on men happiness and not misery in this world and in the next. It is impossible to write it anew, and make the omissions and alterations you require.’ On hearing this the Guru’s enemies concluded that he would yield to no ordinary threats, so. they put fetters on him, and began to torture him in various ways. They poured burning sand on him, seated him in red-hot caldrons, and
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bathed him in boiling water. The Guru bore all this torture with equanimity and never uttered a sigh or groan. He was given another opportunity to recant and comply with the demands of his enemies. He replied, ‘ 0 fools, I shall never fear this treatment of yours. It is all according to God’s will; wherefore this torture only affordeth me pleasure.’ On this occasion the Guru repeated the following:—
The egg of superstition hath burst; the mind is illumined :
The Guru hath cut the fetters off the feet and freed the captive.
My transmigration is at an end.
The heated caldron hath become cold ; the Guru hath given the cooling Name.
Since the holy man hath been with me, Death’s myrmidons, who lay in wait for me, have left me.
I have been released from him who restrained me ; what shall the judge do to me now ?
The load of my karma is removed ; I am freed therefrom.
From the sea I have reached the shore ; the Guru hath done me this favour.
True is my place, true my seat, and truth I have made my special object.
Truth is the capital; truth the stock-in-trade which Nanak hath put into his house . 1
When Chandu threatened to put the Guru to further torture he addressed him as follows :—
The earth, the firmament, and the stars are under the influence of fear ; over their heads is unchanging law.
Wind, water, and fire are under the influence of fear; so, too, is helpless Indar.
There is only the one God without fear, as I have heard.
He who meeting the Guru singeth God’s praises, is happy and ever at peace.
Corporeal beings and gods are under the influence of fear ; Sidhs and their disciples have died through fear.
The eighty-four lakhs of beings which die and are born, which again and again are yoked to wombs, are under the influence of fear.
All beings which Thou, 0 God, hast created subject to the qualities of passion, goodness, and darkness are under the influence of fear.
The helpless Lakshmi 1 who produceth illusion is under the influence of fear, and greatly so is Dharmraj.
All things are filled with fear—it is only the Creator who is devoid of it.
Saith Nanak, God is the Companion of saints; saints adorn His court, 2 and arc therefore without fear.
Several Jogis and religious men who had met the Guru and appreciated his sincerity and exalted doctrines, went to condole with him in his afflictions. Mian Mir, the Moslem saint of Lahore, also went and contributed his sympathetic tears. He found the Guru’s body all blistered and suppurated, and requested his permission to appeal to the Emperor for his release and the punishment of his torturers. The Guru requested him to cast his eyes towards heaven. On doing so, it is said, Mian Mir saw angels begging the Guru’s permission to destroy the wicked, the proud, and the perverse. Mian Mir on beholding this supernatural vision asked the Guru why, when he possessed superhuman power, he consented to endure suffering at the hands of such vile sinners. The Guru replied, ‘ I bear all this torture to set an example to the teachers of the True Name, that they may not lose patience or rail at God in affliction. The true test of faith is the hour of misery. Without examples to guide them ordinary persons’ minds quail in the midst of suffering. In the second place, if he who possesseth power, within him defend not
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his religion by the open profession thereof, the man who possesseth no such power will when put to the torture abjure his faith. The sin will light on the head of him who hath the power but showeth it not; and God will deem him an enemy of religion. In the third place, the body is naturally subject to woe and weal, but not the spirit. The body is perishable, the soul imperishable. To set aside by the exercise of supernatural power the law of nature which applieth to all things perishable, and thereby to engender pride in the heart, would be supreme folly.’ Mian Mir on hearing this departed commending the Guru’s fortitude and singing his praises.
Upon this the Guru’s enemies again applied themselves to his torture. They kept him for three hours seated in a caldron heated by a blazing fire. The Guru’s life was well-nigh extinct, but he would not even submit to Chandu’s conditions, namely, to allow his son Har Gobind to marry Chandu’s daughter.
The Guru repeated the following also during the period of his torture :—
Sri R/cct Ashtapadi
When very great troubles befall, and nobody receiveth one;
When enemies pursue, and relations flee away ;
When all from whom man looked for assistance have fled, and all succour is at an end,
If he then remember God, no hot wind shall strike him.
God is the strength of the strengthless.
He neither cometh nor goeth ; He is permanent ever ; by the Guru’s instruction know Him as the True One.
If man be weak from the pangs of nakedness and hunger,
If he have not a paisa in his purse, and there be none to console him,
If no one gratify his aims and desires, and he be never successful,
Yet, if he remember God, he shall obtain a permanent kingdom.
If any one have excessive anxiety and bodily suffering,
If bound up in household and family, he feel alternate joy and sorrow,
If he wander in every direction, and cannot rest even for a moment,
Yet if he think upon God, his body and soul shall be happy.
Man may be in the power of lust, wrath, and covetousness ; he may become a miser through love of greed ;
He may have committed the four great sins 1 and all venial sins ; he may be a demon to destroy ;
He may never have listened to sacred books, hymns, and poetry ;
Yet shall he be saved if he think upon God and repeat His name even for a moment.
Even though man repeat by heart the Shastars, the Simritis, and the four Veds ;
Though he be a penitent, a leader of penitents, or a Jogi and have made all pilgrimages ;
Though he perform the six duties twice over, though he bathe and perform worship,
Yet if he love not the supreme God, he shall assuredly go to hell.
Man may have empire, dominion, and principality ; enjoyments may be scattered around him ;
He may have delightful and beautiful gardens, and his orders may be such as cannot be disobeyed ;
He may have merriment and spectacles of many descriptions, and he may continue devoted to pleasure ;
Yet if he think not of the supreme God, he shall be born again as a serpent.
Man may be very wealthy ; he may be attentive to ceremonial duties ; his reputation and conduct may be ostensibly spotless;
He may love his mother, father, children, brothers and friends ;
Armies in full panoply and all men may show him honour ;
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Yet if he think not of the supreme God, he shall be taken and consigned to the abode below.
Man’s body may have no disease or blemish ; he may have no heart-burning or grief ;
He may not think of death, but day and night enjoy himself ;
He may have made everything his own and fear no one ;
Yet if he think not of the supreme God, he shall fall into the power of Death’s myrmidons.
He to whom the supreme God is merciful obtaineth the society of the saints.
The more that association increaseth, the greater his love for God.
He is the Lord of both worlds ; there is no resting place but in Him.
If the true Guru be pleased, Nanak shall obtain the true Name.
A daughter-in-law of Chandu, daughter of a pious Sikh, who had heard of the Guru’s torture, considered what she could do to save him whom her father had ever reverenced, and from whom he had ever obtained the object of his desires. She said to herself, ‘ The Guru hath eaten nothing, and not even drunk water or slept for several days. Accursed is my life in this house that I hear of the Guru’s torture, and still see the light of day ! ’ She prepared some sharbat and took it in the dead of night secretly to the Guru’s prison. When stopped by the sentry on guard, she drew forth a piece of jewellery and gave it to him. He allowed her to pass with strict injunctions to return quickly. She told the Guru who she was: ‘ Recognize in me the daughter of a Sikh of thine. I am wife of the sinner’s (Chandu’s) son, but I ought never to have been married to him. I must have committed some great sin in a previous existence, and this is the result of it. Hence I desire to live no longer. Take this sharbat and also eat something. Look on me as thy slave, and have pity on me.’