Thou hast amassed worldly things but remainest hungry and thirsty.
Thou hast not obtained the viaticum of the ambrosial Name.
Thou hast fallen into the pits of lust, wrath, and worldly love.
Nanak, through the favour of the Guru some rare man is saved.
SIKH, III
Serving the one God is the Guru's sole occupation :—
I have but one God ;
I recognize none other.
I have found, my Guru through great good fortune.
He hath impressed on me God’s name,
Which is to me devotion, penance, fasting, and religious observances.
By meditating on God I have obtained all comfort and peace.
To praise God is my devotion, my occupation, and my caste.
I feel great joy on hearing His praises.
Saith Nanak, he who hath found God
Hath all things in his home.
The Guru has found God by diligent and pious search:— .
Man desireth the love of God the Beautiful,
But God’s love is not obtained by mere words.
Searching for a sight of Him I look in every lane.
My doubts have been dispelled on meeting the Guru.
I have obtained this wisdom from the holy man according to the destiny recorded on my forehead.
In this way Nanak hath seen God with his eyes.
Reject mammon and be simple at heart:—
O mother, mammon is deceitful,
She is, if God be not worshipped, as burning grass, the shadow of a cloud, or the water of a hill-stream.
Renounce thy devices and great cleverness ; clasp thy hands and follow the way of the saint.
Remember the Lord the Searcher of hearts ; this is the best fruit of human birth.
Holy men preach divine knowledge, but luckless fools understand it not.
The slave Nanak is absorbed in love and devotion ; by remembering God the filth of his sins hath been burnt.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 387
God's saving name is obtained from the Guru:—
O mother, the feet of the Guru are dear to me ;
God giveth them by favourable .destiny : millions of advantages are obtained by beholding the Guru.
By singing the praises of the Immortal and Indestructible, unmannerly lust, wrath, and pride vanish.
They who are dyed with the true love become permanent; birth and death shall not again torment them.
I deem all joys and pleasures false except worshipping God through the compassionate Guru.
The slave Nanak hath obtained the jewel of the Name, without it everybody is robbed of his human birth.
Bairari
The advantage of congregational devotion :—
The saints meeting together sing God’s praises,
And thus remove the pain of millions of births.
What the heart desireth is in this wise obtained.
They have mercifully granted me God’s name
In which abide all happiness and greatness.
By the Guru’s favour Nanak hath obtained this knowledge.
Tilang 1
The kindness of God :—
Kind, kind is the Lord ;
My Lord is kind :
To all creatures He giveth gifts.
Why waver, 0 mortal ? the Creator will protect thee.
He who gave thee birth will support thee..
He who created the earth will take care of thee.
He is the Master and the true Cherisher of all hearts.;
His power apd worth cannot be known He is. great and unconcerned.
Servant of God, do Him service as long as. there is breath in thy body.
C C 2
Thou, O God, art all-powerful, ineffable, inapprehensible; the soul and body are Thy property.
Nanak’s prayer ever is that by Thy mercy he may obtain happiness.
The Guru. praises God under whatever name known:—
O Creator, on beholding Thy might I long to meet Thee.
Thou alone art my spiritual and temporal Lord ; Thou art unsullied by the whole creation.
In a moment Thou makest and unmakest: wonderful are Thy manifestations.
Who knoweth Thine acts ? 1 Thou art a light in the darkness.
O Allah, Thou Thyself art the Lord of the world, the merciful Khuda. 2
Why should they who adore Thee day and night go to hell ? .
Azrail is a friend of the slave whose support Thou art.
All the sins of Thy servant who obtaineth a sight of Thee, are pardoned.
All worldly things are for the present ; true happiness is to be found in Thy name.
On meeting the Guru, Nanak hath ascertained this ; wherefore he ever singeth the praises of the one God.
SUHI
God has installed the Guru as a beloved housewife in His palace:—
God hath given me possession of the household ; I have become the housewife.
My Spouse hath made the ten organs of action and reflec- Jion my slaves.
I have put together all the things of the house,
And with thirsty desire I long for my Beloved.
What merits of my beloved Spouse shall I mention ?
He is the wise, handsome, and compassionate God.
* Allah and Khuda used in this verse are Muhammadan names of God.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 389
I have put on chastity as my ornaments and applied the fear of God as a pigment to mine eyes. •
I chew the ambrosial Name as my betel; ,
My bracelets, my dress, mine ornaments admirably become me.
A woman obtaineth all happiness if her Beloved go to her house.
I have fascinated my Spouse by the charm of my virtues :
I have made Him subject to me and the Guru hath dispelled my doubts.
My palace is the most exalted of all.
My Beloved hath forsaken all other women and become my lover.
The bright light of the sun 1 hath appeared.
I have spread my couch with infinite faith in Him.
My Darling who affordeth ever new delight hath come to my couch to enjoy me.
Nanak, when I met my Beloved I obtained happiness.
Man is unable to render due thanksgiving to God for all His favours :—
What praises of Thine shall I recount, O Thou who bestowest on me though devoid of virtue ?
What skill hath a purchased slave ? this soul and body are totally Thine.
I am a sacrifice to a sight of Thee, Thou merry, beloved, and fascinating Darling.
O God, Thou bestowest on me a poor beggar ; Thou art ever and ever beneficent.
What can be accomplished by myself is nothing, O my inaccessible and infinite Lord.
What service shall I perform ? what shall I say to please Thee ?
How shall I obtain a sight of Thee ?
Thy measure cannot be ascertained ; Thy limit cannot be found ; my soul thirsteth for Thy feet.
Becoming bold I pray to obtain this gift that the dust of the saints’ feet be applied to my face.
The Guru extended mercy to his slave Nanak, so God reached him His hand and saved him.
Man is swift to evil and slow to good
Man riseth early for evil deeds ;
But he sleepeth when it is time to repeat God’s name. The fool knoweth not his opportunity;
He becometh involved in worldly love and pleasures ;
In the midst of his covetousness he is elated, pleased. And looketh not even at holy men.
The ignorant clown never understandeth.
He is again and again involved in entanglements.
He is pleased on hearing immoral songs,
While his mind is slow to hear God’s praises.
O blind one, thou seest not with thine eyes :
Thou must leave all these false occupations and depart. Saith Nanak, 0 God, mercifully grant me The favour of the company of Thy saints.
Man obtaineth something when he becometh the dust of the saints' feet —
He to whom God giveth Understanding repeateth His name.
The Guru’s instruction :—
Man seeth with his eyes, but yet is blind ; he heareth, but yet is deaf ;
What is near him he deemeth distant ; the sinner ever committeth sin.
O mortal, do such acts as shall secure thy deliverance, And repeat God’s name the ambrosial word.
Thou art ever filled with the love of horses and palaces, But none of them shall depart with thee.
Thou scrubbest thy vessel of clay ;
Yet it is very foul, and shall be punished by Death’s mace.
Man is bound by lust, wrath, covetousness, and worldly love,
And is thereby swallowed up in a great pit.
Hear Nanak’s prayer—
O my God, save me, a sinking stone !
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 391
The Guru's self-sacrifice and abject servility to God's saint:—
God’s saint is my life and wealth ; • I am his water-carrier ;
He is dearer to me than all brethren, friends, and sons, yea, than even life itself.
Let me make a fan of my hair, and wave it as a chauri over the saint ;
Let me bow my head beneath his feet, and apply their dust to my face ;
Like a poor man let me offer him my supplication with sweet words ;
Abandoning pride let me fall at his feet, and obtain the treasure of virtues.
Let me obtain a sight of him again and again.
Let me treasure up his ambrosial word in my heart, and make him continual obeisance.
I desire the society of holy men ; I hope for it, I pray for it.
O Lord, have mercy upon Nanak that he may touch Thy slaves’ feet.
God's praises:—
I supplicate the true Guru to grant me the Name as my support.
When the True King is pleased, the world is cured of its fever.
Thou, 0 Lord, art the prop of the saints ; Thou art the shelter of the saints ; Thou art the true Creator.
True are Thy chattels, true Thine extension. 1
Thy form is unapproachable ; unequalled is a sight of Thee.
I am a sacrifice to Thy servants to whom Thy name is dear.
All hopes are fulfilled when the Unapproachable and the Unequalled is obtained.
Guru Nanak hath met the primal God, and is a sacrifice unto His feet.
Salvation is only found in the Guru’s instruction which is open to all:—
Salvation is not obtained by reading all the Veds, the books of the Musalmans, the Simritis, and the Shastars.
He who under the Guru’s instruction repeateth the one Word shall obtain unsullied glory.
The four castes of Khatris, Brahmans, Sudars, and Vaisyas are partners in God’s word.
Nanak, by repeating under the Guru’s instruction the name of God who dwelleth in every heart, man shall be saved in this age.
Ashtapadi
The magnification of God’s name:—
The Simritis, the Veds, and the Purans proclaim
That without the Name all ritual is false and valueless.
The Name, which is unequalled wealth, abideth in the hearts of the saints.
Transmigration, worldly love, and sorrow are removed in the company of the saints.
They who indulge in worldly love, strife, and pride shall assuredly weep.
They who are without the Name shall find no happiness.
By boasting of his property, bonds are forged for man.
They who devote themselves to works of mammon shall be born in hell and heaven.
By reflecting and reflecting and reflecting I have come to this conclusion,
That without the Name there is no happiness and man assuredly faileth.
Many come and go, die and are born again.
Without knowing God all is vain and men wander in wombs.
They to whom God is merciful, obtain the society of the
saints,
And repeat God’s name which is ambrosia.
Millions, yea, countless and endless persons search for God ;
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 393
But God is near him whom He causeth to know Him.
Forget me not, O Bountiful One'; grant me Thy name.
It is Nanak’s pleasure to repeat Thy praises day and night.
Chhant
God ever speaks mildly :—
God who is my Friend and my Lord, speaketh mildly;
I am weary of trying Him, but He never speaketh harshly.
The perfect God who thinketh not of our demerits, knoweth not how to speak harshly.
To purify sinners is God’s function ; He destroyeth not a particle of man’s work. 1
He dwelleth in every heart; He pervadeth everything ; He is the nearest of the near.
The slave Nanak is ever under the protection of God, his immortal Friend.
The advantage of singing God's praises:—
Bilawal
Exalted, peerless, endless Lord, who knoweth Thy merits ?
By singing them man is saved ; by hearing them man is saved, and multitudes of sins are effaced.
The slave Nanak hath entered Thine asylum, and is ever and ever a sacrifice unto Thee.
The first verse of the following is often inscribed on new houses :—
The True Guru hath made my house and family permanent.
He who slandereth them is already destroyed by the Creator.
The slave Nanak taketh the protection of Him whose word is eternal and incomparable .
Advantages of meeting the Guru and his saints:—
The cripple can cross over a mountain, the blockhead ecome an accomplished preacher,
I hat is, man loses not a particle of the advantage of devoiion.
And the blind see the three worlds on meeting the pure Guru.
O my friends, hear the advantage of the company of the saints—
With them impurity is washed away, millions of sins set aside, and the heart purified.
Such is service to God that by it an ant can overcome an elephant.
God hath given the fearless gift to him whom He hath made His own.
For him a lion becometh a cat, and a mountain a blade .of grass :
They who toiled for half a dam have become very rich.
What praise of Thine can I utter, 0 Thou of endless excellences ?
Mercifully grant Nanak Thy name, 0 God, otherwise he cannot behold Thee. 1
The Guru's self-abasement before God's saints:—
Let me perform service for Thy slave, 0 Lord : and wipe his feet with my hair.
Let me give him my head as an offering, and listen to the praises of the Abode of pleasure.
My soul reviveth on meeting Thee ; wherefore meet me, 0 Merciful One.
Night and day my mind is happy thinking on the Merciful One.
I have no tricks of speech or cleverness, nor can I labour in Thy service .
Preserve me from doubt, fear, and worldly love, and cut away Death’s noose.
I implore Thee, 0 Lord of mercy, 0 Father, to cherish me !
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 395
Abase thyself before the saint of God:—
Draw water, fan, and grind for God’s slave, and then shalt thou be happy.
Burn for him in the fire empire, possessions, and dominion.
Touch the feet even of the saints’ servant.
Forsake the possessors of wealth and the lords of umbrellas.
The saints’ dry bread is equal to all treasure.
The thirty-six dishes in the house of the infidel are as poison.
A man is not naked when he clotheth himself in the rags of the saints ;
He loseth his honour when he putteth on the silken robe- of the infidel.
When one contracteth friendship with an infidel, it is dissolved half way.
Whoever serveth God’s saint shall be saved in this life and the next.
Everything was produced by Thee, 0 Lord ; Thou didst contrive this contrivance of the world.
Nanak, on beholding the saints, singeth God’s praises.
The Guru's search for God:—
Searching and searching I search round the forests
For th&t God who is undeceivable, invulnerable, and inscrutable.
When shall I behold my God the delight of my soul ?
Better than waking is the dream in which I abide with God.
As I listen to the Shastars on the four castes and the four stages of life, I am not satisfied but thirst to behold God.
He hath no colour nor outline, nor is He made of five elements ; He is imperishable.
The saints or some rare man of great sanctity may describe His appearance.
They whom He mercifully meeteth are to be congratulated.
His doubts vanish who seeth God within him and without him.
Nanak, he whose acts are perfect meeteth God.
There is salvation for the repentant sinner
Body, wealth, and youth pass away. 1
Thou hast not repeated God’s name, and day hath dawned on thee while committing sin at night.
Through continually eating various forms of food thy teeth are worn and drop out.
Thou wert robbed while talking of thy possessions, and thou didst feel no compunction on committing sin.
Great enormities are a terrible sea of trouble in which man perisheth ;
But the Lord God, O Nanak, taketh the arm of him who seeketh His protection and extricateth him.
The Guru's love for God:—
I am in love with the Beloved.
The Lord hath drawn me with such a strong thread that if I try to break it, it will not break ; and if I try to let it go, it will not go.
O Lord, mercifully abide day and night in my heart.
I am a sacrifice to God, an account of whom I have heard, but cannot express.
The slave Nanak, Thy slave of slaves, prayeth—O God, show me Thy mercy !
Submission to God's saint is equal to all pilgrimages :—
The feet of the Supreme Being’s slave whose praise is pure, are equal to millions of pilgrimages to the Ganges.
Nanak, he who batheth in the feet of the holy man shall have the sins of many births washed away.
Bilawal Ashtapadi
The Guru describes his love for God:—
O God, there is none but Thee.
The love of my heart for Thee is like that of the chakor for the moon,
Or the love of the fish for the water.
HYMNS OF GtJRtj ARJAN 397
As the bumble-bee forsaketh not the lotus,
As the chawki desireth the sun.
So Nanak thirsteth for God’s feet.
As the husband is the life of his young bride,
As the covetous man is pleated with a gift of wealth,
As the affinity of milk for water,
As the very hungry man desireth food,
As a mother loveth her son,
So, O Nanak, ever remember God.
As the moth falleth into the lamp,
As the thief fearlessly stealeth,
As the elephant is entrapped through his lust,
As the sinner is caught in his misdeeds,
As the gambler’s vice forsaketh him not,
So Nanak applieth his soul to God.
As the deer loveth the hunter’s bell,
As the chatrik longeth for the rain-drops,
So I live by association with the saints.
I love to worship God,
And my tongue repeateth His name.
O God, grant Nanak a sight of Thee.
He who singeth, heareth, or writeth God’s praises Shall receive all the reward thereof from God.
He shall himself cross over the ocean of the world.
And save all his family.
God’s feet shall be a boat for him
Who in the association of the saints singeth God’s praises. O Lord God, protect mine honour.
O God, Nanak hath taken the protection of Thy door. 1
Gaund
Man, even when captivated by the world, shall be saved by seeking God’s protection :—
O man, thou art caught like a fish or a monkey ; thou art captivated with the dye of the safflower.
The movements of thy feet and thy breathings are counted; thou shalt only be saved if thou sing God’s praise?.
O man, understand this and cease thy perversity.
Canst thou not find a place to dwell in at home ? why goest thou to others’ houses ? 1
Impelled like an elephant by the pleasure of lust, thou remainest attached to thy family. ,
As birds meet together and again separate, so thou too shalt be separated from thy people, but thou shali obtain a firm abiding-place if in association with the saints thou meditate on God.
As the fish perisheth through love of its palate, so foolish man is ruined by his covetousness.
Thou art in the power of thy five enemies, but thou shalt escape from them by seeking God’s protection.
O Destroyer of grief, be merciful to the poor; man and the lower animals all are Thine.
May I obtain the favour to continually behold and meet Thee ! Nanak is the slave of Thy slaves.
The supreme efficacy of God’s protection :—
Him whom the Protector protecteth
The Formless One will assist.
Fire shall not touch him in his mother’s womb ;
Lust, wrath, covetousness, and worldly love shall not affect him.
When man repeateth the name of the Formless One in the company of the saints,
Dust shall be thrown in the face of whoever slandereth him.
The spell of God’s name 2 is armour for His slave :
Enemies and ill-wishers can make no impression on him.
He who indulgeth in pride shall pass away,
While God protecteth His poor slave.
God will embrace and defend him
Who falleth under His protection.