io
Discourses on God are profound and endless, and few are there who understand them.
They who understand them, Nanak, abandon worldly desires, and repeat God’s name in the company of saints.
ti
The saint’s word is the prime spell; through it millions of sins are blotted out:
Nanak, by meditating on God’s lotus feet whole families are saved.
Beautiful is that temple in which God’s praises are sung. Nanak, the utterance of God’s name, which only the fortunate obtain, affordeth deliverance.
The true friends, the saints, find God the Friend who never vexeth man’s heart.
Nanak hath made Him whose abode and greatness are immeasurable, the companion of his soul.
Dishonour is effaced by a good son
Who remembereth in his heart the Guru’s spell,
And loveth, O Nanak, God the permanent,
Who taketh man across the world’s ocean.
» Tp forget God is death ;
To meditate on His name is life.
^ Napak, God is found by association with the saints, "Which is obtained by primal destiny.
■ As the spell of the snake-charmer draweth the fangs of the serpent,
■ So, Nanak, the saint who is found by good fortune re- moveth misery.
HYMNS ’ OF GURU AftJAN 437
God pervadeth every place and giveth shelter to all souls;
Nanak, His love toucheth the heart when' the Guru extendeth his favour and showeth himself.
When God’s lotus feet cleave the heart,
All comfort is obtained.
Nanak, from the most ancient times the happy saints sing God’s praises.
They who utter instructive words and walk with the saints shall be saved :
In the ocean of the world, Nanak, they shall not again obtain birth.
Men may study the Veds, the Purans, and the Shastars,
But it is the name of the one God that should be clasped to the heart.
He who claspeth it to his heart saveth whole families.
Nanak, very fortunate are the few who can thus save.
Nanak, the remembrance of God’s name which saveth whole families,
Is obtained by associating with saints, whom only the very fortunate behold.
The saints remove all sin and implant all faith in the heart;
Nanak, they on whose foreheads it is so written obtain association with them.
God was, is, and shall be; it is He who destroyeth and createth all things.
Nanak, know for certain that holy men are the cause of God’s love.
43« THE SIKH RELIGION
Man loveth not the Word which conferreth happiness; he is attached to fleeting things like the safflower dye;
Nanak, he obtaineth not spiritual happiness even in a dream: disease, sorrow, and separation from God are his portion.
PUNHAS
The following quatrains are said to have been addressed by the Guru to Harihan, his wife’s sister, who asked him to compose some devotional verses. In most of them her name is inserted. Others suppose that Harihan is a measure and means the same as Punha:—
The pen in the hand of the Inscrutable One writeth on the forehead.
He whose form is incomparable is concerned with all.
Thy praises, O God, cannot be expressed.
Nanak, on beholding Thee is fascinated and a sacrifice for a sight of Thee.
Seated in the company of the saints, I utter God’s praises ;
I dedicate to Him all my decorations, and give Him all my soul.
Thirsting that He will come, I have made my Spouse’s couch.
Harihan, when destiny is recorded on the forehead, we meet the Friend.
0 my companions, a woman may prepare everything— lamp-black for the eyes, necklaces, betel;
She may take the sixteen decorations and apply anjan to her eyes;
Yet it is only when the spouse visiteth her she obtaineth everything.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN
She in whose house He abideth is very fortunate;
All decorations become her, and she is a happy wife,
I sleep now free of care since iny heart’s desires have been fulfilled.
Harihan, when God came to my house, I obtained everything.
My only hope was that my hopes might be fulfilled ;
When I met the merciful true Guru, I obtained the Perfect God.
In my body were many demerits, so that I was overspread with them.
Harihan, when the true Guru is merciful, the mind obtaineth rest.
Saith Nanak, I have meditated on God who is endless, endless.
Difficult to cross is this world, but the true Guru hath caused me to cross it.
Transmigration is at an end when the true Guru is found.
Harihan, the nectar of God’s name is obtained from the true Guru.
I am lucky ; 1 happiness abideth in my home ;
0 my companions, God who is a jewel is in my breast; on beholding Him my sorrow departeth.
I dwell with God who is the essence of all happiness,
And in whose hand, 0 Harihan, ever abide wealth, perfection, and the nine treasures.
He who goeth to enjoy another’s wife shall be put to
shame.
How long shall the sins of those who continually steal others’ property be concealed ?
44o THE SIKlH RELIGION
By repeating God’s praises man becometh pure and saveth all his family.
Harihan, by also hearing the supreme God’s praiseSand meditating on Him, man becometh pure.
: . 9 " ;
The heavens shine above, the earth below appeareth
beautiful;
In every direction shineth God’s light; I long to behold His face.
I wander searching in every country to find the Dear One.
Harihan, if good fortune be recorded on the forehead, a sight of Him shall be obtained.
I have seen every place, but found none like unto thee ; 1
The Creator constructeth thee, O temple, therefore art thou beautiful.
Ramdaspur is thickly populated, unparalleled, and beyond praise.
Harihan, Nanak’s impurities depart by bathing in the tank of Ram Das.
The chatrik in his heart desireth the friendly rain,
And longeth for that to which his soul is attached.
He wandereth lonely from forest to forest in quest of a drop of water.
Harihan, thus God’s servant prayeth for the Name; Nanak is a sacrifice unto him.
The Friend’s heart is beyond praise : His secrets cannot be known.
It is only he who possesseth unequalled virtues who can recognize the Real. Thing.
When man’s mind is absorbed in God there is excessive
love.
Harihan, he who chasteneth the thief, his fickle mind, shall obtain the wealth of the True One.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN
44i
In a vision the Most High appeared to me, but I could not seize His skirt.
A beautiful Being He shone; on beholding Him my heart was beguiled.
I am searching for His tracks: say how shall I find them ?
O my friend Harihan, show me by what efforts I may obtain the Beloved.
The eyes which see not the holy man are in evil case;
The ears which hear not his instruction ought to be stopped;
The tongue which uttereth not the Name ought to be cut in pieces—
Harihan, when man forgetteth God, he daily declineth.
1'he bumble-bee is very proud, but he is caught in the petals of the lotus ;
His body is entangled therein and he loseth his senses; but the sun alloweth his escape in the morning.
Is there any such sun 1 as will open the hard knot of ignorance for me ?
Nanak, the one Lord God who uniteth what is broken hath alone power to do so.
I run in every direction on account of my love for God.
How shall we destroy the five troublesome enemies the deadly sins ?
Shoot them with the sharp arrow of meditation on God’s name,
And, Harihan, thou shalt obtain the perfect Guru who is the destroyer of great sins.
The true Guru hath conferred gifts which are never exhausted-; . _... ,1 ■'
God being pleased bestoweth the wealth of the ambrosial Name,
By eating and enjoying which all pious persons shall be saved.
Nanak, ever worship Him and thou shalt never die.
Wherever the saints go, the place is beautiful.
All happiness is obtained by meditating on God’s name.
When God’s creatures rejoice, the slanderer dieth in agony.
Nanak, the saints’ hearts are pleased reciting the Name.
God is the Purifier of sinners ; why not worship Him ?
False and contemptible is love of the world ; how long shall we suffer it ?
By beholding a castle in the air how canst thou be happy ?
Harihan, I am a sacrifice to those who know how to reach God’s court.
The fool, whose body is filth and very malodorous.
Hath done very many bad things.
He wandereth in the darkness of pride and thinketh not of death.
Harihan, on beholding a castle in the air why suppose it to be real ?
Who can preserve his life when it cometh to an end ?
The physician may prescribe endless remedies, but they are of no avail ;
Therefore, O ignorant man, remember the one God who will assist thee.
Harihan, without the Name the body is dirt, and everything is vain.
Drink the medicine of the unequalled and priceless Name : The saints eat the ambrosia of God’s name in company,
and give it to all to partake thereof.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 443
They who are so destined obtain it.
Harihan, I am a sacrifice to those who enjoy God’s love.
When the assembly of the physicians 1 is formed,
God is in the midst of them, and medicines are effectual.
Men’s acts bad and good are disclosed, 2
And Harihan, their troubles, diseases, and sins vanish.
Extra Sloks
Who are real lovers :—
They are the real lovers who know God and turn not away from Him;
They who perform no service for Him are false, and slink away.
Devotion is sufficient without decorations:—
Without the Lord I will burn silks and satins in the flames;
With Thee, O Lord, saith Nanak, I look beautiful even when rolling in the dust.
The contempt of the world is love of God:—
By the Guru’s instruction the Name is worshipped and love for God and contempt of the world produced.
When man subdueth the five enemies the Maru Rag 3 is profitable.
The following was addressed to a covetous Brahman :—
If I have the one^God, I have gained lakhs ; how many doors for thee to beg at ?
O Brahman, thy life hath passed in vain since thou hast forgotten Him who made thee.
The punishment of sinners:—
Sinners shall lament for the sins they commit:
Nanak, as a churning-staff chumeth milk, so shall Dharm- raj churn them.
The pious render their lives profitable and are honoured after death :—
The pious who meditate on the Name gain the advantage of human lives—
Nanak, Dharmraj will tell them that they have made his court holy.
Evil advisers:—
Men sink into evil sloughs through the sweet words of evil advisers ;
Nanak, they whose good fortune is recorded on their foreheads escape their influence.
Baba Nanak divinely inspired :—
God gave Baba Nanak the Word as an inexhaustible wealth to use and spend ;
As long as God is merciful, so long shall that capital never diminish.
The Guru in his search for God would sell his body for wings :—
If I could find wings to purchase, I would take them for an equal weight of my flesh ;
I would attach them to my body, and search for and find the Friend.
To sit with God the King of kings is the Guru's highest honour:—
* My Friend is the true monarch, the King of kings ;
To sit near Him, in whom all must have faith, is an honour.
END OF VOL. Ill
ITS GURUS, SACRED WRITINGS AND AUTHORS
BY
MAX ARTHUR MACAULIFFE
^ Wsr "aRH WRm)
xRTKr §rar «0 aT
The egg of superstition hath burst; the mind is illumined:
The Guru hath cut the fetters off the feet and freed the captive.
Guru Arjan
IN SIX VOLUMES VOL. IV
OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
HENRY FROWDE, M.A.
PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD LONDON, EDINBURGH, NEW YORK TORONTO AND MELBOURNE
CONTENTS OF VOL. IV
PAGE
Life of Guru Har Gobind, the Sixth Guru . i Gur Das’s Analysis of Sikhism .... 241
Life of Guru Har Rat, the Seventh Guru . 275
Life of Guru Har Krishan, the Eighth Guru . 315
Life of Guru Teg Bahadur, the Ninth Guru . 331
Hymns of Guru Teg Bahadur .... 393
Sloks of Guru Teg Bahadur .... 414
GURU HAR GOBIND
LIFE OF GURU HAR GOBIND , 1 THE SIXTH GURU
Chapter I
Ille ego qui quondam gracili modulatus avena Carmen
.nunc horfentia Martis
Arma virosque 2 cano.
Lo! I the man whose muse whilom did mask,
As time her taught, in lowly shepherd’s weeds,
Am now enforced—a far unfitter task—
For trumpets stern to change mine oaten, reeds;
Spenser.
The early life of Guru Har Gobind has already been given in the life of his father Guru Arjan. On
1 Besides the life of the sixth Guru by Bhai Santokh Singh, mentioned in the Introduction, there is another work called Gur Bilas on the same subject. The name of the author is not given. In the preface to it it is stated that Bhai Mani Singh went to Nankana, The ragis were singing Gur Das’s compositions. When they came to the following—There were five cups, five priests, the great priest the sixth Guru sat on his throne—one Bhagat Singh, a devout Sikh of the locality, called upon Mani Singh to give an account of Guru Har Gobind, the sixth Guru. Mani Singh replied, ‘ I will relate to thee what Guru Gobind Singh told Bhai Daya Singh, and what the latter communicated to me/ One Dharm Singh was present, and heard Mani Singh’s narrative. He gave its details to the author of the Gtir Bilas , whom he had previously baptized. The author of the work states that he completed it in Sambat 1775 ( a . d . 1718). Sardar Kahn Singh of Nabha, however, gives it as his opinion that the work was compiled by Bhai Gurumukh Singh and Bhai Darbara Singh, a priest and a chorister respectively of the Sikh temple at Amritsar, and that they began their literary labour in the reign of Mah&rSja Ranjlt Singh and finished it in the reign of Maharaja Sher Singh.
We are also indebted for several details of the life of Guru Har Gobind to a manuscript life of that Guru in the Panjabi language, and also to the Hindi work, Itihas Guru Khalsa, of Sadhu Gobind Singh of BanSras.
B