Vol. III — Bhai Gur Das’s Analysis of the Sikh Religion

We have now arrived at a stage in the history of the Sikh Gurus and of the Sikh reformation when the religion of Guru Nanak may be said to have been consolidated by his genius, by the impress he left on his successors, by their general fidelity to his teachings and example, and by the piety and industry of Guru Arjan.

The first five Gurus were, as we have seen, all sacred bards. The last of them, in addition to copious original compositions of his own, collected all the hymns of his predecessors into one volume in order to be a guide to Sikhs for all time. The sixth, seventh, and eighth Gurus have left no written memorials of their teachings. It, therefore, appears fitting at this stage to give the analysis of the tenets of the Sikh religion which is contained in the Wars of Bhai Gur Das, who was a contemporary of the fourth, fifth, and sixth Gurus, and who was acquainted with them and their contemporaries, especially Bhai Budha, an aged Sikh who had survived from the time of Guru Nanak.

Gur Das’s Wars are forty in number. Each war is divided into a varying number of pauris, and each pauri contains from five to ten lines. The language is old and very difficult Panjabi. The Wars from which the following extracts are taken are given in the notes.

The advantage of the society of the holy:—

Trees which grow near sandal are perfumed like sandal. If any of the eight metals be touched by the philosopher’s stone, it becometh gold. As rivers, streams, and water-

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courses which fall into the Ganges become the Ganges, so doth the society of holy men save sinners and wash away the filth of sin. It saveth countless souls from hell, and associateth with itself hundreds of thousands of the lost. The holy see God in the midst of them . 1

By associating with the holy the way of union with God is found in one’s own home. To cherish the Guru’s instruction is to obtain salvation . 2

. The elixir is beneficent and turneth baser metals into gold. The sandal-tree perfumeth other trees whether they bear fruit or not. Rain falleth everywhere whether the ground be good or bad. When the sun riseth, it diffuseth its beams through the warp and woof of the world. The earth hath the capacity of endurance. Though the ruby, jewels, gems, gold, iron, the philosopher’s stone are all produced from it, it regardeth not outrages. In the same way the company of the saints conferreth on men indiscriminately benefits which cannot be estimated . 8

The Sikh religion :—

The Sikh religion is distinct, and superior to other religions.

The faith of the Sikhs is fixed, and by it man is absorbed in God.

Hundreds of thousands of groups of Sikhs form one group and have no false pride, that is, they harbour not contempt for one another on account of pride of birth . 4

The way of Sikhism is narrow ; it is sharper than the edge of a sword and finer than a hair. There is no creed equal to it in the past, present, or future. There is no second God ; there is only one God in this house . 6

There is but one dot of difference between the holy and the unholy :—

There is but one step from the holy to the unholy. For instance, the word maharam (holy) by the addition of a point becometh mujaram (criminal). Sikhs, otherwise sensible, in a state of aberration ruin their minds by assisting

2 ill. 3 XL. i III. '« IX.

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in superstitious ceremonies . 1 They who ire subordinate to the Guru perform his Service and keep their secrets to themselves.*

The unity of Sikhs :—

Where there is one Sikh there is one Sikh ; where there are two Sikhs, there is a company of saints ; where there are five Sikhs there is God. 8

Sikhs must have faith in the Guru’s words, and not allow their minds to wander . 4

O Sikhs of the Guru, hear the Guru’s instruction. Be wise within but simple without. Fix your attention on the Word and be wakeful. Be deaf to everything except the Guru’s words. Behold the true Guru. Where there is not the company of the saints, the house is empty and dismantled. Utter the Guru’s word Wahguru, and silently quaff the cup of love. Salute and be humble to the Sikhs. Sprinkle in thy house the water in which thou hast washed their feet. Deem the Guru’s feet a lotus and thy mind a bumble-bee, and in this terrible ocean of the world keep thy faith distinct. The Guru is the true mediator to bestow salvation on man while alive . 5

The Sikhs ponder on the words of the Ineffable, and abstain from praise and blame. Allowing the Guru’s instruction to enter their hearts, they speak civilly and thus comfort one another. The Sikhs’ virtues cannot be concealed. A man may hide molasses, but ants will discover it. At the same time, the Sikhs have great endurance. Sugar-cane though sweet is pressed in a mill, and so must Sikhs suffer while conferring favours on others . 9

Worthy of praise are the hands of the Sikh who in the company of the saints doeth the Guru’s work, who draweth water, fanneth, grindeth, washeth his feet, and drinketh the water therefrom; who copieth the Guru’s hymns and

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playeth the cymbals, the mirdang , 1 and the rebeck, in the company of the holy, who boweth and prostrateth himself and embraceth a brother Sikh; who liveth honestly, and who by his munificence conferreth favours on others ; who contented with touching the Guru as a philosopher’s stone, toucheth nothing else, and layeth not his hand on another’s wife or property ; who loveth another Sikh and embraceth the love, devotion, and fear of God; and who effaceth and asserteth not himself . 2

Blest are the feet of the Sikhs who walk in the Guru’s way, who go to the Guru’s door, and sit there with holy men, who search out the Guru’s Sikhs and haste to do them favours, who run not in mammon’s way, and who if they happen to possess wealth remain humble. Few are the slaves of the Commander, who do Him homage and thus escape from their bonds ; who adopt the custom of circumambulating the Guru’s Sikhs and falling at their feet. The Guru’s Sikhs delight in such enjoyments . 2

The Sikhs erase the twelve tilaks of the Hindus, applied to various parts of the body, and apply in their stead the tilak of the Guru’s instruction . 3

Effect of the Guru’s teaching':—

By the Guru’s hymns the mind is satisfied and man reacheth his own home . 4

The Sikh who receiveth the Guru’s instruction is really a Sikh . 4

The true Guru, the real king, putteth the holy on the high road to salvation. He restraineth the deadly sins, evil inclinations, and worldly love. The Sikhs pass their time in remembering the Word with devotion, and therefore Death the tax-gatherer approacheth them not. The Guru hath dispersed the apostates and seated the guild of the saints in Paradise. By the spell of the Name he hath

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inculcated love, devotion, fear, charity, and ablutions. As the lotus remaineth dry in the water, so doth the Guru keep the holy man unaffected by the world. The Sikhs efface and assert not themselves . 1

The Guru’s instruction teacheth to praise Wahguru. The Veds know not and Sheshnag hath not discovered His secret . 2

The Guru’s Sikh becometh of the Guru’s line, a supreme saint, and separateth falsehood from truth as the swan separateth water from milk . 3 The Guru then becometh a disciple and the disciple a Guru . 4

There can only be dealings at one shop, the owner of which is the true perfect Guru. He taketh demerits and selleth merits in exchange, and he dealeth honestly. He maketh the simmal-tree bear fruit, and he turneth dross into gold. He perfumeth the bamboo, and changeth the crow into a swan. He showeth the sun to the owl, and maketh the shell more beautiful than pearls. His hymns which are before us are superior to the Veds and the Quran . 5

The attributes of a disciple :—

To become a disciple is, as it were, to become dead. It cannot be done by words. A disciple must be patient, faithful, possess a martyr’s spirit, and free himself from superstition and fear. He must be like a purchased slave fit to be yoked to any work which may serve his Guru. He must never be hungry, and never require sleep. He must be ready to grind and bring fresh water for his Guru. He must be ever prepared to fan and wash his Guru’s feet. He must be a sedate servant and never laugh or cry. Thus shall he obtain the position of a darwesh, be absorbed in the relish of the Beloved, arrive at the goal of emancipation, and receive those congratulations which the Muhammadans bestow on one another on seeing the moon of the Id festival . 6

to the time of Gur Das. 5 XIII.

The pious man :—

To the pious man who treasureth in his heart the Guru’s instruction and effaceth himself, God’s will will naturally be grateful. He shall find his real home by associating with the saints and fearing and loving God. Blest the mother who bore him; and profitable his advent into the world . 1

Humility:—

He who is humble is dear to the Guru . 2

He who is humble winneth, he who is proud loseth the game . 2

A pomegranate seed like a speck of dust entereth the dust. It becometh a green tree, and rejoiceth in its red blossoms. One tree hath a thousand flowers ; its flowers and fruit are superior one to the other. From one seed there are hundreds of thousands of fruits, and in every fruit there is a seed. There is no deficiency in that fruit. The more its fruits are gathered, the more it beareth fruit and flowers. The Guru’s religion teacheth to walk humbly, thus shall all Sikhs become great?

There are hundreds of thousands of men high, intermediate, and low, but the holy man calleth himself the lowest of the low . 4

The earth is the most humble of all, but in God’s court it obtaineth greatness for its patience. Some weed or plough it, aftd Some pollute it. The holy obtain the fruit of peace in the house of contentment. They efface and assert themselves not. Whether waking, dreaming, or sleeping deeply, they with love in their hearts remain absorbed in God. They remember the Guru’s hymns in the association of the saints . 8

The elephant is not eaten on account of its pride, and no one e'ateth the powerful lion. The goat is unhonoured, but obtaineth religious and secular distinction. It is eaten at deaths and marriages and accepted at feasts. Its flesh

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is holy for worldly people, and strings for musical instruments are made from its entrails. Shoes which holy men wear are made from its skin. Trumpets and drums made from goat-skin afford pleasure by their music to the society of the saints . 1

To call oneself the lowest of the low is the Guru’s teaching, if any one act according to it. Sixty copper paise are equal to one silver rupee which is received with suspicion, while the paise are not. Ten rupees are equal to a gold coin which is received with more suspicion. For thousands of gold coins a diamond which is strung on a necklace is purchased, and that is received with still more suspicion. The Sikhs who fall at one another’s feet and become the dust of one another’s feet, are equal in thought, word, and deed to saints, and become freed from superstition and fear . 2

There is sugar in a hornet’s nest, bees swarm together and produce honey. Silk and satin are obtained from worms. Canvas is made from beaten hemp. Muslin cometh from cotton seed. The lotus with which the bumble-bee is enchanted groweth in the mire. There is a jewel in the cobra’s head. The diamond is a stone. Musk is in the deer’s body. The sword fashioned from steel is called bhagauti (goddess). Odour from the civet cat perfumeth courts. From lowly things the greatest advantage is obtained . 3

Call thyself the lowest of the low, become a worm and be not conceited. Walk in the Guru’s way, and let a thousand of you be contained in one worm-hole . 4 Wherever there is the smell of clarified butter and sugar, thither throng the worms ; so do Sikhs to hear the Guru’s words. When sugar is spilled in sand, worms pick up the grains. Through fear of the bhringi 6 the ant dieth, but the bhringi reanimateth

it, and maketh it a bhringi like itself . 1 He who receiveth the Guru’s instruction feareth to do evil deeds. The Guru’s instruction maketh him humble and again exalteth him. Thus do the Guru’s Sikhs receive the reward of happiness . 2

The Guru’s Sikhs who have dispelled their pride are continent and praiseworthy . 3

The Guru’s religion and his teaching :—

Become pious by association with the saints and associate not with the evil. The Guru’s religion conferreth happiness. Make not thyself miserable in other sects. Under the Guru’s instruction abandon caste, acquire the excellent colour of tambol . 4 Behold the Guru’s school and put no faith in the six schools. Rely upon the Guru’s instruction. Be not led away by any other love. Act according to the Guru’s words ; forsake not the way of humility, and, O ye pious, derive your pleasure from love and devotion . 8

The religion of the Guru conferreth happiness ; the perverse wander in every direction . 8

The Guru’s hymn is the Guru’s image, and is repeated in the company of the saints . 6

How the Guru’s Sikhs love the society of the holy:—

The people of the four castes observe the customs of their castes and tribes. The believers in the six books of the six schools perform six duties according to the wisdom of their respective spiritual advisers. Servants go and salute their masters, merchants deal in their own special merchandise, agriculturists sow different seeds in different fields, mechanics meet mechanics in their workshops—with such attention and love do the Guru’s Sikhs associate with the company of the saints . 6

Examples of hypocrisy and superstition :—

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Into the practice of continence, austerities, hom, feasts, Hindu devotion, penance and gifts, hypocrisy largely entereth ; incantations and spells are plays on a large scale. The worship of the fifty-two heroes, of the eight joginis, of cemeteries and of places of cremation leads to great dissimulation. Men are employed in purak, kumbhak and rechak, in the performance of the niwali feat, and in the drawing up of their breath through the spinal marrow. Many employ themselves in sitting in the postures of the Sidhs, and obstinately abandon their homes. Hundreds of thousands of such tricks have I seen. The belief in the philosopher’s stone, the jewel in the serpent’s head, alchemy, miracles is all a matter of ignorance. Men are engaged in the worship of idols, gods, and goddesses, in fasting, uttering blessings and curses, but without the society of the saints and the repetition of the Guru’s hymns even very good men find not acceptance. The* superstitious have bound themselves with a hundred knots of falsehood . 1

Paying attention to omens, the nine grihs, the twelve signs of the Zodiac, incantations, magic, divination by lines, and by the voice is all vanity. It is vain to draw conclusions from the cries of donkeys, dogs, cats, kites, malalis 2 and jackals. Omens drawn from meeting a widow, a man with a bare head, from water, fire, sneezing, breaking wind, hiccups, lunar and week days, unlucky moments, and conjunctions of planets are all superstition. If a woman who winks at every man try by deceit to inspire belief in her, how can her husband feel confidence ? The holy who reject such superstitions obtain happiness and salvation . 1

People worship departed heroes, ancestors, satis, deceased co-wives, tanks, and pits, but all this is of no avail. They who enjoy not the company of the saints and the Guru’s instruction, die and are born again and are rejected of God. It is the follower of the Guru who weareth God’s name as his diamond necklace . 1

The Guru’s Sikhs lead a family life, but wearing a hair-

tuft and a janeu, and putting the latter on the ear when performing offices of nature are all superstition. The Guru’s Sikhs recognize divine knowledge and the advantage of meditation on the Supreme Being who filleth all creation. When they associate with the holy > they are held in honour and accepted in God’s court . 1 *

The holy man rejecteth the worship of fire with its seven colours, trampleth on the army of the Bhairavs and the manifestations of Shiv, and is not pleased with omens from the seven Rohinis,® the seven days of the week, and seven women whose husbands are alive . 3

The thirteen offerings 4 * made by Hindus at feasts for ancestors have led men astray in superstition. Hundreds of thousands of feasts are not equal to drinking the water in which a Sikh hath washed his feet. Hundreds of thousands of sacred feasts and offerings are not equal to putting one grain into a Sikh’s mouth. A Sikh enjoyeth supreme happiness in satisfying another . 6

The Sikhs reject superstition, rejoicing, and mourning:—

On the occasion of Hindu marriages lascivious songs are sung and trumpets played on the part of the bride and bridegroom, but not so among the Sikhs. People weep and utter lamentations for the dead, but the Sikhs on such occasions read the Sohila in the company of the saints. The Sikhs have no concern with the Veds or the books of the Moslems, and neither rejoice at a birth nor mourn at a death. In the midst of desires they remain free from them.®

five cooking vessels, a stick, a copper vessel for distributing water, corn, cooked food, cash, and a sacrificial thread. Garur Puran, chap. XIII.

* VII. « V.

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The Sikhs heed not omens on the right or the left. They retrace not their steps on seeing a widow or a bare-headed man. They pay not attention to the voices of birds or to sneezing. They worship not or adore gods or goddesses. They allow not their bodies or minds to wander. The Guru’s Sikhs plant a true field and reap the harvest thereof . 1

Woman:—

From a temporal and spiritual point of view woman is half man’s body and assisteth to salvation. She assuredly bringeth happiness to the virtuous . 2

The perverse compared to the offspring of a courtesan:—

A courtesan who hath many lovers committeth every species of sin. An outcast from her people and her country, she bringeth shame on her father’s and mother’s and father- in-law’s families. She is ruined herself and ruineth others, and giveth them to eat of her poison. She is like the pipe which lureth the deer, or the lamp which burneth the moth, and is dishonoured in both worlds. She is a boat of stone which drowns its passengers. So are the minds of the perverse scattered and led astray by superstition in the company of the evil. And as a courtesan’s son beareth not his father’s name, so no one admitteth the ownership of the perverse . 2

The condition of the courtesan :—

An abandoned woman leaving her father’s and father- in-law’s house becometh shameless, and washeth not away her evil reputation. Leaving her husband she enjoyeth her lover. How can she be happy when her heart is drawn in different directions ? She heedeth not advice, and is despised at assemblies of mourning and rejoicing. She weepeth when reproached and put to shame at every house. She is arrested for her sins, and punished by order of the court. She is neither dead nor alive, she suffereth misery ; she dwelleth not in her own house but searcheth for another 1 XX, 2 V.

to ruin it. In her dubious circumstances she weaveth for herself a garland of vice . 1

The man who adheres not to one religion is compared to a courtesan who has many lovers :—