Vol. I — Life of Guru Nanak Toi, Chapter IX

The Guru and Mardana again set out on their travels. It is said that they went to the west and crossed the rivers Ravi and Chanab, and, after a long circuitous route through a desert country, made their way again to Pak Pattan to pay another visit to Shaikh Brahm. They sat down to rest about four miles from the city. Shaikh Kamal, a pious and God-fearing disciple of Shaikh Brahm, who had gone

into the forest for firewood, observed the Guru and his attendant. The latter was playing his rebeck and singing the following :—

Thou art the tablet, 0 Lord, Thou art the pen, and Thou art also the writing.

Speak of the one God ; O Nanak, why should there be a second ? l

Shaikh Kamal went and, after obeisance, sat down near them, and asked to have the couplet repeated. This was done, and he learned it by heart. He then took up the firewood he had collected and went home. He told his master of his adventure, and repeated the couplet for him. Shaikh Brahm was highly pleased that the Guru had again visited his country, and he promptly proceeded to welcome him. After mutual salutations, the Guru thanked God for having again granted him a sight of Shaikh Brahm. After some friendly conversation, the Shaikh asked the Guru to explain the couplet. ' Nanak, thou sayest, " There is only one God ; why should there be a second ? " I say :—

< 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 dieth ? Remember the one God, Nanak, who is contained in sea and land.

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.2

The Guru traversed this instruction : ' It is not

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necessary for me to tear my coat or adopt a religious garb. Men who reside at home and work in their ordinary costume shall find the Lord if they fix their hearts on Him ; ' l

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.2

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.' 3

Guru Nanak then gave utterance to the following, to the effect that salvation depends upon virtue and not on a pleasing exterior or the possession of accomplishments :—

A woman may be stupid, untidy, black, and impure- minded ;

Yet, if she possess merits, she meeteth her Beloved ; otherwise, Nanak, the woman is to blame.

The Shaikh then put the following questions :—

What is that word, what that virtue, what that priceless spell •

What dress shall I wear by which I may captivate the Spouse ? 4

Why tear thy coat, Nanak, and why wear a blanket ? Seated at home thou shalt find the Lord if thine intentions be good.

The Guru replied :—

Humility is the word, forbearance the virtue, and civility the priceless spell.

Make these three1 thy dress, O sister, and the Spouse shall come into thy power.2

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 God. With the ordinary knife in use the lower animals are killed, and if a man's throat be cut with it he becomes carrion.' The Guru replied : ' Dear Shaikh, here it is : —

Truth is the knife, truth is pure steel ;

Its fashion is altogether incomparable.

Put it on the hone of the Word,

And fit it into the scabbard of merit.

If any one be bled with that, O Shaikh,

The blood of avarice will be seen to issue forth.

If man be slaughtered with it, he shall go to meet God,

O Nanak, and be absorbed in the sight of Him.'3

On hearing this the Shaikh raised his head in amazement and said, ' Well done. Thou hast seen God, and art dear to Him. God hath been very kind to me in that I have met thee. It would be rude to ask any further questions of those who are so beloved by Him.' The Guru then volunteered the following :—

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.

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The anger which barketh is despised ; it is vain to worry with worldly occupations.

To be silent, O Nanak, is good ; without the Name the mouth is defiled.1

The Shaikh asked the Guru to let him hear a strain in praise of the one God. ' My idea is ', said the Shaikh, ' that adoration cannot be performed without two beings, that is, God and the Prophet ; Let me see whom thou makest man's intercessor/ The Guru called upon Mardana to play the rebeck and recite the first slok and pauri2 of the Asa ki War.

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 the Guru,

Shall be left like spurious sesames in a reaped field —

They shall be left in the field, saith Nanak, without an owner.

The wretches may even bear fruit and flower, but these shall be as ashes within their bodies.

God Himself created the world and Himself gave names to things.

He made Maya by His power ; seated He beheld His work with delight.

Thou knowest all things ; Thou givest and takest life with a word.3

Seated Thou beholdest Thy work with delight.4

io6 THE SIKH RELIGION

Shaikh Brahm asked the Guru for further instruc tion. The Guru then spoke on the subject of humility, and said that as water, which resteth lowly on the earth, riseth under pressure into the air in sparkling fountains, so they who preserve a humble mind mount to God's highest pinnacle.

The Shaikh then rose to take his leave, and said, ' O Nanak, thou hast found God. There is no difference between Him and thee. Kindly grant that I too may be on good terms with Him/ The Guru replied, ' Shaikh Brahm, God will cause thy cargo also to arrive safe.' By this the Guru meant that God would accept the Shaikh's devotion. The Shaikh requested the Guru to give him a certain promise of this, and the Guru complied. They then shook hands and parted.

The Guru next proceeded to Dipalpur. During his journey a Sanyasi asked him to define the word udas. The Guru replied : ' To make use of all things in this world and not deem them one's own, but only God's property, and ever to possess a desire to meet Him is udas.'

The Guru then visited Kanganpur, Kasur, and Patti in the Lahore District. He thence proceeded to Windpur, not far from the present town of Cholha, in the sub-collectorate of Tarn Taran in the Amritsar District. He met some Khatris who dwelt there ; but when they saw him dressed as a f aqir and heard his minstrel Mardana sing, they were displeased at what they considered the masquerade he had adopted, and said to him, ' What dress is this which thou hast assumed ? Having become a faqir, thou hast dis graced thy tribe, and led the world astray. Quit this place.' The Guru represented that he would only remain for the night, and would depart next morning. He added that he was not leading people the wrong way, but guiding them to salvation. They replied that they would not allow him to remain for a moment in their village. He must

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depart at once, or they would forcibly expel him. The Guru, complying with this insulting order, said that the Guru's place should ever be permanent.

The Guru thence proceeded to a village on the site of the present Goindwal, where he desired to stay, but no one except a poor leper would receive him or allow him to remain there. The leper took him to his hut, and entertained him for the night. The leper thanked God that he had at last seen a human face, for even the lower animals had fled from him. When he began further to bemoan his fate, the Guru uttered the following :—

My mind is ever and ever troubled.

In many troubles my body pineth away and ever groweth worse.

The body which forgetteth God's word,

Screameth like a real leper.

To make many complaints is to talk folly •'Without our complaining everything is known to God,

Who made our ears, our eyes, and our noses ;

Who gave us tongues wherewith to speak ;

Who preserved us in the fire of the womb ;

And through whom the breath moveth and speaketh every where.

Worldly love, affection, and dainties

Are all blackness and stains.

If man depart with the brand of sin on his face,

He will not be allowed to sit in God's court.

If he meet Thy favour, 0 God, he repeateth Thy name. v 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.1

The Guru further warmed towards the leper and blessed him. The leper was cured of his malady, fell at the Guru's feet, and began to utter the Name.

io8 THE SIKH RELIGION

The Guru then travelled through Sultanpur — his old head quarters when he was a Government official — Vairowal, and Jalalabad, until he arrived at a place called Kari Pathandi in the Amritsar District. In Kari Pathandi he made many Pathan converts. They used to serenade him with instru mental music, interspersed with cries of ' Hail to King Nanak ! ' The Guru there composed the fol lowing : —

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.

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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,1 Nanak, putteth an end to his doubts and transmigration ;

He easily blendeth with God, and obtaineth the undying dignity.2

The Guru continued his wanderings and visited Batala in the Gurdaspur District. Thence he pro ceeded a second time to Saiyidpur, where he again visited Lalo. Lalo complained to him of the oppres sion of the Pathans. The Guru replied that their dominion should be brief, as Babar was on his way to the conquest of India. The Guru then addressed the following threnody to his host :—

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,3 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 the Lord in the city of corpses, and uttereth this commonplace —

no THE SIKH RELIGION

He who made men assigned them different positions ; He sitteth apart alone and regardeth them.

True is the Lord, true His decision, true the justice He meteth out as an example.

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.1

Nanak uttereth the word of the True One, and will pro claim the truth at the True One's appointed time.2

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.3

A Brahman came to the Guru, offered him a basket of fruit, and said, ' My friend, thou art uttering hymns of wrath/ The Guru replied, 'Remain not here ; there is a pool three miles distant ; go thither with thy family. All who remain here will be put

LIFE OF GURU NANAK in

to death.' The Brahman acted on his advice. After some days Babar assaulted and destroyed the city. He also devastated the neighbouring villages. There was a general massacre of the people, and Pathan as well as Hindu habitations were plundered and razed to the ground.

The lives of the Guru and Mardana were spared, probably because they were strangers, but they were imprisoned and placed under the superinten dence of Mir Khan, an officer of Babar's army. Mir Khan, on seeing them, ordered, ' Take away these slaves to work/ The Guru was condemned to carry loads on his head, and Mardana to do the work of a groom. The Guru upon this uttered the fol lowing :—

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.1

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.2

When the Guru had finished this hymn, Mardana saw some women weeping and shrieking as they passed along, and asked his master what had hap pened to them. The Guru told Mardana to play the

rebeck. Mardana replied that he could not do so, as he was holding a horse. The Guru bade him utter ' Wah Guru ' and let go the horse. Mardana obeyed and played the Rag Asa, to which the Guru sang the following hymn : —

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!

When they were married, they appeared beautiful near their spouses ;

They came in their sedans adorned with ivory ;

Water was waved round their heads,1 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 strings of pearls.

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.

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Some lost their five times of prayer, others their hours of worship.

How shall Hindu women now bathe and apply frontal marks without their sacred squares ?

f 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 to sit and weep in pain. v/ What pleaseth God, O Nanak, shall happen ; what is man ? 3

After this, Mir Khan, the governor of the jail, arrived. He saw that the Guru's bundle was raised a cubit over his head without any apparent support, and that the horse entrusted to Mardana followed him while he played sacred music on his rebeck. The governor communicated this information to Babar. The Emperor replied that, if he had known the city contained such holy men, he would not have destroyed it. At the governor's suggestion he went to the prison, which was two miles distant. There were Pathan and Hindu women huddled pro miscuously together, grinding corn. The Guru had also been supplied with a hand-mill for the same purpose. It is said that the mill revolved of its own accord while he put in the corn. The Emperor addressed the Guru, but he was in a trance, thinking of the slaughter of his unoffending countrymen. On awaking he uttered the following hymn, which, however, is not found in the Granth Sahib :—

God of our fathers ! what is man, That thou towards him with hand so various, Or might I say contrarious,

Temper'st thy providence through his short course, Not evenly, as thou rulest

The angelic orders, and inferior creatures mute, Irrational and brute ?

MILTON, Samson Agomstes.