No one can kill him, O Kind One, whom Thou preserves!.
How can Thy praises be numbered ? Thou savest countless beings.
Preserve me, O Beloved, preserve me ! I am Thy slave.
My true Lord pervadeth sea and land, the nether and the upper regions.
Thou didst preserve Jaidev and Nama, Thy beloved saints —
Thou didst save those on whom Thou didst bestow Thy name—
Thou didst preserve Sain, Kabir, and Trilochan who loved Thy name.
Thou didst preserve Ravdas, the tanner, who is numbered among Thy saints.1
Nanak, who is without honour or family, uttereth suppli cation.
Extricate him, O Lord, from the ocean of the world, and make him Thine own.
It is said that the Emperor, on hearing this, fell at Nanak's feet, and declared that God appeared on his face. Upon this all the courtiers saluted Nanak. The Emperor asked him to accept a present from him. The Guru replied that he wanted nothing for himself, but he requested that the captives of Saiyidpur might be released. Upon this the Emperor ordered that they should be set free and their pro perty restored to them. The captives, however, refused to depart without the Guru. He was then allowed to go with them, and they went to their homes in the city. They found that all the people who had remained in Saiyidpur had been put to death. Mardana told his master that it had all hap pened as God had willed it. Upon this the Guru, to the accompaniment of Mardana' s rebeck, sang the following lamentation : —
An account of the saints mentioned in this hymn, with their com positions contained in the Granth Sahib, will be given in the final volume of this work.
LIFE OF GURU NANAK 115
Where are those sports, those stables, and those horses ? Where those bugles and clarions ?
Where are those who buckled on their swords and were mighty in battle ? where those scarlet uniforms ?
Where those mirrors and fair faces ? we see them no longer here.
This world is Thine, O Lord of the earth.
In one ghari Thou establishest and disestablishest ; Thou distributest wealth as Thou pleasest.
Where are those houses, those mansions, and those palaces? where those beautiful seraglios ?
Where are those easy couches and those women a sight of whom banished sleep ?
Where is that betel, those betel-sellers, and those fair ones ? They have vanished.
For wealth many are ruined ; this wealth hath disgraced many.
It is not amassed without sin, and it departeth not with the dead.
Him whom the Creator destroyeth He first depriveth of virtue.
Millions of priests tried by their miraculous power to restrain the emperor when they heard of his approach.
He burned houses, mansions, and palaces ; he cut princes to pieces, and had them rolled in the dust.
No Mughal hath become blind ; no priest hath wrought a miracle.
There was a contest between the Mughals and Pathans ; the sword was wielded in the battle.
One side aimed and discharged their guns, the other also handled their weapons :
They whose letter * hath been torn in God's court must die, my brethren.
There were the wives of Hindus, of Turks, of Bhattis, and of Rajputs.
I 2
The robes of some were torn from head to foot ; the dwellings of others were their places of cremation.
How did they whose husbands came not home pass the night ?
The Creator acteth and causeth others to act ; to whom shall man complain ?
Misery and happiness are according to Thy pleasure ; to whom shall we go to cry ?
The Commander is pleased issuing His orders ; Nanak, man obtaineth what is allotted him.1
A propos of the change of circumstances in India the Guru uttered the following : —
God -hath given fixed time for all events, and fully estab lished the nine regions, the seven seas, the fourteen worlds,2 the three qualities, and the four ages.
He put four lamps 3 one by one into the hands of the four ages.
0 kind God, such is Thy power.
The dwellers at every hearth are Thy slaves, and religion is their ruler.
The earth is Thy cooking-pot, Thou gavest once for all ; destiny is Thy storekeeper.
Instigated by their hearts 4 men lose patience and beg again and again to their ruin.
Covetousness is a black dungeon, demerits the fetters on the feet.
Wealth ever beatei;h the soul with its mallet, while sin sitteth as judge.
Man shall be either good or bad, O Lord, as Thou lookest on him.
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The Primal Being is now called Allah ; the turn of the Shaikhs hath come.
There is a tax on the shrines of the gods ; such is the practice established.
There are ablution-pots, calls to prayer, five daily prayers, prayer-carpets, and God appeareth dressed in blue.1
In every house all say ' Mian ' ; 2 your language hath been changed.
Since Thou, who art Lord of the earth hast appointed Babar a Mir,3 what power have we ?
In the four directions men make Thee obeisance, and Thy praises are uttered in every house.
The profit which is obtained from pilgrimages, repeating the Simritis,4 and bestowing alms all day long,
Is, O Nanak, obtained in one ghari by remembering the Name which conferreth greatness.5
The Hindus and the Musalmans who returned to Saiyidpur began to dispose of their dead, and there was weeping and mourning in every house. People said, ' Such and such was the deceased/ Upon this the Guru fell into a trance, and uttered the following hymn : —
' As herdsmen stay for a short time in the pasture-ground,6 so do men stay in this world.
Men by the exercise of falsehood build houses for themselves.
Awake, awake, ye sleepers ; lo ! the soul the dealer departeth.
If ye are to remain here for ever, then build houses.
The body shall fall and the soul depart, if any one desire to know the truth.
The Muhammadans frequently \vcar blue clothes, a custom which has descended from the ancient Egyptians.
f) Basant Ashtapadi.
' This refers to the nomadic life which prevailed around the Guru's natal village.
n8 THE SIKH RELIGION
Why criest thou ' Alas ! alas ! ' 1 God is and shall be.
Ye weep for others, but who will weep for you ?
Ye worry with worldly occupations, my brethren, and practise falsehood.
The dead hear not at all ; ye only cry to be heard of others.
He who laid them to sleep, Nanak, will awake them.
If man know his own home in God, then shall he not sleep.
If any one know of any one at his departure taking any thing with him,
Then let him with open eyes amass wealth — know and consider this.
Do thy dealing ; gain thine object ; be not sorry here after.
Thou shalt be known as a true dealer if thou take profit with thee.
Sow the seed of truth in the soil of honesty ; in that way practise tillage.
Forsake vice, practise virtue, so shalt thou obtain the Real Thing.
If it be God's favour, man shall meet the true Guru, understand his instruction,
Repeat the Name, hear the Name, and deal in the Name.
As is the profit so the loss ; that is the way of the world.
What pleaseth Him, O Nanak, is my glory.2
One day Mardana took it into his head to ask the Guru to explain the cause of the Saiyidpur massacre, and said, ' Sir, some Pathans have done wrong ; but why have so many been killed on their account ? ' The Guru pointed out a tree, and told Mardana to go and sleep under it. When he awoke, the Guru would give him an answer. Mardana accordingly went and lay down to sleep under the tree. A drop of honey fell on his naked breast. As he slept, ants came to drink it, and the sleeper half unconsciously crushed them to death with his hand. The Guru asked him on awaking what he had done. He replied
LIFE OF GURU NANAK 119
that one insect had bitten him, and so he had killed them all. The Guru replied, * It is in that very way the people of Saiyidpur were killed/ Upon this Mardana fell at his feet, and the remnant of the inhabitants of Saiyidpur became his disciples.
After this the Guru returned to the Emperor's camp with the object of obtaining another interview with him. He visited the prison and sang hymns for the prisoners whose treatment he deplored. Under the influence of such feelings he composed the following : —
Babar ruled over Khurasan and hath terrified Hindustan.
The Creator taketh no blame to Himself ; it was Death disguised as a Mughal who made war on us.
When there was such slaughter and lamentation, didst not Thou, O God, feel pain ?
Creator, Thou belongest to all.
If a tyrant slay a tyrant, one is not angry ;
But if a ravening lion fall on a herd, its master l should show his manliness.
The dogs of Lodi 2 have spoiled the priceless inheritance ; when they are dead no one will regard them.
If any one give himself a great name and enjoy himself to his heart's content,
In God's view he is as a worm which nibbleth corn ;
But he who while alive is dead, may gain something, O Nanak, by repeating the Name.3
When Babar had heard this hymn, he ordered the Guru to be sent for. When the Guru appeared, the Emperor asked him to sing the hymn again, and
the Guru did so. Upon this, it is said, Babar's brain opened for the reception of spiritual truths. He praised the Guru, and opening his bhang-pouch, offered him some. The Guru replied that he had already taken bhang whose intoxication would never subside. JBabar asked what bhang that was. The Guru replied with the following hymn :—
1 am an intoxicated hermit.
My hands are the cup ; it is for a sight of Thee, 0 God, I hunger,
And ever beg at Thy door —
For a sight of Thee I crave.
I beg at Thy door ; grant me Thine alms.
Saffron, flowers, musk, gold, and sandal are all applied to the body ;
So the bright perfume of the saints rendereth all souls fragrant.
No one calleth clarified butter or silk impure ; ]
Such is a saint in regard to caste.
May Nanak obtain alms at the doors
Of those who are imbued with Thy name and continue to love Thee ! 2
The Emperor was so pleased with the Guru that he asked him to accompany him. The Guru would at first only promise to remain one day with him, but, on being pressed to remain three days, at last consented. The Guru was always distressed as he looked towards the prisoners. For the third time he sang the preceding hymn, and then fell into a trance and became unconscious. The Emperor stood over him, and asked the bystanders what had happened. They replied that the faqir, on beholding God's wrath, was in suffering, and had fallen into a trance. Babar became alarmed for the Guru's safety, and asked the people to pray to God for his re-
LIFE OF GURU NANAK 121
covery. Upon this the Guru stood up, and there then shone such light as if a thousand suns had arisen. Babar saluted, and asked the Guru to be gracious unto him. The Guru replied, ' If thou, O Emperor, desire kindness, set all thy captives free.' He agreed, on one condition — that the Guru should promise that his empire should continue from generation to generation. The Guru replied, ' Thine empire shall remain for a time.' The Emperor on this ordered that all his prisoners should be clothed with robes of honour, a matter which gave great pleasure and satisfaction to the Guru. The Emperor asked the Guru for instruction suitable to his position. The Guru said, ' Deliver just judgements, reverence holy men, forswear wine and gambling. The monarch who indulgeth in these vices shall, if he survive, bewail his misdeeds. Be merciful to the vanquished, and worship God in spirit and in truth.'
At the final parting, the Emperor pressed the Guru to embrace Islam, which recognized only one God, as the Guru himself had been preaching, so he would not have far to go on his spiritual journey and his progress to salvation. Moreover, on embracing Islam he would have the advantage of the mediation of God's holy and last prophet Muhammad. The Guru replied :—
There are hundreds of thousands of Muhammads, but only one God.
The Unseen is true and without anxiety.
Many Muhammads stand in His court.
So numberless they cannot be reckoned.
Prophets have been sent and come into the world.
Whenever He pleaseth He hath them arrested and brought before Him.
The slave Nanak hath ascertained
That God alone is pure and all else impure.
The Emperor, instead of being incensed at this outspoken language, invited the Guru to ask him
a favour. The Guru replied to the accompaniment of Mardana's rebeck :—
It is the one God Who hath commissioned me.
Every one partaketh of His Gifts.
(He who looketh for human support Loseth both this world and the next. ^There is but one Giver, the whole world are beggars.
They who forsake Him and attach themselves to others lose all their honour.
Kings and Emperors are all made by Him. There is none equal to Him. Saith Nanak, Hear, Emperor Babar, He who beggeth of thee is a fool.