They who utter falsehood are unhappy :— If a woman please her Spouse, she shall be honoured in
His house :
If she utter falsehood it is of no avail :
If she utter falsehood it is of no avail ; her Spouse will not
look at her.
Without merits, forgotten by her Spouse, and false, painful
are her nights.
Z 2
RAG SUHI Man ought to practise devotion at home : —
Man dwelleth not at home, but wandereth abroad.
Why doth he forsake ambrosia and eat poison ?
Embrace such knowledge, O my soul,
As may make thee a servant of the True One.
Although every one speaketh of divine knowledge and meditation,
Yet the whole world wandereth bound by its own entangle ments.
He who performeth service is a servant of Him
Who pervadeth the water, the dry land, the nether regions, and the firmament.
I am not good ; there is nobody bad.
The representation of Nanak is — he who thinketh so is saved.
SUHI ASHTAPADI
The Guru depreciates himself, and utters a prayer to the Almighty : —
In me are all demerits ; I have not one merit :
How shall I meet my Spouse ?
No beauty or lustrous eyes are mine,
No family, no manners, or sweet speech.
The woman who cometh adorned with divine knowledge,
Shall be a happy wife if she please her Spouse.
The woman, who though very wise pleaseth not her Spouse, Who attached to mammon is lost in superstition, Shall, if she dismiss her pride, be absorbed in her Beloved, And obtain Him who is her nine treasures.
1 suffered through being separated from God in many births.
O Beloved Sovereign, take my hand.
Saith Nanak, the Lord is, was, and shall be.
The Beloved will enjoy her who is pleasing to Him.
HYMNS OF GURU NANAK 341
Miscellaneous instruction of the Guru :—
False and fleeting is the dye of the safflower, lasting for only four days.
Without the Name man wandereth in error ; the evil passions x rob him, false that he is.
He who is tinctured with the True One shall not be born again.
How canst thou who art dyed with the love of God, be otherwise dyed ?
Serve the Guru who giveth God's dye, and apply thy heart to the True One.
Even though man wander in every direction, he shall not obtain spiritual wealth without good fortune.
If robbed by vice thou wander in the forest like a huntsman, thou shalt not find shelter.
They whom the Guru protecteth are saved ; their hearts are dyed with his instruction.
They who wear white clothes, but whose hearts are filthy and hard,
Never utter the Name, but like thieves become absorbed in mammon.
They who know not their own humble origin are beasts and cattle.
Man though ever and ever engaged in pleasures, ever and ever desireth more enjoyment.
He thinketh not of the Creator, so misery attacheth to him again and again.
How shall he in whose heart the Dispenser ot weal and woe I dwelleth, want for anything ?
They whose accounts are not adjusted shall be summoned ; j the executioner shall smite them on their heads.
When the account is called for it must be given ; it will be i examined and considered.
Man shall be saved by his love for the True One ; the Pardoner will pardon him.
If he make any one else than God his friend, he shall die and be blended with the dust.
Man beholding various phases of life is led astray, and going astray suffereth transmigration ;
But he shall be emancipated by a favouring glance from God, and God will blend him with Himself.
0 listless man who possessest not divine knowledge, search not for it without the Guru.
Man is ruined by allowing himself to be drawn in different directions ; the effects of both evil and good acts remain with him.
The god of death spieth every one who is without the Word, and who feeleth not the fear of God.
He who made and sustained the world giveth support to all.
Why forget Him who is ever and ever the Benefactor ?
May Nanak not forget the Name which is the support of the supportless !
Sum CHHANT
The following is now sung by Sikhs at marriages and other festivities : —
Friends l have come to my house :
The True One hath caused me to meet them.
When it pleased God He caused me to meet them without mine own effort ; by meeting the elect happiness is found.
1 have obtained what I set my heart on.
When I meet the saints my soul is happy ; night and day my hearth and home look bright.
The unbeaten sound of the five musical instruments playeth since saints have come to my house.
Come, beloved friends,
Sing a song of rejoicing, O women.
Sing a true song of rejoicing ; then shall you be pleasing to God and rejoice through the four ages.2
The Spouse hath come to my house, the place is adorned by Him. His instruction hath adjusted mine affairs.
I applied the great salve of divine knowledge to mine eyes, and saw God's form which filleth the three worlds.
HYMNS OF GURU NANAK 343
Meet me, O companions, sing with zest a song of rejoicing, since my Spouse hath come home to me.
My soul and body are bedewed with nectar,
And in my heart is the jewel of love :
In my heart is the precious jewel, and I ponder on the Primal Essence.
To animals Thou art the opulent Giver l ; Thou givest to every individual.
Thou art wise ; Thou possessest divine knowledge ; Thou art the searcher of hearts ; Thou Thyself didst create the world.
Listen, my friends, the charming Bridegroom hath fasci nated me, and my soul and body are bedewed with nectar.
O Supreme Spirit of the world,
True is Thy play :
True is Thy play, O Incomprehensible and Infinite One ; who can cause us to understand but Thee ?
Without Thee how many can call themselves Sidhs, Strivers, or wise ?
The Guru hath stayed the soul which was maddened with the misery of death.
Nanak, he who removeth his demerits by the Word, obtaineth God through his aggregate of merits.
The Guru is waiting for God as a fond wife for her husband :—
Come, my Friend, that I may behold Thee.
Standing at my door I am watching for Thee ; in my heart is excessive longing ;
In my heart is excessive longing ; hear me, my Lord, I have reliance on Thee.
On beholding Thee I have become free from desire ; the pain of birth and death is at an end.
In all things is Thy light ; from it art Thou known, but Thou art found by love.
Nanak, I am a sacrifice to the Friend ; the True One is found when my mind cometh home.
SUHI KI WAR God will assay man's qualities : —
Nanak when a man bringeth and putteth money in his house he examineth it ;
So in the Lord's court the counterfeit and the genuine shall be tested.
Bathing at places of pilgrimage only renders men more impure : —
Men of evil minds and thievish bodies go to bathe at places of pilgrimage.
One part of their filth departeth by bathing, but they con tract double more.1
A gourd may be externally washed, but it containeth undiluted poison within.
Holy men are good without bathing ; a thief is always a thief whether he bathe or not.
Men should traffic in God's name from their earliest years : —
There are two lamps for fourteen shops,2 And as many shopkeepers as souls : When the shops are opened, the traffic beginneth. Every one who cometh into the world is transient. Religion is the broker who putteth a mark on the goods. Nanak, they who profit by the Name are acceptable. For those who obtain the greatness of the true Name Gratulations resound on their arrival at their own homes.
In evil association there is no hope of amendment:—
It is the habit of thieves, adulterers, prostitutes, and pimps
To contract friendship with the irreligious and dine with them.
They take no thought for God's praises ; the devil ever dwelleth in their hearts.
HYMNS OF GURU NANAK 345
If sandal be rubbed on a donkey, he will still roll in the dust.
Nanak, by spinning falsehood the web of falsehood is woven.
False is the cloth therefrom and its measurement ; false the raiment and the pride thereof.
The repetition of God's name is superior to the call of the Muazzin l or the horn of the Jogi,
Whether the Muazzin repeateth the call to prayer or the Jogi bloweth horns, and the bards join the chorus,
Some are givers, others are beggars ; to me Thy name alone is acceptable.
Nanak, I am a sacrifice to those who have heard and accepted it.
The following sloks in the Suhi ki War contain miscellaneous instruction and reflections of the Guru :—
I am a sacrifice to those whose words consist of God's praises.
Every night is for the married woman ; let me who am separated from Thee, O God, obtain even one night.
They who have not obtained the sweets of love or the delights of the Bridegroom,
Are like the guest of an empty house who goeth as he cometh.
A curse on the lives of those who eat to distend their bellies
Nanak, without the true Name all love is turned into hate.
You say, 0 Pandits—1 As darkness is dispelled when a lamp is lighted,
/ say, l When the sun riseth, the moon is not seen.
< Without understanding this every one shall be disgraced, 1 Who calls to prayer from the top of a mosque.
' Nanak, the man who listeneth to the Guru's instruction shall be saved.
' They who delight not in the Word and who love not God's name,
' Speak offensively with their tongues, and shall ever be disgraced.
' Nanak, they act according to their destiny which none can erase.'
RAG BILAWAL
It would not redound to God's glory to call Him by the names of the Hindu incarnations.
Thou art an emperor ; if I call Thee lord, how will that be to Thy greatness ?
If Thou inspire me, I will praise Thee, O Lord ; I am foolish myself and can say nothing.
Give me understanding to sing Thy praises,
That I may abide in truth according to Thy will.
All that there is cometh from Thee ; Thou lovest all.
I know not Thy limit, O my Lord; what skill have I, a blind man ?
What shall I say ? while talking I see that I cannot describe the Indescribable.
I speak as it pleaseth Thee; and this is only in the smallest degree for Thy greatness.
Among so many dogs I, a strange dog, bark for my belly's sake.
Even though Nanak perform no service, he will still bear his Master's name
The Guru's faith in God.
My body I have clothed with a Qalandar's dress, I have turned my heart into a temple, and I bathe in that place of pilgrimage.
The one Word dwelleth in my heart, and I shall not be born again.
My soul is pierced by the Compassionate One ; O my mother,
HYMNS OF GURU NANAK 347
Who knoweth another's pain ? I think of no one but God.
0 inaccessible, imperceptible, unseen, and boundless God, take thought for me.
Thou fillest sea and land, the upper and lower regions ; Thy light is in every heart.
My faculty of learning and my understanding are all Thine ; I have built my heart as a temple to Thee.
1 know none but Thee, O my Lord ; I ever sing Thy praises.
Men and lower animals all seek Thy protection ; all anxiety for them resteth with Thee.
What pleaseth Thee is good ; this is Nanak's sole repre sentation.
LUNAR DAYS
The Guru counsels disregard of mammon :—
What name shall I repeat except that of the Lord of the world ?
Under the Guru's instruction God's court is seen in one's own home.
They who are attached to mammon shall regret it ;
They shall go in fetters to Death's gate and suffer trans migration.
What have they brought, and what shall they take away ?
They shall receive blows from the god of death on the head.
No one can be emancipated without the Guru's instruction.
No one can be saved by the practice of hypocrisy.
Heartfelt devotion is superior to all offerings and ablutions :—
On the tenth day of the lunar month repeat the Name as your offerings and ablutions.
Night and day lave yourselves in the attributes and knowledge of the True One.
When doubts and fears have fled, impurity shall not cling toj:he true heart.
A frail cord will soon snap :
Know that the world is as the cord.
Fix thy mind firmly on the True One and thou shalt be happy.
RAMKALI
In his devotional enthusiasm the Guru indulges in self-depreciation : —
Some read the Veds,1 some the Purans :
Some repeat names 2 on their rosaries and meditate on them.
I know not and never knew anything ; I recognize only Thy name.
I know not, O God, what my lot shall be.
I am ignorant and devoid of divine knowledge ; O Lord, I seek Thy protection, mercifully preserve my self-respect and honour.
The mind sometimes riseth and sometimes falleth to the nether regions.3
The greedy mind remaineth not still ; it searcheth for mammon in all directions.
Man entered the world doomed to die ; yet he amasseth wealth for long life.
While others depart, O Lord, we see the burning fire approaching us also.
No one hath a friend, no one hath a brother, no one hath a father or mother.
Nanak representeth, if Thou give Thy name, it will assist me at the last hour.
After the death of a Hindu a lamp is kept burning for several days to light the soul of the departed to the next world. It is then floated on water. Guru Nanak indites the following homily on the custom : —
HYMNS OF GURU NANAK 349
Adore God1 in the following way- Make thy body into a raft 2 by which thou mayest cross over.
Put on it the fire of thy heart,
And the lamp shall burn untiringly day and night.
Float such a lamp on the water
As shall procure thee all knowledge.
The knowledge of God is a good material ;
God will accept a lamp made out of it.
Make good deeds thy wheel, and mould thy lamp on it ;
It will accompany thee in this world and the next.
When God looketh on him with an eye of favour,
Some rare pious man knoweth how to make this lamp.
This lamp shall be permanent in his heart,
And shall not be extinguished when he dieth.
Float such a lamp on the water
As shall not be shaken or put out by the wind,
And by whose light God's throne may be seen.
Khatris, Brahmans, Sudars, and Vaisyas
Find not such a lamp by thousands of researches and calculations ;
But if any of them light such a lamp as I have described,
He shall, O Nanak, obtain deliverance.
The following was addressed to a Jogi : —
The Jogi runneth about begging for clothes and food ;
He burneth with the pangs of hunger, and he shall also have misery hereafter.
He who hath not received the Guru's instruction, loseth his honour by his own stupidity.
Some rare man obtaineth God's service by the Guru's teaching.
The Jogi who knoweth the way dwelleth in a peaceful home.
He who is satisfied with the alms of love and the Word beholdeth all men with an equal eye.
The five oxen l draw the carriage of the body :
The whole goeth well by the contrivance of God.
When the axle breaketh, the carriage turneth over ;
Its timber is scattered and it is burnt in the fire.
Meditate, O Jogi, on the Guru's instruction.
Consider weal and woe, union and separation of friends as the same.
Let the Name and meditation on the Guru's instruction be thy dainties.2
The wall of thy body shall remain permanent 3 by repeat ing God's name.
By the practice of sahaj jog thou shalt be freed from entanglements,
And shalt repress lust and wrath under the Guru's ad monition.
Make the protection of God and the Guru earrings for thy heart.
Nanak, it is by devotion to God man shall be saved.
ASHTAPADI
God is in man's heart and ought not to be sought for elsewhere : —
O Nanak, may I obtain the greatness of the Name ! there is no religious work superior to it.
If man go elsewhere to ask for what he hath at home, he shall be received with reproaches.
It is said that Guru Nanak on his excursion to the Himalayas met a Jogi called Chetnath, who reproached him with not being a Jogi, a Sanyasi, or a saint, but only a pretended guru. The following was Guru Nanak' s reply : —
to door, how shalt thou obtain the True One ?
HYMNS OF GURU NANAK 351
Thou lovest mammon and woman,
And art neither an anchoret nor a worldly man.
Thou art not ashamed to beg from door to door ;
Thou singest songs, but knowest not thyself.
How shall the great fire which burneth thee be ex tinguished ?
If the love of God attach to thy heart under the Guru's instruction,
Thou shalt easily enjoy the alms of contemplation.
Thou hypocritically appliest ashes to thy body,
And shalt be punished for thy worldliness by Death's mace.
The impure vessel2 of thy heart cannot hold the alms of love.
Thou art bound by bonds and shalt suffer transmigration.
Thou dost not restrain thy seed, and yet thou callest thyself continent.
While saying ' Mother ', thou beggest and fallest in love with woman.
Thou art without compassion and God's light shineth not in thee.
Thou art immersed in every species of entanglement.
With a patched coat and a bag thou assumest many guises.
Likeaconjurer thouperformest manytricks to deceive men.
The fire of anxiety burneth thy heart- How shalt thou be saved without good works ?
Thou makest rings of crystal for thine ears.
Without the highest divine knowledge there is no emanci pation.
Thou art beguiled by the pleasures of the tongue and sensual organs.
Thou hast become a beast, and the mark of it shall not be erased.
There are three classes of people and three classes of Jog.1 He who meditateth on the Word shall need no mourning. He who meditateth on the way of jog is a Jogi : By the true Word he shall become bright.
The Guru in an address to a pandit rejects astrology : —
Thou calculatest auspicious moments, but reflectest not
That God is beyond auspicious moments.
He who meeteth the Guru knoweth them.
When there is the Guru's instruction man recognizeth God's will.
Speak not falsehood ; O Pandit, tell the truth,
If pride depart by means of the Word, God's abode shall be attained.
The astrologer after calculating draweth out a horoscope ;
He readeth it to himself and others, but knoweth not the reality.
Deem the Guru's word the highest of all ;
Utter no other discourse ; it were all in vain.
Thou bathest, and washest, and worshippest stones,
But without being imbued with God thou art the filthiest of the filthy.
Abandon pride, and thou shalt meet God the real wealth.
Repeat God's name, and thou shalt succeed in obtaining emancipation.
Thou readest not thine epic poems nor reflectest on the Veds:
Drowned thyself, how canst thou save thine ancestors ?
Few understand that God is in every heart.
When man meeteth the true Guru, he obtaineth under standing.
By making calculations such as thine doubt and sorrow enter the mind ;
But, when the Guru's protection is sought, happiness result eth.
Having sinned we come to him for protection.
HYMNS OF GURU NANAK 353
According to man's acts in a former state the Guru causeth him to meet God.
God cannot be obtained unless man enter the Guru's protection ;
Otherwise he is led astray in superstition and suffereth transmigration.
He who hath not God in his heart and whose conduct is not according to the Word,
Shall be bound at Death's gate and punished for his sins.
Men call themselves Teachers, Pandits, and Missars ; l
But they who are tinctured with mammon shall not reach God's mansion.
He who by the Guru's favour hath the support of the Name,
Is unequalled amongst millions.
One man appeareth evil and another good ; but they are both contained in the True One :
The learned man understandeth this by the aid of the true Guru.
A few holy men who know the one God,
Have ended their transmigration, and become absorbed in Him.
They in whose hearts is the one God,
Possess all excellences and meditate on the truth.
They who act as pleaseth the Guru
Are true, O Nanak, and shall be absorbed in the True One.
The following was addressed to a rich sinner who visited the Guru :—
O silly man, as thou earnest so shall thou depart ; as thou wert born so shalt thou die ;
As thy enjoyment so shall be thy suffering ; through forgetfulness of the Name thou shalt fall into the terrible ocean.
Thou art proud on beholding thy beauty and wealth.
Thou hast extended thy love to gold and woman ; why hast thou forgotten the Name and gone astray ?
SIKH, i A a
Not having practised continence, truth, self -restraint, or virtue, thou shalt suffer in the skeleton of a ghost.
Alms-gifts, ablutions, and austerities are of no avail ; without association with the saints, thou hast been born in vain.
Through the covetousness that attacheth to thee thou hast forgotten the Name ; thy life hath been wasted in transmigration.
Death will hasten to seize thee by the hair and punish thee ; and, when he eateth thee, thou shalt have no con sciousness for repentance.
Day and night thou revilest others and art jealous of them ; the Name is not in thy heart, and thou hast not universal benevolence.
Without the Guru's instruction thou shalt not obtain salvation or honour ; without God's name thou shalt go to hell.
Thou practisest disguise for a brief period like a conjurer, while thou art steeped in worldly love and sin.
Seeing the extension of thy wealth here and there, thou hast become intoxicated with worldly love.
Thou commit test sin on a large scale, and without remembering the Word hast fallen into error.
Thou hast suffered great pain from the disease of pride ; but it shall depart when thou receivest the Guru's in struction.
The infidel seeing happiness and wealth coming to him becometh proud in his heart.
He who owneth this body and wealth will take them back ; he who feeleth anxiety regarding them shall have sorrow.
At the last moment nothing shall depart with thee ; whatever is seen is the result of God's kindness.
God is the primal and infinite Being ; by treasuring His name in the heart man shall be saved.
Thou weepest for the dead ; who heareth thy weeping ? He whom thou weepest for might have fallen to the dragon in the sea of terror.
The infidel beholding his family, wealth, houses, and mansions falleth into needless entanglements.
HYMNS OF GURU NANAK 355
Man cometh when God sendeth him, and he goeth away when God calleth him.
God continueth to do what is proper ; the Pardoner pardoneth.
0 brethren, search for the society of those who have tasted God's elixir.
When man taketh the Guru's protection, then wealth, supernatural power, wisdom, divine knowledge, and the boon of emancipation are obtained.
The pious consider woe and weal as the same, and are free from joy or sorrow.
Nanak, he who chasteneth himself under the Guru's instruction obtaineth God, and God absorbeth him in Himself.
DAKHANI OAMKAR L
Men who are generally impure cannot obtain emancipation until their hearts are thoroughly purified :—
As borax melteth gold,
So lust and wrath melt the body.
The gold is drawn over the touchstone, and must, until thoroughly pure, endure the fire.
When it assumeth a high colour 2 the Assayer is satisfied.
The world is a beast, and pride is its butcher.3
As thou actest with thine own hand, so shall be thy recompense.
He who made the world knoweth its worth.
What else is to be said ? Talking availeth not.
RAMKALI KI WAR I
The following is a satire on the professedly religious men of the time :—
They who call themselves virtuous, commit sin and pretend that they are doing good.
A a 2
Gurus go to private houses to impart instruction.
A woman loveth man for the money he earneth for her ;
Otherwise he may come or go as he pleaseth.
Nobody obeyeth the Shastars or the Veds ;
Everybody worshippeth himself.
The Qazi sitteth to administer justice ;
He turneth over his beads and invoketh God,
But he taketh bribes and doeth injustice.
If any one call him to account, he will read and cite texts.
The Muhammadan creed nlleth the ears and hearts of the Hindus.
They carry tales to the judge and plunder the populace : j
They make squares for cooking so as to appear pure.
See what the Hindus are like.
Jogis with long hair and ashes on their bodies keep wives. ]
Children scream before and behind them.
They miss the right road and obtain not union with God.
Why do they put ashes on their heads ?
Nanak, this is the state of this degenerate age,
That men only speak of themselves and think themselves the best.
The following is also a satire on Brahmans, Muhammadan priests, and Jogis:—
A Brahman goeth to the house of a Hindu,
Readeth texts, and putteth the sacrificial thread on a boy's neck.
If the boy commit sin after putting on the thread,
He shall not be accepted for all his ablutions and washings.
The Musalman may praise himself,
But without a guru or a priest he shall not be accepted.
Even when the road is pointed out, few travel by it.
Without good works heaven is not obtained.
Men seek the way in a Jogi's monastery ;
And on that account put rings in their ears and become his disciples.
With earrings on they wander about the world,
While the Creator they pretend to search for is everywhere.
HYMNS OF GURU NANAK 357
All souls are travellers :
When the death-warrant cometh for them there must be no delay.
He who knoweth God in this world, shall recognize Him in the next.
All others, whether Hindus or Musalmans, are chatterers.
All men's accounts shall be taken in God's court ;
And no one shall be saved without good works.
He who repeateth the name of the Truest of the true,
Shall not, O Nanak, be examined hereafter.
Only the good shall be saved when the final
reckoning is called for :—
Nanak saith, O man, hear true instruction- God seated in judgement will produce His book and call
on thee for thine account.
The stiff-necked who owe anything shall be summoned ;
And the angel Azrail placed over them.
They shall see no way of escape ; they shall be entangled
in the narrow streets.
Falsehood is at an end, O Nanak, and truth shall at last
prevail.
The following was addressed to a proud Muham- madan governor :—
At thy waist is a handsome sword, thou art mounted on a handsome steed :
Be not proud, saith Nanak, lest thou fall on thy head.
Only good men can remain in the society of the saints :—
Between the lake and the swan there is affinity from the beginning ; so it pleased the Lord.
In the lake there are diamonds and pearls which form the swan's food.
Cranes and ravens, however cunning they may be, cannot remain in lake Mansarowar.1
They cannot subsist there ; their food is different.
By the practice of truth, truth is obtained ; O false ones, false is your pride.
Nanak, they for whom it was so ordered from the beginning meet the True Guru.
My Lord is effulgent, if any one reflect on it.
Nanak, serve Him who giveth ever and ever ;
Nanak serve Him by whose service sorrow departeth,
Sins are erased, merits take their place, and peace abideth in the heart.
RAG MARU ASHTAPADI
A hypocritical Sanyasi called Brahmpuri was mentioned to the Guru as a very worthy man. The Guru, knowing his real condition, composed the following : —
The perverse having through avarice abandoned their own homes, ruin themselves by casting covetous eyes on the houses of others.
They have ruined their state as householders ; they have not met the True Guru, and through their stupidity are involved in a whirlpool.
Of wandering in foreign countries and reading texts they grow weary, and their covetousness increaseth.
Of weak intellect, they know not the Word ; they fill their bellies like cattle.
He should under the Guru's instruction only think of the one God, love His name, and be satisfied with it.
But the hypocrite mixeth ochre, dyeth his dress with it, and weareth the garb of a beggar ;
He teareth his clothes to make a patched coat, and putteth money into his wallet ;
Blind that he is and bereft of shame, he beggeth from house to house and preacheth to the world ;
Led astray by superstition he knoweth not the Word and loseth the game.
The fire which is within him is not extinguished without the Guru, yet he heateth himself with external fires 1 also.