The following refers to the religious books of the Hindus and the helplessness of their avatars :—
The ocean of the Shastars, the Veds, and the Simritis is Thine, O Lord ; the Ganges is contained in Thy feet.
There are three branches,1 Thou art the trunk : my mind telleth me Thou art wonderful in everything.
The slave Nanak worshippeth Thy feet, and repeateth Thine ambrosial Word.
The thirty-three karors 2 of divinities are Thy slaves ; Thou givest wealth and supernatural power ; Thou art the support of the soul.
Thy form is not seen : what shall I say, however much I reflect ?
Thine are the three qualities, Thine the four sources of production in every age.
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 193
If Thou be gracious, man will speak of Thee the Ineffable and obtain the supreme dignity.
Thou art the Creator ; all creation is Thine ; what can mortal man do ?
The four Veds Thou gavest to Brahma that he might read and reflect on them,
But the wretch understood not Thine order, and so he wandereth from hell to heaven.1
The kings created by Thee in different ages are sung of as Thine avatars.2
Even they did not find Thy limits ; what shall I say, however much I reflect ?
Thou art true, all Thou doest is true ; if Thou grant me the truth, I will proclaim it.
He whom Thou causest to understand Thy truth, shall be easily absorbed in the Name.
Worship God in thine own home and go not to the wilderness to find Him :—
In thine own home, O man, is everything ; abroad is nothing.
By the Guru's favour everything is obtained, and the doors of the understanding opened.
God is obtained from the true Guru, my brethren.
The treasure of the Name is within the heart ; the perfect true Guru hath shown it me.
He who dealeth in the name of God findeth it, and ob- taineth the gem of reflection.
He openeth his heart, and beholdeth with his mind's eye the storehouse of salvation —
Within the body are many chambers ; the soul dwelleth therein—
He shall obtain the fruit his heart desireth, and not again transmigrate.
The assayers who have obtained wisdom from the Guru, have found the real gem after testing.
The boon of the Name is inestimable ; a few obtain it under the Guru's instruction.
What can be found by searching abroad ? the Real Thing is in one's own home, my brethren.
The whole world wandereth astray in error ; the perverse lose their honour.
The false one who leaveth his own home and goeth elsewhere to worship,
Shall be seized like a thief, and being without the Name shall suffer punishment.
They who know God in their own homes are happy, my brethren ;
They recognize God in their hearts by the power of the Guru.
God bestoweth gifts and conferreth understanding ; whom shall I address except Him ?
Nanak, meditate on the Name, so shalt thou obtain glory in the court of the True One.
The perverse shall not reach God's court, while the virtuous shall be supremely happy :—
Bad wives shall not reach their husband's chamber or know his delights.
Their words are harsh, they are not humble, they long for another love.
Howr shall man's heart be restrained ?
By the Guru's favour it shall be restrained and return home after instruction in divine knowledge.
The Beloved Himself hath adorned good wives, and they bear Him love and affection.
Walking as it pleaseth the true Guru, they are naturally decorated with the Name.
They ever enjoy their Spouse, and then are their couches truly adorned.
They become fascinated with their Spouse's love, and on meeting Him are happy.
Divine knowledge is the incomparable decoration of the virtuous woman :—
Through the love and affection of her Spouse she is beautiful and the queen of them all.
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 195
The True, Unseen, and Endless One hath infused love into her heart ;
She serveth her true Guru with true love and affection.
The good wife hath decorated herself with a necklace of virtues.
She anointeth her person with the sandal of love, and within her is the jewel of reflection.
They who are dyed with devotion are the best ; caste and lineage are obtained from the Word.
Without the Name every one is of low caste and becometh a filthy worm.
Every one goeth about saying 'I, I ', but without the Word egoism shall not depart.
Nanak, they who are dyed with the Name lose their pride, and are absorbed in the True One.
One ought to persevere and be constant in devo tion :—
They who are dyed with the True One are pure, and ever true is their reputation.
In this world they are famous in every house, and in the next they shall be distinguished through all ages.
O dear playful heart, adopt a lasting colour.
When thou art dyed with the excellent Word, its colour shall not fade or depart.
We are low, filthy, very proud, and sin through love of mammon.
Coming in contact with the Guru the elixir, I have become gold, and am blended with the pure light of the Eternal.
Without the Guru none may be dyed with God's love ; on meeting the Guru the true dye is applied.
They who are dyed with the fear and love of the Guru, are blended with God whose praises are true.
Without fear the love of God is not produced, nor doth the heart become pure.
Without fear man's works are false, and he findeth no place of rest.
God by associating him with the saints will dye whoso He desireth to dye.
O 2
From the perfect Guru is obtained the society of the saints, and man easily loveth the True One.
Without such society all men are like beasts.
They know not Him who made them ; without the Name they are all thieves.
Some buy merits and sell demerits through the kind office of the Guru.
By serving the Guru the Name is obtained and God dwelleth in the heart.
• The Giver of all is the one God, He assigneth every one his occupation.
Nanak, God regenerateth * man by attaching him to the Name, and by means of the Word blendeth him with Himself.
GUJARI
Man ought to love God alone and not stray into idolatrous paths :—
Curse on the life in which God's love is not obtained,
And on that occupation in which God is forgotten and man becometh attached to another.2
So serve the true Guru, O my soul, that the love of God may be produced and all other love forgotten.
If the heart remain attached to God, there shall be no fear of old age, and man shall attain the dignity of life eternal.
Behold, from the love of God springeth peace according to the service performed.
When I dismissed pride from within me, my heart became pure, and my light was blended with God's.
Without good fortune such a trueGuru cannot be obtained, howsoever all may desire it.
When the screen of falsehood is removed, there shall ever be happiness.
Nanak, what service shall the servant perform for such a true Guru ? Let him lay down his life for the Guru.
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 197
If man attend to the wishes of the Guru, the true Guru himself will show him kindness.
God's name must be uttered with attention and love :—
Everybody uttereth God's name, but God is not obtained by such utterance.
If by the favour of the Guru God dwell in the heart, man shall obtain the advantage thereof.
He whose heart feeleth the love of God,
Shall never forget Him, but shall ever repeat His name with heart and soul.
They in whose hearts there is deception and who pretend to be holy,
Shall never lose a particle of their thirst, and shall be sorry at their final departure.
Even though man sftive at various places of pilgrimages, the heart's pride never thus depart eth.
The king of death shall punish him who forsaketh not his pride.
If God be gracious, man shall meet Him ; a few under the Guru's instruction know this.
Nanak, he who removeth pride from within him, shall meet God.
Even he who meets the true Guru can communicate holiness to others :—
When man meeteth the true Guru, he becometh a philo sopher's stone ; and when he becometh a philosopher's stone, he causeth men to worship him.
He who worshippeth him shall obtain the fruit thereof, and giving instruction shall teach men the truth.
Until man become a philosopher's stone, he is not worthy to be worshipped ; before satisfying his own mind he instruct eth others.
Though devoid of divine knowledge and blind, he calleth himself a guru : whom can he put in the right way ?
Nanak, without the Kind One nothing can be obtained ; but he on whom God casteth a look of favour findeth Him.
ig8 THE SIKH RELIGION
By the favour of the Guru God conferreth greatness and disseminateth His word.
A Brahman told the third Guru that he had better live at Banaras, for divine knowledge and salvation were obtained only there. The following was the Guru's reply :—
Divine knowledge is neither gained nor lost at Banaras.
Divine knowledge is obtained by meeting the Guru, then man knoweth God.
Hear God's praises, O man, and cause the Word to abide in thy heart.
When the divine knowledge thus obtained remaineth permanent, then shall doubt depart.
If thou give God's feet a place in thy heart, thy sins shall be blotted out.
If thou restrain thy mind l thou shalt dwell in the true place of pilgrimage.
The minds of the perverse are stupid ; they obtain no understanding :
They know not God's name, and, when they at last depart, regret their ignorance.
In this heart are Banaras, all the places of pilgrimage, and the Simritis ; the true Guru hath explained this.
The sixty-eight places of pilgrimage are with him whose heart is filled with God.
Nanak, on meeting the true Guru God's will is known, and the one God dwelleth in the heart.
They who please Thee, O True One, are all true, and shall be absorbed in Thee.
GUJARI ASHTAPADI
The Guru again repudiates the idea that deliver ance may be obtained by assisting in the dance of Krishan and the milkmaids :—
I dance, but it is my heart I cause to dance :
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 199
By the favour of the Guru I have effaced myself.
He who keepeth his mind firmly fixed on God, shall obtain deliverance and the object of his desires.
Dance, O man, before thy Guru ;
He who danceth as it pleaseth the Guru shall obtain happiness, and at the last moment the fear of Death shall forsake him.
He whom God causeth to dance and whom He applieth to His love is a saint.
He himself singeth, he himself instructeth, and putteth ignorant man on the right way.
He who banisheth worldly love shall dance day and night in God's house and never sleep.
Every one who danceth, leapeth, and singeth of other gods, is lulled to sleep in the house of mammon ; such are the perverse who have no devotion.
Demigods and men who abandon the world dance in religious works ; Munis and men dance in the contem plation of divine knowledge.
The Sidhs, Strivers, and holy men who have acquired wisdom to meditate on God, dance in God's love.
The regions, worlds, beings endowed with the three qualities, and they who love Thee, O God, dance.
Men and the lower animals all dance, the four sources of life dance.
They who please Thee dance, as do the pious who love the
Word.
They whom Thou causest to obey Thine order, are saints and real possessors of divine knowledge.
To love the True One is the real service ; men cannot be saints without serving Him.
A few who ponder on the Word while alive are dead, and obtain the True One.
Several dance for the sake of mammon ; only a few meditate on the Real Thing.
He to whom Thou art gracious shall obtain Thee by the favour of the Guru.
If I forget the True One even for a moment, that moment passeth in vain.
Remember Him at every breath and He will pardon thee of His own grace.
It is they who please Thee, O God, and who meditate on the Word, who really dance.
Saith Nanak, they to whom Thou art merciful shall easily obtain bliss.
GUJARI KI WAR I The condition of the perverse : —
The hearts of the perverse are tortured by doubts ; they kill themselves with worldly affairs.
They are lulled to sleep by love of the world and never awake : they remain attached to mammon.
They remember not the Name ; they think not of the Word ; such is the conduct of the perverse.
They obtain not God's name ; they waste their lives in vain ; Nanak, Death shall punish and dishonour them.
Before creation God was alone : —
When God Himself made the world, there was none else.
He took counsel and advice with Himself ; what He did came to pass.
Then there was not heaven, or hell, or three worlds.
Then was only the Formless One Himself ; creation was not yet.
God acteth as He pleaseth ; there is none but Him.
God alone and not incarnations ought to be adored :—
My Lord is eternal ; He is seen by him who abideth by His word.
He is ever imperishable, and suffereth not transmigration.
Ever and ever serve Him who is contained in everything.
Why serve another who is born and dieth ?
The lives of those who know not their Lord but fix their thoughts on others, are unprofitable.
Nanak, it cannot be known how much punishment the Creator will inflict on them.
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 201
Man ought to bow to the will of God :—
Ponder on the name of the True One ; the True One pervadeth all things.
Nanak, by understanding God's order man becometh acceptable, and obtaineth his just reward.
Man goeth about babbling, but he knoweth not God's order at all ; he is blind and lowest of the low.1
The homage offered to God must be suitable to His greatness :—
That is real devotion and penance which pleaseth the True Guru.
By pleasing the True Guru greatness is obtained.
Nanak, by abandoning pride man devoteth himself to the Guru.
Not all may receive the Guru's instruction :—
Nanak, only a few whom God Himself hath honoured, Receive the Guru's instruction.
Pride prevents entrance into bliss :—
Nanak, the gate of salvation is very narrow ; only the lowly can pass through.
How can he whose mind is inflated with pride enter therein ?
When one meeteth the true Guru, pride departeth and everything is illumined.
The soul is emancipated for ever, and becometh easily absorbed in God.
Happiness consists not in mammon but in devotion : —
Curses on such lives as theirs who heed not the true Guru, And in whose hearts God's name dwelleth not ; what
have they obtained by their advent into the world ?
Mammon is counterfeit capital ; its gilding falleth off in
a moment.
When it slippeth from man's hands, his face is blackened, and he withereth away.
Happiness dwelleth in the hearts of those who love the true Guru,
Who ponder on God's name with love and remain ab sorbed in it.
Nanak, the true Guru hath entrusted to them the wealth which is contained in the heart,
And they obtain a high colour like the tint l applied to gold.
Mammon is a snake, the holy are snake-charmers :—
Mammon is a serpent which twineth herself round the world ;
She devoureth him at last who waiteth upon her.
A few holy men are snake-charmers who trample on her with their feet.
Nanak, they are saved who continue to fix their attention on the True One.
Man is called to bliss by obeying God's order :— There is one Lord of all ; He remaineth ever present. Nanak, man obeyeth not God's order ; so, though God dwelleth in his heart, man goeth far from Him.
Those on whom God looks with favour He causes to obey His order :—
The wife who obeyeth His orders and loveth Him ob- taineth happiness.
The evil wife burneth the whole night ; her spouse showeth her not affection.
Nanak, the good wife, whose spouse is God, abideth in happiness.
The soul while leaving the body bears its own responsibility :—
What love subsisteth between the body and the soul since the latter forsaketh the former when fallen ?
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 203
Why, 0 man, pamperest thou with words of falsehood this body which departeth not with thee ?
The body is dust and blind ; go ask the soul.
The soul — ' I am infatuated with mammon, so I suffer transmigration again and again ;
' I did not recognize my Lord's order by which I should have been absorbed in the True One.'
The abiding wealth :—
The Name alone is abiding wealth ; all other wealth is unstable.
That wealth thieves cannot spy out, or pickpockets take away.
That divine wealth is contained in the soul and shall depart with it.
It is obtained from the perfect Guru, but the perverse shall not obtain it.
Blest is the trader, O Nanak, who entering the world hath earned the wealth of the Name.
The evil of pride and worldly love :—
Curses on the lives of those who forsake divine happiness, and obtain misery by the sin of pride.
The perverse devoid of divine knowledge are filled with worldly love ; they have no understanding.
They shall not find happiness in this world or the next ; after their final departure they shall regret.
A few by the Guru's favour meditate on the Name, and from them pride departeth.
Nanak, he for whom it is so predestined falleth at the Guru's feet.
The condition of the perverse :—
The lotus of the heart of the perverse man is reversed ; he possesseth neither devotion nor God's name.
He acteth under the influence of mammon, and vain are his efforts.
His heart softeneth not to any one, and the language he uttereth is harsh.
When he meeteth the religious he associateth not with them ; his heart relisheth falsehood.
Nanak, the Creator hath so contrived that the perverse are wrecked by uttering falsehood, and the pious saved by repeating the Name.
The mental peace of the holy :-
Every one honoureth him who serveth his own true Guru.
The greatest of all efforts is to obtain God's name :
A refreshing calm then dwelleth within, and the heart is ever happy repeating it.
Nanak, they who magnify God's name eat ambrosia, and are clothed therewith.
How God may be found :—
O man, hearken to the Guru's instruction, and thou shalt obtain God the treasury of excellences.
God, the giver of comfort, will abide in thy heart, and thy pride and arrogance shall depart.
Nanak, if thou fix thine attention night and day on the Kind One, thou shalt obtain Him.
The following was addressed to a proud Brahman :-
He who knoweth God and fixeth his attention on Him night and day is a Brahman.1
The disease of pride shall leave him who consulteth the true Guru and practiseth truth and self-restraint.
His light who singeth God's praises and amasseth merits, shall be blended with the light of God.
In this age there are few who know God, who erase their pride and become absorbed in Him.
Nanak, happiness is ever obtained by meeting him who night and day pondereth on God.
The fate of the hypocrite :—
There is deception in the heart of the perverse and irre ligious man ; his tongue uttereth falsehood.
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 205
Though God graciously beholdeth and listeneth, yet is He not pleased by deception.
He who, lost in worldly love, preacheth to men with the object of sinful gain,
Shall ever suffer misery in attainment, shall be born and die, and come and go again and again.
His superstition shall by no means be dispelled ; he shall rot in filth.
My Lord causeth him on whom He bestoweth favour to hear the Guru's instruction.
He meditateth on God's name, he singeth God's name, and at last God's name releaseth him.
The happiness of the pious :—
The pious meditate on God, a tranquillizing sound is produced within them, and they ponder on the true Name.
The pious are night and day tinctured with God's love, and the name of God is pleasing to their souls.
The pious see God, the pious speak of God, the pious love God.
Nanak, divine knowledge is obtained from the Guru's teaching, and the thick gloom of ignorance is dispelled.
The holy man, whose works are perfect from the beginning, meditateth on God's name.
The heedless shall ever suffer transmigration :-
Why hath he come into the world who serveth not the true Guru,
Who loveth not God's word, and calmly meditateth not on His name ?
He shall be born again and again, and be ever polluted with filth.
Through false avarice he shall not enjoy either this world or the next.
Nanak, the pious whom the Creator hath united with Himself shall be saved.
The condition and power of the saints :— In this age the saints have earned the treasure of the Name, and obtained God's highest dignity.
By service to the true Guru they have put the name of God into their hearts, and night and day ponder thereon.
Through the Guru's instruction they are hermits even in their own homes, and they destroy their pride and worldly love.
They are saved themselves and they save the whole world ; happy the mothers who bore them.
He on whose forehead God wrote such destiny in the beginning, hath obtained such a true Guru.
Nanak is a sacrifice to his Guru who put him on the right road when he strayed in doubt.
A satire on worldly-minded sectaries :—
Man beholding mammon hath gone astray, as the moth beholding the lamp is consumed.
Erring pandits look towards mammon to see what one may offer them.
They read for hire and are ever immersed in sin ; God hath deprived them of His name.
Jogis, Jangams, Sanyasis have gone astray ; they have allowed their arrogance and pride to greatly increase.
They accept not alms of clothes and food offered them,1 but want more ; through obstinacy they ruin their lives.
In the midst of so many, only he who hath pondered on the Name under the Guru's instruction hath obtained perfection.
Nanak, to whom shall one complain since all act as God causeth them to act ?
The evil of worldly love ; its antidote :-
Pride and selfishness are deceitful and have ruined the perverse.
They who apply their hearts to the love of the world feel its effects and remain entangled in it.
When the light of the Guru's words shineth, worldly love departeth from the heart.
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 207
Then the body and soul become bright, and the Name abideth in the heart.
Nanak, God's name which is obtained by the Guru's instruction is the antidote to worldly love.
On transmigration :—
Through how many ages hath this soul wandered ! it abideth not permanently but cometh and goeth.
When God pleaseth, He causeth it to wander ; He pro- duceth this play of illusion.
If God be gracious, the Guru shall be found, the soul shall be fixed, and become absorbed in its Creator.
Nanak, when man's mind believeth through the mind of the Guru, he neither dieth nor is born again.
The following sloks describe the pleasure obtained by praising God under the name of Wah Wah !—
The True One causeth Himself to be applauded through the Guru's instruction.
Wah ! Wah ! l is His praise and eulogy ; some pious men know this.
Wah ! Wah ! are true words by which man meeteth the True One.
Nanak, by uttering Wah ! Wah ! God is obtained ;
His praise is obtained by good acts.
The tongue is adorned by uttering the words Wah ! Wah !
By these perfect words God is found.
Greatly blest are they from whose mouths Wah ! Wah ! proceedeth.
They who utter Wah ! Wah ! shall be illustrious, and the people shall come and worship them.
Wah ! Wah ! is obtained by good acts, Nanak ; he who utter eth it shall obtain honour at the gate of the True One.
By uttering Wah ! Wah ! the night passeth pleasantly ; By uttering Wah ! Wah ! there is ever happiness, my mother ;
By uttering Wall ! Wah ! man loveth God. By good acts man uttereth Wah ! Wah ! and causeth others to utter it.
By uttering Wah ! Wah ! man obtaineth honour. Nanak, Wah ! Wah ! is His praise whose ordinance is true.
Wah ! Wah ! are true words which the pious have ob tained by search :
They utter the words Wah ! Wah ! and clasp them to their hearts.
^ By uttering Wah ! Wah ! the pious have easily found God in their search.
Greatly fortunate, Nanak, are they who remember God in their hearts.
Address Wah ! Wah ! to Him who is true, deep, and profound ;
Address Wah ! Wah ! to Him who is the giver of virtue, of intellect, and of patience ;
Address Wah ! Wah ! to Him who is contained in every thing ;
Address Wah ! Wah ! to Him who giveth sustenance to all.
Nanak, by the words Wah ! Wah ! praise the one God whom the true Guru hath pointed out.
Whenever the holy repeat Wah ! Wah ! the wicked poison themselves.
The words Wah ! Wah ! are not pleasing to them ; they pass their lives in extreme misery.
The pious repeat Wah ! Wah ! with fixed attention and quaff nectar.
Nanak, they who repeat Wah ! Wah ! are holy, and have obtained knowledge of the three worlds.
They to whom God Himself giveth understanding ever repeat Wah ! Wah !
By repeating Wah ! Wah ! the heart becometh pure and pride departeth therefrom.
The Guru's disciple who ever repeateth Wah ! Wah ! obtaineth his heart's desires.
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 209
They who repeat Wah ! Wah ! are illustrious ; O God, unite me with them.
May I remember Wah ! Wah ! in my heart and also utter Wah ! Wah ! with my lips !
Nanak, I bestow my body and soul on those who utter Wah! Wah!
Wah ! Wah ! is that true Lord whose name is nectar.
They who worship Him have obtained the reward thereof —I am a sacrifice unto them.
Wah ! Wah ! is the Treasury of excellences ; the man to whom He giveth enjoyeth His bounty.
Wah ! Wah ! nlleth sea and land, and is found through the Guru's instruction.
O all ye disciples of the Guru, ever repeat Wah ! Wah ! ; Wah ! Wah ! is pleasing to the perfect Guru.
Nanak, the myrmidons of Death approach not him who heartily repeateth Wah ! Wah !
Wah ! Wah ! are the words of the Formless One ; there is none so great as He.
Wah ! Wah ! to Him who is inaccessible and unfathom able ; Wah ! Wah ! to Him who is true.
Wah ! Wah ! to Him who is independent ; whatever He doeth cometh to pass.
Wah ! Wah ! to the nectareous Name which a few pious men obtain.
Wah ! Wah ! is obtained from good acts by him to whom God showeth mercy.
Nanak, Wah ! Wah ! is obtained by the holy man who night and day uttereth God's name.
They who trust in God are not disappointed :—
Without serving the true Guru peace is not obtained, and worldly love departeth not.
However much we desire it, the True Guru is only found by good acts.
They in whose hearts there is the sin of avarice are ruined by worldly love ;
Their transmigration ceaseth not ; they suffer misery from their pride.
Of those who fix their hearts on the true Guru none is disappointed.
Death summoneth not them for punishment, neither do they suffer misery.
Nanak, the pious who are filled with the true Word shall be saved.
The heart requires a driver :—
The mind is an elephant, the Guru the elephant-driver, divine knowledge the goad ; whithersoever the Guru driveth, thither goeth the mind.
Nanak, the elephant without a goad goeth astray again and again into the desert.
In the following slok devotion is compared to rain from heaven, which the careful man prepares to receive. In the fervour of his heart he desires it not in drops but in a shower all at once :—
The husbandman looking at the sky1 raiseth the bound aries of his fields to catch the rain.
In the same way holy guests enter his house in whose heart there is devotion, and are there welcomed.
Ye clouds, if ye rain at all, rain in abundance ; why rain when the season is past ? 2
Nanak, I am a sacrifice unto those who have received the Guru's instruction in their hearts.
Only the friendship of the upright and holy ought to be valued :—
That is sweet which is pleasing ; he is a friend who is upright.
Nanak, he whom God enlighteneth is a holy man.
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 211
However much man obtains, he hankers for more :—
The world dieth in hopes, but its hopes are not fulfilled : l Nanak, he who devoteth his heart to the True One hath his hopes fulfilled.
When divine knowledge is obtained there are no more hopes and desires :—
Hopes and desires shall die ; He who gave them will take them away.
Nanak, there is nothing permanent but the name of God.
BIHAGRE KI WAR
The success of those who turn their hearts to God:-
Nanak, the man of divine knowledge hath conquered the world which itself hath conquered everybody.
Through the Name man's business is successful ; what occurreth taketh place by God's will.
'The pious man's mind is fixed, and nobody can move it.
God granteth his saints' prayers, and their deeds become brilliant.
The perverse are led astray from the First Cause ; in their hearts are avarice, covetousness, and pride.
Their nights and days pass in wranglings ; they reflect not on God's word.
God hath taken from them the good understanding they possessed ; all their words are sinful.
However much is given them, they are not satisfied ; in their hearts are avarice and the great darkness of spiritual ignorance.
Nanak, it is wise to break with the perverse to whom worldly love is dear.
The fool in his folly : —
The fool knoweth not himself ; he annoyeth others by his language.
His original disposition hath not left him ; blind that he is, and separated from God, he shall suffer punishment.
Fear of the true Guru hath not induced him to alter his disposition or chasten his heart so as to be united with God.
His doubts cease not night or day ; without the Word he is in misery.
Lust, anger, and avarice are potent within his heart ; he ever passeth his life in worldly affairs, and never remem- bereth God.
His feet, his hands, his eyes, and his ears fail him ; his days are ended ; his death is near.
The true Name, by which the nine treasures are obtained, hath never been dear to him.
He who in life is dead, and who from death again returneth to life, obtaineth deliverance.
What shall mortal obtain without God's grace if it be not his from the beginning ?
O fool, remember the Guru's word by which thou shalt find the way of salvation.
Nanak, thou shalt find the true Guru when thou effacest thyself.
Man's tongue should be properly employed :—
May that tongue be burnt which hath not received the relish of God's name !
Nanak, the tongue of him in whose heart God dwelleth, enjoyeth the taste of the Word.
May his tongue be burnt who hath forgotten God's name !
Nanak, the tongues of the pious repeat God's name and love it.
Who is a real darwesh :—
Few darweshes understand their duties.
Curses on the life, curses on the garb of him who wan- dereth begging from house to house !
Nanak will wash his feet and be a sacrifice unto him
Who abandoneth hopes and anxieties, and receiveth the Name as his alms from the Guru's lips.
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 213
The body compared to a fruit-bearing tree on which the soul alights :—
Nanak, there is one tree ; l it beareth two fruits ; 2 a bird 3 alighteth thereon.
It is not seen coming or going ; it hath no wings.
Though enjoying pleasures of every sort, it only obtaineth deliverance through the Word.
The deeds of him who is dyed with the juice of the fruit of God's name, are, O Nanak, true and resplendent.
Formal ceremonies and worldly love discour aged :—
The religious ceremonies of hypocrites are all entangle ments ; bad and good are bound up with them.
Man's exertions for children and wife, made through selfishness and worldly love, are entanglements.
Wherever I look, there I see the rope of worldly attach ment.
Nanak, without the true Name it is all groping in the dark.
There lived at Goindwal a Musalman priest who conceived a great hatred of the third Guru for his spiritual success. The following was addressed to him :—
O Shaikh, abandon the violence of thy heart, fear God, and dismiss thy madness.
Through fear of the Guru how many have been saved ! through fear the Fearless One is obtained.
Let the Word penetrate thy hard heart, so shall peace come to dwell therein.
Whatever deed is done in peace is acceptable to the Lord.
Nanak, no one hath obtained Him by lust and wrath ; go ask those who possess divine knowledge.
The true Guru is a boat for man's salvation :— The true Guru who is dyed with the Name is a boat for salvation in this age.
The pious man in whose heart the True One dwelleth shall be saved.
He remembereth the Name, he treasureth the Name, and obtaineth honour from the Name.
Nanak hath found the true Guru and obtained the Name through his favour.
The result of serving the Guru :— They who serve and wait upon the one true Guru and love God's name,
The following was composed by the Guru on hear ing Hindus chanting their vespers :—
The vesper which recalleth God to my heart is acceptable :
It produceth attachment to God and destroyeth worldly love.
If man by the Guru's favour make the contemplation of God his vespers, worldly love shall cease and his mind become stable.
Nanak, in the vespers which the obstinate repeat their souls find no repose ; they shall be ruined by transmigration.
The life of the hermit is of no avail :—
1 wandered through the whole world calling out for my Beloved, yet my thirst departed not ;
But on meeting the true Guru, O Nanak, my thirst departed, and I found my Beloved in my own home on my return.
The Guru's prescription for salvation :—
The true Guru gave me this prescription- Remember God's name through the Guru.
God is ever present. Having removed the film of doubt from thine eyes allow the light to enter.
The name of God is nectar ; apply it as eye-salve.
Treasure up in thy heart the order of the Guru ; make the love of the True One thine abstinence ;
So shall God, O Nanak, preserve thee in happiness in this world, and thou shalt afterwards disport with Him.
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The Guru's order to abstain altogether from wine :—
One man bringeth the full goblet, another cometh and filleth the cup.
The intellect of him who drinketh departeth, and in toxication entereth his brain.
He distinguisheth not between mine and thine, and is buffeted by his master.
If possible, drink not at all the false wine,
By which man forgetteth God and receiveth punishment at His court.
Nanak, he who by God's look of favour meeteth the true Guru, obtaineth the true wine from him.
Thus shall man ever abide in the joy of the Lord, and obtain a position in His court.
He who practises humility fears not death :- Who knoweth how we shall die, or what death is ? If we forget not the Lord, death shall be easy. The world feareth death ; every one desireth to live. He who by the Guru's favour while alive is dead, under- standeth God's order.
Nanak, he who dieth such a death shall live for ever.
The surpassing wealth of the Name :—
O my soul, the Name is wealth from which happiness ever and ever springeth.
Loss never accrueth therefrom, but ever gain.
It lesseneth not by eating or spending ; God bestoweth it ever and ever.
He who possesseth it hath no anxiety whatever, and never sustaineth loss.
Nanak, it is obtained through the Guru's instruction by him on whom he looketh with favour.
Man ought to be ever wakeful in God's service :-
Men have died and continue to die through pride.
Man while he hath breath in his body remembereth not
God ; what shall he do when he hath gone to the next world ?
He who hath divine knowledge is on the alert ; he who is without it acteth blindly.
Nanak, according to man's acts in this life shall be his reward in the next.
Man is happy when he can rest his hopes of salvation on his Guru.
In the beginning it was God's will that He could not be remembered without a true Guru.
When man meeteth the true Guru, God is contained in his heart, and he remaineth ever attached to Him.
He remembereth God at every breath, and no breath passeth in vain.
His fear of transmigration departeth and he obtaineth the dignity of eternal life.
Nanak, this dignity is obtained by him to whom God showeth mercy.
The Jogi who hearkens to the Guru :—
The Jogi who hath obtained the Name by the Guru's instruction hath found the way.
All excellences dwell in such a Jogi's little city ; l the garb maketh not the Jogi.
Nanak, there are few Jogis in whose hearts God's light shineth.
WADHANS ALAHANIAN
Man should ever be prepared for death and for the account which he must render of his acts : —
This body is worn out ; old age hath overtaken it.
They whom the Guru preserveth are saved ; the others die and are born again ;
The others die, are born again, and transmigrate ; after their final departure they shall regret ; without the Name there is no happiness.
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 217
Man shall obtain hereafter the fruits of his own acts in this life ; the perverse shall lose their honour.
In the abode of Death are terrible darkness and great storms ; there is found no sister or brother.
This body is worn out ; old age hath overtaken it.
If the true Guru take me to himself my body shall become gold.
WADHANS KI WAR
A Jogi went one day to visit the third Guru, and coveting a rosary he had, succeeded in stealing it. When charged with the theft he denied his guilt. The attendants of the Guru searched and found the rosary on him, upon which the Guru said :—
I thought he was a great swan,1 so I held converse with him :
Had I known that he was only a wretched crane, I should never have touched him.
The fate of the idolater :—
Curses on the lives, curses on the habitations of those who worship strange gods !
They abandon ambrosia and turn to poison ; they earn poison ; poison is their stock-in-trade,
Poison their food, poison their dress, morsels of poison they eat.
Here they are totally miserable, and when they die their abode shall be in hell.
The mouths of the perverse who know not the Word are impure ; they die of lust and wrath.
They have abandoned the fear of the true Guru ; their business never succeedeth on account of their obstinacy.
In the city of Death they shall be bound and beaten ; no one will hear their supplications.
Nanak, they act according to their primal destiny, while the pious abide in the Name.
Death is in the power of the holy man :—
Under the Guru's instruction worship Him who hath
created Death, and no sorrow shall come to thee.
Nanak, Death worshippeth the pious man in whose heart
the True One dwelleth.
The saints are superior to monarchs :—
My Beloved is pleased with the saints and hath attached them to Himself.
He hath granted them an empire and made true crowns for their heads.
They are ever happy and pure, and perform the work of the true Guru.
They are not kings who, dying in the light, have again to enter the womb.1
Nanak, without the Name even kings are like noseless persons who roam about and receive no honour.
The perverse have not only mental but physical deformity :—
The perverse man who hath not obtained the Name, is a coward ugly and noseless.
Day and night he is engaged in worldly affairs, and enjoyeth no happiness even in his dreams.
Nanak, if man become pious, he shall be saved ; other wise he shall be bound and suffer pain.
The necessity of faith and love of God :—
Even though man make efforts in hundreds of trans migrations, happiness will never come to him
Who hath no faith in the true Guru and loveth not his word.
Nanak, love the True One, and thou shalt obtain peace through the Guru.
God is the only male ; human beings are females who ought to love Him :—
In this world there is one Male ; all the rest are females.
They who, struggling with the world, have not obtained salvation, are born again and cannot be called spiritual rulers.
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 219
He enjoy eth them all and yet remaineth separate from them : He is invisible and cannot be seen.
The true Guru showeth Him, and man seeth Him through his word.
She who serveth the Male and destroyeth pride by the Word, becometh a male herself.
The Male hath no partner, no molester, and no enemy.
Immovable for ever is His empire ; it nor cometh nor goeth.
Night and day worshippers worship and sing the true God's praises.
Nanak, on seeing the greatness of the true God, is happy.
The perverse man is foolish and contemptible :—
The perverse man enjoyeth not the relish of the Word, and loveth not God's name.
His tongue uttereth harsh language ; and he is ever despised.
O Nanak, he acteth according to destiny which none can erase.
SORATH KI WAR The fate of those who think not of God :—
According to what God Himself wrote in the beginning must man act.
Worldly love hath cast its deception over him, and he hath forgotten the Lord of excellences.
Deem not that the world is alive ; it is dead through the love of mammon.
They who have not meditated on the Name through the Guru's instruction, are not allowed to sit near God.
They are miserable in the highest degree, and their children and wives shall not go with them.
Their faces are blackened among men, and their hearts heave heavy sighs.
No one trusteth the perverse ; trust in them is at an end.
Nanak, the pious in whose heart the Name dwelleth are very happy.
God is in the heart, but the perverse know it not :—
The heart is full of nectar, but the perverse enjoy not its savour.
As the deer knoweth not its own musk, and wandereth, led astray by ignorance,
So the perverse despise nectar, amass poison, and forget the Creator.
A few pious men obtain insight and behold God within them.
The extent of the Guru's self-mortification :-
Though my flesh is so mortified that if my body were pressed in an oil-press, it would not give a drop of blood,
Yet would I still further sacrifice and quarter myself for my love for the True One.
In this way I should not fail to meet Him either night or day, O Nanak.
When the love of God is real, it is not transient : —
My Friend is merry ; by His merriment He attracteth
my soul.
When clothes are dyed with madder and a base,
Their colour, Nanak, will not depart, and no other
colour may be given them.
Man's mind is difficult to restrain :—
The mind of the perverse man is incorrigible and attacheth itself to mammon.
He obtaineth no happiness even in his dreams ; he passeth his life in extreme misery.
The pandits grow weary of reading from door to door ; the Sidhs, of sitting in attitudes of contemplation.
Man's mind is not under restraint ; men grow weary performing religious ceremonies,
Changing their sectarial garbs, and bathing at the sixty- eight places of pilgrimage,
While they exercise no control over their minds, but are led astray by pride and superstition.
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 221
By the favour of the Guru God's love is obtained ; and by great good fortune God cometh and dwelleth in the heart.
When there is fear of God the mind is restrained, and pride is destroyed by His word.
The fate of those who turn away from their Guru : —
They who turn their faces from the true Guru, shall find no house or home.
They shall wander from door to door like divorced women of bad character and evil reputation.
Nanak, they who are pardoned through the Guru's instruction shall be blended with God.
The food of life eternal :—
Three things — truth, patience, and reflection are put into a dish ; and, when kneaded with the water of God's name, become perfect ambrosial food.
By partaking of them man is satisfied, and attaineth the gate of salvation.
This food is rare, O saints, but it can be obtained by the Guru's instruction.
Why should the spell l of God's name be counteracted ? rather clasp it to your heart.
The precious character of the Guru's instruction :—
There is one Creator, one Guru, and one Word to medi tate on.
True is the shop,2 true its dealings ; 3 its garners are filled with jewels.4
They are obtained by the Guru's favour, if the Bestower bestow them.
The following was addressed to the Muhammadan priest of Goindwal who followed devious ways :—
O Shaikh, restrain thy mind which now wandereth towards the four cardinal points, the sport of the four winds.
Abandon thy crooked ways, accept the instruction of the Guru ;
Prostrate thyself before the true Guru ; he knoweth everything that is to be known.
Banish thy hopes and desires ; become as a guest in the world.
If thou walk as the true Guru desireth, thou shalt obtain honour in God's court.
Nanak, accursed the garb, accursed the food of those who remember not God.
The inspired teacher is for the whole world :— Great men utter instruction for a special occasion, but
the whole world becometh a partner in it.
Nanak, how can he in whose heart there is no faith,
expound divine knowledge ?
The self-sacrifice of the disciple must be com plete :—
As the elephant offereth his head to the goad, as the anvil offereth itself to the hammer,
So should the disciple put his soul and body before his Guru, and stand and wait on him.
In this way the pious man, while humbling himself, assumeth the sovereignty of the whole universe.1
Nanak, the pious understand this if God look on them with favour.
Different ways of disposing of the dead :—
Some are cremated, some buried, and others eaten by dogs;
Some are thrown into the river and others again into pits : Nanak, it is not known where they shall ultimately go.
HYMNS OF GURU AMAR DAS 223
The fate of slanderers :—
The slanderers hate the saints, but love the wicked to fascination.
They have no rest in this world or the next ; they die and are born again and again.
Their thirst is never slaked ; they are ruined by worldly love.
Their faces are blackened in the court of the true One.
Nanak, without the Name they neither abide in this world nor cross over to the next.
When reading and study are advantageous :-
Reading and study are worldly acts if the sin of avarice be in the heart.
All who read through pride grow weary, and are ruined by worldly love.
He is learned, he is a wise pandit who pondereth on the Guru's word :
He searcheth in his heart, findeth the Real Thing there, and reacheth the gate of deliverance :
He tranquilly meditateth on God, and findeth Him who is the treasury of excellences.
Nanak, blessed is that trader who by the Guru's instruc tion obtain eth the Name as his support.
The Guru can remove the sins of previous births:—
The impurity of many births hath attached to man's mind, and it hath become quite black.
An oilman's towel will not become white by washing, even though it be washed hundreds of times.
His nature altereth who by the Guru's favour while alive is dead.
Nanak, no impurity attacheth to him, and he shall not again enter a womb.
The indifference of the world to spiritual matters:—
O man, oppressed by a nightmare thy life hath passed away in sleep.
Thou hast not awakened on hearing the word of the true Guru, nor hath enthusiasm arisen in thy heart.
May that body which hath no virtues and performeth not the Guru's service be burnt !
I have seen the world burning with pride and worldly love.
Nanak, they who meditate in their hearts on the true Word and seek the Guru's protection shall be saved.
External decorations lead astray :—
Without the Word woman becometh not pure even though she don many ornaments ;
She careth not for her husband, but loveth another.
Nanak, such a woman is impure, ill-conducted, and evil among her sex.
God is the Pardoner and Cherisher :—
God appointeth men to do His service ; He it is who rcwardeth them.
He is the Father and Mother of all, and taketh care of them.
Nanak, they who ponder on the Name obtain a residence in God's own palace and are honoured in every age.
SUHI ASHTAPADI
A Sikh called Jacha inquired of the Guru the best means of obtaining God :—
Praise not the world which shall perish ;
Praise not men who shall die and become dust.
Hail ! my Lord, hail !
The pious ever praise Him who is true and independent.
The perverse are burning with love for the world :
They embrace not the present opportunity ; they shall be bound and beaten in the city of Death.
The lives of the pious are profitable ; they cling to the true Word.
God hath appeared unto them, and they abide in peace and happiness.
The thirst and hunger of those who forget the Guru's instruction and are attached to worldly love,
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Depart not ; night and day they wander in suffering :
They cherish friendship for the evil and hatred for the holy.
They shall perish with their families, and cause their whole tribe to perish.
It is not good to slander any one ; yet that is what the perverse and blockheads do.
The faces of the slanderers become blackened, and they fall into horrible hell.
O man, as thou worshippest, so shalt thou be, and so shall be the acts thou performest.
It is thou thyself who didst sow ; it is thou thyself who shalt eat ; nothing is obtained by prating.
When great men speak it is with some object :
They are filled to the brim with nectar, and have not a particle of avarice.
The virtuous amass virtues and instruct others.
They who meet them are fortunate ; night and day they repeat God's name.
"He who created the earth will give us sustenance.
One alone is the Giver ; He Himself is the true Lord.
That True One is with thee, O man ; thou shalt behold Him by the Guru's instruction.
Ever remember God and He will pardon thee and blend thee with Himself.
Man is impure ; the True One is pure ; how shall we meet Him?
When man dispelleth his pride under the Guru's instruction, God will unite him with Himself, and that shall be a lasting union.
Accursed is his life in this world who forgetteth the true Lord!
God will look with favour and not forget him who medi- tateth on the Guru's instruction.
When the true Guru blendeth me with God, a lasting union shall be effected, and I shall clasp the True One to my heart.
Once I have found Him, through the love and affection of the Guru, we shall not be separated.