Hymns of Guru Nanak 2
271
Lip service will not do!
Though man perform lip-devotion, penance, and austerities, dwell at places of pilgrimage,
Bestow alms and perform acts of devotion, what are these without the True One?
As he soweth so shall he reap; human life is lost without virtue.
O silly one, happiness is obtained by being a slave to virtue.
She who under the Guru's instruction abandoneth evil, shall be absorbed in the Perfect One.
The following is a brief lecture against hypocrisy, with a few precepts to obtain future happiness:--
God carefully draweth the touchstone over men in order to assay them.
The counterfeit shall not be accepted; the genuine shall be put into His treasury.
Dispel hopes and fears, so shall thy filth be washed away.
Everybody asketh for happiness; nobody asketh for misery.
Great misery attendeth on happiness, but the perverse understand it not.
They who consider happiness and misery the same, and know the secret of the Word shall be happy.
Man may escape from the dangers of this world by accepting the Guru and hearkening to his instructions:--
The fearful ocean of the world is dangerous and formidable; it hath no shore or limit,
No boat, no raft, no pole, and no boatman;
But the true Guru hath a vessel for the terrible ocean, and ferrieth over him on whom he looketh with favour.
Love for God is inculcated by familiar Indian examples:--
O man, entertain such love for God as the lotus hath for the water.
{p. 271}
272. Such Love
Such love doth it bear it, that it bloometh even when dashed down by the waves.
The creatures which God created in water die without it, and therefore love it.
O man, how shalt thou be delivered without love?
God pervadeth the hearts of the pious, and bestoweth oil them a store of devotion.
O man, entertain such love for God as the fish for the water.
The more it hath, the happier it becometh, and the greater its peace of mind and body.
Without water it could not live for a moment; God alone knoweth the sufferings of its heart.
O man, entertain such love for God as the chatrik for rain:
Though the tanks be full and the earth drenched, it will not drink from either.
If so fated, it shall obtain the rain-drops, otherwise it is fated to die.
O man, entertain such love for God as water for milk.
The water alone is consumed in boiling and alloweth not tile milk to be consumed.
God uniteth the separated, and conferreth true greatness.
O man, entertain such love for God as the chakwi[1] for the sun.
She sleepeth not for a moment, for she knoweth that her mate is absent from her.
The perverse see not; to the pious God is ever present.
The perverse make calculations, but it is only what the Creator doeth that cometh to pass.
His worth cannot be ascertained, even though all men desire it
But it can be ascertained under the Guru's instruction by meeting the True One happiness is obtained.
[1. The ruddy sheldrake, called by Anglo-Indians the Brâhmani duck. Should the male and female birds be separated at night, for instance at different sides of a river, they are believed to call to each other until they behold the morning sun when they renew their conjugal acquaintance.]
{p. 272}
273. If True Guru is found
If the True Guru be met, true love shall not sunder,
And the wealth of divine knowledge of the three worlds shall be obtained.
If any one acquire virtue, he will not forget the Pure Name.
The birds which peck on sea and land have played and gone away.
Man must depart in a ghari or two; his enjoyment is only for to-day or to-morrow.
He whom Thou blendest with Thyself shall be blended with Thee, and shall take his place in the true arena.
Without the Guru love is not produced, and the filth of pride departeth not.
He who recognizeth God in himself, and knoweth the secret of the Word, shall be satisfied:
But when man recognizeth himself through the Guru's instruction, what more remaineth for him to do?
Why speak of meeting God? Mail hath met Him already,[1] but it is only on receiving the Word he is satisfied.
Tile perverse obtain not understanding; separated from God they suffer punishment.
For Nanak there is but the gate of the one God; there is no other refuge.
It is said the following was addressed by the Guru, during his pilgrimage to the east, to a Raja called Harbans:--
Man is led astray by the reading of words; ritualists are very proud.
What availeth it to bathe at the place of pilgrimage, if the filth of pride be in the heart?
Who but the Guru can explain that the King and Emperor dwelleth in the heart?
All men err; it is only the great Creator who erreth not.
He who admonisheth his heart under the Guru's instruction shall love the Lord.
[1. Because the soul has emanated from God.]
{p. 273}
274. The True One
Nanak, he whom the incomparable Word hath caused to meet God, shall not forget the True One.
God cannot be deceived and His merits cannot be described:--
By taking the protection of the Guru man shall be saved; counterfeit is the capital of the perverse.
The eight metals of the King are coined agreeably to His orders.[1]
The Assayer Himself assayeth the coins, and putteth the genuine into His treasury.
Thy merits, O Lord, cannot be ascertained; I have seen and tested everything.
Thy merits cannot be expressed by words; if man remain true, he shall obtain honour.
Under the Guru's instruction Thou, O Lord., art praised otherwise Thy worth cannot be described.
The Guru prefers the repetition of God's name to all other forms of devotion:--
My heart is penetrated by God's name; what else shall I reflect upon?
Happiness cometh to him who meditateth on the, Word; perfect happiness to him who is imbued with God.
Preserve me as it pleaseth Thee, O God; Thy name is my support.
O man, just is the will of the Master.
Love Him who made and adorned thy body and mind.
Were my body to be cut into pieces and burnt in the fire
Were I to turn my body and soul into firewood, and burn them night and day;
Were I to perform hundreds of thousands and millions of religious ceremonies, all would not be equal to God's name.
[1. Man is composed, according to Indian ideas, of hair, blood, nerves, skin, bone, seed, flesh, and fat. These correspond to the eight simple or compound metals differently stated by Indian historians. Bhâi Gur Das understands the eight metals to be the four castes of Hindus and the four great sects of Muhammadans.]
{p. 274}
275. Not equal to God's name
Were a saw to be applied to my head and my body to be cut in twain;[1]
Were my body to be frozen in the Himalayas, even then my mind would not be free from disease--
It would all not be equal to God's name--I have seen and examined everything--
Were I to make offerings of millions of gold, many excellent horses and excellent elephants;
Were I to make large presents of lands and cows, even then pride would remain in my heart.
The Guru hath given me the true gift that my mind is penetrated by God's name.
How many opinions, and how many interpretations of the Veds through obstinacy!
How many entanglements there are for the soul! the gate of deliverance is only obtained through the Guru's instruction.
Everything is inferior to truth; the practice, of truth is superior to all else.
Call every one exalted; let no one appear to thee low.
The one God fashioned the vessels, and it is His light that filleth the three worlds.
By His favour man obtaineth the truth; what He granteth in the beginning none can efface.
The holy meet the holy; by love for the Guru man obtaineth consolation.
He who is absorbed in the True Guru pondereth on the Word of the Ineffable.
He who drinketh the nectar of the Name shall be satisfied, and go to God's court with a dress of honour.
The strain of ecstasy[2] resoundeth night and day in the hearts of those who bear great love to the Word.
[1. Saws were kept at Banaras and Priyâg for the immolation of Hindu devotees. The operator applied the saw first to the head and cut through the body to the middle thus dividing it into halves. Devotees believed that all their sins should thus be forgiven, and they should immediately enter a state of bliss.
2. Kinguri is a musical instrument, originally composed of two gourds or calabashes connected by a frame on which there were four strings. It is now generally made of one calabash, a frame and one {footnote p. 275} string. The Jogis apply the word to the music heard in the brain by the practice of Jog.]
{p. 275}
p 276
Few there are who obtain understanding by admonishing their hearts through their guru.
Nanak, they who forget not the Name, and who act according to the Word shall be delivered.
The following principally inculcates the inutility of worldly possessions and the superiority of devotion:--
We see mansions painted and whitewashed with ornamented doors.
They were constructed to give pleasure to the heart,
and through love and regard for worldly things, but they shall fall to ruin.
So the body which is empty within and possesseth no love, shall fall and become a heap of dust.
O my brethren, your bodies and wealth shall not accompany you.
God's name is the pure wealth; God giveth it through the Guru.
If the Giver give the true wealth of God's name,
The great Creator shall become man's friend, and no inquiry shall be made of him in the next world.
If God deliver man, he shall be delivered; God alone is the Pardoner.
The perverse man deemeth that daughters, sons, and relations are his.
He is pleased on beholding woman, but, as she bringeth joy, so she bringeth sorrow,
Holy men are imbued with the Word, and day and night enjoy divine happiness.
The mind of the wavering infidel wandereth in quest of transitory wealth.
Men ruin themselves by their search abroad while the Real Thing is in their homes.
The pious obtain It, the perverse miss It through pride.
O vicious infidel, know thine own origin.
{p. 276}
277. Body and fire
Thy body made from blood and semen shall be brought to the fire at last.
The body is in the power of the breath according to the true mark on the forehead.
Men pray for a long life; no one desireth to die.
He is said to lead a happy life in whose heart God dwelleth through the Guru's instruction.
Of what account are they who are without the Name, and who therefore obtain not a sight of the great God?
As a man goeth astray at night in his sleep,
So doth he in whose heart there is pride and worldly love, and who is in the power of mammon.
To him who reflecteth under the Guru's instruction the world appeareth a dream.
As thirst is quenched when one findeth water; as the child is sustained by its mother's milk;
As the lotus cannot exist without water, and the fish would die without it,
So, Nanak, may I obtain divine happiness through the Guru's instruction and live singing God's praises!
Without the spiritual condition which is obtained by a repetition of the Name there is no salvation:--
I have become alarmed on seeing a terrible mountain in my Father's house.[1]
Steep is the mountain and difficult to ascend; there is no ladder which will reach it;
But under the Guru's instruction I have found the secret;[2] the Guru hath caused me to meet God and I am saved.
O my brethren, the ocean of the world is difficult and formidable.
If I have a satisfactory interview with the perfect true Guru, he will deliver me by granting me God's name.
If I say I am perishable, it will not avail me; but if I really know that I am perishable, it will.
Everything that came into this world shall depart; the Creator alone is immortal.
[1. Seeing the difficulties of this world.
2. That there is no mountain.]
{p. 277}
278. Praise the True One
Be sure to praise the True One and love His abode.
Beautiful houses and palaces and thousands of strong holds,
Elephants, horses with their housings, and hundreds of thousands, yea, countless armed men
Will not depart with any one: Their masters pine away and die without gaining any advantage from them.
Thou mayest amass gold and silver, but wealth is an entangling net.
Man's authority may be proclaimed throughout the whole world, but without the Name death standeth over his head.
When the body falleth, the soul fleeth away; what shall be the condition of the evil doers?
The husband is delighted on beholding his sons and his wife on her couch;
He applieth distilled aloe wood and sandal he weareth fine clothes and decorateth himself;
Yet shall he leave his family and depart dust shall return to dust.
He may be styled a chief, an emperor, a king, a governor, or a lord;
He may be called the headman of a town or a governor; he may burn with pride
Yet by perversely forgetting the Name he shall be as a reed burnt in the fire.
Having come into the world, he shall depart however proud he be.
The whole world is a chamber of lampblack; the body and soul which enter it shall be tarnished.[1]
They who are preserved by the Guru are pure; the fire of their desires is extinguished by the Word.
Nanak, man obtaineth deliverance by the true name of the King of kings.
May I not forget God's name! may I purchase it as a jewel!
The perverse man perisheth in the terrible ocean of the
[1. Literally--shall become ashes.]
{p. 278}
p 279
world; the holy man crosseth it, unfathomable though it be.
GHAR III[1]
Definitions:--
How is Sat Sangat, the Society of the holy, known?
The name of the one God is mentioned there.
How are Duhagins--women separated from their husbands--known?
They are those who forgetful of their Spouse wander unhonoured.
They who are pleased with God's will,
Remove superstition from their minds.
Nanak, the true Guru, is known by his association with every one.
SRI RAG KI WAR
Some virtues which contribute to perfection--
Faith and resignation are the characteristics of the holy; patience is the viaticum of angels.
The perfect shall obtain a sight of God; the fool shall find no place with Him.
Caste is vain and contributes not to goodness or holiness:--
Castes are folly, names are folly
All creatures have one shelter, that of God.
If a man call himself good,
The truth shall be known, O Nanak, when his account is accepted.
Man, no matter what his caste or social position may be, is exalted by devotion:--
What difference is there between a swan and a crane, if God look kindly on the latter?
Nanak, if it please Him, He can change a raven into a swan,
[1. This is understood to mark time--three beats to a bar.]
{p. 279}
P 280
MAJH KI WAR
God as the Guru --
The Guru is the Giver, the Guru is the house of snow,[1] the Guru is the lamp of the three worlds.
Nanak, the Guru possesseth the immortal wealth; by putting faith in Him happiness is obtained.
The ten stages of man:--
In man's first stage he loveth the milk of his mother's breast;
In his second he recognizeth his father and mother
In his third his brother, his brother's wife, and his own sister;
In the fourth a love of play ariseth in him
In the fifth he runneth after food and drink
In the sixth he inquireth not a woman's caste in his lust
In the seventh he collecteth things for a house to live in
In the eighth his body is wasted by wrath;
In the ninth he groweth grey and his breathing is difficult;
In the tenth he is burnt and becometh ashes.
His companions accompany him to his pyre with loud lamentations.
The soul flieth away, showing the road of departure to others.
He Came, he died, and departed--leaving only a name.
After his death his relations offer food on leaves, and call the crows.[2]
Nanak, the perverse love mental darkness.
Without a guru the world is lost.
Other divisions of human life:--
At ten a child, at twenty a rake, at thirty man calleth himself handsome;
[1. That is, he cools the fire of desires. Some suppose that hiwai ghar is for the Sanskrit himkar, the moon.
2. Portions (bali) of such offerings are set aside for cows, portions for dogs, and portions for crows.]
{p. 280}
