Max Arthur Macauliffe

“ Truly wonderful are the strength and vitality of Hinduism. It is like the boa constrictor of the Indian forests. When a petty enemy appears to worry it, it winds round its opponent, crushes it in its folds, and finally causes it to disappear in its capacious interior. In this way, many centuries ago, Hinduism on its own ground disposed of Budhism, which was largely a Hindu reformation; in this way, in a prehistoric period, it absorbed the religion of the Scythian invaders of Northern India; in this way it has converted uneducated Islam in India into a semi-paganism ”

“ Nanak, they who, very clever in their own estimation, think not of the Guru,
Shall be left like spurious sesames in a reaped field They shall be left in the field, saith Nanak, without an owner. The wretches may even bear fruit and flower, but these shall be as ashes within their bodies. God Himself created the world and Himself gave names to things.
He made Maya by His power ; seated He beheld His work with delight. Creator, Thou art the Giver ; being pleased Thou bestowest and practisest kindness. Thou knowest all things ; Thou givest and takest life with a word. ”

“ After this they placed the Guru's remains on a pyre of sandal-wood and cremated him according to his express wish near the tree which sprang out of the karir peg against which Amar Das had struck his foot.
Guru Amar Das enjoined his flock to console themselves and said to them, ‘Guru Angad is imperishable and immortal. It is a law of the body to be born and die, but the soul is different. It is ever the same essence. Holy men have deemed human life temporary, like the roosting of birds for a night on a tree, or like the brief occupation of a ferry-boat by passengers. ”

“ But only they are saints, good saints, saith Nanak, who please God, the Omnipotent.
Thou art the primal Being, the illimitable Creator; there is none so great as Thou.
Thou art the same in every age; Thou art ever and ever the same; Thou art the eternal Creator.
What pleaseth Thee prevaileth; what Thou doest cometh to pass. Thou Thyself didst fashion the whole creation, yet, being created, it shall disappear. [9]
Nanak singeth the praises of the Creator who knoweth all things.
Guru Ram Das, Rag Asa
Thou art the true Creator, my Lord. ”

“ Nanak, he who meeteth not the true Guru and obtaineth not divine knowledge, shall find no rest in this world or the next.
The soul shall be filed seventy times like an arrow ;
It shall be melted like gold in a mould ; O soul, thou shalt suffer for what thou hast done.
The soul shall have to bear a prodigious saddle and be driven like a steed.
Nanak, it shall be bound by Death, and have to suffer transmigration again and again.
How many enemies shall it have on sea and land ! the forests and glades shall cause it to suffer. ”

“ His Sikhs asked how long they should bear the tyranny of the Muhammadans. The Guru replied, ‘As long as you live. It is not proper for saints to take revenge. Nay, there is no greater penance than patience, no greater happiness than contentment, no greater evil than greed, no greater virtue than mercy, and no more potent weapon than forgiveness. Whatever man soweth he shall reap. If he sow trouble, trouble shall be his harvest. If a man sow poison, he cannot expect ambrosia.’ On hearing this homily the Sikhs regained their peace of mind.
A company of armed Sanyasis arrived in Goindwal. ”

“ Abide pure amid the impurities of the world; thus shalt thou find the way of religion.
On meeting a true guru doubt is dispelled and the wanderings of the mind restrained.
It raineth nectar, slow ecstatic music is heard, and man is happy within himself.
Abide pure amid the impurities of the world; thus shalt thou find the way of religion.
Nanak, in the midst of life be in death; practise such religion.
When thy horn soundeth without being blown, thou shalt obtain the fearless dignity—
Abide pure amid the impurities of the world, thus shalt thou find the way of religion. ”

“ The Guru established a separate religion, and laid out an easy and simple way of obtaining salvation by the repetition of God's name. The Guru extricated men from the terrible ocean of the world, and included them in the boon of salvation. He cut off the fear of transmigration, and healed the malady of superstition and the pain of separation from God. Until the Guru's advent death's mace ever impended over men's heads, and the apostate and the evil spent their lives in vain. When men grasped the feet of the divine Guru, he gave them the true Word and effected their deliverance. ”

“ What thou didst, thou didst to please the rabble.’ On hearing this, Amar Das threw himself at the Guru's feet and humbly besought his pardon. He promised that he would for the future rigidly abide by such instructions as the Guru was pleased to communicate. The Guru replied: ‘Thou shouldst have endurance like the earth, steadfastness in woe and weal like a mountain; thou shouldst bear pardon in thy heart, and do good to every one irrespective of his acts. Thou shouldst deem gold and dross as the same, and practise humility, for the humble shall ever be exalted. ”

“ The Guru after a little time again broke silence, and said, 'The Hindus are going to hell. Death will seize and mercilessly punish them.' A Brahman replied, 'How can they who repeat God's name go to hell? Thou hast in the first place acted contrary to our custom, and now thou hast the audacity to tell us that we are going to hell.' The Guru replied, 'It is true that, if ye repeat the Name with love, ye shall not be damned. ”

“ Give thy head and regard not human opinion.
The Guru, faith, truth, and the capital of God's name are necessary for salvation:—
Without the Guru there is no divine knowledge, without faith no meditation;
Without truth there is no credit, and without capital no balance.
If Ram had been God he would not have lost his queen Sita, and he would himself have healed his half-brother Lachhman instead of calling on Hanuman to do so:—
Ram Chandar mourned in his soul for Sita and Lachhman:
He remembered Hanuman, [5] and he came to meet him. ”

“ Truth is heaven, falsehood is hell.
Mildness is victuals.
Force is oppression, justice is pure.
God's praises are ablutions, the call to prayer is noise.
Theft is greed, adultery uncleanness.
Patience is humility, impatience deceit.
The right way is that of spiritual advisers; the wrong way is for those who have none.
Compassion is wealth, want of compassion useless.
The sword is for warriors, justice for monarchs.
He who knoweth and causeth others to know these things,
Is, O Nanak, called a wise man. Upon this the Guru and Mian Mitha separated. ”

“ Devotion, penance, and austerities abide with thee, O Lahina; great pride with other people.
Greed spoileth men as slime doth water. [26]
Natural light streameth into the Guru's court.
They who can find no shelter elsewhere find it in thee, O Lahina. Thou art completely filled with the Name, which is wealth and the nine treasures.
He who slandereth thee shall be ruined.
The people of this world only see with their eyes, but thou seest afar with thy mind.
Pheru's son the true Guru went and inhabited Khadur after Guru Nanak. ”

“ O Brahman, thou knowest not divine knowledge or meditation on God, yet thou callest thyself clever.
Thou considerest the flesh that cometh from abroad [109] bad, O my lord, and the flesh of thine own home good.
All animals have sprung from flesh, and the soul taketh its abode in flesh. They whose guru is blind, eat things that ought not to be eaten, and abstain from what ought to be eaten.
In flesh we are conceived, from flesh we are born; we are vessels of flesh.
O Brahman, thou knowest not divine knowledge or meditation on God, yet thou callest thyself clever. ”

“ One day some Sikhs, who had not heard of Guru Amar Das's change of residence, arrived in Khadur. As they were departing to behold him in Goindwal, a sympathizer of Datu said to him, Canst thou, whose servant Amar Das enjoyeth sovereignty, endure it and live? Thou who oughtest to be master, canst now only look on, and be thy servant's servant. An innumerable crowd of worshippers bearing offerings and presents go to visit thy rival. Go and see for thyself.’ Datu could no longer endure such taunts, and early next morning proceeded to Goindwal to see with his own eyes the position of affairs. ”

“ Women only paid regard to their husbands for the wealth they possessed, and sin was diffused throughout the world.
When Guru Nanak appeared, the fog of spiritual ignorance dispersed, and light shone in the world, as when the sun rises the stars disappear and darkness fades away, or as when the lion roars in the forest the timid deer incontinently disappear. Wherever the Guru planted his foot, there was established a seat of worship. Every house of his followers became a temple in which the Lord's praises were ever sung and the Lord s name continually repeated. ”

“ The Guru asked him what guise he had assumed. He said he was merely obeying the Guru's order, and prayed him to be good enough to pardon and reinstate the rebeck-players. ‘The Sikhs err,’ said Bhai Ladha, ‘but the Guru can pardon and mend what is broken.’
The Guru granted Bhai Ladha's request and, commending his self-devotion, took the opportunity of expatiating on the merits of philanthropy: ‘The best devotion is the remembrance of the True Name; the best act is philanthropy: without both of these accursed is man's human birth. He merely vegetateth and heedeth not what is best for him. ”

“ At the same time he regretted that he should never live to see young Nanak's eminence, worshipped as he should be alike by Hindus and Musalmans, and not merely by Hindus as in the previous human manifestations of the Creator. The child's name should resound both in earth and heaven. Inanimate nature should cry out 'Nanak, Nanak!' He should have power over matter so as to traverse unscathed the depths of the ocean. He should worship and acknowledge but one God, and the creature he should treat as a creature. ”

“ His Sikhs once asked the Guru, ‘If, as the saints say, the world is like a dream, then how do their bodies perform their functions?’ The Guru replied, ‘Their bodies perform all their functions, but their minds are not affected by the world. The saints abide in the form of ordinary mortals, as the sword touched by the philosopher's stone retaineth its shape, but is at the same time changed into gold. ”

“ Even though man wear a religious garb and apply much ashes to his body,
Yet, if he forget the Name, he shall afterwards repent.
O man, obey God and thou shalt be happy.
If thou forget the Name, thou shalt have to endure Death's torture.
They who apply distilled aloe-wood, sandal, and camphor to their bodies,
Are immersed in worldly love, and far from the supreme dignity of salvation.
They who forget the Name are the falsest of the false.
They who are guarded by lances, for whom bands play, who sit on thrones, and are objects of salutation,
Suffer from excessive avarice and lust. ”

“ The saints of God are absorbed in God's name, and have destroyed the pain and fear of transmigration.
They have found God the imperishable Being, and great honour is theirs in the earth's continents and the universe.
God, we poor, and wretched, are Thine; preserve us, preserve us, Thou greatest of the great!
The Name is Nanak's support and prop; I have obtained happiness through being absorbed only in God's name.
Guru Arjan, Rag Gauri Purbi
I pray you hear me, my friends, it is time to serve the saints. ”

“ Hereupon a voice was heard, 'O Nanak, thou hast seen My sovereignty.' Then Nanak said, 'O Sire, what is anything that mortal can say, and what can be said or heard after what I have seen? Even the lower animals sing Thy praises.' Upon this, the Guru uttered the preamble of the Japji:
There is but one God whose name is True, the Creator, devoid of fear and enmity, immortal, unborn, self-existent, great, and bountiful. ”

“ His Sikhs put a question to the Guru: ‘Who are the greatest saints and worshippers of God ?’ The Guru replied, ‘They who have repeated the Name and renounced pride are the best. The saint who so acteth, and leaveth this filthy and loathsome body, shall obtain in its stead a celestial body of light. True saints are passionless, and afford shelter to men. He who restraineth his desires hath obtained salvation while alive. The saints are ever independent. What they do is ever beautiful and of good report. ”

“ Mardana inquired who Kaljug was, by what signs he was known unto men, and what prerogative he exercised? The Guru replied:—
When true men speak the truth and suffer for it; when penitents fail to perform penance in their homes;
When he who repeateth the name of God meeteth obloquy—these are the signs of the Kaljug. [214]
Kaljug offered the Guru the wealth of the world if he would abandon his mission. He said, 'I possess everything. Say but the word, and I will build thee a palace of pearls, inlay it with gems, and plaster it with fragrant aloes and sandal. ”

“ A true Sikh will let his body be cut to pieces when fighting for his master. The Sikh considers dying in battle a means of salvation. No superiority of the enemies in number, no shot, no shell, can make his heart quail, since his Amrit (baptism) binds him to fight single-handed against millions. Some people may say that a soldier sells his head for the small wage paid him every month. But the Sikh does not do so: he devotes his head, body, and everything dear to him to preserving the influence of him whom he once makes his master. ”

“ He there met many renowned Sidhs. When the Guru had made his obeisance and sat down, they inquired whence he had come and in what state he had left Hindustan. He replied :
The Kal age is a knife, kings are butchers ; justice hath taken wings and fled. In this completely dark night of falsehood the moon of truth is never seen to rise. I have become perplexed in my search : In the darkness I find no way. Devoted to pride, I weep in sorrow : Saith Nanak, how shall deliverance be obtained ? ”

“ Amar Das was a zealous believer in the Vaishnav faith, and used to fast every eleventh day. He ever reflected that his human life was passing in vain, and he longed for the guidance of a religious teacher to make it profitable. ‘How can the lotus bloom without the sight of the sun,’ he asked, ‘and how can man obtain salvation without a guru?’ He made a vow to bathe yearly in the Ganges, and zealously discharge all the duties of a pious Hindu. ”

“ Blessings on thy devotion and thy deeds! Thou art a holy man who hast abandoned the world, who neither eatest nor drinkest, and who never enterest a village. How can I remain with thee?' The Guru asked him on what conditions he would change his mind and continue to accompany him. He replied, 'I will remain with thee if thou satisfy my hunger in the same way as thou satisfiest thine own; and if thou also promise not to take notice of anything I do.' The Guru agreed to these conditions, and told him he should be happy in this world and the next. Mardana then fell at his feet. ”

“ Why hast thou hastened past the dangerous wall?’ The Guru replied: ‘I only want to teach my Sikhs that since human life, for which even the demigods vainly long, is so difficult to obtain, it is our duty to preserve it. If a tree be preserved, it will many times bear leaves, blossoms, and fruit. So if the body be preserved, we can practise charity and perform religious works of every description; but when the body perisheth, we can no longer perform our duty to God. ”

“ Then the Guru composed the following hymn in the Rag Malar:— Death is forgotten amid eating and drinking, laughter and sleep.
By forgetting the Lord man hath ruined himself and rendered his life accursed; he is not to tarry here.
O man, ponder on the one Name,
And thou shalt go to thy home with honour.
What do they who worship Thee give Thee? Nay, they cease not to beg of Thee.
Thou conferrest gifts on all creatures; Thou art the life within their lives.
The pious who meditate on God receive nectar; it is they who are pure. ”

“ The only time he left his house was when he went to the border of a tank outside Khadur, where he used to lie down in incessant and unwavering meditation on God.
Guru Nanak, knowing Lahina's devotion, was not very long in paying him another visit, and thus addressed him: ‘Thou hast performed excessive devotions. I cannot endure that thou shouldst suffer any longer. Between thee and me there is now no difference. None of my Sikhs hath such faith and confidence in me as thou, and therefore I love thee most of all. Thou art verily Angad a part of my body. ”

“ Saith Nanak, O Father, they shall be considered to have wept who weep through love. If men weep for the sake of worldly things, all their weeping, O Father, shall be in vain: All their weeping shall be in vain; the world is not mindful of God, and weepeth for mammon. They know not good from evil, and thus lose their human lives. All who come into this world must depart; false are you who practise pride. Saith Nanak, men shall be considered to have wept, O Father, if they weep through love. [407] After this the assembled crowd began to sing songs of mourning, and the Guru fell into a trance. ”

“ Think not that thou shalt find the Lord by mere words.
In the pride of wealth and the splendour of beauty life hath been wasted.
The sin of the body is a puddle, the mind is a toad therein, which valueth not at all the lotus.
The bumble-bee is the teacher, [44] who preacheth incessantly; but can the guru cause a man to understand who will not understand? [45] Preaching and listening are as the sough of the wind, when man's mind is tinctured by the illusions of the world.
The Lord casteth a look of favour, and is well pleased with those who meditate on Him alone. ”

“ Hear, O Pandit, why writest thou puzzles?
Write under the instruction of the Guru the name of God, the Cherisher of the world.
He created the world with ease: in the three worlds there is one Lord of Light.
Under the Guru's instruction select gems and pearls, and thou shalt obtain God the real thing.
If man understand, reflect, and comprehend what he readeth, he shall know at last that the True One is everywhere. ”

“ In that rich temple offerings to the god were made on salvers studded with pearls. On the salvers were placed flowers and censers. A fan was employed to excite the flames of the incense, while the lamps around threw light over the temple. But the use of these articles showed artificial worship, while the expanse of the firmament, the sun and the moon, the procession of the stars, the natural incense of the sandal, the winds and forests, were the fitting accessories of Nanak's purer worship of the God of creation. ”