Max Arthur Macauliffe

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The four castes of the Hindus he reduced to one. Whether a Sikh had a caste or not, he was distinguished in the society of the holy. The six schools of philosophy are like the six seasons of the year, but the sect of the Guru is the sun which shines over them all. Guru Nanak having abolished all sects shed great splendour on his own. Setting aside the Veds and the books of Islam, he taught his sect to repeat the name of the infinite God who surpasses all conception. By falling at one another's feet and by practising humility are the Guru's Sikhs recognized. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ? ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Repeat the name of Him by whose worship thou shalt obtain happiness in His court. In the next world thou canst in no wise enforce thine authority; every one shall fare according to his acts. Remember the Lord, my brethren, every one must depart. That which pleaseth the Omnipotent shall come to pass; this world is an illusion. The true Creator pervadeth sea and land, the nether regions, and the firmament. The true Creator is invisible, unequalled; His limit cannot be found. Profitable is their advent into this world who have meditated with their whole hearts upon Him. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ I deem my soul merely as a spectator of my body, and am not concerned with the latter. Where fore dispose of it as thou pleasest.’ Then the Guru said, ’Shall I make thee a tomb and render thee famous in the world.’ Mardana replied, ’When my soul hath been separated from its bodily tomb, why shut it up in a stone tomb?’ The Guru answered, ’Since thou knowest God and art therefore a Brahman, we shall dispose of thy body by throwing it into the river Ravi and letting it go with the stream. ”

“ 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. ”

“ What teachest thou the people, and what knowledge dost thou communicate to thy disciples?' The Pandit replied: 'By the will of God I teach the people the fourteen sciences—reading, swimming, medicine, alchemy, astrology, singing the six rags and their raginis, the science of sexual enjoyment, grammar, music, horsemanship, dancing, archery, theology, and statesmanship.' The Guru replied that better than all these was knowledge of God. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In summer's heat and winter's frost, in the glory of the firmament, in the changeful aspects of nature, as well as in the joys and sorrows of the inhabitants of his little natal village, he read in bright characters and repeated with joyous iteration the name of the Formless Creator. The Name henceforth became the object of his continual worship and meditation and indeed one of the distinctive features of his creed.
As a man soweth so shall he reap; as he earneth so shall he eat. ”

“ Who is thy guru, and what power hath he to pardon thee since thou violatest all rules and destroyest life?’ The Guru in reply uttered the following pauri:—
When the True Guru is merciful, faith is perfected.
When the True Guru is merciful, man shall never grieve. ”

“ Where was his field and where was he, and how could the water ever reach it? 'Thou art a great fool, thy field shall never become green by what thou art doing.' The Guru replied, 'Ye have forgotten God. Without love and devotion your minds have gone astray. My field, which you say this water cannot reach, is near, but your ancestors are very far away, so how can the water ye offer them ever reach them or profit them? ”

“ 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. ”

“ Death is like the hawk among the birds, or the huntsman with the noose in his hands.
They whom the Guru preserved have been saved ; all others have been entrapped by the bait.
They who possess not God s name shall be rejected ; no one will assist them. ”

“ Angad again fell at his feet in adoration. Guru Nanak's family, relations, and disciples began to weep. On that occasion he composed the following:—
Hail to the Creator, the True King, who allotted to the world its various duties! When the measure [406] is full, the duration of life is at an end; the soul is led away; When the destined hour arriveth, the soul is led away and all one's relations weep. The body and soul are separated, O my mother, when one's days are at an end. Thou hast obtained what was allotted thee, and reaped the fruit of thy former acts. ”