Max Arthur Macauliffe

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ The true Guru, to whom he daily went to do homage, caused thousands of souls to swim across the still more dangerous ocean of the world. Alayar was anxious to behold so great a being, so he arranged with Paro on the next occasion to sit behind him on his horse, and thus cross the river and visit the Guru with him.
Alayar was delighted on seeing the Guru, hearing his words, and witnessing the devotion of his Sikhs. Filled with enthusiasm and humility he mentally desired the Guru's leavings. The Guru divined his wish and offered him the dish from which he had eaten. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ There were two sons, Mohri and Mohan, and two daughters, Dani and Bhani, born of the marriage. 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ After his return to Goindwal he was the same Jetha and performed the same service for the Guru as before, without a particle of false pride in his heart. The more Jetha served the Guru, the more his love for him and for all mankind increased. His disposition became divine, as when iron is turned into gold by the contact of the philosopher's stone. ”

“ Bhai Ladha said to himself, ‘Here is a chance of doing good. The body and wealth abide not for ever. The only gain is for him who doeth a good action.’ He sent Balwand and Satta on before him, and having shaved his head, blackened his face, and mounted a donkey with his face turned to the tail, went round the city of Khadur, and finally arrived in the Guru's presence. ”

“ One day when the queen was boasting of the wonderful devotion of her sister-in-law, Padamavati smiled. When asked the reason she replied, 'To burn oneself alive with one's husband's corpse is far from being the acme of affection. True affection and love require a woman to sacrifice herself directly she even heareth of her husband's death.' 'In the present age,' replied the queen, 'thou alone art such a Sati,' a word defined by the author of the Bhagat Mal as a woman who considereth her husband a god and hath no concern with any other deity. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In India, pantheism may be said to be the creed of intellectual Hindus, but it cannot be held to be a generally satisfying or useful cult to the world. When a man believes that he is a part of God, and that God, who pervades space, pervades him also, moral obligation must obviously be relaxed. Nor can supplications be satisfactorily addressed to nature, with its elemental forces, even though God be held to reside therein. Pantheism is too cold and too abstract to satisfy the reasonable aspirations of the human soul. ”

“ Having abandoned his sons and daughters, his house and home, his commerce and his dealings, he is now without occupation, and wandereth from door to door. Other people go to sleep at night, but he will not rest even then. Single-handed he doeth the work of twenty men. He is ever bringing water from the river and firewood from the forest; and what a guru to serve!’
Amar Das could endure hearing disrespectful language of himself, but not of his Guru. He told the weaver's wife that she had gone mad, and hence her slander of the Guru. Saying this, he took his vessel of water to the Guru. ”

“ The saint replied, “The world is like a dream or a shadow; sons, wives, and wealth are all perishable. In a dream a poor man may become a king or a king a poor man, but when they awake they find their dreams have no reality. For whom shall man rejoice or mourn?” Upon this some one came and told the father that his dead son had been re-animated. On hearing this, too, the saint manifested no joy.’ The Guru, pointing out the moral of his story, said, ‘Saints are unaffected by joy or sorrow as the lotus is by water.’
Many persons continued to visit the Guru for religious instruction. ”

“ The Guru bade him recite the Japji with attention every morning, and work gratuitously for the poor.
A barber named Dhinga remained with the Guru and performed ordinary menial offices for his Sikhs. One day he asked the Guru for spiritual consolation. The Guru replied, ‘The Guru is as it were a grave, and the Sikhs are as it were corpses. These are laid in the grave when life is extinct, and they cease to move. So when the Sikhs divest themselves of pride, they are fit to rest in the Guru's bosom. His Sikhs should therefore be humble and serve others. ”

“ Amar Das was himself the first to notice and regret the occurrence. He said, ‘This arm which hath caused disrespect to the Guru should be cut off. What sort of servant am I if I revere not my master?’ The Guru replied, ‘It is of no consequence; swing thine arm by all means. It is by austerities the senses should be controlled. Move thy feet and hands in the saints' service and thy devotion shall be profitable. He who performeth such service shall be happy. Let man renounce pride, fear and love God, accept His will, and obey His commands. ”

“ As Amar Das continued his journey, he met a monk with whom he became so intimate and friendly that they cooked for each other. The monk on seeing Amar Das's merits asked him what guru had taught him such piety and wisdom. Amar Das replied that he had no guru. On hearing this the monk said, ‘Alas! I have committed a great sin. I have eaten from the hands of a man who hath no guru. ”

“ He is a beast without a tail or horn, and vain is his advent into the world. At the last moment the myrmidons of Death shall firmly seize him, and he shall depart grieving with empty hands. Almsgifts, penance, and sacrifices are not equal to philanthropy. Of the various sins that man commits none is worse than selfishness.’
When the rebeck-players came, they fell at the Guru's feet, but they were too much abashed to lift their eyes to his. He put rebecks into their hands, and ordered them to sing with the same mouths and to the same instruments the praises of Guru Nanak whom they had reviled. ”

“ Muhammad of Makka was born an idolater, herded sheep and goats in early life, and appears to have had no religious instruction whatever until he had met the Hanif Waraka, his wife's cousin. The renowned Indian teacher Kabir was a weaver, who was so little of a professional priest that he denounced the Hindu and Muhammadan preachers of his age. And, as we shall see, Guru Nanak was not a priest either by birth or education, but a man who soared to the loftiest heights of divine emotionalism, and exalted his mental vision to an ethical ideal beyond the conception of Hindu or Muhammadan. ”