Nanak

“ 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 inquired, Art thou sufficiently learned to teach me? The schoolmaster replied that he had read everything. He knew the Veds and Shastars, [16] and he had learned to cast up accounts, post ledgers and daybooks, and strike balances. Upon this Nanak said, 'To your accomplishments I prefer the study of divine knowledge'. He then composed the following hymn :—
Burn worldly love, grind its ashes and make it into ink; [17] turn superior intellect into paper.
Make divine love thy pen, and thy heart the writer; ask thy guru and write his instruction. ”

“ 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. ”

“ All his works are in vain." "The Lord is the strength of the weak. He neither comes nor goes. He is always firm." "At the last moment, O Nanak, none but God is any avail." "Fall at the feet of God; in senseless stone God is not; worship not another than God; bow not to the dead."
Although Nanak always spoke humbly of himself and confessed himself unlearned and the lowest of learners, the high position which the Guru occupied naturally led to his deification, and his disciples commenced to Himself. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Nanak's susceptible mind had been influenced by these writings, some of which were afterwards embodied in the sacred book of the Sikhs.
Nanak was the only Hindu reformer who established a national faith. He rose out of the dust as a great preacher with a great theme which he boldly proclaimed, waking up the people to a higher notion of religion. ”

“ Nanak maketh one supplication
Soul and body are all in Thy power.
Thou art near, Thou art distant, and Thou art midway.
Thou seest and hearest; by Thy power didst Thou create the world.
Whatever order pleaseth Thee, saith Nanak, that is acceptable. [72] After three days the Guru came forth from the forest. The people thought he had been drowned in the neighbouring river; and how had he returned to life? He then went home, and gave all that he had to the poor. A great crowd assembled, and Nawab Daulat Khan, the Governor, also came. ”

“ Nanak, I will ask my Guru and go where the Lord is.
In Assu come, O Beloved; the wife is pining and dying for Thee.
Man can meet the Lord when He granteth him an interview; but love of mammon ruineth him.
When woman is spoiled by falsehood, her husband putteth her away ”

“ Guru Nanak then gave utterance to the following, to the effect that salvation depends upon virtue and not on a pleasing exterior or the possession of accomplishments :
A woman may be stupid, untidy, black, and impure-minded ; Yet, if she possess merits, she meeteth her Beloved ; otherwise, Nanak, the woman is to blame. The Shaikh then put the following questions : What is that word, what that virtue, what that priceless spell What dress shall I wear by which I may captivate the Spouse ? ”

“ Without such food the stupid bird would die.
Who hath a helper let anybody say.
Everybody is Thine; Thou art the helper of all. Nanak, to name and meditate on Him to whom belong Men, lower animals, wealth, and property, is difficult. ”

“ Pure is the ablution, O Nanak, when the Guru is deemed the river of pilgrimage.
The really holy are few:—
The saints are few, not many; deceit and wrangling prevail in the world. [3]
The following has reference to the concremation of widows:—
Nanak, the widow followeth her husband and dieth; she hath no power to live. ”

“ Only that day is of account when the Bridegroom looketh with favour; the wife hath then obtained the wealth of the world.
She who pleaseth her Spouse is the happy wife; Nanak, she is the queen of them all.
She is saturated with pleasure, intoxicated with happiness, [209] and day and night absorbed in His love.
She is beautiful and fair to view, accomplished, and it is she alone who is wise. [210] Nurshah and her women, on hearing this hymn, twisted their head-dresses around their necks in token of submission, and fell at the Guru's feet. They asked how they could obtain salvation. ”

“ When Nanak had attained the age of nine years, his father determined to have him invested with the janeu, or sacrificial thread of the Hindus. Until a boy is so invested, he is deemed almost an outcast. When the members and relations of the family, and all the neighbours, secular and religious, had assembled, and all preliminary rites had been duly performed, Hardial, the family priest, proceeded to put the sacred thread on Nanak's neck. ”

“ The True One is, was, O Nanak; the True One also shall be.
The Guru instructed Lahina to utter the spell with a pure heart. It would fulfil all his desires, bestow happiness in this world and salvation in the next; and by the continual practice of it the light of God should dawn in his heart. Upon this the Jogi said, 'O Nanak, he shall be thy Guru who is produced from thy body—ang.' Upon this the Guru embraced Lahina, addressed him as Angad, and promised that he should be his successor. The Jogi and the Guru then went to their respective homes. ”

“ Then his mother arose and told the household of Nanak's state. Upon this the whole family and relations grew sad, and said it was a great pity that Kalu's son had become mad.
His uncle Lalu among others exerted himself to console the young prophet. He represented to Nanak that all his relations had fixed on an occupation for him, but he had refused to adopt it. On the contrary, he would do nothing whatever, not even enjoy himself. Nanak then gave utterance to the following hymn, which, however, is not found in the Granth Sahib :—
All men are bound by entanglements ”

“ 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. ”

“ Mankind are as the poor helpless child left in the jungle, sick of the foul disease of sin. Even the pure-lived Nanak * was compelled by conscience to cry,—
"Keep me, O my Father, my Lord!
I am without virtues; all virtues are Thine!"
* For accounts of Goru (teacher) Nanak, and the poet Kabir, see further on.
And one more enlightened than the great Goru hath written, "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."
Thus lying, exposed and helpless, death—even the destruction of the soul, everlasting ruin—steals upon us, as the fearful beast drew nigh to the child. ”

“ Since that time the influence of the vicious system has prevailed, except when it was checked by such teachers as Chaityna who have regularly appeared at critical periods of the country’s history. Nanak’s influence in modern times has been the strongest in breaking down the barriers of caste. He was born near Lahore (Punjab) in the year 1469 A.D. and became the founder of the Sikh religion. He recognized the equality of all human beings, irrespective of their color, rank, or sex. In one of his most popular verses he says:
“One God produced the light, and all creatures are of His creation. ”

“ 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 ? ”

“ If the water cannot benefit my crops, which are in this world, how can it benefit your dead in another?"
Nanak's followers were called Sikhs, from sicsha, a Sanscrit word signifying disciple or devoted follower, corrupted into Sikh, pronounced Sick, and he was called by them Baba Nanak or Guru Nanak—Father Nanak or the Spiritual guide. When he felt that his end was approaching he appointed as his successor in the Guruship one of his most faithful followers, passing over his two sons despite their remonstrances, one of them being an ascetic and the other a man of the world. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The high priest asked Nanak if the Hindus who read the Veds, and the Musalmans who read the Quran, should or should not find God. The Guru courageously replied with the following outspoken hymn of Kabir :
O brethren, the Veds and the Quran are false, and free not the mind from anxiety.
If for a moment thou restrain thy mind, God will appear before thee.
O man, search thy heart daily, that thou mayest not again fall into despair.
This world is a magic show which hath no reality.
Men are pleased when they read falsehood, and quarrel over what they do not understand. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Nanak, he on whom God looketh with favour obtaineth peace in his home, and his mind is consoled with the Guru’s teaching.
It raineth a torrent of nectar, whose drops are delightful,
When the friend, the kindly Guru meeteth one, and love is established with God.
God entereth the temple of the body when it pleaseth Him, and the woman riseth up and repeateth His praises.
In every house the spouse enjoyeth his happy wife; why hath my Spouse forgotten me? ”

“ Nanak, the fool heedeth not even now; how shall he obtain happiness in the second watch?
III
It is the third watch, thou art wrapt in slumber.
By wealth, children, and wives men are afflicted with sorrow:
Yet wealth, children, wives, and worldly possessions are dear to man; he nibbleth at the bait, and is continually caught.
If man under the Guru's instruction meditate on the Name, he shall obtain rest, and Death shall not seize him. [245]
Transmigration and death never forsake us; without the Name we are afflicted. ”

“ Is the True and Pure One obtained by wandering ? There is no salvation without the True Word The Sidhs asked : 1 Who art thou ? What is thy name ? What is thy sect and what thine object ?
Speak the truth ; this is what we urge ; we are a sacrifice to saintly men.
Where is thy seat ; where dwellest thou, O youth ?
Whence hast thou come, and whither goest thou ?
Hear, O Nanak, said the Sidhs, What are thy tenets ?
1 Majh ki War. Nanak—’I dwell in God who hath His seat in every heart; I act according to the will of the True Guru. ”

“ Nānakpanthi1 Sect, Nānakshahi, Udāsi, Suthra Shahi.—The Nānakpanthi sect was founded by the well-known Bāba Nānak, a Khatri of the Lahore District, who lived between 1469 and 1538–39. He is the real founder of Sikhism, but this development of his followers into a military and political organisation was the work of his successors, Har Govind and Govind Singh. Nānak himself was a religious reformer of the same type as Kabīr and others, who tried to abolish the worship of idols and all the body of Hindu superstition, and substitute a belief in a single unseen deity without form or special name. ”