Guru Nanak had given all his Spiritual, Religious, Scientific, Political and Philosophical sermons to people professing different faiths and segments of society and those following various religious orders in his 965 Gurbani Shabads or compositions. In addition he had collected 784 compositions of 15 Bhagats and Saints from all over the country and had given this treasure of his revealed Gurbani collection to Guru Angad Dev Ji when he installed him as the second Nanak. Bhai Gurdas in his Vaars as well as Satta and Balwand in their Vaar, which is included in the Guru Granth Sahib, proclaimed that Guru Nanak just changed his body. Guru Nanak could have compiled the Gurbani Treasure in the form of a "Granth" or "Pothi" if his intention had been only to give a new method of "Bhakti" or constant remembrance of the Lord leading to personal salvation. Neither Guru Angad Dev Ji nor any of the other 8 Nanaks gave any fresh or new idea in their Bani or proclamation. They just further repeated the same thoughts in different phraseology because in fact they were all Nanaks. Guru Nanak had the distinction that he was recording himself all the thoughts that were being revealed to him. No other Saint or Bhagat had done so. Their followers had recorded their sermons in more than one version and sometimes they recorded the same after the demise of the savant. When we draw our attention to the ages when the various other Nanaks occupied the spiritual cum temporal throne then we notice that Guru Arjan Dev was installed Guru by his predecessor at the age of 18, Guru Hargobind was installed at the age of 11, Hari Rai at the age of 14 years, Guru Harikrishan Ji at the age of 5 years and Guru Gobind Singh at the age of 9 years. We can easily conclude that "The Light of the Lord Himself" which entered Guru Nanak was passed on to the young Gurus who could act like Guru Nanak and thus it was the Light, which was acting in all. Bhai Gurdas is very clear:
Guru Nanak transformed himself and thus changed into a different personality. This mystery is incomprehensible for any body and awe-inspiring (Nanak) accomplished a wonderful task. He (Nanak) converted his body into a new form.
Vaar 24 Pauri 25 (1, 2, 3)
Nirankaru Nanak Deu Nirankari aakar banaia guru Angadu gur ang te gangahu jaanh tarang uthaia Amar Das guru Angdahu joli saroop chalat vartaia.
The formless Lord who is beyond all forms assumed the form of Guru Nanak Dev (in a metaphoric sense). In turn, he (Guru Nanak) created Angad "from his limbs" as the waves are created in the river Ganga. From Guru Angad came Guru Amar Das and all saw the miracle of transference of the Light.
We can easily conclude that Guru Nanak assumed nine other forms to complete the special task assigned to him.
THREE PHASES OF THE KHALSA
1. Formation of a Unitary Panth 1469-1708 (239 years) To organise a Unique Panth or Army of Akal Purukh seems to have been the mandate of Nanak. Sikhi is not just another religion with its special rituals being: - Kirtan, Kirtan Darbars, reading of Guru Granth Sahib on 7 days or rapid continuous reading over 48 hours (Akhandpath), Katha or discourse on Gurbani and Langars being the other prominent attributes. We become thoughtful and are in a contemplative mood when the Raagis sing: "Meri Meri Kartey Janam Gaio" meaning that Man! You have wasted your life muttering Mine, Mine. This Shabad is usually sung at the Bhog Ceremony of a dear departed soul. The meanings do not touch us because we all have become totally self-centered, always counting our wealth and remaining in quest for more acquisitions. We, the Sikhs have totally forgotten and have ignored completely the objective of Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak was aiming in bringing the whole humanity on the righteous path. Guru Nanak had commenced his task by singing his thoughts and addressing the people of South and South West Asia. He had initiated a movement to establish a gentle rule, which would uplift the downtrodden and poor of the land. The Tenth Nanak passed on this mandate to us.
We did not pay much attention to the two important edicts and traditions given to us by the Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Guru Sahib in 1699, at the time of commencing the Institution of distinctive Khalsa, had declared that the Sanstha (institution) of Masands is hereby abolished for all time to come. Guru Sahib had stated that these Masands had become totally corrupt even in the Guru period. Not only they misappropriated funds meant for the Guru, they browbeat the Sikhs. In addition to Masands Guru Gobind Singh Ji, turned out from the Panth Minas, Ram Raiyas, and Dhirmalias, all those who had been trying to set up Sikhi of their own. Thus Guru Gobind Singh consolidated one Central mainstream or Panth of the Khalsa and stated that henceforth the Daswandh or tithe be handed over directly to the Guru. It clearly meant that after him, the Daswandh, the compulsory levy instituted by Guru Arjan Dev Ji, was to be deposited in the Central Treasury of the Panth. The intellectuals did not apply their mind to this edict and this has been the sole cause of the chaotic condition of the Panth now. Literally thousands of Masands in the form of Babas and others are collecting funds for their personal benefit.
Secondly, in 1708, he had clearly shown to us the model of future Panthic Leadership when he had appointed Banda Singh Bahadar as the Commander of the Khalsa and provided him with five chosen Gursikhs to guide him throughout on the Path of Gurmat. This model of collective Panthic leadership has yet to be instituted.
2. Second Phase of Khalsa 1708-1947 (239 years) Sustenance of the Khalsa Upto the time of Nawab Kapur Singh Panth had a single central treasury and one polity. After the demise of Kapur Singh and Ahmed Shah Abdali, the Misl Sardars commenced fighting amongst themselves. During these 239 years Panth had two golden periods:
1799-1839: These 40 years of Sarkar Khalsa was a unique peaceful Kingdom of its times in the whole world. There were no rebellions and no body was given death sentence when even in England death sentence was awarded for minor crimes. Our Gurus indicated forcefully to us that every Raj within boundaries becomes corrupt and showed it to us that such a remarkable Raj came to an inglorious end within 10 years.
1920-1925: During these 5 years Panth acted as one unit and hundreds sacrificed themselves for freeing the Gurdwaras from the control of Mahants. Panjabi Muslims and Govt. of India were alarmed that if they do not check this movement, it would lead to Khalsa Raj. Govt of India brought out a well thought out Gurdwara Act for handing over of important historical Gurdwaras of Punjab to an elected body of Sikhs for which the Government of Punjab would incur all expenses for all times. During 1920, the Panth had shown exemplary unity when they had nominated by unanimous consent 170 members to constitute the Shrimoni Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee. As soon as the Gurdwara Act was passed, Sikhs got divided into 3 factions and in the very first election to SGPC in 1926, Sikhs used every possible corrupt practise to gain control of SGPC. The intellectuals did not give any lead to the Panth at this critical movement but instead also got themselves attached to various factions of religious and political leaders.
End of Panthic Ideology:
Our Gurus had created a single Panth but after 1925 the Sikhs joined other political parties for personal promotion. In 1946 Sikhs joined Congress in large numbers and fought elections on its ticket. The lure of travelling in the Ministerial car with National Flag on it (Jhandi wali car) had a great attraction for the Sikh politicians. Several of them joined the Congress to get a march above their rivals in the Akali Dal. This was also a quick way to amass money. Sikh intellectuals were not only mute spectators but were running after the various factions of Sikh politicians and forgot the entity of Guru Panth. The degradation of the Panth was demonstrated at the recently held 4 political conferences at the Chhapar Mela on 2-9-2001. The Sikhs vied with one another to show the political strength of their faction and brought their followers from all over Panjab to downgrade their rivals. These conferences were held at the "Gugga Marhi Mandir". Only Sikhs spoke from the stages of Akali Dal, Congress, Panthic Morcha and Lok Bhalai Party. Regression of Sikh Ideology was further demonstrated when the Sikhs organized the annual Urs of Pir Manawala and Baba Miran Shah on 7th September 2001. Panjabi Tribune of 8th September 2001 published photographs and mentioned 26 Sikh names among the organizers who had offered ceremonial Chadars over the graves and distributed special Choorma. The paper also published the lines of the degrading songs sung by Sikh boys and girls on this occasion. No group or body of intellectuals or even Akal Takhat criticized these unsikh practices on both these occasions. This is height of Panthic decadence.
3. Third Phase of Khalsa: Khalsa to rescue the world (1947 onwards):
We must accept that the "Embodiment of the Spirit of the Lord Himself was called Guru Nanak – Jot Roop Her Aaap Guru Nanak Kahaiyo" and this Light of the Lord had come here for a purpose. Khalsa had been formed at the behest of the Akal Purukh to save the world from annihilation. It was for this purpose that Akal Purukh did not desire us to be confined to a small state and hence no Sikh State was created in 1947. Subsequently the Sikhs started moving out of Punjab in large numbers and events of 1984 lead to world vide Diaspora of Sikhs. Guru Nanak had commenced his journey to bring the humanity on the path of righteousness "Charhiya Sodhan Dharat Lukai". It is for furtherance of this task that the Khalsa has spread to all over the world. Only the ideology of Guru Granth Sahib can control the Explosive situation and impending anarchy which has become manifest after Sept. 11, 2001.
Let the Khalsa put its own house in order to face this task. Three steps are urgently required and all well meaning Sikh intellectuals should commence a movement from every forum:
Organisation of a Central Treasury of the Panth.
Organisation of Central Leadership of the Panth, which is acceptable to all 20 million Sikhs.
Organisation of a single Khalsa Polity in all countries of the world to project the ideology of Guru Granth Sahib.
Once we achieve the 3 objectives outlined above then we would be able to spearhead the movement of sanity in the world. We have to end all ethnic differences and uplift the downtrodden masses in all countries. We have to forcefully project the ideology of "Koi Boley Ram Ram Koi Khudaiye". Let us dispense with mery mery (mine, mine) give up personal self-promotion all the time. Part with Bank balances for the Guru's task.
Propagate the ideology of Guru Granth Sahib by publishing Gurbani in different languages and scripts of the world. We have to commence a worldwide movement for distribution of Gurbani Booklets amongst the intellectuals in all countries.
The Sikh Gurus had an extraordinary influence on the various strata of society. They provided vital leadership to the down-trodden and suppressed people. Their contribution in spiritual, moral, social, economic, cultural and political fields was striking and remarkable. They placed simple but high ideals before the people at a time when superstition, fanaticism and despair reigned supreme everywhere. They removed false beliefs and fear from the minds of men and women and held out before them the prospects of hope, confidence, peace and salvation.
During the Guru period there were only two religions in the PanjabHinduism and Islam. Buddhism had disappeared long ago. Only a few followers of Jainism could be seen in Haryana. The rulers of the country were Muslims and Hindus were the subject people. Deep hatred and bitter antagonism existed between the two religions. The Hindus suffered from triple oppression-by foreign rulers, by invaders, and by alien settlers. The Hindus and Muslims were completely separated from each other-religiously, socially, economically, culturally and politically.
1. IMPACT ON RELIGIOUS THOUGHT
(a) Reformation of Hindu society
Nanak's religion was for all. He wanted to root out the hatred existing between the rulers and the ruled. As the Muslims persecuted Hindus on account of idolatry and caste system, Nanak preached against both these institutions. He declared there was only one God, and all human beings were His children. Thus he preached the principle of fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man. The Gurus addressed their followers as Bhai, Bhai Mardana, Bhai-Bala, Bhai Budha, Bhai Lahna. Guru Tegh Bahadur, while writing to a sangat, mentioned every member by name even when the number was 50, 60 or 70, calling every male member Bhai and every woman as Bebe.
The Gurus asserted it did not matter if God was called Allah or Khuda by Muslims, and Ram or Parmeshwar by Hindus. Father, daddy and papa meant the same person. The real test lay not in belief but in action. Both Quran and Puran taught love of humanity. He emphasized that in the eyes of God there was no person high or low superior or inferior, big or small, rich or poor. Nanak admitted lower caste Hindus along with men of upper classes in his congregations. He preached in Panjabi, the language of the common people, in witty prose and pithy poetry. He insisted on singing sacred songs or hymns in the sincerest devotion and love for God. The spirit of self-surrender to the Lord and exercising no will of one's own was prescribed for all seekers of peace of mind. All useless formalities and rituals were completely discarded. He roamed all over the country preaching to the people at village well, under a shady tree where people rested in the afternoon, at fairs and festivals, at places of pilgrimage, and on occasions of marriages and mournings.
Nanak stimulated the people to get rid of priesthood, polytheism and caste system. He offered consolation by preaching that their misfortunes were due to their misdeeds in the past life, and assured them that a good life would bring them salvation hereafter.
(b) Fraternity with Muslims
The Sikh Gurus attempted to remove bitterness prevailing between Hinduism and Islam both by precept and practice. Guru Nanak's life-companion was Mardana. He died at Baghdad and the Guru performed his obsequies with his own hands, and erected a memorial over his grave. Then Mardana's son Shahzada was employed to sing holy songs. Guru Angad recruited Satta and Balwand, two Muslim minstrels, to sing sacred hymns at the time of worship. Guru Arjan got the foundation-stone of Hari Mandar laid at Amritsar by the celebrated Muslim saint, Mian Mir of Lahore. He included in the Adi Granth, the holy scripture of Sikhism, hymns of Muslim saints and minstrels as follows:
Kabir 541, Farid 134, Mardana 3, Satta and Balwand who sang jointly 3.
Guru Hargobind employed in his service a large number of Pathans under command of Paindab Khan. Pir Budhu Shah of Sadhaura gave to Guru Gobind Singh 700 of his disciples in command of his four sons, two of whom were killed in the battle of Bhangani in 1688. In the battle of Anandpur in 1702 Mir Beg and Mamun Khan commanded Guru's forces. Again at the same place in 1704 General Sayyid Beg did not like to fight an unholy war against the Guru and went over to his side. Nabi Khan and Ghani Khan of Machhiwara helped Guru Gobind Singh in escaping towards Malwa desert. Qazi Pir Muhammad saved Guru's life by falsely declaring that he was a Muslim saint known to him. Rae Kalha, a Muslim chief of Raekot entertained him generously during the flight. Thus it is clear Gurus reduced communal tension in thePanjab.
(c) Salvation through repetition of God's Name
God of the Sikh Gurus is nirgun or absolute as well as sagun or personal.
As absolute, He is present in everything and everywhere. As personal, He listens to one's grievances and helps him:
"He lives in everything. He dwells in every heart. Yet he is no blended with anything. He is separate."1
Salvation could be obtained by one and all by constantly and attentively repeating the Name of God. Guru Ram Das said:
"Let anybody repeat Han Mantra worthy to be repeated, be he a Kshatriya, a Brahman, a Shudra or a Vaish."
Guru Arjan declared: "Through one Name all will be saved-the Kshatriya, the Brahman, the Shudra and the Vaish."3
The mode of the worship of the Sikhs consists in singing hymns from the Adi Granth to the accompaniment of musical instruments. This manner of worship has remained unchanged through centuries. Sujan Rae Bhandari of Batala, a contemporary of Guru Gobind Singh, wrote in 1697:
"The mode of,worship of this sect is to recite hymns composed by their Gurus and sing them softly and sweetly in a fascinating manner."4
(d) congregations
Hinduism was based on individualism. It did not develop spirit of unity. It was for this reason that Muslim invaders easily overpowered 14indu armies, which had no unified command. The Bhakti leaders insisted on congregational system. The Sikh Gurus adopted the same practice.
Sangats or congregations were religious assemblies. Every Sjkhman, woman and child was a member of one sangat or the other. The sangats served as a link between the common people and the Gurus. Guru Nanak established a dharamsal or a Sikh place of worship wherever he went.'
Guru Angad maintained the purity of the sangat by declining to associate Udasis with the Sikhs. Guru Amar Das organised them into twenty~two dioceses under Sangatias. Their status was raised by Guru Arjan to that of Masands. In the Sangat all the four castes were blended like the betel leaf, Bhai Gurdas said:
Char varan satsang Gurmukh melya
Jdn tambol rang Gurmukh chelya.2
Guru Hargobind introduced congregational prayers. Mohsin Fani says when a Sikh desired for something, he would request the sangat to pray for him. Even the Guru himself asked the Sikh congregation (Sangat or Anjuman-e-Sikhan) to pray for him.3
2. IMPACT ON SOCIAL LIFE
(a) Caste system
The Hindu society was based on caste and was divided into countless water tight compartments. Hinduism consisted of four castes. About one-third of the total number included Shudras. The three-upper classes considered Shudras inferior. They were required to perform menial jobs for them. Men were considered high and low on account of their birth and not according to their deeds. Equality of human beings was a dream. The Gurus preached that a man's love of God should be the criterion to judge whether be was good or bad, high or low. As the caste system was not based on divine love, they condemned it. They aimed at creating a casteless and classless society. Guru Ram Das stated:
"There are four castes-Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Shudras and Vaishasand there are four Ashrams. Of all these the foremost is one which meditates on the Lord. As a castor tree growing near a sandalwood tree absorbs its perfume, so does a degraded person become acceptable by attending religious congregations. The highest and purest of all is he whose mind dwells in the Lord. Nanak! I wash the feet of that devotee of God who serves the low castes."
Guru Arjan gave four gates to Han Mandar at Amritsar indicating that the Sikh temples were open to all the four castes.
Bhai Gurdas, the scribe of the Adi Granth, testifies to the effect produced by the Guru's teachings on caste system:
Char varan ik varan hoe, Gur Sikh waryan Gurmukh gote.
[All four castes have become one. All disciples of the Guru belong to the Gurmukh caste.']
(b) The Langar
The Sikh Gurus denounced the practice of dining within a square (chauka) in the kitchen by the three upper castes. It developed spirit of exclusiveness and isolation which could not make the people a nation. Guru Nanak started the langar system which was rigidly enforced by his successors. All the visitors belonging to any caste had to dine in the community mess or langar. There a Brabman sat by the side of a barber or washerman, and ate the same food prepared and served even by Shudras. This led to the amalgamation of all the castes into one class.
(c) The sacred thread
The sacred thread created superior and inferior classes as Shudras were debarred from itS use. Guru Nanak opposed it vehemently. The Gurus and their Sikhs discarded it.
(d) Spirit of fellow-feeling
Guru Amar Das invited all his followers with their families to gather in a general body twice a year on the days of Baisakhi and Diwali in March-April and October-November. It enabled them to fraternise with one another, and greatly developed the spirit of fellowfeeling. This practice was continued under the later Gurus. It is still followed with the same enthusiasm.
(e) Spirit of service
The Gurus placed before their Sikhs the ideal of service and sacrifice. Guru Nanak in Sri Rag says: "The service of mankind is a warrant to heaven." The Gurus developed spirit of service among the Sikhs who rendered free labour in digging wells and tanks and contributed money and material. Guru Amar Das constructed at Goindwal a well (baoli) in which water was approached by 84 steps. Guru Ram Das dug a tank called Amritsar. He started construction of another tank known as Santokhsar. Guru Arjan completed it in 1588. In 1590 he laid out another big tank., 24 kms south of Amritsar, and named it Taran Taran. Sixty-six kms to the east of Amritsar he dug another tank called Gangasar, where a new township called Kartarpur developed. He built a (baoli) at Lahore. At Wadali, 7 kms from Amritsar the Guru dug a big well which was worked by six Persian wheels. The place came to be known as Chheharta.
(f) The dignity of manual labour
The dignity of manual labour was raised to a high pedestal. Nanak worked as a cultivator at Kartarpur. Angad carried heavy loads of grass on his head while in attendance upon Guru Nanak. Amar Das at Khadur daily brought a pitch~r of water from river Beas, 5 kms distant, for Guru Angad's bath. Ram Das carried baskets of earth on his head when the (baoli) at Goindwal was under construction. Guru Arjan's Sikhs gave free labour in digging various tanks. The Sikhs worked gratis in the langar in fetching fuelwood and water, cooking, cleansing utensils, sweeping floor and in serving food.1
Giving away something in the service of others was a necessary part of a Sikh's life. He was expected to make offerings to the local langar, Guru-ka-langar at the headquarters, for construction of a gurdwara or a tank and to help the needy. The Gurus insisted that one should earn one's living by the sweat of one's brow. Guru Ram Das, the fourth Guru, instructed the Sikhs to serve other Sikhs wherever p05sible with money and material. He specially asked them to serve travellers with food and drink.2 The fifth Guru, Arjan, made it a rule that every Sikh must contribute one-tenth of his earnings in the service of the community. This practice continued under the later Gurus. It still exists to a certain extent purely on a voluntary basis
(h) Women
During the Muslim rule Hindu women suffered the most. Beautiful girls were not safe from the lust of the rulers and their officials. The' Hindus resorted to infanticide, child marriage, purdah and sati. Girls were denied good living conditions so that they should not develop youthfulness and beauty. They occupied almost a degraded position in the home. The birth of a girl was considered a misfortune.
The Sikh Gurus tried to uplift them to a status even higher than in Christianity and Islam. In Christianity a woman could not be a preacher from the pulpit. In Islam a woman could not invite the faithful to prayers in a mosque by Ba~ng or AzAn, nor could she lead a congregation in 'prayer, Guru Nanak allowed them to attend sermons along with men. As they kept their heads covered with a piece of cloth, it was made obligatory for men also to attend a congreation with covered heads. They could sing the hymns along with men and were to sit with faces uncovered like men. The third Guru, Amar' Das, appointed women in charge of manjis and pirhis or heads of sangats, big or small. He condemned the practice of Sati or self immolation of widows on the funeral pyres of their dead husbands. He declared : She is the true sati whom grief, not fire consumes. He also denounced purdah or covering their faces in the presence of older members of the family. The sixth Guru, Hargobind, declared that the' woman was the conscience of man. Women cooked food in the langar, and served meals with men to the pangat.
They received baptism in the same way as men and enjoyed equal rights. Mai Bhago, a brave Sikh woman, raised a body of men, including the forty deserters from Anandpur, and fought bravely in the battle of Khidrana (Muktsar) on the side of Guru Gobind Singh.
3. IMPACT ON ECONOMIC LIFE
Before Guru Arjan, the Sikhs chiefly consisted of poor agriculturists, artisans, and petty village shopkeepers. Guru Arjan realised that his disciples should not be an unthinking and unadventurous class of people. He encouraged them to take to trade, particularly in horses, in addition to agriculture.
Guru Nanak had defied the traditional restriction of not crossing river Indus and stopping at Attock to save the purity of caste and creed from pollution, by travelling in Muslim countries. He journeyed in Arabia, Iraq, Khorasan, Iran and Afghanistan. Guru Arjan advised his Sikhs to imbibe the spirit of adventure by travelling abroad in Central Asia and West Asia, and bring horses of the finest breed for sale in India. This made the Sikhs enterprising, fearless, free from caste prejudices and rich. They became good horsemen and formed the nucleus of the Guru's military power. The contemporary author of the Dabistan-e-Mazahib writes
"Some of the Sikh Gurus take to agriculture and others to trade."1 There were numerous obstacles in the way of commerce during the Mughal period which coincided with the age of Sikh Gurus. The roads were very unsafe, and thieves and robbers infested them. William Finch, an English traveller during the time of Guru Arjan, described the road from Delhi to Karnal as "thievish". The Dutch traveller De Laet wrote in 1631, the time of the sixth Guru, Har Gobind, that the road from Lahore to Kabul was infested by Pathan brigands and the travellers were frequently robbed by them.2 Hawkins wrote in Jahangir's time or the period of the sixth Guru : "The country is so full of thieves and outlaws that almost a man cannot stir out of doors."3
4. IMPACT ON POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS
For about five hundred years upto the advent of Guru Nanak, successive hordes of invaders frotu across the north-west frontier had poured into India. About sixty foreign invasions had taken place till then. Besides, a continuous stream of Turks and Afghans came throughout the year in tens and twenties. They came here in search of bread and settled down as permanent inhabitants in the rich and fertile parts of this country by ousting the original owners. There was no check at the ingress on the frontier. The rulers governed mercilessly through fear and force alone.
The Sikh Gurus provided leadership to the down-trodden Hindus of Panjab. They offered physical resistance to injustice and tyranny. Guru Nanak cried out against their oppression. Guru Hargobind was involved in a number of engagements with the imperial troops. He
tried to change the old mentality of Hindus of offering only passive resistance to the oppressor. After six hundred years of slavery he attempted to awaken his fellow-countrymen to the realisation that irrespective of consequences, the people should rise against a cruel government to get their wrongs redressed.
Aurangzeb had resolved to establish a purely Islamic state in india and to eliminate Hinduism altogether. Guru Tegh Bahadur was at this time in Assam. On hearing this news he immediately rushed to Panjab. In order to hearten Hindus and his disciples he undertook a couple of tours of East Panjab telling them to keep up their spirits.
Guru Gobind Singh declared that the emperor who endeavoured to control the mind of the people was a tyrant, and who tamely submitted were slaves. In 1699 the Guru created Khalsa, the unpaid national army consisting of his devoted followers. It marked the beginning of a new class of fighters for free lom. Under the guidance of the Guru the Khalsa took up the profession of arms and the results were surprising. These people, the lowliest of the low, who had lived for centuries under complete servility, now turned into valiant warriors, reckless of danger.
The Guru taught the people to look upon misfortunes as a part of the game and laugh at threat, danger, defeat and adversity. In consequence his followers maintained a fine spirit of hurnour and optimism in times of trials and tribulations. For example, death was termed an expedition to the next world. An iron vessel was called the golden cup. To be punished at Akal Takht was named as getting one's reward and salary. A blind man was an argus-eyed hero. A deaf person was a resident of the upper storey. A hungry man was mad with prosperity. Parched grams were almonds, and onions were silver pieces. A rupee was damra or a piece of copper or a paisa. One person declared himself a host of one lakh and a quarter. A sword was the goddess of wisdom and heroism. A thick stick was a lawyer.
The Sikh Gurus tried to create national unity. They rejected caste system which was a great obstacle in the way of making Hindus a united people. They awakened womanhood and encouraged them to work side by side with men. It not only doubled the strength of the nation but also added sweetness and colour to the life of both men and women. Guru Gobind Siugh created national literature. Most of his characters in literature appeared before readers as soldiers and generals. The battles exhibited nothing but bravery and glory of the virtuous fighters. In the national wars women and children fought spin
tedly side by side with men. People of all castes and classes participated in the struggle. The spirit of self~sacrifice and single-minded devotion pervaded the whole literature. Guru Gobind Singh was the real originator of nationalism in the Land of Five Rivers.
5. IMPACT ON INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER
(a) Four fold process
The Sikh Gurus taught that the individual progress was a four fold.process: by developing body, mind, social consciousness and spirituality. (i) The body must be kept in good health. Guru Amar Das laid great emphasis on physical fitness of his disciples. He declared that human beings were created in the image of God. The human body was Lord's temple. It was the duty of his Sikhs to keep body quite fit to the last. It was a precious gift of God and must not be spoilt by bad habits. He condemned torturing of the body. (ii) Mind was to be kept healthy by banishing selfish thoughts, feelings ofjealousy and vindictiveness, and by cherishing ideas of hope, confidence, faith, happiness and service of others.
In Sri Rag Guru Nanak says:
Nanak! life becomes most useful when we are in the company of great men who behave with humility and gentleness.
(iii) The Sikhs called one another bhai or brother, and tried their level best to be useful to others. This is how social consciousness was developed. (iv) Spiritual development implied unison with the Divine. Meet the Master Architect within, and get hold of unlimited treasures for a better, higher and nobler living.
(b) Mastery overseif
Another lesson imparted by Gurus was that the real triumph lay in man's mastery over self. We must know that we have a certain purpose in life, and it must be fulfilled. This belief in purpose and action would work miracles. Our faith would hammer out our destiny on the anvil of courage and persistence, and the will to plan and to do. There was no limit to our progress. The limitation lay in our mind alone. Guru Tegh Bahadur said.
Man ke hdre har hai Ba~ba~
Man ke jite jit.
(It is the mind alone which brings about victory or defeat).
The Gurus declared that human failure resulted not from material
I
disadvantages, but from the defects of character. It was explained that fate and destiny were in our own hands. We could transform our lives by our own efforts.
(c) Creative dreaming
The first five Gurus laid stress on obtaining spiritual liberty. The following five Gurus held that spiritual freedom was not possible without political liberty. Their creative dreaming broke the bondage of tyranny and led men from autocracy to democracy. It was pointed out that creative dreaming was a divine force, and was responsible for all human progress and evolution. Dig through the stony rock of despair, disaster and defeat, and you would find the gold of gladness lying underneath. God would judge us not by our riches, rank or renown, but by our scars sustained in the struggle for securing happiness for ourselves as well as of others.
Why Jats became followers of Khatri Gurus
Several factors were responsible for making Hindu Jats embrace Sikhism.
1. Petty traders in Cis-Satluj region were Agitrwals, in Shivalik Hills Mahajans, in southern Panjab Aroras, and in Central and West Panjab Khatris. Sir George Campbell who served as a deputy commissioner in the Panjab in forties of the nineteenth century calls Khatris "a very superior people." They were fair in dealings and sympathetic to their customers. The Jats of Majha liked them.
2. The Khatris were the roving teachers going from village to village and teaching in a village for sometime free of charge only for free board and lodging. Jat boys were their pupils.
3. The first five Gurus concentrated on Majha, the real homeland of Jats. Nanak lived at Kartarpur, Angad at Khadur, Amar Das at Goindwal, Ram Das at Amritsar, Arjan at Amritsar and Taran Ta ran; while Hargobind lived in Majha and Malwa both. The last four Gurus focussed their attention on Malwa, another native land of Jats. They won the hearts of Majhail and Malwai Jat peasantry.
4. The Gurus emphasized equality for all. The equality of Jats, the lower class Vaish, with the two upper classes of Khatris and Brahmans, considerably raised their social status. Mobsin Fani says that Brabmans and Khatris served under Jats as the senior masands of Gurus were Jats. Therefore the Jats of Majha and Malwa joined Sikhism.
5. The building of tanks and wells in places where scarcity ~f water prevailed made the Gurus popular with peasantry most of whom were Jats. Guru Tegh Bahadur supplied much cattle to the poor and needy cultivators.
6. Emperor Akbar's policy of religious toleration and liberalism was one of the main causes of conversion of Jats to Sikhism. Akbar visited Guru Amar Das at Goindwal, dined in the langar, listened to the Guru's sermon and granted land where now stands Amritsar. This led to the popularity of Sikh religion.
Emperor Akbar visited Goindwal a second time to meet Guru Arjan. At Guru's request he remitted land revenue for a year fro~. Majha zamindars. As Jats were the small landholders in Majha, they joined Sikhism in large numbers.
7. Guru Hargobind's supervisory powers in Majha and Malwa, granted by Jahangir, raised the prestige of Sikh Gurus greatly. The Guru's formation of a small Sikh army and his battles against the Mughals filled the Jats of Majha and Malwa~with warlike enthusiasm and they joined its ranks with great joy and cheer.
8. Their simple philosophy of repetition of God's Name for the solution of the people's daily problems and salvation after death had a great appeal to the plain, homely Jats.
9. According to the contemporary Mobsin Fani, the majority of Guru Arjan's masands were Jats. Their office became hereditary. The Jat peasantry took to Sikhism under their influence and persuasion.
10. It is a well-known fact that the virile Jats had a larger number
of boys than girls. So a fairly large number of Jat young men remain
ed without a wife. The Sikh Gurus abolished caste system and per
mitted their followers to marry a girl or a widow of any caste or class.
This offered a great temptation to the Jats, mainly of poor families.
Having married a low caste woman, may be a cobbler or a sweeper
or of a wandering tribe, they retained their social status in the Sikh I
religion. Marrying a brother's widow became an established custom
with them, which the higher classes of Hinduism did not permit.
11. By nature and temperament a Jat is aggressive. The reason is
F that be earned his living by forcing soil to yield through aggression.
This factor was fully realised by Guru Gobind Siagh. He directed
their energy into military field. There the Jats sli one at their best. As
soldiers they were as happy as a fish in water. In this new profession
they gave up the role of a Bhai and assumed the title of a Sardar
This dignified status mightily drew them towards Sikh religion.
12. During their war of independence, first under Banda Bahadur and later under the misls, the Sikhs displayed great stamina and perseverance. Their spirit of adventure and bravery won them p~f and power in abundance. This inspired the Village Hindu young men to follow their example. They could join the misls after getting baptism. Hence every village in Majha, Doaba and Maiwa made its contribution to the Sikh ranks as best as it could.
Guru Nanak is the World-Teacher. He is also the teacher of one single, poor man unknown to name or fame. With him thought begins anew. One with Truth, Nanak stands supreme, towering heaven high above his surroundings, centuries ahead of his age, and looking at regions of mind and soul beyond this planet. He stands in supreme solitude of thought and power. Before his presence, before his mind, all bow down their heads. He is the creator. "Whoso can come and sit before me on a carpet and say ‘I’ is my disciple !"
He allowed no traffic with falsehood or half-truth, or with any kind of superstition, or with hypocrisy. He spoke with the voice of the deliverer to the oppressors of the people, whether Hindu or Mussalman, whether prince or priest. He condemned the imposition on the people of Brahninical hypocrisy and priest-craft. He would not submit to a wrong system of education. He found both the Hindu and the Mohammedan faithless, misreading everything to suit their evil selves; and the teachers and preachers of the land deceiving and cheating the people.
He found the Krishna-worshippers dancing in open air theatres in wild and sensual frenzy. "They dance, and as they kick, the dirt, the dust of the streets settle on their heads. Ah, this singing and dancing is illusion." He saw the doings of the Jam with utter disgust; to him it was a limit of the degradation of the human mind in the name of the religion of non injury. The whole people were steeped in darkness. The soul of the people was dead. The immorality of the highest class was appalling; both the religion and the politics of the land were adapted to wolves, not men and women. Guru Nanak stood as one man against the hosts of darkness, unafraid of aught, blowing his horn of freedom, shaking all the old foundations of society. A new creation, a New Life! Except one, there is no parallel in the Indian history to the awakening that took its birth in the mind of Guru Nanak.
The following passages, taken from the writings of Guru Nanak, tell of the demoralization he found in the society of his time:
"They devour men alive, and yet they go and bow down to God in Namaz! They wear the sacred thread who kill animals with the butcher’s knife. And the Brahmans come to the houses of the slayers of beasts and blow their conches and beg bread! And they, too, relish the butchery! There is no Dharma in the country, there is no honour of blood or name. They have the Tilak on their forehead, they wear an ochre coloured Dhoti; but the knife is hidden in their sleeves, and they let the blood of the people. The Qazis wear blue robes of holiness, and receive the offerings of the people. The Hindus share the loot, and worship their deities with the loot they have gotten. They kill the innocent; they share the blood of the people they have half-killed. And then they say, ‘Do not touch us, we shall be deified!’ They sit in a sacred square made of prescribed lines drawn by themselves, and say, ‘None is allowed to touch us, for our food would be soiled.’ They sit there, in their sanctified squares and forbid the touch of another’s hand, when what they drink is the people’s blood! They levy taxes on the sacred cow and the holy Brahman without a thought; and think of crossing the sea of sin by being kind to the cowdung! They have sandal-paste tilaks on their foreheads, and have Dhotis for covering their legs with piety, and in their hands they carry the rosaries, 0 God! But they eat the crumbs of the Malechhas, and in privacy read the Quran to please their Masters !"
A devout Sikh told me, "Had I not found Guru Nanak, I would have sought the refuge of Buddha." Another man told me, "Guru Nanak was a born Buddha." In fact, there is a profound resemblance between the two. "Om! I take refuge in Buddha, I take refuge in Sangat, I take refuge in Truth." That is Budaha’s Mantram. "Om! I take refuge in the Guru. I take refuge in Truth;" is the Mantram of Guru Nanak. Buddha proclaimed a new civilization that took its birth in his mind. Guru Nanak too, bases his authority on none but himself. "So says Nanak, so says Nanak !" is the burden of his songs.
One day, they say, a huge and very hungry crowd gathered at Kartarpur. Guru Nanak asked Lehna to climb a thorny acacia and shake its branches. Lehna climbed the tree and the crowds stood below, and he shook the tree with joy as the Master had ordered. The sacred music of Nanak the Master, flowed in streams of song from the swaying branches of the Kikar, and all who heard were filled with the harmony. This Music of the Master, is it not written in our very souls!
Once, we are told, when Lehna and Nanak were alone, Lehna saw that the feet of the Master as he lay asleep were being pricked as if by thorns. Lehna was astonished; because the Master was apparently fast asleep, and Lehna was sitting by his side. But a shepherd who was a disciple, was passing through thorn bushes with his sheep, and was in deep communion with Nanak, so that the shepherd’s wounds from the thorns appeared on the feet of the Master. This too, is one of the parables that we treasure in our hearts.
Wherever he went, the hearts of the people were gladdened, and they began singing his Song of Silence, which is not written on paper, but on the hearts of his disciples; and there it still sings as of old.
Every disciple whom he chiselled in the image figure of "Dhyani Nanak" was a poem of his. The whole of his poetry, written in the soul to the longings of the people for freedom, for peace, was too deeply personal to be recorded on any printed page. Minds like Guru Nanak’s are lost in the beauty of Thought, Vision and Prophecy. Their very looks write letters on the dust of the earth, their silence singing, enters the hearts of the people and searches the inmost soul. Some write poems, some sing poems, but Guru Nanak made poets by his touch. When he touched the forehead of a disciple and gave him peace, he threw the creative spark which sets fire to the heart and the singing flame of beauty sprang into the void.
Many of my Sikh sisters, who lost their husbands in the prime of life, have told me that they have found in Nanak’s songs, more than all the world could give them. And I have sat at their feet and seen that the touch of their holy feet gave me peace of soul that I, poor gambler that I am, had lost for days. Whenever God grows less in me, I go and see them and find that they fill me with music.
In all lyric poetry there is a spirit of desire, and a secret thirst. The highest song is full of the thirst for the divine. It is all a longing and a desire. But there is no pain in the songs of Nanak. It is sung to fill his disciples with the peace of God, when they are faint and exhausted. It is the living fountain where hundreds quench their thirst. Nanak pours the infinite of his soul into his song; which is thence poured into the hearts of his disciples, which shares in the infinite. The elements danced before Nanak and million-throated nature took up his hymns. The five rivers of the Punjab still sing his songs. The sky was his salver; the stars burnt as little lamps in his Temple.
There is a fragrance of roses as we name Nanak. While writing about him I have felt the shower of rose petals on these pages and the perfume of the Golden Temple all about me. When I was sitting in my room, miles away from the country of roses, and when the season of flowers passed, their fragrance was still there. Name "Nanak" and the Mystics Rose returns.
JAPJI
The hymn Japji is the burden of the whole Guru Granth.
The day of the disciples begins with Japji. The melody breaks forth in our inner ears with the strain of the "First dawn of Creation." Our eyes close, and as if in a dream, we stand listening to the music that rings through eternity. We are the children of Japji. Its music is our motherland. It comes to us with an intimacy as close as if it were born of the hidden seat within our soul.
The maker of this hymn is so filled with its beauty, that he himself, the Master of its Music, is entranced with it. Ever since its birth, every morning, in its chant we have the mingling of a myriad holy voices, the voices of the Disciples. I feel at times that with Japji I am as one transported to the Land of Immortals. I am as one apart from the body, listening in wonder to a Voice reciting Japji.
In my reverie, I feel the singer has hands that touch my soul. Then I realize that Japji is the Word. With such visions, I do not feel lonely.
As we rise on the rhythm of Japji, where is distress or dust? We transcend the tiny speck of the visible present. We are more than men we ever were. The sacred rivers roll down through the soul of man in the music of Guru Nanak’s Dream. The trees arise as in prayer. The stars beam on the Dome of Japji, at another time they bejewel the minaret on the Palace of the King. The Sun and the Moon revolve around that Dome; Every speck of dust flies as a particle of gold, to write the Master’s Name in Japji. At its sound, we hear the dance of feet on the grassy meadows around us; and in our reverie we see no flowers in the fields but have dropped from the breeze-blown, flying shawls of the mystic dancers.
The wheel of Karma rolls on, and man unaided cannot gain his freedom. But we rejoice when Japji tell us: "The Heaven shall cover our shame with honour. By our own deeds, we have made this tabernacle, And by the light of His Glance we shall attain our Eternity."
Beyond Nirvana, Japji lights up for us the still Higher Realm of Mercy (Fazal) as the highest and the truest hope for man. It is beyond the physical, the Karam Khetra or the Realm of Action. It is beyond the Realm of Knowledge. It is deeper that the Realm of Ecstasy. Deeper than Ecstasy is His Grace and deeper still than the Realm of His Grace is the Abode of God in us. The Master’s Song goes from the old to the new. It rises higher and higher; till the soul passes into the heavenly region where there is no speech or knowledge but the Infinite reposes in the Infinite.
"Endless is thy Creation, We see nor Thy Near nor Thy far, Thou hast nor this nor that shore, We cannot touch Thy limits at any point." "Salute the Beginning-less Beginning, The colourless Purity, The Deathless Verity, The changing Permanence that changeth not through ages and ages."
"They say this Earth is borne on the Horns of the Bull. But there is Earth beyond earth, there are planets and planets beyond;
‘Heavy indeed,’ it is said, ‘is the load on the Horns of the Bull!’
But it is not the Bull—it is Dharma, born of the Heavenly Love that bears the weight of Worlds." When the world beats us and breaks us by the weight of its matter, we go to Japji. The sore melancholy of our heart and mind is made i~hole by Japji. The soot on our faces burns up, and they begin to glow like the burning roses. In Guru Nanak’s poetry is a marvellous devotion to "the Infinite Being from which all comes, to which all goes." His poetry affirms nothing as to the mere idea of this Being, but is absolute in personal devotion to "The Beloved," and full of the perpetual music of His Praise. "As the fish knows not the nature of ocean, how wide and how vast, I know Thee not; but I touch Thee, I live in Thee, and I die if I am taken out of Thee."
To make the Universal will as our personal will, with all the joys and delicious pain of human love is his intense passion. His one song Japji marks him a Creator whose genius puts its seal on the ages. The simple architecture of the song is like that of the rock-hewn temples. They are the final forms of his ideas in the language he has chosen to speak. And he has rightly chosen to speak in his own mother tongue. Every particle of its marble-cut Word-Temple contains the design of the whole.
The language of Japji, though the common dialect of the people, has been raised by the Master to a new power, charged with the meanings he gave to it.
A HYMN OF NANAK
Thought is a miracle, what we see and hear is a miracle, And love of knowledge, and peace of mind! It is a miracle ~that we love one another, Wind and water, fire and dust, are a miracle. O Mother ! The arrow of His Kind Glance has wounded me! But none sees my pain Nor do I know more than my own pain. My mind is a Temple of love, My body a robe divine, The sacred Nectar flows in the Temple. The Word is my breath, and the Song is my blood! Beloved, think of me! 0! The Unsensed, the Unknown that is visible and invisible! Thou that art everywhere in every throb of life! All temples of flesh are thine and under Thy shade, Thou informest and inspirest and teachest, I know no other but Thee, I sing of Thee, as in me Thou sittest and singest. O Love ! Thy seat is Eternity and great is Thy Name and Thy Glory. Thou art Truth and Thou art Justice! Thou art the Temple and the Deity of the Temple; And thou art the worshipper! The Beloved likes not the ventures of vanity, And the Beloved cometh not home. I fain would die a sacrifice at the feet of them that are informed of His Love! I fain would be a slave of them that live inwardly in His hymn of Praise! He loves the vestures dyed in Nam, in the madder dye of His Love, When the dyer of Nam dyes the flesh-vestures of man, the colour is rich and pure, The Brides whose garments are dyed gay rose of spiritual youth dwell in Him and He dwelleth in them! I pray for the dust of the feet of the Brides! He maketh, He decorateth and He dyeth The Bride with the colour of soul, Himself! He cometh to love and taketh the Bride to His Bosom! O Fond Bride ! Why art Thou seeking Him everywhere outside, when thy own heart is His Throne? In thy own heart, He waits for thee!
GURU NANAK: HIS ART AND THOUGHT
O Vain Girl-Bride! Thy quivering limbs, thy restless feet cannot speed thee to Him! They that have entered the God-lock Union say, that the way is through loving Him and not loving ourselves, to think as He thinketh, to will as He willeth, to do what He willeth! If the Bride loves and foregoes self, If the Bride thinks of His lotus feet who bestoweth lOve! If the Bride gives away all her mind and soul in love, And counts no other day but that one day when He looks at her with His beaming smile, And the Bride, dyed in bliss of love, stands straight, proud, unafraid, undisturbed, unmoved, preoccupied day and night as His wedded one, And she lives in deep simplicity of her new home, Himself; no more restless, no more seeking rest, Then and there is attained the perfection of beauty, wisdom, and love; she needs nothing else! I sicken at pleasure, the pain heals me, I may not forget Thee! Thou the Creator of me ! What Thou doest is done, what I do is all an undoing! Thou art the dweller in Thy Creation, further than furthest is Thy limit, and~a still more art Thou! Thou the magician livest in Thine own miracle; The life burns in Thee, and Thou burnest in the flame of life, And the living and the non-living art Thou; None can breathe where Thou breathest and none know Thy thought. All goes Thou makest it to go! If palaces made of pearls, bedecked with rubies, stand before Thee; If the walls and the floors are plastered with sandal, musk and agar Take not Thine eyes from the Vision of Reality! Forget not, 0 Disciple, the Name of thy Beloved! When taken away from my Beloved, My soul takes fire and is burnt down! If Thy whole estate be made of jewels and gems, And thy halls are full of all means of pleasure, And there wait upon thee silver-limbed damsels with their ruby lips whispering words of love to thee, Take not thine eyes off the Vision of Reality! Forget not, 0 Disciple, the Name of thy Beloved! If all magical powers are thine, And thou canst become invisible and visible at thy will, And crowds worship thee, Take not thine eyes off the Vision of Reality! Forget not, 0 Disciple, the Name of thy Beloved! Even if thou art a Sultan, And thy cohorts await thy command, It is all vanity Take not thy eyes off the Vision of Reality! Forget not, 0 Disciple, the Name of thy Beloved! O Jewel of my Heart! I know no jeweller who could value Thee, None who could teach me Thy worth! Now Thou art mine! All creations are in Thee! And Thou art all creations’ Self! Enough, I see Thee a hundred times a day shining so rare in me! Thou art the Seer of Thyself, Thine own Price, Thine own Seller and Purchaser. Yoked with this mind of mine, a wanderer and with this blood of ignorance so dense; With these companions of mine, so blind and restless —how can I attain Thy goodness! 0 Jewel of my heart! Teach me Thine own rarity. And let me touch my mind and heart with Thy gleams! For I touch Thee, and I live; I touch Thee again, and I live more. They have read and read, and they have loaded the bullockcarts of knowledge— They have loaded their camels and freighted their ships; But where do they go? Only one thing counts, all else is froth and foam of an emptied self! What is the meaning of being His servant if still the fear of Him remains? He is His servant who is not distinct from Him!
LOVE
I know not what they call Love, when they still can think of another and search for him! They love who having seen Him see none else, Who do not complain nor think of complaining. The good, and bad, is merely how we take it; They love not, who live in counting the favours and frowns of love. (GuruAngad)
ALL IS WELL, IF I AM WITH HIM
He sows and He reaps, He makes and He keeps, He sees His own glory; the raw and the ripe, all are His! He who has come must also go. Leave all things of man and nature and destiny alone! Why should I forget my Beloved? I must make or mar myself with my own hands; All is welljf I am with Him! If they bathe in a hundred waters, the dirt of sinconsciousness cannot be washed away thus: it remains; But they have cast their dirt outside of themselves, who touch the silk of His Love within themselves! They have realized the pure thought; It is in the realization of their love that they laugh and weep; They speak to us, or turn their backs, refusing to speak, as it pleaseth them They reck of none and they heed nothing, The rich majestic minds that think of Reality!
KARMA
All counting is for those who themselves count "me, thee—mine, thine"; and they must give full account of their own too. His mill of judgement must roll and press oil as out of the oil-seeds!
WOMAN
Born of woman, nourished by woman, wedded to woman, why do they revile woman? Love is born in the heart of woman, And the woman starts life agoing, and the race! Why revile her that gives birth to kings amongst men, The beauty is born of woman, there is no beauty without woman! None can be without a woman! Only that One alone is beyond sex, Those lips are the Ruby of Fortune that open to name That Great One! Afraid of Him the winds blow, blow, blow, Afraid of Him the rivers flow, flow, flow! The fire burns, and the earth lies firm and low! Afraid of Him, the Indra, the king of nature, ordains, Afraid of Him is the law of Justice. Afraid of Him the suns and the moons run and run! On the path of millioft miles unending, the orbs go, go, go! In His awe the Heavens arch; And all gods, all Buddhas and adepts speak and think! The millions of creatures are running to and fro: On the forehead of all is written their destined course! Above all laws, above all destiny is He: The Subject, the Absolute!
THE TEMPLE OF BREAD: LANGAR
What is a home, but a hospitable feasting of children with bread and love and faith ? What is spiritual life in the temple~ of flesh, without a full meal first? The very first Temple made by Guru Nanak, therefore, was the temple of Bread, or Guru’s Langar. In one common Temple of Bread, the Bread of God was made free to the children of man. Let none be hungry where the spirit of God prevails. The Guru’s people and the Guru were one home and one family; but it was no Utopian idea, as of the democracy of labour; it was the democracy of Soul, so gloriously invoked in the temple of the human heart by the genius of the Guru. The sacrifice of selfishness was made for the gladness of soul that the act gave to the people who came round Guru Nanak. The soul of the people was so fully nourished and satisfied that they could not entertain feelings of difference and duality. We are not selfish when we are in the deep repose of a dewy slumber. We are never selfish when we are in love. The people came and laid their selfishness at his feet, arid begged a little of it for his service. To serve the devotees was serving the Master. This union was so spiritually cooperative that none knew if his own hands were his own or of the devotees of the Guru. The bodies and hearts and minds were mingling with each other and with those of the Master, by the magic of His presence amongst them. Here was a religion that made love and labour the common property of man.
Today no Sikh with a grain of that faith in him can possibly think that he owns the Bread. "Bread and water belong to the Guru." No man who is initiated into the Path of the Guru can own a home without being ready to share it with the Guru’s people.
The fruits of his labour belong also to them. Such was the Master’s foreshadowing of the future; and in this lay all the difference between him and the centuries of the purely Brahminical culture before him. "The people are more than myself," says the Guru. "Religion is inspiration of love. The Beloved is in His people and the service of God. And it is through service that love is realised. The spark of love is found by chance by some fortunate one in the company of His Saints and it is the reward of those who have surrendered themselves, head and heart, to the Divine." The Master chose out his family of God’s disciples; they served him and he served them. Real service of people is serving them with life, and the one who is alive can give life to others. So the Master says that the opportunity to serve God in humanity is His gift. They alone serve whom He gives the authority to do so.
Guru Nanak’s passion for farming is a true index of his creative mind. We must labour to create the grain to feed people with. All other needs that we have are secondary; there is only one physical distress, and that is hunger. We all must labour on the land and sweat for our bread. Guru Nanak chose finally the life of a farmer for himself. The gardening and farming are outward symbols of the genius of art. We see in his disciples a rare combination of labour and spiritual vision of a home-life and a cave-life; not in a spirit of compromise, but in the spirit of that sweet reconciliation with which the flying bird flaps both his wings for his balance in the blue sky. Guru Nanak poured song into the heart of labour; and his greatest men were farmers, or the help mates of the farmers—such as masons who made huts, carpenters who made ploughs, smiths who made tools, and weavers who made garments for the saints. The entrance to this spiritual humanity lay through a small lowly door where selfishness could not pass. If the people could not drop their selfishness of their own accord, then the Guru’s personality softly stole into theirs and helped them from within to drop it, without their knowledge.
Here do we find the Guru’s inspiration of love achieving all that we still dream of but cannot accomplish. Our disease is not wars and crimes, and sins; but the selfishness of man, a disease more of the soul than of the flesh. Its cure lies in the direction in which worked Nanak, and not in any material readjustment. We need more men with their sensual nature cast out by the Grace of God, through His Favour.
It is remarkable that all the Nine Followers of Nanak kept his central idea of spiritual humanity—its formation, its love, and its service as the chief passion of their daily life, till this idea of his is seen emerging in perfect clearness in the time of Guru Gobind Singh, as Khalsa.
NANAK GIVES NEW MEANINGS TO OLD WORDS, AS DID BUDDHA
Lest his words "Guru", "Sant", "Dhyanam". etc., should be misunderstood in their old sense, he sings his now world-famous Arti to dispel all doubt as to his meaning. He sings of Him round whose Throne "wait a million prophets", "in the interval of Whose one eyewink there are a million creations that come and go !" Nanak’s word, "Guru" does not mean a m~n; "Burnt be the tongue that calls him a man," says Arjun. "Hell is for those who call me God; I am His Slave !" says Gobind Singh. In vain is all imaging of man. "I do not know how to name Him. I only say ‘Master, Guru, Han Han!’ He is immeasureable, how can I measure Him." And no one else but Nanak is the Master, and he is the man. "Guru Nanak" is a ten-fold, ten-figured personality, and the whole Sikh life as created and nurtured by the Ten Masters is the only key we have to the understanding of this word. Gobind Singh bluntly lays it down that the language of Guru Granth is to have no interpretation other than the life and art of Nanak himself. The interpreters of these teachings do not bridge the gulf that seems to lie between the language of Nanak and that of Gobind Singh; because they commit the mistake of not putting the Word of the Guru, or the Master, in its proper setting of Sikh life as manifested in His history, its birth and growth. The majesty of Guru Nanak’s diction, the crystal clearness, the self-restraint, the composure, even in the flood of ecstasy, show the difference between him and the Bhaktas of mediaeval India with their confused clamour of Prakrit and Urdu.
We see Nanak’s master-mind again when we find that he never preached, but only planted with his own hand the seedling of spiritual life in the soul of the disciple and watched it grow as a gardener watched plants. "The Guru put his hand on my forehead and made me an angel by his touch; all sin-consciousness was washed out of me and I now live in the beatific vision of the reality." The Guru sat in the heart of the disciple, consuming all sensual desire and leading the disciple, into perfect godhead. And when the disciple heard the voice of the Guru within himself, he caught it and went on, merely echoing and re-echoing the music of the Master’s Nam.
The Hari Mandir itself is a glimpse into Sikh history. The Temple is a centre of perpetual worship, as a human heart, bathed in waters of peace, eternally isolated from the fires of desire that burn outside. The Sikh life must through luminous self-renunciation first bathe in the nectar and then enter within. After this glorious entrance, it is a life of continuous inspiration. In Sikh history, whenever the flames of outer fire leapt towards the Sikh, his Master quenched it in the surrounding nectar, and plunged the Sikh again into deep peace of the inner life.
