I am because of you.
Ignorant, bereft of all virtue,
Still you took mercy on me.
After the mercy, you showered divine grace,
Let me befriend the true guru
Says Nanak, His name gives me life,
My body and mind shall ever thrive.
* * *
MUNDAVAANI
Thaal vichi teeni vasute paiyo
On this platter you will find three things;
Truth, contentment and contemplation
Also the nectar of the name of the Lord
Which gives sustenance to life
He who imbibes and ingests it will be saved
No one can afford to give it up
Preserve it in your hearts forever and ever.
In the darkness spread over the world,
You will be saved by clasping the feet of the Lord
Says Nanak, for the whole expanse is the Lord’s.
GURU TEGH BAHADUR (1621-1675)
In all, 115 hymns of the ninth Guru were incorporated in the Adi Granth. by his son and the last Guru, Gobind Singh.
birtha kahon kaun sion man ki
Whom shall I tell of the anguish of my heart?
Greed has me in its hold.
I rush madly in the ten directions
Seeking gold.
I suffer much wanting life of ease
And serve all kinds of people,
And like a dog go from door to door
But I have no thought of prayer.
I waste my human existence,
I have no shame when people laugh at me.
O Nanak, why sing you not in praise of the Lord
And rid your mind and body of impure thoughts?
* * *
jo nar dukh mai dukh nahi manai
He who in adversity grieves not
He who is without fear
He who falls not in the snare of sensuality
Who has no greed for gold knowing it is like dust.
He who does not slander people when their backs are turned
Nor flatters them to their faces.
He who has neither gluttony in his heart
Nor vanity nor attachment with worldly things.
He whom nothing moves,
Neither good fortune nor ill,
Who cares not for the world’s applause,
Nor its censure,
Who ignores every wishful fantasy
And accepts what comes his way as it comes.
He whom lust cannot lure
Nor anger command,
In such a one lives God Himself.
On such a man does the Guru’s Grace descend,
For he knows the righteous path.
O Nanak, his soul mingles with the Lord
As water mingles with water.
* * *
Sadho eh tan mithiya jano
This body is a lie, O Seers,
The spirit of God within the only truth.
Why do you wallow in sweet illusions,
Why are you attached to worldly possessions
When nothing will go with thee?
Put away all thoughts of praise or blame,
And fix your mind on His glory.
In every heart dwells the Perfect One,
Says Nanak, know him as the Lord.
* * *
Sukh main bahu sangi bhaye
Many were my friends in the hour of happiness,
In sorrow none remains.
Says Nanak, recite the Lord’s Name, O mind,
He alone is yours in the end.
* * *
Na hi gun na hi kachhu jap tap
I possess no virtue, nor merit of worship;
How shall I redeem myself?
Says Nanak, Thou art my only refuge,
Give me the boon of courage, O Lord.
* * *
Jagat bhikhari firat hai
All the world is a wandering beggar,
The Lord alone is the bestower.
Says Nanak, remember Him, O heart,
Then all your efforts bear fruit.
* * *
Bar bhiti banai rachi pachi
A wall raised of sand
Will not last four days;
So are the joys of maya:
Know this, O mind, and be free.
* * *
Bal chhutkiyo bandhan pare
I have no strength, I am in shackles,
All my efforts are in vain.
Says Nanak, now save me, Lord,
As you saved the elephant king.*
* * *
Bal hova bandhan chhute
My strength returns, I am unshackled,
All my efforts avail;
Says Nanak, it is all in Thy hands, Lord,
You alone can save.
GURU GOBIND SINGH (1666-1708)
Guru Gobind Singh added his father’s compositions in the Adi Granth, but none of his own. His writings are collected in the Dasam Granth. Many of the last Gurus’ hymns are used in Sikh ritual and prayer, especially the evening prayer, Rehras.
From Akaal Ustat:
As sparks flying out of a flame
Fall back on the fire from which they rise;
As dust rising from the earth
Falls back upon the same earth;
As waves beating upon the shingle
Recede, and in the ocean mingle
So from God come all things under the sun
And to God return when their race is done.
* * *
Mitter Piyare nun, haal mureedan da kehnan
Beloved Friend, beloved God, Thou must hear
Thy servant’s plight: when thou art not near
The comforts’ cloak is a pall of pest,
The home is like a serpent’s nest;
The wine chokes like a hangman’s noose,
The rim of the goblet is an assassin’s knife.
With Thee shall I in adversity dwell,
Without Thee life in ease is life in hell.
* * *
Hamari karo hath dae rachcha
Extend Your hand, be my protector
Fulfil my mind’s desire;
Your blessed feet be my mind’s repose
Cherish me like a relation close.
* * *
Hamare dusat sabhae turn ghavhu
Of all my foes be the destroyer
Extend me Your hand, be my saviour;
Bless my family with everlasting peace
Creator, preserve my Sikhs and devotees.
* * *
Mo rachcha nij kar dae kariyae
Save me with Your own hands I pray
Slay all my enemies today;
Let all my wishes come true
Give me an unending thirst for worshipping You.
* * *
Tumhi chchadi koyi avar na dhiyaun
Make me meditate on none but you
Whatever I wish, I get from You;
Help my Sikhs and devotees cross life’s ocean
Single out my enemies and slay them one by one.
* * *
Ap hath dae mujhae ubariyae
With Your own hands uplift me
From fear of death set me free;
Forever remain on my side
May Your sabre and banner by me abide.
* * *
Rakhi lehu muhi rakhanhare
Protect me O Great Protector
Lord of saints, helper of your loved ones;
Always friend of the poor, foe of the evil remain
Lord, the fourteen worlds are within your domain.
* * *
Kal payi brahma bapu dhara
When the right time came You created Brahma the creator
When the right time came You created Shiva the destroyer
At the right time, You sent Vishnu the preserver;
Eternal time is Your plaything forever.
* * *
Javan kal jogi siv kiyo
When you who m
ade Shiva an ascetic, recluse,
And then Brahma vedic knowledge pursue:
To that moment, when You adorned the universe,
I render my salutation.
* * *
Javan kal sabh jagat banayo
He who did the entire world create
Also created gods, demons and yakshas;
He is the alpha and omega of time, the only incarnation
Understand that He is my only Guru.
* * *
Ghat ghat ke antar ki janat
The throbbing of every heart He hears
Pain of the good and wicked He knows;
From the tiny ant to the mighty elephant
He casts a benign look on all and is content.
* * *
Santan dukh paye te dukhi
When the godly suffer, He too suffers
When they are happy, He too rejoices;
The pain of those in pain He shares
The beating of every heart He hears.
* * *
Jab udakrakh kam kartara
In expansive mood the Creator did the world create
His creatures different shapes and forms did take;
Whenever He withdraws in Himself in a whim
All of them will merge in Him.
* * *
Nirankar Nribikar Nirlambh
Formless, immaculate, self-supporting
Primal, stainless, beyond time, self-born;
Only fools try to probe into His existence
Even sacred texts know not His essence.
* * *
Ekae rup anup sarupa
You are in many forms manifest
At one place You are a beggar, at another a king;
You create life from egg, womb and sweat
And from the earth many riches beget.
* * *
Kahun phul raja hae baetha
At some places You are a flower-bedecked king sitting on his throne
At others You are a hermit shrunken to the bone;
Your creation is a display of wonderment
You were before time, through the ages, self-existent.
* * *
Ab rachcha meri tum karo
Protect me now, to You I pray
Uplift my Sikhs, my enemies slay;
Wherever forces of evil, power wield
Crush the filthy lot in the battlefield.
* * *
Je asidhuj tav sarni pare
Those who come under Your flag and hegemony
Their wicked enemies die in terrible agony;
Those who fall at Your feet and seek protection
For all their hardships You find solutions.
* * *
Jo kali ko ik bar dhiyae hae
Those who to the timeless God but once do pray
Will never again see an evil day;
At all times He will be their protector
All evil-doers He will instantly scatter.
* * *
Ek bar jin tumae sambhara
Those who meditate on Him even once will see
From fear of the noose of death they are free;
A man who invokes Your name, Lord,
Is freed of misery, evil and pain.
* * *
Khadag ket mae tihari
In the battlefield Your protection I crave
Extend your hand and Your servant save;
In every place be my guide and helper
From wickedness and sorrow grant me shelter.
Panyi gahe jab te tumre
Ever since I clutched Your feet,
My eyes have not beheld another.
With Ram, Rahim, Puran and Koran and others I did not bother.
Of Simritis, Shastras, Vedas and other texts I took no notice.
It is by virtue of Your banner and Your sword,
What I have written is not mine but Your sacred word.
* * *
Sagal duar kau chchadi kae
I passed by all doors before I stopped at Yours
Hold me in Your arms, and my honour save
Gobind will forever be Your slave.
* * *
Dehra maseet soi puja au namaaz oi
He is in the temple as He is in the mosque,
He is in the Hindu worship as He is in the Muslim prayer.
Gods and demons who guard the treasures
Of the God of riches, the musicians celestial,
The Hindus and the Muslims—they are all one.
They have each the habits of different homes,
But all men have the same eyes, the same body,
The same form compounded of the same four elements—
Earth, air, fire and water.
Thus the Abhekh of the Hindus and the Allah of Muslims are one,
The Quran and the Puran praise the same Lord.
They are all of one form,
The one Lord made them all.
* * *
Kon bheo mundia sanyasi
One man by shaving his head
Hopes to become a holy monk,
Another sets up as a yogi
Or some other kind of ascetic.
Some call themselves Hindus
Others call themselves Mussalmans...
And yet man is of one race all over the world;
God as Creator, and God as Good
God in His Bounty and God in His Mercy
Is all One God. Even in our errors
We must not separate God from God!
Worship the One God,
For all men the One Divine Teacher.
All men have the same Form.
All men have the same Soul.
* * *
Naam thaam na jaat roop na rekh
He has no name, no dwelling-place, no caste;
He is the Primal Being, Gracious and Benign,
Unborn, Ever Perfect, and Eternal.
He is of no nation and wears no distinguishing garb;
He has no outer likeness; He is free from Desire.
To the east or the west,
Look where you may,
He pervades and prevails
As love and affection.
GURU TEGH BAHADUR (1621-1675)
*When Gajendra, the king of elephants, was attacked by a crocodile, he was saved by Vishnu.
VIKING
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First published in Viking by Penguin Books India 2003
Copyright © Khushwant Singh 2003
Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following for permission to reprint copyright material: UNESCO and Orient Longman Limited for extracts from Hymns of Guru Nanak, translated by Khushwant Singh, and to Oxford University Press for extracts from A History of the Sikhs, Volume I by Khushwant Singh.
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