Hymns of the Gurus

by Khushwant Singh

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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  ISBN: 978-06-7004-962-2

  This digital edition published in 2013.

  e-ISBN: 978-93-5118-005-0

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