# The Sikhs (Gordon)/Chapter 13

CHAPTER XIII.
THE 'GRANTH,' THE SIKH SACRED BOOK RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES.
The 'Granth' is the holy scripture of the Sikhs, containing spiritual and moral teaching. Its leading creed may be summed up in the words, The one God is a spirit, and is to be worshipped in spirit and in truth. It is written in verses, measured by quantity only, in the form of psalms, chants, and songs of praise. They rhyme together, intended for singing or intoned rhythmical recitation, great attention being paid to the rhyme. They are sung in public worship, especially in the Hur-mandar (the House of the Lord) at Amritsar, accompanied by stringed musical instruments. The book is written in the Punjabi dialect spoken by ​the people of the plains, with a mixture of Hindi idioms,—the character, a modified Hindi one, being called "Guru-mukhi" (out of the mouth of the Guru), used by the Sikhs in correspondence. All classes and castes are represented among the contributors besides the Gurus,—Hindu reformers, Brahmans, Jats, musicians, weavers, a Mahomedan saint, a holy woman, down to members even of lowly and despised castes, Nanak having preached, "God will not ask man of what caste or race he is; He will ask him what he has done."
THE GOLDEN TEMPLE IN THE SACRED TANK, AMRITSAR. The Durbar-Sahib, or Headquarters of the Sikh Church.
​the Khalsa—and the practical course of their life.
The Sikh religion as it was founded by Nanak was a pure monotheism, the chief point in his doctrine being the unity of the Supreme Being. That the Supreme is One, and that there is none other, is over and over again inculcated by him.
"Whom shall I call the second? there is none. In all is that one spotless One."
He alone, he said, is really existing, uncreated, endless, timeless, invisible, and indescribable—the Root of all things, the Source from which all have sprung.
"He Himself is One, and He Himself is many." "From the Lord all the creation has sprung. By Himself the vessels are formed: He Himself also fills them."
Nanak's constant theme was personal love for a personal God, "More love to thee, O God." He strove to win his hearers to love and trust God, who claimed them as His creatures, to learn His sufficiency for all and everything. Scattered throughout ​the book are phrases like flashes of light, many of which parallel sentences in our own Scriptures, these thoughts and ideas being repeated in endless variations running into mystic darkness. Such phrases are: "Thou art my support, Thou art my trust, without Thee there is none other." "Wandering and wandering about, I have come and fallen in Thy asylum, O Lord." "Thou art my Lord, I am at Thy gate—O Lord, this is the prayer of Nanak, apply me to Thy worship." "Thou alone art the support of the helpless one, Thou art my strong protector." "What happiness shall I obtain without God? whose friend and beloved the Lord is, say, what may that man stand in need of?" "Our confidence is placed in God; He is my refuge—without Him I have not other assistance or reliance." "Thou art my friend and companion, my Lord, why should my soul be afraid." "True is the Lord, of a true name; in language His love is infinite. O Nanak, His worshippers are always happy." "Great ​is the Lord, of a great name, by whom creation is made. Higher than high is His name. His praise is continually in my mouth." "I sing the many and innumerable excellences of God; outside I sing, inside I sing, waking early I sing." "The Lord is merciful to the poor; Thou art my refuge. Thou art my hope." "Keep the eternal Lord in thy heart." "Who art on intimate terms with God, they remain fully satisfied with food."
"Thou art the Creator, true my Lord,— What is pleasing to Thee, that will be done; What Thou givest, that I obtain; Without Thee there is none other." "Their faces are always bright in the true court of God."
There is much expressed regarding humility and the transitory nature of life, with its vanity, pride, egotism, idolatry, and malpractices:—
"Think not of caste: abase thyself and attain to salvation." "O brother, thy body and prosperity will not go with thee after death." "Man is but as the passing shade ​of the flying bird." "Wealth, youth, and a flower are guests for four days." "I may fasten a crown, royal hat and umbrella, on my head, I may be called a khan, king, or raja, but without God I am nothing."
"Who dwells in the house of the true one death shall not overcome. Who does crores [millions] of religious works but retains his selfishness, he incurs only fatigue. 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. It was therefore a fortunate event for the more free and moral development of ​the Sikh community that with the tenth Guru, Govind Singh, the Guruship was altogether abolished. Govind apparently discerned this. By developing a religious commonwealth he saved the Sikhs from sinking into a state of dull apathy to the world around them, to drifting into a community of monks, jogis, and fakirs. Nanak ever enjoined his disciples to remain in their secular occupations and not to leave the world,—that their religion was one of common life. He taught that the state of a householder was equally acceptable to God as retirement from the world; that salvation did not depend on outward circumstances, or in the performance of austerities, but on the inward state of the mind, which even in the daily business of life may remain absorbed in meditation on God. The evil practices of mendicant fakirs as well as the superstitions of the Brahman priesthood are frequently exposed in the 'Granth' and severely censured. His sound sense as well as that of Govind Singh saw that austerities, ​self-mortification, and penances in such a land soon degenerate a race. "No confidence whatever should be placed in jogis" (ascetics).
Nanak received all men as his disciples on an equality regardless of caste, for "in the other world there is no caste." Govind Singh finally abolished caste among his disciples, though the deeply-rooted prejudices of the higher castes refused to submit to this. He positively forbade the employment of Brahman priests in any capacity. He introduced a new ritual, partly taken from the 'Adi-Granth,' but mostly originating with himself. He appealed to the God of battles in his combat for a righteous cause, to defend his people against persecution, in his determination to form a nation, which he saw could not be effected unless they made the study of arms their aim and glory. Nanak the humble strove by personal example to inspire his disciples to live worthily, and after death to leave behind them the memory of a righteous life and good ​deeds, the only passports for the better life beyond.
In spite of all the abstruse definitions of the 'Granth,' the common people were contented to accept Nanak's definition of God, adapted for their everyday life and to meet inward and outward wants. The mystical speculations contained in the book as to the "higher form" and the secret were beyond their comprehension, but its teaching gradually "turned them from idols to serve the living God," and impressed them with the idea of one Supreme Lord, whom they could only realise as a personal, self-conscious Supreme Being, who creates all, governs all, and dispenses all according to His will.
Govind Singh did not make any change in the teaching of Nanak. He made the worship of the one Supreme obligatory and denounced idolatry. The additions he made in his 'Granth' are mainly regarding the duties of the Khalsa—the Commonwealth which he established. He received into it men of all castes and creeds on a footing ​of equality, and aimed at welding them into one religious and political body. To effect this he set up a number of ordinances binding on all.
BAPTISING SIKHS ON ADMISSION TO THE KHALSA BROTHERHOOD OF SINGHS.
​read to him. He is then asked if he consents to be of the faith of Govind; on the reply, "I do consent," he is addressed, "The Guru is thy holy teacher and thou art his Sikh," and a solemn promise demanded from him to abide by the canons of the faith for the rest of his life. Then follows the ceremony already described in the chapter relating to Guru Govind Singh, of sprinkling a mixture of sugar-and-water, called amrit (water of life), on his head and face, and of drinking some of it out of the iron dish, exclaiming, "Wah, Guru ji ka Khalsa! Wah, Guru ji ka fatteh!"—Hail, Guru of the Khalsa! Hail, victory to the Guru! The warrior designation of "Singh" is then added to his name. He is now a Govindhi Sikh, and is commanded to wear always about him certain outward signs of the brotherhood, and directed how to keep and care for his kes, the long hair worn by Sikhs, how to knot it into the jurah knot on the top of the head, and which has to be taken down and combed out twice a-day. He is ​forbidden to cut or dye his hair or beard, to eat or drink uncovered, and to smoke or touch tobacco.
Every disciple is also enjoined to daily repeat some portion of the holy book. There are three prayers appointed for daily use: one in the morning before breaking fast, one before the evening meal, and one before going to rest. Idolatry, the worship of saints, and asceticism are prohibited. Hindu and Mahomedan ceremonies and religious books are not to be minded. He must never buy meat from a butcher, but eat only the flesh of such animals whose head was severed by a Sikh with a stroke of the sword. Beef is not so much as mentioned, as to eat it is considered an abominable crime,—sacrilege,—the cow being venerated as the favoured animal of the Almighty, whose preservation is a religious obligation, since it is so useful to man for domestic and agricultural purposes. The Govindhi Sikh adheres religiously to the command never to cut his ​hair. He will not even submit to this for a surgical operation, preferring to risk death. There is an old tomb extant outside Lahore, at a spot called "the place of martyrdom," in memory of a brave old chief, a companion of Govind's, who with 1000 Sikhs was captured by the Moghuls during the cruel persecutions in 1746. He was offered pardon on condition of having his long hair cut and renouncing his faith. He indignantly refused, saying, "The hair, the scalp, and the skull have a mutual connection. The head is linked with life, and I am prepared to yield it with pleasure." He and the 1000 Sikhs were all beheaded there and then.
Special attention is paid to the making and distributing of karah prasad, or consecrated bread, at their assemblies for administering baptism or other occasions, partaking of the character of a communion service. It is made of equal quantities of flour, butter, and sugar, mixed with water drawn from a well with an iron bucket ​and placed in a new jar. When prepared it is blessed and put on a stand round which the disciples sit praying, after which it is distributed by the Granthi, or Scripture reader, in equal portions to all present to eat. This is the love-feast of the brotherhood, when, according to Govind's injunction, "all must eat together and drink together from the same cup."
Every Sikh is enjoined to aid in the diffusion of the religion, and is not to have intercourse with the sectarians, of which several classes arose. They were accursed, and were to be treated as implacable foes of the faith. There are many other injunctions as to conduct and family matters, which Govind Singh insisted on as essential to rendering the Khalsa a select body, and to kindle their martial valour and hatred to the Mahomedans, whom he looked upon as the powerful persecutors of his race and the one bar against the attainment of religious freedom and national ambition.
​One of the dogmas of the faith is equality of mankind, but this extends rather to religious tenets than to social laws. All Sikhs will eat consecrated bread and drink water one from another's hand except from the lowest classes, where caste is measured by occupation; but they will not intermarry. Each caste occupies a social position of its own, partaking more of family or race pride than of religious usage. It is maintained among the Jats mainly as a matrimonial system, social custom not permitting a man to seek a bride among the members of his own sub-clan. He must go afield to other septs of his tribe for a wife.
Among the Sikhs births and deaths should take place on the ground. The impress of their origin is still strongly maintained in their regard for the "Mother Earth," the ancient honoured deity. The strongest phrase to denote a human being is literally earth. "From one Mother is the world born." In the house, as soon as death approaches, the patient is taken off ​the bed and laid upon wheat-straw which has been spread on the ground. The dead body is carried to the funeral pyre on a wooden frame and placed on it with the head to the north, five Sikhs or more being present. The nearest relative takes a torch, and after walking three times round the pile of wood sets fire to it under the head. The earliest record of burning the dead is among the ancient Scythians, with whom the idea of purification by fire was universal.
SIKH SOLDIERS (29th Punjab Infantry) BURNING THEIR SLAIN COMRADES ON THE BATTLEFIELD AT PAIWAR KOTAL, AFGHANISTAN, 1878.
​no venerable history like that of Hindu, Budhist, and Moslem, it has had much to contend with since the Khalsa lost its position as a ruling class fifty years ago; and for a time there was the danger under the powerful influence of Brahmanism, directed to overcome such a levelling simple faith, of it drifting into a backwater of Hinduism. But its robust strength has outlived this danger, and, according to the recent census of India, the Sikhs have increased considerably during the last decade. In a will case lately before the Punjab law courts, the decision was that the Sikhs at the present time are regarded only as a sect of Hindus; but the local Sikh organ, 'The Khalsa,'—its policy being to maintain the original reformed religion and worship of the Sikh Church,—protested that Sikhism differs widely from Hinduism in fundamental doctrine; that Sikhs do not consider themselves Hindus, and do not respect the Hindu pantheon or observe their religious rites; that Nanak, ​though born in a Hindu family, was not a Hindu, but established an independent religious sect of his own; and that "the day is not distant when thousands of Sikhs will be found disowning Hinduism completely, and priding in the name Sikh, just as converts to Islam and Christianity feel pride in calling themselves Muslims and Christians, and break off all connection with the creeds to which they previously belonged."