There is no branch of this sketch which is more curious and important,
or that offers more difficulties to the inquirer, than the religion of
the Sikhs. We meet with a creed of pure deism, grounded on the most
sublime general truths, blended with the belief of all the absurdities
of the Hindú mythology, and the fables of Muhammedanism; for Nánac
professed a desire to reform, not to destroy, the religion of the
tribe in which he was born; and, actuated by the great and benevolent
design of reconciling the jarring faiths of Brahmá and Muhammed, he
endeavoured to conciliate both Hindús and Moslems to his doctrine, by
persuading them to reject those parts of their respective beliefs and
usages, which, he contended, were unworthy of that God whom they both
adored. He called upon the Hindús to abandon the worship of idols, and
to return to that pure devotion of the Deity, in which their religion
originated. He called upon the Muhammedans to abstain from practices,
like the slaughter of cows, that were offensive to the religion of the
Hindús, and to cease from the persecution of that race. He adopted,
in order to conciliate them, many of the maxims which he had learnt
from mendicants, who professed the principles of the Súfi sect; and
he constantly referred to the admired writings of the celebrated
Muhammedan Kabír[96], who was a professed Súfi, and who inculcated
the doctrine of the equality of the relation of all created beings to
their Creator. Nánac endeavoured, with all the power of his own genius,
aided by such authorities, to impress both Hindús and Muhammedans with
a love of toleration and an abhorrence of war; and his life was as
peaceable as his doctrine. He appears, indeed, to have adopted, from
the hour in which he abandoned his worldly occupations to that of his
death, the habits practised by that crowd of holy mendicants, Sanyásís
and Fakírs, with whom India swarms. He conformed to their customs; and
his extraordinary austerities[97] are a constant theme of praise with
his followers. His works are all in praise of God; but he treats the
polytheism of the Hindús with respect, and even veneration. He never
shows a disposition to destroy the fabric, but only wishes to divest
it of its useless tinsel and false ornaments, and to establish its
complete dependence upon the great Creator of the universe. He speaks
every where of Muhammed, and his successors, with moderation; but
animadverts boldly on what he conceives to be their errors; and, above
all, on their endeavours to propagate their faith by the sword.
As Nánac made no material invasion of either the civil or religious
usages of the Hindús, and as his only desire was to restore a nation
who had degenerated from their original pure worship[98] into
idolatry, he may be considered more in the light of a reformer than
of a subverter of the Hindú religion; and those Sikhs who adhere to
his tenets, without admitting those of Gúrú Góvind, are hardly to be
distinguished from the great mass of Hindú population; among whom there
are many sects who differ, much more than that of Nánac, from the
general and orthodox worship at present established in India.
The first successors of Nánac appear to have taught exactly the
same doctrine as their leader; and though Har Góvind armed all his
followers, it was on a principle of self-defence, in which he was
fully justified, even by the usage of the Hindús. It was reserved for
Gúrú Góvind to give a new character to the religion of his followers;
not by making any material alteration in the tenets of Nánac, but
by establishing institutions and usages, which not only separated
them from other Hindús, but which, by the complete abolition of all
distinction of casts, destroyed, at one blow, a system of civil polity,
that, from being interwoven with the religion of a weak and bigoted
race, fixed the rule of its priests upon a basis that had withstood the
shock of ages. Though the code of the Hindús was calculated to preserve
a vast community in tranquillity and obedience to its rulers, it had
the natural effect of making the country, in which it was established,
an easy conquest to every powerful foreign invader; and it appears
to have been the contemplation of this effect that made Gúrú Góvind
resolve on the abolition of cast, as a necessary and indispensable
prelude to any attempt to arm the original native population of India
against their foreign tyrants. He called upon all Hindús to break
those chains in which prejudice and bigotry had bound them, and to
devote themselves to arms, as the only means by which they could free
themselves from the oppressive government of the Muhammedans; against
whom, a sense of his own wrongs, and those of his tribe, led him to
preach eternal warfare. His religious doctrine was meant to be popular,
and it promised equality. The invidious appellations of Bráhmen,
Cshatríya, Vaisya, and Súdra, were abolished. The pride of descent
might remain, and keep up some distinctions; but, in the religious code
of Góvind, every Khálsa Singh (for such he termed his followers) was
equal, and had a like title to the good things of this world, and to
the blessings of a future life.
Though Gúrú Góvind mixes, even more than Nánac, the mythology of the
Hindús with his own tenets; though his desire to conciliate them, in
opposition to the Muhammedans, against whom he always breathed war and
destruction, led him to worship at Hindú sacred shrines; and though the
peculiar customs and dress among his followers, are stated to have been
adopted from veneration to the Hindú goddess of courage, Dúrga Bhavání;
yet it is impossible to reconcile the religion and usages, which
Góvind has established, with the belief of the Hindús. It does not,
like that of Nánac, question some favourite dogmas of the disciples of
Brahmá, and attack that worship of idols, which few of these defend,
except upon the ground of these figures, before which they bend,
being symbolical representations of the attributes of an all-powerful
Divinity; but it proceeds at once to subvert the foundation of the
whole system. Wherever the religion of Gúrú Góvind prevails, the
institutions of Brahmá must fall. The admission of proselytes, the
abolition of the distinctions of cast, the eating of all kinds of
flesh, except that of cows, the form of religious worship, and the
general devotion of all Singhs to arms, are ordinances altogether
irreconcileable with Hindú mythology, and have rendered the religion
of the Sikhs as obnoxious to the Bráhmens, and higher tribes of the
Hindús, as it is popular with the lower orders of that numerous class
of mankind.
After this rapid sketch of the general character of the religion of
the Sikhs, I shall take a more detailed view of its origin, progress,
tenets, and forms.
A Sikh author[99], whom I have followed in several parts of this
sketch, is very particular in stating the causes of the origin of
the religion of Nánac: he describes the different Yugas, or ages of
the world, stated in the Hindú mythology. The Cáli Yug, which is the
present, is that in which it was written that the human race would
become completely depraved: "Discord," says the author, speaking of the
Cáli Yug, "will rise in the world, sin prevail, and the universe become
wicked; cast will contend with cast; and, like bamboos in friction,
consume each other to embers. The Védas, or scriptures," he adds,
"will be held in disrepute, for they shall not be understood, and the
darkness of ignorance will prevail every where." Such is this author's
record of a divine prophecy regarding this degenerate age. He proceeds
to state what has ensued: "Every one followed his own path, and sects
were separated; some worshipped Chandra (the moon); some Surya (the
sun); some prayed to the earth, to the sky, and the air, and the water,
and the fire, while others worshipped D'herma Rájá (the judge of the
dead); and in the fallacy of the sects nothing was to be found but
error. In short, pride prevailed in the world, and the four casts[100]
established a system of ascetic devotion. From these, the ten sects
of Sanyásís, and the twelve sects of Yógis, originated. The Jangam,
the Srívíra, and the Déva Digambar, entered into mutual contests. The
Bráhmens divided into different classes; and the Sástras, Védas, and
Puránas[101], contradicted each other. The six Dersans (philosophical
sects) exhibited enmity, and the thirty-six Páshands (heterodox sects)
arose, with hundreds of thousands of chimerical and magical (_tantra
mantra_) sects: and thus, from one form, many good and many evil forms
originated, and error prevailed in the Cáli Yug, or age of general
depravity."
The Sikh author pursues this account of the errors into which the
Hindús fell, with a curious passage regarding the origin and progress
of the Muhammedan religion.
"The world," he writes, "went on with these numerous divisions,
when Muhammed Yara[102] appeared, who gave origin to the seventy-two
sects[103], and widely disseminated discord and war. He established the
Rózeh o Aíd (fast and festivals), and the Namáz (prayer), and made his
practice of devotional acts prevalent in the world, with a multitude of
distinctions, of Pír (saint), Paighamber (prophet), Ulemá (the order
of priesthood), and Kitàb (the Korán). He demolished the temples,
and on their ruins built the mosques, slaughtering cows and helpless
persons, and spreading transgression far and wide, holding in hostility
Cáfirs (infidels), Mulhids (idolaters), Irmenis (Armenians), Rumis (the
Turks), and Zingis (Ethiopians). Thus vice greatly diffused itself in
the universe."
"Then," this author adds, "there were two races in the world; the one
Hindú, the other Muhammedan; and both were alike excited by pride,
enmity, and avarice, to violence. The Hindús set their heart on Gangá
and Benares; the Muhammedans on Mecca and the Cáaba: the Hindús clung
to their mark on the forehead and brahminical string; the Moslemans
to their circumcision: the one cried Rám (the name of an Avatár), the
other Rahím (the merciful); one name, but two ways of pronouncing it;
forgetting equally the Védas and the Korán: and through the deceptions
of lust, avarice, the world, and Satan, they swerved equally from the
true path: while Bráhmens and Moulavis destroyed each other by their
quarrels, and the vicissitudes of life and death hung always suspended
over their heads.
"When the world was in this distracted state, and vice prevailed,"
says this writer, "the complaint of virtue, whose dominion was
extinct, reached the throne of the Almighty, who created Nánac, to
enlighten and improve a degenerate and corrupt age: and that holy man
made God the Supreme known to all, giving the nectareous water that
washed his feet to his disciples to drink. He restored to Virtue her
strength, blended the four casts[104] into one, established one mode of
salutation, changed the childish play of bending the head at the feet
of idols, taught the worship of the true God, and reformed a depraved
world."
Nánac appears, by the account of this author, to have established
his fame for sanctity by the usual modes of religious mendicants. He
performed severe Tapasa[105], living upon sand and swallow-wort, and
sleeping on sharp pebbles; and, after attaining fame by this kind of
penance, he commenced his travels, with the view of spreading his
doctrine over the earth.
After Nánac had completed his terrestrial travels, he is supposed to
have ascended to Suméru, where he saw the Sidd'his[106], all seated in
a circle. These, from a knowledge of that eminence for which he was
predestined, wished to make him assume the characteristic devotion of
their sect, to which they thought he would be an ornament. While means
were used to effect this purpose, a divine voice was heard to exclaim:
"Nánac shall form his own sect, distinct from all the Yatís[107] and
Sidd'his; and his name shall be joyful to the Cáli Yug." After this,
Nánac preached the adoration of the true God to the Hindús; and then
went to instruct the Muhammedans, in their sacred temples at Mecca.
When at that place, the holy men are said to have gathered round him,
and demanded, Whether their faith, or that of the Hindús, was the best?
"Without the practice of true piety, both," said Nánac, "are erroneous,
and neither Hindús nor Moslems will be acceptable before the throne of
God; for the faded tinge of scarlet, that has been soiled by water,
will never return. You both deceive yourselves, pronouncing aloud Rám
and Rahím, and the way of Satan prevails in the universe."
The courageous independence with which Nánac announced his religion to
the Muhammedans, is a favourite topic with his biographers. He was one
day abused, and even struck, as one of these relates, by a Moullah, for
lying on the ground with his feet in the direction of the sacred temple
of Mecca. "How darest thou, infidel!" said the offended Muhammedan
priest, "turn thy feet towards the house of God!"--"Turn them, if you
can," said the pious but indignant Nánac, "in a direction where the
house of God is not."
Nánac did not deny the mission of Muhammed. "That prophet was sent,"
he said, "by God, to this world, to do good, and to disseminate the
knowledge of one God through means of the Korán; but he, acting on the
principle of free-will, which all human beings exercise, introduced
oppression, and cruelty, and the slaughter of cows[108], for which
he died.--I am now sent," he added, "from heaven, to publish unto
mankind a book, which shall reduce all the names given unto God to
one name, which is God; and he who calls him by any other, shall fall
into the path of the devil, and have his feet bound in the chains
of wretchedness. You have," said he to the Muhammedans, "despoiled
the temples, and burnt the sacred Védas, of the Hindús; and you have
dressed yourselves in dresses of blue, and you delight to have your
praises sung from house to house: but I, who have seen all the world,
tell you, that the Hindús equally hate you and your mosques. I am
sent to reconcile your jarring faiths, and I implore you to read
their scriptures, as well as your own: but reading is useless without
obedience to the doctrine taught; for God has said, no man shall be
saved except he has performed good works. The Almighty will not ask
to what tribe or persuasion he belongs. He will only ask, What has he
done? Therefore those violent and continued disputes, which subsist
between the Hindús and Moslemans, are as impious as they are unjust."
Such were the doctrines, according to his disciples, which Nánac taught
to both Hindús and Muhammedans. He professed veneration and respect,
but refused adoration to the founders of both their religions; for
which, as for those of all other tribes, he had great tolerance. "A
hundred thousand of Muhammeds," said Nánac, "a million of Brahmás,
Vishnus, and a hundred thousand Rámas, stand at the gate of the Most
High. These all perish; God alone is immortal. Yet men, who unite in
the praise of God, are not ashamed of living in contention with each
other; which proves that the evil spirit has subdued all. He alone is a
true Hindú whose heart is just; and he only is a good Muhammedan whose
life is pure."
Nánac is stated, by the Sikh author from whom the above account of his
religion is taken, to have had an interview with the supreme God, which
he thus describes: "One day Nánac heard a voice from above exclaim,
Nánac, approach!" He replied, "Oh God! what power have I to stand in
thy presence?" The voice said, "Close thine eyes." Nánac shut his eyes,
and advanced: he was told to look up: he did so, and heard the word
_Wá!_ or _well done_, pronounced five times; and then _Wá! Gúrújí_, or
_well done teacher_. After this God said, "Nánac! I have sent thee into
the world, in the Cáli Yug (or depraved age); go and bear my name."
Nánac said, "Oh God! how can I bear the mighty burthen? If my age was
extended to tens of millions of years, if I drank of immortality, and
my eyes were formed of the sun and moon, and were never closed, still,
oh God! I could not presume to take charge of thy wondrous name."--"I
will be thy Gúrú (teacher)," said God, "and thou shalt be a Gúrú to
all mankind, and thy sect shall be great in the world; their word is
Púrí Púrí. The word of the Bairágí is Rám! Rám! that of the Sanyásí,
Om! Namá! Náráyen! and the word of the Yógís, Adés! Adés! and the
salutation of the Muhammedans is Salám Alíkam; and that of the Hindús,
Rám! Rám! but the word of thy sect shall be Gúrú, and I will forgive
the crimes of thy disciples. The place of worship of the Bairágís is
called Rámsála; that of the Yógís, Asan; that of the Sanyásís, Mát;
that of thy tribe shall be Dherma Sála. Thou must teach unto thy
followers three lessons: the first, to worship my name; the second,
charity; the third, ablution. They must not abandon the world, and they
must do ill to no being; for into every being have I infused breath;
and whatever I am, thou art, for betwixt us there is no difference.
It is a blessing that thou art sent into the Cáli Yug." After this,
"_Wá Gúrú!_ or _well done, teacher!_ was pronounced from the mouth of
the most high Gúrú or teacher (God), and Nánac came to give light and
freedom to the universe."
The above will give a sufficient view of the ideas which the Sikhs
entertain regarding the divine origin of their faith; which, as first
taught by Nánac, might justly be deemed the religion of peace.
"Put on armour," says Nánac, "that will harm no one; let thy coat of
mail be that of understanding, and convert thy enemies to friends.
Fight with valour, but with no weapon except the word of God." All
the principles which Nánac inculcated, were those of pure deism; but
moderated, in order to meet the deep-rooted usages of that portion of
mankind which he wished to reclaim from error. Though he condemned the
lives and habits of the Muhammedans, he approved of the Korán[109].
He admitted the truth of the ancient Védas, but contended that the
Hindú religion had been corrupted, by the introduction of a plurality
of gods, with the worship of images; which led their minds astray
from that great and eternal Being, to whom adoration should alone be
paid. He, however, followed the forms of the Hindús, and adopted most
of their doctrines which did not interfere with his great and leading
tenet. He admitted the claim to veneration, of the numerous catalogue
of Hindú Dévas, and Dévatás, or inferior deities; but he refused them
adoration. He held it impious to slaughter the cow; and he directed
his votaries, as has been seen, to consider ablution as one of their
primary religious duties.
Nánac, according to Penjábi authors, admitted the Hindú doctrine of
metempsychosis. He believed, that really good men would enjoy Paradise;
that those, who had no claim to the name of good, but yet were not
bad, would undergo another probation, by revisiting the world in the
human form: and that the bad would animate the bodies of animals,
particularly dogs and cats: but it appears, from the same authorities,
that Nánac was acquainted with the Muhammedan doctrine regarding the
fall of man, and a future state; and that he represented it to his
followers as a system, in which God, by showing a heaven and a hell,
had, in his great goodness, held out future rewards and punishments to
man, whose will he had left free, to incite him to good actions, and
deter him from bad. The principle of reward and punishment is so nearly
the same in the Hindú and in the Muhammedan religion, that it was not
difficult for Nánac to reconcile his followers upon this point: but
in this, as in all others, he seems to have bent to the doctrine of
Brahmá. In all his writings, however, he borrowed indifferently from
the Korán and the Hindú Sástras; and his example was followed by his
successors; and quotations from the scriptures of the Hindús, and from
the book of Muhammed, are indiscriminately introduced into all their
sacred writings, to elucidate those points on which it was their object
to reconcile these jarring religions.
With the exact mode in which Nánac instructed his followers to address
their prayers to that supreme Being whom he taught them to adore, I
am not acquainted. Their D'herma Sála, or temples of worship, are,
in general, plain buildings. Images are, of course, banished. Their
prescribed forms of prayer are, I believe, few and simple. Part of the
writings of Nánac, which have since been incorporated with those of his
successors, in the Adí-Grant'h, are read, or rather recited, upon every
solemn occasion. These are all in praise of the Deity, of religion, and
of virtue; and against impiety and immorality. The Adí-Grant'h, the
whole of the first part of which is ascribed to Nánac, is written, like
the rest of the books of the Sikhs, in the Gúrúmuk'h[110] character.
I can only judge very imperfectly of the value of this work: but some
extracts, translated from it, appear worthy of that admiration which is
bestowed upon it by the Sikhs.
The Adí-Grant'h is in verse; and many of the chapters, written by
Nánac, are termed Pídi, which means, literally, a ladder or flight of
steps; and, metaphorically, that by which a man ascends.
In the following fragment, literally translated from the Sódar rág ásá
mahilla pehla of Nánac, he displays the supremacy of the true God,
and the inferiority of the Dévatás, and other created beings, to the
universal Creator; however they may have been elevated into deities by
ignorance or superstition.
Thy portals, how wonderful they are, how wonderful thy palace,
where thou sittest and governest all!
Numberless and infinite are the sounds which proclaim thy praises.
How numerous are thy Peris, skilful in music and song!
Pavan (air), water, and Vasantar (fire), celebrate thee;
D'herma Rájá (the Hindú Rhadamanthus) celebrates thy praises,
at thy gates.
Chitragupta (Secretary to D'herma Rájá) celebrates thy praises;
who, skilful in writing, writes and administers final justice.
Iswara, Brahmá, and Dévi, celebrate thy praises;
they declare in fit terms thy majesty, at thy gates.
Indra celebrates thy praises, sitting on the Indraic throne
amid the Dévatás.
The just celebrate thy praises in profound meditation,
the pious declare thy glory.
The Yatís and the Satís joyfully celebrate thy might.
The Pandits, skilled in reading, and the Rishíswaras,
who, age by age, read the Védas, recite thy praises.
The Móhinís (celestial courtezans), heart alluring,
inhabiting Swarga, Mritya, and Pátálá, celebrate thy praises.
The Ratnas (gems), with the thirty-eight Tírt'has (sacred springs),
celebrate thy praises.
Heroes of great might celebrate thy name; beings of the four kinds
of production celebrate thy praises.
The continents, and regions of the world, celebrate thy praises;
the universal Brahmánda (the mundane egg),
which thou hast established firm.
All who know thee praise thee, all who are desirous of thy worship.
How numerous they are who praise thee! they exceed my comprehension:
how, then, shall Nánac describe them?
He, even he, is the Lord of truth, true, and truly just.
He is, he was, he passes, he passes not,
the preserver of all that is preserved.
Of numerous hues, sorts and kinds,
he is the original author of Máyá (deception).
Having formed the creation, he surveys his own work,
the display of his own greatness.
What pleases him he does, and no order of any other being
can reach him.
He is the Pádsháh and the Pádsáheb of Sháhs;
Nánac resides in his favour.
These few verses are, perhaps, sufficient to show, that it was on a
principle of pure deism that Nánac entirely grounded his religion.
It was not possible, however, that the minds of any large portion
of mankind could remain long fixed in a belief which presented
them only with general truths, and those of a nature too vast for
their contemplation or comprehension. The followers of Nánac, since
his death, have paid an adoration to his name, which is at variance
with the lessons which he taught; they have clothed him in all the
attributes of a saint: they consider him as the selected instrument of
God to make known the true faith to fallen man; and, as such, they give
him divine honours; not only performing pilgrimage to his tomb, but
addressing him, in their prayers, as their saviour and mediator.
The religious tenets and usages of the Sikhs continued, as they had
been established by Nánac[111], till the time of Gúrú Góvind; who,
though he did not alter the fundamental principles of the established
faith, made so complete a change in the sacred usages and civil habits
of his followers, that he gave them an entirely new character: and
though the Sikhs retain all their veneration for Nánac, they deem
Gúrú Góvind to have been equally exalted, by the immediate favour and
protection of the Divinity; and the Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h, or book
of the tenth king, which was written by Gúrú Góvind, is considered, in
every respect, as holy as the Adí-Grant'h of Nánac, and his immediate
successors. I cannot better explain the pretensions which Gúrú Góvind
has made to the rank of a prophet, than by exhibiting his own account
of his mission in a literal version from his Vichitra Nátac.
"I now declare my own history, and the multifarious austerities which
I have performed.
"Where the seven peaks rise beautiful on the mountain Hémacuta, and the
place takes the name of Sapta Sringa, greater penance have I performed
than was ever endured by Pándu Rájá, meditating constantly on Mahá Cál
and Cálica, till diversity was changed into one form. My father and
mother meditated on the Divinity, and performed the Yóga, till Gúrú
Déva approved of their devotions. Then the Supreme issued his order,
and I was born, in the Cáli Yug, though my inclination was not to come
into the world, my mind being fixed on the foot of the Supreme. When
the supreme Being made known his will, I was sent into the world. The
eternal Being thus addressed this feeble insect:
"--I have manifested thee as my own son, and appointed thee to
establish a perfect Pant'h (sect). Go into the world, establish virtue
and expel vice."--
"--I stand with joined hands, bending my head at thy word: the Pant'h
shall prevail in the world, when thou lendest thine aid.--Then was
I sent into the world: thus I received mortal birth. As the Supreme
spoke to me, so do I speak, and to none do I bear enmity. Whoever shall
call me Paraméswara, he shall sink into the pit of hell: know, that I
am only the servant of the Supreme, and concerning this entertain no
doubt. As God spoke, I announce unto the world, and remain not silent
in the world of men.
"As God spoke, so do I declare, and I regard no person's word. I wear
my dress in nobody's fashion, but follow that appointed by the Supreme.
I perform no worship to stones, nor imitate the ceremonies of any one.
I pronounce the infinite name, and have attained to the supreme Being.
I wear no bristling locks on my head, nor adorn myself with ear-rings.
I receive no person's words in my ears; but as the Lord speaks, I act.
I meditate on the sole name, and attain my object. To no other do I
perform the Jáp, in no other do I confide: I meditate on the infinite
name, and attain the supreme light. On no other do I meditate; the name
of no other do I pronounce.
"For this sole reason, to establish virtue, was I sent into the
world by Gúrú Déva. 'Every where,' said he, 'establish virtue, and
exterminate the wicked and vitious.' For this purpose have I received
mortal birth; and this let all the virtuous understand. To establish
virtue, to exalt piety, and to extirpate the vitious utterly. Every
former Avatár established his own Jáp; but no one punished the
irreligious, no one established both the principles and practice of
virtue, (Dherm Carm). Every holy man (Ghóus), and prophet (Ambia),
attempted only to establish his own reputation in the world; but no
one comprehended the supreme Being, or understood the true principles
or practice of virtue. The doctrine of no other is of any avail: this
doctrine fix in your minds. There is no benefit in any other doctrine,
this fix in your minds.
"Whoever reads the Korán, whoever reads the Purán, neither of them
shall escape death, and nothing but virtue shall avail at last.
Millions of men may read the Korán, they may read innumerable Puráns;
but it shall be of no avail in the life to come, and the power of
destiny shall prevail over them."
Gúrú Góvind, after this account of the origin of his mission, gives a
short account of his birth and succession to the spiritual duties at
his father's death.
"At the command of God I received mortal birth, and came into the
world. This I now declare briefly; attend to what I speak.
"My father journeyed towards the East, performing ablution in all the
sacred springs. When he arrived at Triveni, he spent a day in acts
of devotion and charity. On that occasion was I manifested. In the
town of Patna I received a body. Then the Madra Dés received me, and
nurses nursed me tenderly, and tended me with great care, instructing
me attentively every day. When I reached the age of Dherm and Carm
(principles and practice), my father departed to the Déva Lóca. When
I was invested with the dignity of Rája, I established virtue to the
utmost of my power. I addicted myself to every species of hunting in
the forests, and daily killed the bear and the stag. When I had become
acquainted with that country, I proceeded to the city of Pávatá, where
I amused myself on the banks of the Calindri, and viewed every kind
of spectacle. There I slew a great number of tigers; and, in various
modes, hunted the bear."
The above passages will convey an idea of that impression which Gúrú
Góvind gave his followers of his divine mission. I shall shortly
enumerate those alterations he made in the usages of the Sikhs, whom it
was his object to render, through the means of religious enthusiasm, a
warlike race.
Though Gúrú Góvind was brought up in the religion of Nánac, he appears,
from having been educated among the Hindú priests of Mathura, to
have been deeply tainted with their superstitious belief; and he
was, perhaps, induced by considerations of policy, to lean still
more strongly to their prejudices, in order to induce them to become
converts to that religious military community, by means of which it
was his object to destroy the Muhammedan power.
The principal of the religious institutions of Gúrú Góvind, is that
of the Páhal,--the ceremony by which a convert is initiated into the
tribe of Sikhs; or, more properly speaking, that of Singhs. The meaning
of this institution is to make the convert a member of the Khálsa, or
Sikh commonwealth, which he can only become by assenting to certain
observances; the devoting himself to arms for the defence of the
commonwealth, and the destruction of its enemies; the wearing his hair,
and putting on a blue dress[112].
The mode in which Gúrú Góvind first initiated his converts, is
described by a Sikh writer; and, as I believe it is nearly the same
as that now observed, I shall shortly state it as he has described
it. Gúrú Góvind, he says, after his arrival at Mák'haval, initiated
five converts, and gave them instructions how to initiate others. The
mode is as follows. The convert is told that he must allow his hair
to grow. He must clothe himself from head to foot in blue clothes. He
is then presented with the five weapons: a sword, a firelock, a bow
and arrow, and a pike[113]. One of those who initiate him then says,
"The Gúrú is thy holy teacher, and thou art his Sikh or disciple."
Some sugar and water is put into a cup, and stirred round with a steel
knife, or dagger, and some of the first chapters of the Adí-Grant'h,
and the first chapters of the Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h, are read; and
those who perform the initiation exclaim, _Wá! Gúrúji ká Khálsa! Wá!
Gúrúji kí Fateh!_ (Success to the state of the Gúrú! Victory attend
the Gúrú!) After this exclamation has been repeated five times, they
say, "This sherbet is nectar. It is the water of life; drink it."
The disciple obeys; and some sherbet, prepared in a similar manner,
is sprinkled over his head and beard. After these ceremonies, the
disciple is asked if he consents to be of the faith of Gúrú Góvind. He
answers, "I do consent." He is then told, "If you do, you must abandon
all intercourse, and neither eat, drink, nor sit in company with men
of five sects which I shall name. The first, the Mína D'hirmal; who,
though of the race of Nánac, were tempted by avarice to give poison to
Arjun; and, though they did not succeed, they ought to be expelled from
society. The second are the Musandiá; a sect who call themselves Gúrús,
or priests, and endeavour to introduce heterodox doctrines[114]. The
third, Rám Ráyí, the descendants of Rám Ráy, whose intrigues were the
great cause of the destruction of the holy ruler, Tégh Singh. The
fourth are the Kud i-már, or destroyers[115] of their own daughters.
Fifth, the Bhadaní, who shave the hair of their head and beards."
The disciple, after this warning against intercourse with sectaries,
or rather schismatics, is instructed in some general precepts, the
observance of which regard the welfare of the community into which he
has entered. He is told to be gentle and polite to all with whom he
converses, to endeavour to attain wisdom, and to emulate the persuasive
eloquence of Bábá Nánac. He is particularly enjoined, whenever he
approaches any of the Sikh temples, to do it with reverence and
respect, and to go to Amritsar, to pay his devotions to the Khálsa,
or state; the interests of which he is directed, on all occasions, to
consider paramount to his own. He is instructed to labour to increase
the prosperity of the town of Amritsar; and told, that at every place
of worship which he visits he will be conducted in the right path by
the Gúrú (Gúrú Góvind). He is instructed to believe, that it is the
duty of all those who belong to the Khálsa, or commonwealth of the
Sikhs, neither to lament the sacrifice of property, nor of life, in
support of each other; and he is directed to read the Adí-Grant'h and
Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h, every morning and every evening. Whatever he
has received from God, he is told it is his duty to share with others.
And after the disciple has heard and understood all these and similar
precepts, he is declared to be duly initiated.
Gúrú Góvind Singh, agreeably to this Sikh author, after initiating the
first five disciples in the mode above stated, ordered the principal
persons among them[116] to initiate him exactly on similar occasions,
which he did. The author from whom the above account is taken, states,
that when Góvind was at the point of death, he exclaimed, "Wherever
five Sikhs are assembled, there I also shall be present!" and, in
consequence of this expression, five Sikhs are the number necessary to
make a Singh, or convert. By the religious institutions of Gúrú Góvind,
proselytes are admitted from all tribes and casts in the universe. The
initiation may take place at any time of life, but the children of the
Singhs all go through this rite at a very early age.
The leading tenet of Gúrú Góvind's religious institutions, which
obliges his followers to devote themselves to arms, is stated, in
one of the chapters of the Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h, or book of
the tenth king, written in praise of Dúrga B'havání, the goddess of
courage: "Dúrga," Gúrú Góvind says, "appeared to me when I was asleep,
arrayed in all her glory. The goddess put into my hand the hilt of a
bright scimitar, which she had before held in her own. 'The country
of the Muhammedans,' said the goddess, 'shall be conquered by thee,
and numbers of that race shall be slain.' After I had heard this, I
exclaimed, 'This steel shall be the guard to me and my followers,
because, in its lustre, the splendour of thy countenance, O goddess! is
always reflected[117].'"
The Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h of Gúrú Góvind appears, from the extracts
which I have seen of it, to abound in fine passages. Its author has
borrowed largely from the Sástras of the Brahméns, and the Korán. He
praises Nánac as a holy saint, accepted of God; and grounds his faith,
like that of his predecessors, upon the adoration of one God; whose
power and attributes he however describes by so many Sanscrit names,
and with such constant allusions to the Hindú mythology, that it
appears often difficult to separate his purer belief from their gross
idolatry. He, however, rejects all worship of images, on an opinion
taken from one of the ancient Védas, which declares, "that to worship
an idol made of wood, earth, or stone, is as foolish as it is impious;
for God alone is deserving of adoration."
The great points, however, by which Gúrú Góvind has separated his
followers for ever from the Hindús, are those which have been before
stated;--the destruction of the distinction of casts, the admission of
proselytes, and the rendering the pursuit of arms not only admissible,
but the religious duty of all his followers. Whereas, among the Hindús,
agreeable to the Dherma Sástra, (one of the most revered of their
sacred writings,) carrying arms on all occasions, as an occupation, is
only lawful to the Cshatríya or military tribe. A Bráhmen is allowed to
obtain a livelihood by arms, if he can by no other mode. The Vaisya and
Súdra are not allowed to make arms their profession, though they may
use them in self-defence.
The sacred book of Gúrú Góvind is not confined to religious subjects,
or tales of Hindú mythology, related in his own way; but abounds in
accounts of the battles which he fought, and of the actions which were
performed by the most valiant of his followers. Courage is, throughout
this work, placed above every other virtue; and Góvind, like Muhammed,
makes martyrdom for the faith which he taught, the shortest and most
certain road to honour in this world, and eternal happiness in the
future. The opinion which the Sikhs entertain of Góvind will be best
collected from their most esteemed authors.
"Gúrú Góvind Singh," one[118] of those writers states, "appeared as the
tenth Avatár. He meditated on the Creator himself, invisible, eternal,
and incomprehensible. He established the Khálsa, his own sect, and, by
exhibiting singular energy, leaving the hair on his head, and seizing
the scimitar, he smote every wicked person. He bound the garment of
chastity round his loins, grasped the sword of valour, and, passing
the true word of victory, became victorious in the field of combat;
and seizing the Dévatás, his foes, he inflicted on them punishment;
and, with great success, diffused the sublime Gúrú Jáp (a mystical
form of prayer composed by Gúrú Góvind) through the world. As he was
born a warlike Singh, he assumed the blue dress; and, by destroying
the wicked Turks, he exalted the name of Hari (God). No Sirdar could
stand in battle against him, but all of them fled; and, whether Hindú
Rájás, or Muhammedan lords, became like dust in his presence. The
mountains, hearing of him, were struck with terror; the whole world
was affrighted, and the people fled from their habitations. In short,
such was his fame, that they were all thrown into consternation, and
began to say, 'Besides thee, O Sat Gúrú! there is no dispeller of
danger,'--Having seized and displayed his sword, no person could resist
his might."
The same author, in a subsequent passage, gives a very characteristic
account of that spirit of hostility which the religion of Gúrú Góvind
breathed against the Muhammedans; and of the manner in which it treated
those sacred writings, upon which most of the established usages of
Hindús are grounded.
"By the command of the Eternal, the great Gúrú disseminated the true
knowledge. Full of strength and courage, he successfully established
the Khálsa (or state). Thus, at once founding the sect of Singh, he
struck the whole world with awe: overturning temples and sacred places,
tombs and mosques, he levelled them all with the plain: rejecting the
Védas, the Puráns, the six Sástras, and the Korán; he abolished the
cry of Namáz (Muhammedan prayer), and slew the Sultans; reducing the
Mírs and Pírs (the lords and priests of the Muhammedans) to silence, he
overturned all their sects; the Moullahs (professors), and the Kázis
(judges), were confounded, and found no benefit from their studies. The
Bráhmens, the Pandits, and the Jótìshis (or astrologers), had acquired
a relish for worldly things: they worshipped stones and temples, and
forgot the Supreme. Thus these two sects, the Muhammedan and Hindú,
remained involved in delusion and ignorance, when the third sect of
the Khálsa originated in purity. When, at the order of Gúrú Góvind,
the Singhs seized and displayed the scimitar, then subduing all their
enemies, they meditated on the Eternal; and, as soon as the order of
the Most High was manifested in the world, circumcision ceased, and the
Turks trembled, when they saw the ritual of Muhammed destroyed: then
the Nakára (large drum) of victory sounded throughout the world, and
fear and dread were abolished. Thus the third sect was established, and
increased greatly in might."
These extracts, and what I have before stated, will sufficiently show
the character of the religious institutions of Gúrú Góvind; which were
admirably calculated to awaken, through the means of fanaticism, a
spirit of courage and independence, among men who had been content,
for ages, with that degraded condition in society, to which they were
taught to believe themselves born. The end which Góvind sought, could
not, perhaps, have been attained by the employment of other means.
Exhortations respecting their civil rights, and the wrongs which they
sustained, would have been wasted on minds enslaved by superstition,
and who could only be persuaded to assert themselves men, by an
impression that it was the will of Heaven they should do so. His
success is a strong elucidation of the general character of the Hindú
natives of India. That race, though in general mild and peaceable,
take the most savage and ferocious turn, when roused to action by the
influence of religious feeling.
I have mentioned, in the narrative part of this Sketch, the attempt of
the Bairágí Banda to alter the religious institutions of Gúrú Góvind,
and its failure. The tribe of Acálís (immortals), who have now assumed
a dictatorial sway in all the religious ceremonies at Amritsar, and
the Nirmala and Shahid, who read the sacred writings, may hereafter
introduce some changes in those usages which the Sikhs revere: but
it is probable that the spirit of equality, which has been hitherto
considered as the vital principle of the Khálsa or commonwealth,
and which makes all Sikhs so reluctant to own either a temporal or
spiritual leader, will tend greatly to preserve their institutions
from invasion: and it is stated, in a tradition which is universally
believed by the Sikhs, and has, indeed, been inserted in their sacred
writings, that Gúrú Góvind, when he was asked by his followers, who
surrounded his death-bed, to whom he would leave his authority?
replied, "I have delivered over the Khálsa (commonwealth) to God, who
never dies. I have been your guide, and will still preserve you; read
the Grant'h, and attend to its tenets; and whoever remains true to the
state, him will I aid." From these dying words of Gúrú Góvind, the
Sikhs believe themselves to have been placed, by their last and most
revered prophet, under the peculiar care of God: and their attachment
to this mysterious principle, leads them to consider the Khálsa (or
commonwealth) as a theocracy; and such an impression is likely to
oppose a very serious obstacle, if not an insuperable barrier, to
the designs of any of their chiefs, who may hereafter endeavour to
establish an absolute power over the whole nation.
THE END.
Printed by J. Moyes, Greville Street, London.
FOOTNOTES:
[96] This celebrated Súfi, or philosophical deist, lived in the time
of the Emperor Shér Sháh. He was, by trade, a weaver; but has written
several admired works. They are all composed in a strain of universal
philanthropy and benevolence; and, above all, he inculcated religious
toleration, particularly between the Muhammedans and Hindús, by both of
whom his memory is held in the highest esteem and veneration.
[97] Nánac was celebrated for the manner in which he performed Tapasa,
or austere devotion, which requires the mind to be so totally absorbed
in the Divinity, as to be abstracted from every worldly thought, and
this for as long a period as human strength is capable of sustaining.
[98] The most ancient Hindús do not appear to have paid adoration
to idols; but, though they adored God, they worshipped the sun and
elements.
[99] B'hai Gúrú Dás B'halé.
[100] Bráhmen, Cshatríya, Vaisya, and Súdra.
[101] Different sacred books of the Hindús.
[102] Yár signifies _friend_; and one of the prophet's titles, among
his followers, is Yar-i-Khudá, or _the Friend of God_.
[103] The Muhammedan religion is said to be divided into seventy-two
sects.
[104] There is no ground to conclude that casts were altogether
abolished by Nánac; though his doctrines and writings had a tendency to
equalize the Hindús, and unite all in the worship of one God.
[105] A kind of ascetic devotion, which has been before explained.
[106] The Sidd'his (saints) are the attendants of the gods. The name is
most generally applied to those who wait on Ganésa.
[107] The name Yatí is most usually applied to the priests of the
Jainas; but it is also applicable to Sanyásís, and other penitents.
[108] Nánac appears on this, and every other occasion, to have
preserved his attachment to this favourite dogma of the Hindús.
[109] This fact is admitted by Sikh authors. It is, however, probable,
that Nánac was but imperfectly acquainted with the doctrines of that
volume.
[110] A modified species of the Nágari character.
[111] Certainly no material alteration was made, either in the belief
or forms of the Sikhs, by any of his successors before Gúrú Góvind.
Har Góvind, who armed his followers to repel aggression, would only
appear to have made a temporary effort to oppose his enemies, without
an endeavour to effect any serious change in the religious belief or
customs of the sect to which he belonged.
[112] It has been before stated, that all the followers of Góvind do
not now wear the blue dress, but they all wear their hair; and their
jealous regard of it is not to be described. Three inferior agents of
Sikh chiefs were one day in my tent; one of them was a Khálsa Singh,
and the two others of the Khalása tribe of Sikhs. I was laughing and
joking with the Khálsa Singh, who said he had been ordered to attend
me to Calcutta. Among other subjects of our mirth, I rallied him on
trusting himself so much in my power. "Why, what is the worst," said
he, "that you can do to me, when I am at such a distance from home?" I
passed my hand across my chin, imitating the act of shaving. The man's
face was in an instant distorted with rage, and his sword half drawn.
"You are ignorant," said he to me, "of the offence you have given.
I cannot strike you, who are above me, and the friend of my master
and the state. But no power," he added, "shall save these fellows,"
alluding to the two Khalása Sikhs, "from my revenge, for having dared
to smile at your action." It was with the greatest difficulty, and only
by the good offices of some Sikh chiefs, that I was able to pacify the
wounded honour of this Singh.
[113] The goddess of courage, Bhavání Durgá, represented in the Dasama
Pádsháh ká Grant'h, or book of kings of Gúrú Góvind, as the soul of
arms, or tutelary goddess of war, and is thus addressed: "Thou art the
edge of the sword, thou art the arrow, the sword, the knife, and the
dagger."
[114] Gúrú Góvind put to death many of this tribe.
[115] This barbarous custom still prevails among the Rájapúts in many
parts of Hindústan.
[116] Agreeably to this author, Gúrú Góvind was initiated on Friday,
the 8th of the month B'hádra, in the year 1753 of the æra of
Vicramáditya; and on that day his great work, the Dasama Pádsháh ká
Grant'h, or book of the tenth king, was completed.
[117] An author, whom I have often quoted, says, Gúrú Góvind gave
the following injunctions to his followers: "It is right to slay a
Muhammedan wherever you meet him. If you meet a Hindú, beat him and
plunder him, and divide his property among you. Employ your constant
effort to destroy the countries ruled by Muhammedans. If they oppose
you, defeat and slay them."
[118] B'hai Gúrú Dás Bhalé.
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and Reprints of interesting but little known Eastern Romances.
Elegantly printed by Ballantyne, in Three Volumes super-royal 8vo.
double columns. 3l. 18s.
This Work will be continued till a Series of our best Novels and
Romances be completed, and may extend probably to Fifteen Volumes, each
portion of which will be distinct and complete in itself, and sold
separately.
Transcriber's Notes
Obvious errors of punctuation and diacritics repaired.
Inconsistent hyphenation fixed.
Pp. 41, 78fn: Dehli -> Delhi.
P. 63fn: Kahlúr -> Kahilúr.
P. 71: a town situate -> a town situated.