Why criest thou Alas ! alas ! 1 God is and shall be.
Ye weep for others, but who will weep for you ?
Ye worry with worldly occupations, my brethren, and practise falsehood.
The dead hear not at all ; ye only cry to be heard of others.
He who laid them to sleep, Nanak, will awake them.
If man know his own home in God, then shall he not sleep.
If any one know of any one at his departure taking any thing with him,
Then let him with open eyes amass wealth know and consider this.
Do thy dealing ; gain thine object ; be not sorry here after. Thou shalt be known as a true dealer if thou take profit with thee.
Sow the seed of truth in the soil of honesty ; in that way practise tillage.
Forsake vice, practise virtue, so shalt thou obtain the Real Thing.
If it be God s favour, man shall meet the true Guru, understand his instruction,
Repeat the Name, hear the Name, and deal in the Name.
As is the profit so the loss ; that is the way of the world.
What pleaseth Him, O Nanak, is my glory. 2
One day Mardana took it into his head to ask the Guru to explain the cause of the Saiyidpur massacre, and said, Sir, some Pathans have done wrong ; but why have so many been killed on their account ? The Guru pointed out a tree, and told Mardana to go and sleep under it. When he awoke, the Guru would give him an answer. Mardana accordingly went and lay down to sleep under the tree. A drop of honey fell on his naked breast. As he slept, ants came to drink it, and the sleeper half unconsciously crushed them to death with his hand. The Guru asked him on awaking what he had done. He replied
1 Ohi, ohi ! There is a pun on the word ohi. It means, Alas ! and He (God) is. 2 Asa Ashtapadi.
