True is the teaching of the Guru whose words are nectar;
my heart is satisfied therewith.
Man marcheth off to a place of pilgrimage and returneth
laden with sin, while, if he had remained under the Guru's
instruction, he would have found the True One.
There should be no end to speaking of God; He is the
storekeeper of devotion and everywhere diffused.
Nanak maketh a true representation—it is he who
cleanseth his heart who is pure.[1]
To this the Guru added the following hymn of his own :—
The pandits read the Shastars and the Simritis,
The Jogis cry ‘Gorakh, Gorakh’,
But I who am ignorant repeat God's name.
I know not, O Lord, what my condition shall be.
Worship God, O my soul, so shalt thou sail over the
terrible ocean.
The Sanyasis apply ashes to decorate their bodies,
The Brahmacharis altogether avoid women;
But my hopes O God, ignorant though I am, are in Thee.
The Khatri performeth deeds and obtaineth the rank of
a hero;
The Sudars and the Vaisyas work for others.
God's name hath saved me who am ignorant.
The whole creation is Thine, Thou pervadest every place.
Nanak, God giveth greatness to the holy.
I being blind have set up God as my prop.[2]
The Guru continued: ‘Even if one go on a pilgrimage, the Name ought to be praised. Indeed, it is by praising the Name all advantages, whether temporal or spiritual, are obtained; and it was for the magnification of the Name places of pilgrimages were established on spots frequented by great Rikhis and Munis who had spent their days in that form of devotion. On the other hand, making pilgrimages involveth great sufferings and ruffleth
