Page:The Sikhs (Gordon).djvu/220

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THE SIKHS.

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 'Adi-Granth,' the book of the humble Nanak, is held the most sacred, as the foundation of the Sikh religion. It was compiled by Arjun, the fifth Guru. After him a few verses only were added from the succeeding Gurus—a message from Tegh Bahadur, the martyr, while in prison at Delhi, to his son Govind, and the reply. The 'Granth of the Tenth King,' as it is called, that of Guru Govind Singh, concerns chiefly the ceremonial and social duties of his disciples—