The path of union with God is difficult, O Jogi; he on
whom God looketh with favour obtaineth it.
Whether he be at home or abroad, he seeth but the one
God, and removeth doubt from his heart.
Jogi, play that kinguri which playeth without being
struck.[1]
Saith Nanak, in this way shalt thou obtain deliverance,
O Jogi, and be absorbed in the True One.
One day, as the Guru was taking a ride, he saw a wall broken by rain, which threatened to fall, and he accordingly rode quickly past it. On reaching home his Sikhs quoted to him one of his own hymns, in which he wrote :—
Death shall not approach him who meditateth on God's name.
They also quoted to him a verse of Guru Nanak :—
I feel no anxiety regarding death, and I have no desire to live.
They then interrogated him: ‘Great king, death is subservient to thee. Thou hast enjoyed a long life. Thou hast no pride or selfishness. Why hast thou hastened past the dangerous wall?’ The Guru replied: ‘I only want to teach my Sikhs that since human life, for which even the demigods vainly long, is so difficult to obtain, it is our duty to preserve it. If a tree be preserved, it will many times bear leaves, blossoms, and fruit. So if the body be preserved, we can practise charity and perform religious works of every description; but when the body perisheth, we can no longer perform our duty to God. Holy men derive endless advantages from their bodies. By them they serve the saints, repeat God's name, obtain divine knowledge and become emancipated. The body by which we confer benefits on others, and by which happiness in this life and
- ↑ Attune thy heart to divine knowledge.
