Gobind Sadan
Introduction
Baba Farid, resident of Pak Pattan, which is now in Pakistan, was a Muslim saint belonging to a Sufi sect. He was the third to occupy the seat of Ajmer Sharif. Bhagat Jai Dev, author of the famous scripture Geet Gobind, was a resident of Bengal and a Brahmin devotee of Lord Krishna. Bhagat Nam Dev of Maharashtra was a cheemba (tailor) Shudra. Bhagat Trilochan was an inhabitant of Maharashtra, a friend of Bhagat Nam Dev, and belonged to the Vais (trader) caste. Sandna Bhagat, a resident of Sindh, was a kasai (butcher).
Rama Nand was a Vaishnava, born in the house of Brahmins at Allahabad. Kabir, weaver, Ravidas, chamar (shoemaker), Sain, nai (barber), Dhanna, jat (farmer), and Pipa, a Rajput king, were his disciples. Bhagat Kabir was born in a house of weavers at Banares. Bhagat Ravidas was a resident of Kashi. Bhagat Pipa was a Chauhan Rajput, King of Gagnaur in Rajasthan. Bhagat Saint, resident of Bidar in Deccan, was a nai, a Shudra. Bhagat Dhanna, resident of Dhuan village in Tantr state, Rajasthan, was a jat.
Bhagat Bhi Khan, a Muslim Sufi saint, was a resident of village Kakori near Lucknow. Bhagat Parma nand, resident of Kanauj, was a Brahmin. Bhagat Sur Das was a Brahmin of Uttar Pradesh. Mardana, a Muslim by caste, was a resident of Talwandi (Nankana Sahib), district Sheikhupura in Pakisatan. Rai Balwand and Satta were dooms (poor Muslims who lived on alms). Beni was a Hindu Rajput.
Many Holy Names for God, from many different traditions, are used in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The Name Hari appears 8344 times, Ram 2533 times, Gopal (Sustainer of the Earth = Krishna) 491 times, Gobind (The One Who takes care of the Earth = Krishna) 475 times, Prabhu 1371 times, Murari (Enemy of Mur Raksh = Vishnu, Krishna) 97 times, Narayan (The One who prevails in water) 85 times, Allah 46 times, Bhagwan 30 times, Madhav 27 times, Krishna 22 times, Rab 17 times, Narsingh (Incarnation of Vishnu with head of tiger and body of man) 16 times, Damodar (Krishna) 15 times, Banwari (Forest One = Krishna) 15 times, Wahi Guru 13 times, and Madhu Sudan (Krishna) 9 times.
Some quotations in Sri Guru Granth Sahib that encourage universal brotherhood include the following:
1. “In Satyuga, You enjoyed the state of Rajyoga, when You deceived Bali,
becoming a dwarf, whose form pleased You.
And in the Treta Age, too, when You were called Rama of the Raghu clan
And in the Dwapar Age, too, as Krishna, when You liberated Kansa
and blessed Uprasena with the the kingdom and Thy devotees with the
state of fearlessness
In the Kali Yuga Age You were called Nanak, and Angad, and Amar Das.”
[Kalh Bhatt, GGS 1390]
2. “O Nanak, if thou seekest eternal bliss,
Dwell thou ever on thy Narayan’s Name.”
[Guru Arjun Dev, GGS 714]
3. “To the Lord Gobind, Sustainer of the earth,
was Namdev’s mind attuned.”
[Guru Arjun Dev, GGS 487]
4. “Kabir, if one utters Ram’s Name even in dream,
not to mention in this body,
the whole village will be purified.”
[Kabir, GGS 1369]
5. “Utter and contemplate His mantram:
SohangÑI am That.”
[Kabir, GGS 1162]
6. “Let him ever sing the praises of the Lord (Har, Har)
in his heart.”
[Guru Arjun Dev,GGS 266]
7. “I seek to utter Nam Niranjan (the Immaculate Name of God)
so that I am received with honour in my Home.”
[Guru Ram Das, GGS 1239]
8. “O Allah, O Ram, I live by Thy Name.”
[Kabir, GGS 1349]
9. “O God of gods, nectar sweet is Thy Name Parmeshwar,
and he alone lives who reflects upon it.”
[Guru Arjun Dev, GGS 616
10. “O, blessed are the forests of Vrindavan
where played my Lord, Narayan.”
[Namdev, GGS 988]
11. “O Devki, mother of Krishna, blessed art thou
in whose home came the All-Pervading Lord,
Vishnu, the husband of Laxmi.”
[Namdev, GGS 988]
12. “He Himself is the gopi, Himself Krishna,
He Himself grazes the cows in the woods.”
[Guru Arjun Dev, GGS 1083]
13. “He Himself is gopi, He Himself is beloved Krishna,
He Himself grazes the cows in the woods.”
[Guru Ram Das, GGS 606]
14. “They themselves cannot offer even a handful of bounty to another
But slander those whose munificence is like the Ganges.”
[Kabir, GGS 332]
15. “Kabir, my mind is now pure like the waters of Ganga
And lo, the Lord now follows me, saying, “Thou art mine,
Thou art mine.”
[Kabir, GGS 1367]
16. “Bhagiratha, the seer, had brought the Ganga into life,
and Kedara was established by Shiva.”
[Guru Ram Das, GGS 1263]
17. “How can he be saved from Hell
who keeps not the Prophet in the mind?”
[Guru Arjun Dev, GGS 319]
18. “O prayerless cur, this is not good for you, no, nay.
Pray, do you visit not mosque five times a day?”
[Farid, GGS 1381]
19. “Arise, O Farid, perform thy ablution and say the prayers to thy God.
And whosoever bows not to Him, chop off his head.”
[Farid, GGS 1381]
20. “A Muslim is he who is tender of heart,
and who cleans his inner dirt with his whole heart,
and who touches not the joys of the world,
and is pure like flower, silk, butter, and the deer skin.”
[Guru Arjun Dev, GGS 1084]
21. “Let mercy be thy mosque, faith thy prayer mat, and honest living thy Qur’an.
Humility thy circumcision, and good conduct thy fast.
Thus dost thou become a (true) Muslim.
If pious works be thy kaaba, and truth thy teacher, and good deeds,
thy prayers,
And if thy rosary be of His will,
The Lord will keep thy honour.”
[Guru Nanak Dev, GGS 140]
22. “First Allah created Light, and from it were all men made.
Yea, from Allah’s light came the whole universe.
Then whom shall we call good, whom bad?”
[Kabir, GGS 1349]
23. ” All human race is one.”
[Dasam Granth 11]
24. “There is one Father, and we are all His children.”
[Guru Arjun Dev, GGS 64]
25. “Call not false the Vedas or the Semitic texts (Qur’an, Bible, Torah, and Zinda Vesta)
False is he who gives not thought to them.”
[Kabir, GGS 1350]
26. “The saints were compassionate and merciful and taught me this secret:
All these religions were created by Him, Whose praises you are singing.”
[Guru Teg Bahadur, GGS 902]
27. “The teaching regarding righteousness which has come in the Vedas through Brahma,
Make it firm and dispel the sins.”
[Guru Ram Das, GGS 773]
28. “In the beginning You created the world, thereafter the religion.
You Yourself create conflicts, and You Yourself come to assist them.”
[Guru Gobind Singh, Dasam Granth p.?]
29. “In the Vedas, too, the glory of the Lord’s Name is acclaimed as supreme,
But one hears it not and goes about like a mad person.”
[Guru Amar Das, GGS 919]
30. “The four Vedas thus proclaim each its truth,
And they who read and reflect on them know what is merit and demerit.
Says Nanak, He who is devoted to the Lord
In His loving adoration and in humility dwells,
He alone attains salvation.”
[Guru Nanak Dev, GGS 470]
31. “Lotus-eyed, sweet-tongued, embellished with a myriad friendly hosts,
Yea, Thou indeed art Krishna,
The One whom Mother Yashoda fed with rice and curds,
And when Thou were at play and the silver bells on Thy belt tinkled,
Thy mother was intoxicated with joy, so superb was Thy beauty.”
[Bhatt, GGS 1402]
32. “All friends and mates have forsaken me,
All companions are in vain,
Saith Nanak, O Raghunath [Ram, head of Raghu clan],
Thou art my only support in this sea of pain.”
[GGS 1430]
33. “Call Pandit Keso Gopal and ask him to chant the Name of Har
and read the Puran,
And offer my last remains in the Harsar [Har ki Pauri in Hardwar].
[Instructions by Guru Amar Das to his grandson Sundar,
written down by Guru Arjun Dev, GGS 923]
34. “Beauteous are Thine eyes, sparkling Thy teeth,
Sharp Thy nose, long Thy hair.
Lustrous Thy body, cast in gold.
Cast in gold is His body, with a Krishna mala.
Chant His Name, O my friends,
That ye stand not at Yama’s door, be ye instructed thus,
O Lord’s brides,
The scum of your minds will be cleaned,
And ye will then discriminate between a swan and a crane.
Beauteous are the Lord’s eyes, sparking His teeth.
Graceful is Thy gait, O Lord, sweet Thy speech,
Like a koil (bird)’s alluring is Thy youth.
Yea, alluring is Thy youth, absorbed in its own Self
Whose sight fulfils all.
With measured steps, like an elephant’s
Thou art absorbed in Thy own majesty.
She who is inebriated with the love of such a Lord,
Flows (in purity) like Ganga’s waters.
Prays Nanak: I am Thy slave, O Lord, for graceful is Thy gait
And sweet Thy speech.”
[Praises of Lord Krishna by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, GGS 567]
35. “O Allah, O Ram, I live by Thy Name.”
[Kabir, GGS 1349]
36. “Says Nanak, I place my head at the feet of all men.
O God, I am a sacrifice to all the Names Thou hast.”
[Guru Nanak Dev, GGS 1168]
37. “All are partners in Thy grace, O Dear,
Thou art alien to none.”
[Guru Arjun Dev, GGS 97]
38. “Though the moon is set in the forehead of Shiva,
and bathes he each day in the Ganga,
And though in his clan was born Lord Krishna,
The incarnation of Vishnu,
Its face is still spotted black due to its own misdeeds.”
[Trilochan, GGS 695]
39. “Shiva, the destroyer of a myriad sins, and master of the three worlds,
wandered through all the pilgrim stations,
but he knew not the end,
for Brahma’s chopped off head he could not shake from his hand.”
[Trilochan, GGS 695]