Misery and happiness are according to Thy pleasure; to whom shall we go to cry?

The Commander is pleased issuing His orders; Nanak, man obtaineth what is allotted him.[1]

A propos of the change of circumstances in India the Guru uttered the following:--

God hath given fixed time for all events, and fully established the nine regions, the seven seas, the fourteen worlds,[2] the three qualities, and the four ages.

He put four lamps[3] one by one into the hands of the four ages.

O kind God such is Thy power.

The dwellers at every hearth are Thy slaves, and religion is their ruler.

The earth is Thy cooking-pot, Thou gavest once for all destiny is Thy storekeeper.

Instigated by their hearts[4] men lose patience and beg again and again to their ruin.

Covetousness is a black dungeon, demerits the fetters on the feet.

Wealth ever beateth the soul with its mallet, while sin sitteth as judge.

Man shall be either good or bad, O Lord, as Thou lookest on him.

[1. Âsa.

2. The Hindus and the Muhammadans agree in believing that there are fourteen worlds, seven above and seven, including the earth itself. below. According to the Hindus these worlds emerged from the mundane egg when divided into two equal parts.

3. The Veds.

4. Nârad the Muni is here understood by the gyanis to mean the human heart. Some further account of Narad will be given.]

{p. 117}

The Primal Being is now called Allah; the turn of the Shaikhs hath come.

There is a tax on the shrines of the gods; such is the practice established.

There are ablution-pots, calls to prayer, five daily prayers, prayer-carpets, and God appeareth dressed in blue.[1]

In every house all say 'Mian';[2] your language hath been changed.

Since Thou, who art Lord of the earth hast appointed Babar a Mir,[3] what power have we?

In the four directions men make Thee obeisance, and Thy praises are uttered in every house.

The profit which is obtained from pilgrimages, repeating the Simritis,[4] and bestowing alms all day long,

Is, O Nanak, obtained in one ghari by remembering the Name which conferreth greatness.[5]

The Hindus and the Musalmans who returned to Saiyidpur began to dispose of their dead, and there was weeping and mourning in every house. People said, 'Such and such was the deceased.' Upon this

the Guru fell into a trance, and uttered the following hymn:--

As herdsmen stay for a short time in the pasture-ground,[6] so do men stay in this world.

Men by the exercise of falsehood build houses for themselves.

Awake, ye sleepers; lo! the soul the dealer to remain here for ever, then build houses.

The body shall fall and the soul depart, if any one desire to know the truth.

[1. The Muhammadans frequently wear blue clothes, a custom which has descended from the ancient Egyptians.