person—into a fine and loyal warrior, is little short of a miracle. This practical and political side to the question should have a special interest for the West; and above all, for Englishmen, who have so largely reaped the benefits of this grand faith. But apart from political considerations, the religious aspect is one which deserves special attention, Sikhism stands for a great body of religious thought in India, hitherto insufficiently recognised as an inherent factor, Through various nihilistic, pantheistic, or atheistic phases of Hinduism, and despite a vast number of elaborate observances, the ideals of pure monotheism have prevailed; from the time of their foreshadowing in the Vedas, through the work of such men as Rāmānuj and Rāmānand to their final epitome in the Sikh Gurus. There they gained new fervour from Islāmic influence, and, developing warlike ideals as the result of oppression, produced one of the great world-religions, the latest to obtain recognition in Europe. The history of this development of monotheistic ideals within Hinduism, and of the religious influence of Islām, will be examined in the next chapter.

Footnotes

9:1 Sikh, literally "disciple."

10:1 Guru (literally great) signifies "teacher."

10:2 The Hindus recognise four great castes: Brahmans, or priests; Kshatriyas, or warriors; Vaisayes, or traders; and Sudras, or serfs. These castes were mapped out in rigid demarcation, and were supposed to have been created separately, the Brahmans having sprung from the head of Brahma and the other castes from other parts of his body. It will be seen that this belief in a fundamental distinction between various human beings must have a strong effect on religious and social life.

10:3 Veda (lit, knowledge.) is a term given to the ancient Indian Scriptures, of which thorn were four sections.

11:1 This ceremony initiates a boy into his caste.

12:1 The sacred thread.

12:2 In oriental poetry it was the custom for the poet to address himself in the last line or lines. The subsequent Gurus of the Sikhs used "Nānak" as their pseudonym, thereby emphasising their belief that the spirit of Nānak entered successively into each of the teachers who followed him.

13:1 A collection of hymns, from which extracts will be given later.

13:2  The rebeck, or rabab, is an instrument of Arabian origin, having from four to six strings of goat-gut, with steel strings for resonance. It has fallen into disuse in Northern India.

14:1 Indian writers enumerate six principal rāgs or musical measures. To these are allotted "wives" and "sons," which are modifications of the principal airs, and are often sung differently in different provinces of India. The hymns of the sacred book of the Sikhs were composed to thirty-one such musical measures.