Dispeller of fear and terror, Abode of mercy, Treasury of excellencies, profitable is Thy service.

O God Gopal, great Gobind,

I have taken the protection of Thy feet, Thou merciful God, cause me to cross the terrible ocean of the world.

Dispeller of lust and wrath, Burner of pride and worldly love, Murari, Honey of the soul,

Sustainer of the earth, set aside my transmigration and preserve mine honour, Thou Primal Joy.

O compassionate to the poor, ever happy, who fillest all space, I beg the dust of Thy saints’ feet.

From the evils of worldly and sensual love, and from the sins of hope and desire preserve us.

Preserve the faith and remove doubt from our hearts; save us, O Formless One!

Hymns By Guru Teg Bahādur

The sixth, seventh, and eighth Gurus left no hymns, but relied on the Granth Sāhib for the means of conveying their instructions. Teg Bahādur, the ninth Guru, however, left a large number of sacred writings, which were incorporated into the Granth Sāhib by his son Gobind Singh. The following is typical of his rather melancholy manner:

Adore God, adore God; thy life passeth away.

Why should I warn thee every moment? why understandest thou not, O fool? The body is like hail, it vanisheth in a moment.

Reject all doubt and repeat God's name; at the last moment this alone will depart with thee.

Forsake sensual pleasures as poison; take the praise of God to thy heart; Nānak proclaimeth, the opportunity is passing away.

O man, love God;

Hear His praises with thine ears, and sing His songs with thy tongue.

Associate with holy men, remember God, and thou shalt be cleansed from sin.

Death wandereth about, O friend, like a serpent with protruding fangs.

And it will seize thee sooner or later; understand this in thy heart,

Saith Nānak, worship God; thine opportunity is passing away.

By Guru Gobind Singh

This couplet is the only composition of the tenth Guru found in the Granth Sāhib, and was sent by Gobind Singh to his father just before the martyrdom of the latter:

Strength is thine; thy fetters are loosed; thou hast every resource.

Nānak, everything is in thy power; it is only thou who canst assist thyself.

There are in the Granth Sāhib a large number of hymns by saints and hermits who preceded Nānak. Guru Arjan, when editing the volume, did not hesitate to include such works, showing how Sikhism had borrowed from previous thinkers, principally, perhaps, from Kabīr. Among the authors who are represented there are at least two Muhammadan saints, Farid and Bhikan, and very many of the others, though nominally Hindu, were influenced by Muhammadanism. Kabīr,