The intoxicated forget death, they enjoy themselves four days.
The True One is found by the Ṣofīs, who keep fast his Court.”
(Translation, p. 23.)
Here we have not only a plain claim of kinship with the Ṣūfīs, but the incorporation of several of their favourite terms.
The traditions of Nānak preserved in the Janam-Sākhī, are full of evidences of his alliance with Muḥammadanism. He was a Hindū by birth, of the Vedī Khattrī caste; and was the son of the patwārī, or village-accountant, of the place now called Nankānā, in the neighbourhood of Lahore. In his very early days, he sought the society of faqīrs; and used both fair and unfair means of doing them service, more especially in the bestowal of alms. At fifteen years of age, he misappropriated the money which his father had given him for trade; and this induced his parents to send him to a relative at Sultānpur, in order that he might be weaned from his affection for faqīrs (India Office MS. No. 1728, fol. 29). His first act in his new home was to join the service of a Muḥammadan Nawāb, named Daulat K͟hān Loḍī; and, while serving him, he continued to give to faqīrs all his salary, except the bare maintenance he reserved for himself. While in the service of this Muḥammadan, Nānak received the ecstatic exaltation which he felt to be Divine inspiration. It is stated in the tradition of his life, that Nānak went to the river to perform his ablutions, and that whilst so engaged, he was translated bodily to the gates of Paradise. “Then a goblet of amrita (the water of life) was given (to him) by command (of God). The command was: ‘This amrita is the goblet of my name; drink thou it.’ Then the Guru Nānak made salutation, and drank the goblet. The Lord (Ṣāḥib) had mercy (and said): ‘Nānak, I am with thee; I have made thee happy, and whoever shall take thy name they all shall be rendered happy by me. Go thou, repeat my name, and cause other people to repeat it. Remain uncontaminated from the world. Continue (steadfast) in the name, in alms-giving, in ablutions, in service, and in the remembrance (of me). I have given to thee my own name: do thou this work.’ ” (fol. 33.) Here we have notions closely akin to those of the Ṣūfīs, who lay much stress on the repetition of the name of God, which they term [ZIKR] [q.v.], on religious ablutions [[WAZUʾ], q.v.], and on meditating on the unity of God [[WAHDANIYAH], q.v.]. No sooner had Nānak recovered from his trance than he uttered the key-note of his future system in the celebrated phrase, “There is no Hindū, and there is no Musalmān.” (fol. 36.) The Janam-Sākhī then goes on to say that, “The people went to the K͟hān (his former employer) and said, ‘Bābā Nānak is saying, There is no Hindū, there is no Musalmān.’ The K͟hān replied, ‘Do not regard his statement; he is a faqīr.’ A Qāẓī sitting near said: ‘O K͟hān! it is surprising that he is saying there is no Hindū and no Musalmān.’ The K͟hān then told an attendant to call Nānak; but the Guru Nānak said: ‘What have I to do with thy K͟hān?’ Then the people said: ‘This stupid is become mad.’… Then the Bābā (Nānak) was silent. When he said anything, he repeated only this statement: ‘There is no Hindū, there is no Musalmān.’ The Qāẓī then said: ‘K͟hān, is it right that he should say, There is no Hindū, there is no Musalmān?’ Then the K͟hān said: ‘Go, fetch him.’ The attendant went, and said: ‘Sir, the K͟hān is calling (you). The K͟hān says: For God’s sake give me an interview [Panj. aj barā Khudāˏī de tānˏī = Persian az barāˏī K͟hudā]; I want to see thee.’ The Guru Nānak arose and went, saying: ‘Now the summons of my Lord (Ṣāḥib) is come, I will go.’ He placed a staff upon his neck and went. The K͟hān said: ‘Nānak, for God’s sake take the staff from off thy neck, gird up thy waist; thou art a good faqīr.’ Then Guru Nānak took the staff from off (his) neck, and girded up his loins. The K͟hān said: ‘O Nānak, it is a misfortune to me that a steward such as thou shouldst become a faqīr.’ Then the K͟hān seated the Guru Nānak near himself and said: ‘Qāẓī, if thou desirest to ask anything, ask now; otherwise this one will not again utter a word.’ The Qāẓī becoming friendly, smiled and said: ‘Nānak, what dost thou mean by saying, There is no Hindū, there is no Musalmān?’ Nānak replied: … ‘To be called a Musalmān is difficult; when one (becomes it) then he may be called a Musalmān. First of all, having made religion (dīn) sweet, he clears away Musalmān wealth. Having become firm (مُسَلَّم), religion (dīn) in this way brings to an end the revolution of dying and living.’—(I. O. MS., 2484, fol. 84.) When Nānak had uttered this verse, the Qāẓī became amazed. The K͟hān said: ‘O Qāẓī, is not the questioning of him a mistake?’ The time of the afternoon prayer had come. All arose and went (to the mosque) to prayers, and the Bābā (Nānak) also went with them.” Nānak then demonstrated his supernatural power by reading the thoughts of the Qāẓī. “Then the Qāẓī came and fell down at his feet, exclaiming, ‘Wonderful, wonderful! on this one is the favour of God.’ Then the Qāẓī believed; and Nānak uttered this stanza: ‘A (real) Musalmān clears away self; (he possesses) sincerity, patience, purity of speech: (what is) erect he does not annoy: (what) lies (dead) he does not eat. O Nānak! that Musalmān goes to heaven (bihisht).’ When the Bābā had uttered this stanza, the Saiyids, the sons of the Shaik͟hs, the Qāẓī, the Muftī, the K͟hān, the chiefs and leaders were amazed. The K͟hān said: ‘Qāẓī, Nānak has reached the truth; the additional questioning is a mistake.’ Wherever the Bābā looked, there all were saluting him. After the Bābā had recited a few stanzas, the K͟hān came and fell down at his feet. Then the people, Hindūs and Musalmāns, began to say to the K͟hān that God (K͟hudā) was speaking in Nānak.” (India Office MS. 1728, fol. 36–41.)
The foregoing anecdotes are taken from the India Office MS., No. 1728; but the ordinary Janam-Sākhīs current in the Panjāb vary the account somewhat by saying that when the K͟hān reproved Nānak for not coming to him when sent for, the latter replied: “ ‘Hear, O Nawāb, when I was thy servant I came before thee; now I am not thy servant; now I am become the servant of K͟hudā (God).’ The Nawāb said: ‘Sir, (if) you have become such, then come with me and say prayers (niwāj = nimāz, see [PRAYER]). It is Friday.’ Nānak said: ‘Go, Sir.’ The Nawāb, with the Qāẓī and Nānak, and a great concourse of people, went into the Jāmiʿ Masjid and stood there. All the people who came into the Masjid began to say, ‘To-day Nānak has entered this sect.’ There was a commotion among the respectable Hindūs in Sultānpur; and Jairām, being much grieved, returned home. Nānakī perceiving that her husband came home dejected, rose up and said, ‘Why is it that you are to-day so grieved?’ Jairām replied, ‘Listen, O servant of Paramesur (God), what has thy brother Nānak done! He has gone, with the Nawāb, into the Jāmiʿ Masjid to pray; and, in the city, there is an outcry among the Hindūs and Musalmāns that Nānak has become a Turk (Muslim) to-day.’ ” (India Office MS., No. 2885, fol. 39.)
From the foregoing it is perfectly clear that the immediate successors of Nānak believed that he went very close to Muḥammadanism; and we can scarcely doubt the accuracy of their view of the matter, when we consider the almost contemporaneous character of the record, from which extracts have been given, and the numerous confirmatory evidences contained in the religion itself. It is particularly worthy of remark that a “cup of amrita” (i.e. immortality) is considered the symbol of inspiration; just as Ḥāfiz̤ exclaims, “Art thou searching, O Ḥāfiz̤, to find the waters of eternal life?” And the same poet expresses his own ecstasy in a way almost identical with the reception accorded to Nānak at the gate of Paradise. His words are: “Then he gave into my hand a cup which flashed back the splendour of Heaven so gloriously, that Zuhrah broke out into dancing and the lute-player exclaimed, ‘Drink!’ ” The staff (muttakā) that is mentioned is, also, that of a faqīr, on which a devotee supports himself while in meditation. Another significant fact is that when Nānak speaks of himself as the servant of God, he employs the word K͟hudā, a Persian Muḥammadan term; but when his brother-in-law Jairām speaks of God, he uses the Hindū word Paramesur. It will, also, be noticed that Muḥammadans are affected by the logic and piety of Nānak; and to them he shows himself so partial that he openly accompanies them to the mosque, and thereby causes his Hindū neighbours and friends to believe that he is actually converted to the faith of Islām. But, of course, the most remarkable expression of all is the emphatic and repeated announcement that “There is no Hindū; there is no Musalmān.” This can mean nothing else than that it was Nānak’s settled intention to do away with the differences between those two forms of belief, by instituting a third course which should supersede both of them.
Nānak’s whilom employer, in consequence of the foregoing manifestations of wisdom, became his devoted admirer. After this, Nānak undertook a missionary tour; and it is noticeable that the first person he went to and converted was Shaik͟h Sajan (? ساجن), who showed himself to be a pious Muḥammadan. Nānak then proceeded to Pānīpat, and was met by a certain Shaik͟h Tatīhar, who accosted him with the Muḥammadan greeting, “Peace be on thee, O Darvesh!” (Salām-āleka Darves); to which Nānak immediately replied, “And upon you be peace, O servant of the Pīr! (āleka us-salāmu, ho Pīr ke dasta-pes).” (India Office MS., No. 1728, fol. 48.) Here we find Nānak both receiving and giving the Muḥammadan salutation; and also the acknowledgment that he was recognized as a darvesh. The Panjābī form of the Arabic salutation is given lest it might be thought that the special character of the words is due to the translation. The disciple then called his master, the Pīr Shaik͟h Sharaf, who repeated the salutation of peace, and after a long conversation acknowledged the Divine mission of Nānak, kissed his hands and feet, and left him. (fol. 52.) After the departure of this Pīr, the Guru Nānak wandered on to Delhi, where he was introduced to Sultān Ibrahīm Loḍī, who also called him a darvesh. The previous conversations and acts are found to have awakened the curiosity of Nānak’s attendant Mardānā, who asked in surprise: “Is God, then, one?” To which Nānak firmly replied: “God (K͟hudā) is one.” (fol. 55.) This was intended to satisfy Mardānā that there is no difference between the Muḥammadan and the Hindū God.
Nānak is next said to have proceeded to the holy city of Benares, and there he met with a Pandit named Satrudās. The MS. 1728 (fol. 56) says: “He came to this Nānak, and cried, ‘Rām! Rām!’ Seeing his (Nānak’s) disguise (bhekhu), he sat down, and said to him, ‘O devotee (bhagat), thou hast no sāligrām; no necklace of tulsī; no rosary; no tikā of white clay; and thou callest (thyself) a devotee! What devotion hast thou obtained?’ ” In other words, the Pandit is made to challenge his piety; because he has none of the marks of a Hindū upon him. Nānak explains his peculiar position and views; and is reported to have converted the Hindū Pandit to his own way of thinking. This anecdote, also, shows that the immediate successors of Nānak were aware that their great Guru occupied an intermediate position between Muḥammadanism and Hindūism; for we see that he is made to convert Muḥammadans on the one hand, and Hindūs on the other. After this primary attack on Hindūism, Nānak is said to have converted some Jogīs, Khattrīs, Thags, necromancers, witches, and even the personified Kaliyug, or present age of the world. These conquests over imaginary Hindūs are obviously allegorical; though they clearly point to a well recognized distinction between the teaching of Nānak and that of orthodox Hindūism.