his own.

state, the interests of which he is directed, on all occasions, to consider paramount to He is directed to labour to increase the prosperity of the town of Amritsar; and is further told, that at every place of worship which he visits, he will be conducted in the right path by the Guru (Guru Govind). He is instructed to believe, that it is the duty of all those who belong to the Khalsa, or commonwealth of the Sikhs, neither to lament the sacrifice of property, nor of life, in support of each other; and he is commanded to read the Adi-Granth and Dasama Padshah ka Granth, every morning and evening. Whatever he has received from God, he is told it is his duty to share with others; and after the disciple has heard and promised to observe all these and other precepts, he is declared to be duly initiated. By the religious institutions of Guru Govind, proselytes are admitted from all tribes and casts in the universe. The initiation may take place at any time of life, but the children

of the Singhs all go through this rite at à very early age.*

One of the principal tenets of Govind's religious institutions, obliges his followers to practise the use of arms; whereas among the Hindus, the use of these as a profession, or in any way but self-defence, is prohibited to all but those of Cshatriya, or the military tribe. And notwithstanding the full and unreserved belief of the Sikhs in one only supreme ruler of the universe, there is a chapter in the Dasama Padshah-kaGranth, or book of the tenth king, in praise of Durga Bhavani, the goddess of courage; and Govind with a view to animate his followers to acts of valour, there relates a pretended dream. Durga (says he) appeared to me when I was asleep, arrayed in all her glory. The goddess put into my hand a bright scymitar, which she had before held in her own. The country of the Mohammedans, said the goddess, shall

* General Malcolm.

be conquered by thee, and numbers of that race shall be slain. After I had heard this, I exclaimed, this steel shall be the guard to me and my followers, because, in its lustre, the splendour of thy countenance, oh goddess! is always reflected."*

The temples of the Sikhs are plain buildings, whence images are entirely banished. Their forms of prayer are short and simple. At the hours of worship, part of their sacred writings, which consist of those of Nanac, mixed with those of some of his successors, in what is called the Adi Granth, are read. They consist of praises of the divinity, and maxims for the practice of virtue. The Adi Granth is in verse, and, like the other books of the Sikhs, is written in the Gūrūmuk'h character, a modified species of the Nagari. Many of the chapters written by Nanac are named Pidi, which literally means a ladder; metaphorically, that by which a man may ascend.

* Sketch of the Sikhs, by General Malcolm.

In a passage of this work, containing an address to the Supreme Being, it is said, The just celebrate thy praises in pro

found meditation.

The pious declare thy glory.

"The learned Pandits, and the Rishiswaras, who through ages read the Vedas, recite thy praises.

All who know thee, praise thee.

He, even He, is the Lord of Truth,

and truly just.

"He is, He was, He passes not. He is the preserver of all that is preserved.

Having formed the creation, he surveyed his own work, produced by his greatness."

It contains precepts for the conduct of man, and inculcates the soundest maxims of morality.

But the Dasama Padshah-ka-Granth, or book of the tenth chief, composed by Guru Govind, is held in as much veneration as the Adi Granth. Though Govind was brought up in the tenets of Nanac, yet having been educated among the Brahmins

ི༥་་༢་་

at Mathura, he seems to have been tainted with some of their superstitious notions; and hence, as well as from considerations of policy, he shewed more complaisance for their prejudices than Nanac had done. But the sacred book of Guru Govind is not confined to religious subjects; it abounds with accounts of his battles, and of actions performed by the most valiant of his followers. Throughout the work, courage is not only highly extolled, but is considered as an indispensable virtue; and he declares to his followers, that dying in defence of their faith will not only procure the greatest glory that can be obtained in this life, but happiness in a future state. A Sikh author, speaking of Guru Govind and his doctrines, says:

By the command of the Eternal, the great Guru disseminated the true knowledge. Full of strength and courage, he successfully established the Khalsa.*.

*The State.