Page:The Sikh Religion, its gurus, sacred writings and authors Vol 1.djvu/177

Rh Death is forgotten amid eating and drinking, laughter and sleep. By forgetting the Lord man hath ruined himself and rendered his life accursed; he is not to tarry here. O man, ponder on the one Name, And thou shalt go to thy home with honour. What do they who worship Thee give Thee? Nay, they cease not to beg of Thee. Thou conferrest gifts on all creatures; Thou art the life within their lives. The pious who meditate on God receive nectar; it is they who are pure. Day and night repeat the Name, mortal, that thine impurities may be washed away. As is the season so the comfort of the body, and so the body itself. Nanak, that season is agreeable in which God's name is repeated; but what is any season without the Name?

The Guru and Mardana did not remain long in that village. Mardana asked the Guru what his decision was regarding its inhabitants. He replied, 'O Mardana, may they remain here!'

The inhabitants of the next village at which they arrived showed them great attention. They remained there, however, for only one night, and departed next morning. The Guru when leaving said that the village should be abandoned. Then Mardana remarked, 'Sir, the village in which we were not allowed to sit down, thou hast blessed; and that which bestowed great attention and kindness on us thou hast cursed.' The Guru replied, 'Mardana, if the people of the former village remove to another, they shall ruin it; but if the people of the latter village remove to another, they shall save it.' The Guru returned from Kamrup by the great river Brahmaputra, and then made a coasting voyage to Puri on the Bay of Bengal, where Vishnu or