Lehal Library

Binh of Sikhism 35 as amri.J.-vew, the ambrosial hour. His end was in a manner most befitting a man who had made the bringing together of Hindus and Muslims the chief object of his ministry. 'Said the Mussalmans: "we will bury him"; the Hindus: "we will cremate him"; Nanak said: "You place flowers on either side, Hindus on my right, Muslims on my left. Those whose flowers remain fresh tomorrow will have their way." He asked them to pray. When the prayer was over, Baba pulled the sheet over him and went to eternal sleep. Next morning when they raised the sheet they found nothing. The flowers of both communities were fresh. The Hindus took theirs; the Muslims took those that they had placed. ' 2·1 Nanak is still remembered in the Punjab as the King of holy men, the Guru of the Hindus, and the Pir of the Mussalmans: Baba Nanolt slih fakir Hindu /ta guru, musalmiin lea frir In his forty years as a teacher, Nanak set up centres in many places stretching from Assam in the east to Iraq in the west. But the centres in these distant places did not last very long after his departure. Since what the Guru had to say was said in Punjabi, it was in the Punjab that his message really took root in the minds of the people and that bis hymns began to be sung. It is unlikely that in his lifetime his numerous admirers formed a distinct sect; they were at best people who dissented from bOLh Hinduism and Islam and became his disciples because they agreed with what he said. His teaching appealed specially to the politically downtrodden Hindus of the lower castes, and the poor of Muslim peasantry. The ground had, no doubt, been prepared by the Sufis and the Bhaktas. But it \\-"as Nanak's own personality, in which he combined gentleness with great courage, that endeared him to the masses. He defied convention and lived the life of a nonconformist in a highly conformist society. He was convinced that the people would see his point of vjew if it were put to them without anger, sarcasm, or ridicule. His 24 ]anamsiikhi, p. 129. A similar version is given of the death of Kabir.