Khushwant Singh's translation of the hymns of the Sikh gurus reminds us of the need for tolerance between religions.

SONGS of the Gurus – From Nanak to Gobind Singh is a translation by Khushwant Singh of the hymns of the Sikh gurus. It is a well-produced book with beautiful illustrations by the noted painter Arpana Caur.

More than half of this small, 123-page book is devoted to Guru Nanak’s hymns. Nanak, the founder and the first Guru of Sikhism, is said to have composed 974 hymns in all. These hymns form a major part of the Adi Granth or the Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs. Seven of the 10 Sikh gurus were composers and poets themselves. Besides their compositions, the writings of Hindu and Muslim saints and poets of the medieval period, such as Kabir, Trilochandas, Baba Farid and Namdev, are included in the Adi Granth. The holy book of the Sikhs is not merely a religious work but a work of historical importance, throwing light on language, literature and society of medieval India. Some of the compositions of the bards who accompanied the gurus were also included in the holy book. It is to the credit of the Sikh gurus that they have not appropriated the contributions of these simple folk as their own work but have acknowledged their authorship.

The compilation of the hymns, which started during the time of the fifth guru, Arjan Dev, was completed during the lifetime of the tenth and last guru, Gobind Singh. The personal involvement of the gurus in the compilation of the hymns leaves no room for doubt about their authenticity and authorship. The same cannot be said about some other works of the medieval period, which were appropriated by established religions not to reform themselves but to dilute the teachings and blunt the criticism contained in them. The Sikh gurus and their disciples, in contrast, guarded the independence of their young religion zealously from those who were eager to destroy it.

God is the Master, God is Truth,
His name spelleth love divine,
His creatures ever cry: ‘O give,
O give’,
He the bounteous doth never decline.…

Some of the hymns are so relevant to our times that they read as if they were written only a week ago, on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections.

There is no count of fools who
will not see,
Nor of thieves who live by fraud,
There is no count of despots
practising tyranny,
Nor of those whose hands are
soiled with blood.
There is no count of those who
sin and go free,
Nor of liars caught in the
web of falsehood,
There is no count of the
polluted who live on filth,
Nor of the evil-tongued
weighed down with calumny.
Of such degradation, O Nanak,
also think.”