or Sikh
scriptures, for though hymns and prayers composed by Nanak and others
were in use there was as yet no authorized collection of them. The
example of Mohammedanism no doubt stimulated the desire to possess a
sacred book and the veneration of the scriptures increased with time.
The Granth now receives the same kind of respect as the Koran and the
first sight of a Sikh temple with a large open volume on a
reading-desk cannot fail to recall a mosque.

Arjun's compilation is called the Adi-granth, or original book, to
distinguish it from the later additions made by Guru Govind. It
comprises hymns and prayers by Nanak and the four Gurus who followed
him (including Arjun himself), Ramanand, Kabir and others, amounting
to thirty-five writers in all. The list is interesting as testifying
to the existence of a great body of oral poetry by various authors
ranging from Ramanand, who had not separated himself from orthodox
Vishnuism, to Arjun, the chief of the Sikh national community. It was
evidently felt that all these men had one inspiration coming from one
truth and even now unwritten poems of Nanak are current in Bihar. The
Granth is written in a special alphabet known as Gurmukhi[671] and
contains both prose and poetical pieces in several languages: most are
in old western Hindi[672] but some are in Panjabi and Marathi.

But though in compiling a sacred book and in uniting the temporal and
spiritual power Arjun was influenced by the spirit of Mohammedanism,
this is not the sort of imitation which makes for peace. The
combination of Hinduism and Islam resulted in the production of a
special type of Hindu peculiarly distasteful to Moslims and not much
loved by other Hindus. Much of Arjun's activity took place in the
later years of the Emperor Akbar. This most philosophic and tolerant
of princes abandoned Mohammedanism after 1579, remitted the special
taxes payable by non-Moslims and adopted many Hindu observances.
Towards the end of his life he promulgated a new creed known as the
Din-i-ilahi or divine faith. This eclectic and composite religion
bears testimony to his vanity as well as to his large sympathies, for
it recognized him as the viceregent or even an incarnation of God. It
would appear that the singular little work called the Allopanishad or
Allah Upanishad[673] was written in connection with this movement. It
purports to be an Upanishad of the Atharva Veda and can hardly be
described as other than a forgery.