1 122 THE REUaiON OF THE 8IKB8.
2 The worship of idols is offensive to the Supreme
3 Power; therefore all ceremonies in which such
4 fiJse worship is encouraged are forbidden.
5 " Really good men," according to Nanae,
6 ^will enjoy paradise; those who have no claim
7 to the name of good, and yet are not bad, shall
8 undergo another probation by revisiting the
9 world in the human form; and the bad will
10 animate the bodies of animals."
11 [Some portions of the sacred work discard this
12 idea of the metempsychosis, and following the
13 New Testament and the Koran, hold out pro-
14 mise of immortality — a future heaven, or a future
15 hell.]
16 To eat of the flesh of cows is offensive to the
17 Almighty.
18 Charity to the poor, and most especially to
19 those who devote themselves to a holy life, is
20 acceptable to the Most High.
21 It is lawful to bear arms in defence of the
22 Khalsa or Sikh commonwealth, and neither to
23 lament the loss of life nor of property in the
24 maintenance of the cause of religion.
25 It is lawful to encourage proselytism and to
26 admit as disciples of the Sikh religion those
27 who sincerely abjure the errors of their ancient
28 faith.
29 These are the leading principles of the religion
30 of the Sikhs ; but there are of course various pro-