1 B&M N^inak. 25
2 to preach his gospel, and every day the Japji and
3 the Solatia, the morning and evening services of
4 prayer which he himself had composed, were chanted
5 in his presence. Before his death he, named as his
6 successor Baba Angad, whom by many tests he had
7 proved to be the most faithful of all his disciples.
8 When it became apparent that his end was near,
9 a dispute arose between his Hindu and Mussalman
10 followers as to the disposal of his remains. The
11 former wished fire to consume them ; the latter, to
12 commit them to the earth. Neither side was willing
13 to give way, and the question was referred to Nanak
14 himself. In reply, he directed that after his death
15 flowers should be strewn by his Hindu disciples on one
16 side of his bier, and by his Mussalman disciples on the
17 other, and that his body should be taken by those
18 whose flowers remained fresh till the morning.
19 When day dawned, it was found that the flowers
20 on both sides were still fresh, and on the pall being
21 lifted nothing was to be seen but the empty bier.
22 Baba Nanak did not claim to be the originator of
23 a new faith. He was essentially a reformer. His
24 desire was not to sweep away Hinduism, but to
25 restore it to its ancient purity. Like Luther, he
26 came to protest — to protest against the idolatry, the
27 blind superstitions, and the empty ritual which had
28 so long estranged religion from morality, and the
29 hearts of men from their Creator. But if Nanak did
30 not regard himself as the maker of a new religion ;
31 still less did he profess to be the founder of a new
32 nation. His purpose was ethical, not political ; and
33 though, as we shall see later, the Sikhs developed