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ON THE SIKHS.
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forty, had assembled, the Guru recited, in a sort of chaunt, several hymns from the Granth, similar to those already quoted, repeating at the end of each, twice or thrice, “Meditate on the Saheb of the Book, and exclaim Wah Guru!" being answered on each occasion by all present, "Wah Guru — Wah Guru ji ká fatteh.” The assistants then brought from the chapel trays of sweetmeats, which were handed to every one, and were eaten on the spot. The visitors were not forgotten. This concluded the service; but the party assembled did not immediately disperse. Individuals among them, accompanying themselves with the small drum or native lute, sang Hindi rekhtas and padas (moral and religious songs) in succession. We departed, as did several of the natives, when two or three had been sung; but the party did not finally break up until it was time to retire to rest. The persons present were of respectable appearance and decorous manners, being mostly sliop-keepers, dealers in cloth or in grain, and bankers; some were natives of the Panjáb, settled in Benares, others inhabitants of the city from different quarters, who had adopted the Sikh ritual, or had grafted it upon Vaishúava tenets. Hari and Rám were as familiar in their invocations, as the Saheb of the Book, or as the teacher or Guru.
Besides sacred shrines, connected with the history of the Sikhs, as the places where their Gurus were born or died, the Sikhs share the veneration of the Hindus for several of the holy cities, as Benares, Mathura, Haridwar. They also observe many of the same
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