Bhagat Surdas ji
BHAGAT
SURDAS,
one of the medieval Indian bhakta
poets whose verses have been
incorporated
in the Guru Granth Sähib. Sürdãs,
whose original name
was Madan Mohan, is said to have
been born in 1529, in a
high-ranking
Brãhman family. As he grew
up, he gained proficiency in the
arts
of music and poetry for which lie
had a natural talent. He soon
became
a celebrated poet, singing with
deep passion lyrics of Divine
love. He
attracted the attention of Emperor
Akbar who appointed him governor
of
the parganah of Sandilà.
But Sürdãs’
heart lay
elsewhere. He renounced the world
and took to the company of holy
men
dedicating himself solely to the
Lord. He died at Banãras. A
shrine
in the vicinity of the city
honours his memory.
The Guru Granth Sahib contains one
hymn by Bhakta Sürdäs,
in
the Sãrañg measure.
In fact, it is not a complete hymn
but
a single line: “0 mind,
abandon the company of those who
turn away
from God.” It is believed to
be the refrain of a complete hymn
composed
by Sürdãs in which he
described one who had turned away
from
God as an incorrigible sinner for
whom there was no hope of
redemption.
Guru Arjan omitted the rest of the
hymn probably because it ran
counter
to the Sikh belief in God’s
grace even for the worst of
sinners.
He therefore composed a hymn to
explain and supplement the single
line
of Sürdãs. Its refrain
is : “Men of God abide with
the
Lord.”
Surdàs whose verse figures
in the Guru Granth Sãhib is
to
be differentiated from the blind
poet of the same name who wrote Sür
Sagar.