SURDAS, one of the medieval Indian bhakta poets whose verses have been incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib. Surdas, whose original name was Madan Mohan, is said to have been born in 1529, in a high-ranking Brahman family. As he grew up, he gained proficiency in the arts of music and poetry for which he 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 Sandila. But Surdas` heart lay elsewhere.
He renounced the world and took to the company of holy men dedicating himself solely to the Lord. He died at Banaras. A shrine in the vicinity of the city honours his memory. The Guru Granth Sahib contains one hymn by Bhakta Surdas, in the Sarang 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 Surdas 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 Surdas. Its refrain is : “Men of God abide with the Lord.” Surdas whose verse figures in the Guru Granth Sahib is to be differentiated from the blind poet of the same name who wrote Sui Sagar.
References :
1. Sabadarth Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Amritsar, 1975
2. Gurdit Singh, Giani, Itihas Sn Guru Granth Sahib (Bhagat BanIBhag). Chandigarh, 1990
3. Sahib Singh, Bhagat Bani Satik. Amritsar, 1959-60
4. Chaturvedi, Parshu Ram, Uttari Bharat ki Sant Parampara. Allahabad, 1964
5. Macauliffe, Max Arthur, The Sikh Re Jig-ion ; Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. Oxford, 1909
Surdas stands as a luminous bridge between the devotional traditions of the Bhakti movement and the inclusive spiritual tapestry of the Guru Granth Sahib. Born as Madan Mohan into a high-ranking Brahman family, he emerged as one of medieval India’s most celebrated devotee-poets, lauded for his passionate expressions of divine love and yearning. In his poetic outpourings, Surdas conveyed the deep personal and transformative relationship he shared with the Divine, a sentiment that resonated with seekers across different traditions.
In the Guru Granth Sahib, however, only a single line of Surdas’s work is included. This line—in the Sarang raga—carries a powerful instruction:
“O mind, do not even associate with those who have turned away from the Lord.”
This stark admonition encapsulates the essence of a life devoted to God, urging the listener to choose the company of true devotees over those who have renounced the path of spiritual awakening. The inclusion of this single line is significant. While it reflects Surdas’s uncompromising devotion and his belief in the transformative power of divine companionship, it also hints at a theological friction: his complete hymn originally portrayed those who had turned away from God as utterly beyond redemption—a perspective that conflicted with the Sikh insight into God’s boundless grace.
Recognizing this tension, Guru Arjan, the compiler of the Adi Granth, made a deliberate editorial choice. Rather than include the entire hymn that risked fostering a fatalistic view of sin and estrangement from the Divine, he opted to incorporate only the refrain. To harmonize this austere statement with the Sikh emphasis on the possibility of redemption through divine grace, Guru Arjan composed an accompanying hymn that gently supplements Surdas’s message with the encouraging refrain: “Men of God abide with the Lord.” In doing so, he not only respected the devotional fervor of Surdas’s work but also ensured that the broader narrative of the Guru Granth Sahib affirmed the transformative power of divine love and community over judgment and exclusion.
Surdas’s presence in the Guru Granth Sahib is a testimony to the scripture’s universal vision—a sacred anthology that transcends sectarian boundaries by drawing on diverse spiritual voices. His verse, though brief, acts as a moral compass, reminding devotees to screen the influences around them and to remain steadfast in their spiritual pursuit, ever mindful of the grace that sustains the seeker. His inclusion also underscores the Sikh commitment to celebrating a multiplicity of devotional expressions, recognizing that the path to the Divine is enriched by the diversity of its ardent narrators.
