ਨੀਲ (neel)
Meaning: adjective: Dark blue, dark green.
Quote:
ਨੀਲ ਵਸਤ੍ਰ ਪਹਿਰਿ ਹੋਵਹਿ ਪਰਵਾਣੁ॥ ਮਲੇਛ ਧਾਨੁ ਲੇ ਪੂਜਹਿ ਪੁਰਾਣੁ॥
ਨੀਲੇ ਬਸਤਰ ਪਹਿਨ ਕੇ (ਉਹ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ਹਾਕਮਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਨਜ਼ਰਾਂ ਵਿਚ) ਪਰਵਾਨ ਹੁੰਦੇ ਹਨ। (ਨਾਲੇ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਮਲੇਛ ਆਖਦੇ ਹਨ, ਨਾਲੇ ਉਹਨਾ) ਮਲੇਛਾਂ ਪਾਸੋਂ ਧਾਨ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਖਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ, ਉਂਜ ਪੁਰਾਣ (ਆਦਿਕ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਧਰਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥਾਂ) ਨੂੰ ਪੂਜਦੇ ਹਨ।
neel vasatra pahir hovahi parvaaṇ. malechh dhaan le poojahi puraaṇ.
Wearing dark blue robes, they seek the approval (of the Muslim rulers. They call them ‘barbarians’ but) accept food from them, and worship the Puranas. -Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, 472
Message: Hypocrisy vs Inward Purity
Here, Guru Nanak comments on the hypocrisy of the Hindu officials and priests of his times. In order to flatter and please the Muslim rulers, they wore their (Muslim rulers’) dress and earned profits too.
However, back home, they called them (Muslim rulers) savages while pretending to be guardians and practitioners of their own religious texts. Further, they asked that no one from lower classes should enter their kitchen, lest their food be polluted. They were fake in their practices and exploited the people of lower classes.
Hypocrisy and pretence cannot take us closer to divinity. Only the purity of our mind, behaviour and actions can do so.
Note: One wonders at the use of the term neel (usually understood as blue) for Muslims in Gurbani. Shouldn’t it be green as we see it today? Well, in earlier times, colour designations were not as exact as in the present. The area of blue-green was often indeterminate. The meaning and etymology of this word clarify it vividly.
Etymology: From Sanskrit neel (dark blue, dark green, black, indigo) → Pali neel → Prakrit ṇeel (blue, green) → Sindhi neelo (blue, green) and Lahndi/Punjabi neel/neelaa (indigo).
