HARBAṄS, the ascetic, known for his tapas, i.e. renunciation and meditation, who accepted the Sikh faith at the hands of Gurū Arjan, was head of the Sikh dharamsālā at Āgrā. According to Bhāī Manī Siṅgh, Sikhāṅ dī Bhagat Mālā, he served with devotion and humility the travellers who came to his dharamsālā. He would feed them, wash their feet with warm water, and massage their bodies to relieve them of fatigue. He would recite Gurbāṇī in the morning and the compositions of Bhāī Gurdās in the afternoon. Some Sikhs objected to the latter practice saying that it was improper to recite compositions other than the hymns of the Gurūs. Harbaṅs went to Gurū Arjan to secure clarification. The Gurū told him that compositions of Bhāī Gurdās were only an elaboration of the Gurbāṇī and could be recited with profit by the Sikhs.