The Sikh Gurus never believed in the exclusivity of their teachings. The Gurus undertook travels to spread their message to peoples of different cultures in their own native languages. The Gurus did not believe in the ideas of any language being ‘sacred’ or ‘special’. It is in this spirit that various Sikh scholars have undertaken efforts to translate Sri Guru Granth Sahib into a number of languages in order to spread the teachings of the Gurus and to bring the Sikh religion to the people of the world as Guru Nanak wished.

Enshrine the Lord’s Name within your heart. The Word of the Guru’s Bani prevails throughout the world; through this Bani, the Lord’s Name is obtained.” (Guru Amar Das, Maru, pg. 1066)

CONTINUED FROM VOL 2 ISSUE 9 She who knows her Husband Lord to be always with her, enjoys His Constant Presence. || 1 || O woman, you must walk in harmony with the Guru’s Will. Night and day, you shall enjoy your Husband, and you shall intuitively merge into the True One. || 1 || Pause || Attuned to the Shabad, the happy soul-brides are adorned with the True Word of the Shabad. Within their own home, they obtain the Lord as their Husband, with love for the Guru. Upon her beautiful and cozy bed, she enjoys the Love of her Lord. She is overflowing with the treasure of devotion. That Beloved God abides in her mind; He gives His Support to all. || 2 || I am forever a sacrifice to those who praise their Husband Lord.

I dedicate my mind and body to them, and give my head as well; I fall at their feet. Those who recognize the One renounce the love of duality. The Gurmukh recognizes the Naam, O Nanak, and is absorbed into the True One. || 3 || 29 || 62 || SIREE RAAG, THIRD MEHL: O Dear Lord, You are the Truest of the True. All things are in Your Power. The 8.4 million species of beings wander around searching for You, but without the Guru, they do not find You. When the Dear Lord grants His Forgiveness, this human body finds lasting peace. By Guru’s Grace, I serve the True One, who is Immeasurably Deep and Profound. || 1 || O my mind, attuned to the Naam, you shall find peace. Follow the Guru’s Teachings, and praise the Naam; there is no other at all. || 1 || Pause || The Righteous Judge of Dharma, by the Hukam of God’s Command, sits and administers True Justice.

Those evil souls, ensnared by the love of duality, are subject to Your Command. The souls on their spiritual journey chant and meditate within their minds on the One Lord, the Treasure of Excellence. The Righteous Judge of Dharma serves them; blessed is the Lord who adorns them. || 2 || One who eliminates mental wickedness from within the mind, and casts out emotional attachment and egotistical pride, comes to recognize the All-pervading Soul, and is intuitively absorbed into the Naam. Without the True Guru, the self-willed manmukhs do not find liberation; they wander around like lunatics. They do not contemplate the Shabad; engrossed in corruption, they utter only empty words. || 3 || He Himself is everything; there is no other at all. I speak just as He makes me speak, when He Himself makes me speak. The Word of the Gurmukh is God Himself.

Through the Shabad, we merge in Him. O Nanak, remember the Naam; serving Him, peace is obtained. || 4 || 30 || 63 || SIREE RAAG, THIRD MEHL: The world is polluted with the filth of egotism, suffering in pain. This filth sticks to them because of their love of duality. This filth of egotism cannot be washed away, even by taking cleansing baths at hundreds of sacred shrines. Performing all sorts of rituals, people are smeared with twice as much filth. This filth is not removed by studying. Go ahead, and ask the wise ones. || 1 || O my mind, coming to the Sanctuary of the Guru, you shall become immaculate and pure. The self-willed manmukhs have grown weary of chanting the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, but their filth cannot be removed. || 1 || Pause || With a polluted mind, devotional service cannot be performed, and the Naam, the Name of the Lord, cannot be obtained.

The filthy, self-willed manmukhs die in filth, and they depart in disgrace. By Guru’s Grace, the Lord comes to abide in the mind, and the filth of egotism is dispelled. Like a lamp lit in the darkness, the spiritual wisdom of the Guru dispels ignorance. || 2 || “I have done this, and I will do that” – I am an idiotic fool for saying this! I have forgotten the Doer of all; I am caught in the love of duality. There is no pain as great as the pain of Maya; it drives people to wander all around the world, until they become exhausted. Through the Guru’s Teachings, peace is found, with the True Name enshrined in the heart. || 3 || I am a sacrifice to those who meet and merge with the Lord. This mind is attuned to devotional worship; through the True Word of Gurbani, it finds its own home. With the mind so imbued, and the tongue imbued as well, sing the Glorious Praises of the True Lord. O Nanak, never forget the Naam; immerse yourself in the True One.

|| 4 || 31 || 64 || SIREE RAAG, FOURTH MEHL, FIRST HOUSE: Within my mind and body is the intense pain of separation; how can my Beloved come to meet me in my home? When I see my God, seeing God Himself, my pain is taken away. I go and ask my friends, “How can I meet and merge with God?” || 1 || O my True Guru, without You I have no other at all. I am foolish and ignorant; I seek Your Sanctuary. Please be Merciful and unite me with the Lord. || 1 || Pause || The True Guru is the Giver of the Name of the Lord. God Himself causes us to meet Him. The True Guru understands the Lord God. There is no other as Great as the Guru. I have come and collapsed in the Guru’s Sanctuary. In His Kindness, He has united me with God. || 2 || No one has found Him by stubbornmindedness. All have grown weary of the effort. Thousands of clever mental tricks have been tried, but still, the raw and undisciplined mind does not absorb the Color of the Lord’s Love. By falsehood and deception, none have found Him. Whatever you plant, you shall eat.

|| 3 || O God, You are the Hope of all. All beings are Yours; You are the Wealth of all. O God, none return from You empty-handed; at Your Door, the Gurmukhs are praised and acclaimed. In the terrifying world-ocean of poison, people are drowning – please lift them up and save them! This is servant Nanak’s humble prayer. || 4 || 1 || 65 || SIREE RAAG, FOURTH MEHL: Receiving the Naam, the mind is satisfied; without the Naam, life is cursed. If I meet the Gurmukh, my Spiritual Friend, he will show me God, the Treasure of Excellence. I am every bit a sacrifice to one who reveals to me the Naam. || 1 || O my Beloved, I live by meditating on Your Name. Without Your Name, my life does not even exist. My True Guru has implanted the Naam within me. || 1 || Pause || The Naam is a Priceless Jewel; it is with the Perfect True Guru. When one is enjoined to serve the True Guru, He brings out this Jewel and bestows this enlightenment. Blessed, and most fortunate of the very fortunate, are those who come to meet the Guru.

|| 2 || Those who have not met the Primal Being, the True Guru, are most unfortunate, and are subject to death. They wander in reincarnation over and over again, as the most disgusting maggots in manure. Do not meet with, or even approach those people, whose hearts are filled with horrible anger. || 3 || The True Guru, the Primal Being, is the Pool of Ambrosial Nectar. The very fortunate ones come to bathe in it. The filth of many incarnations is washed away, and the Immaculate Naam is implanted within. Servant Nanak has obtained the most exalted state, lovingly attuned to the True Guru. || 4 || 2 || 66 || SIREE RAAG, FOURTH MEHL: I sing His Glories, I describe His Glories, I speak of His Glories, O my mother. The Gurmukhs, my spiritual friends, bestow virtue. Meeting with my spiritual friends, I sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord. The Diamond of the Guru has pierced the diamond of my mind, which is now dyed in the deep crimson color of the Name.

|| 1 || O my Lord of the Universe, singing Your Glorious Praises, my mind is satisfied. Within me is the thirst for the Lord’s Name; may the Guru, in His Pleasure, grant it to me. || 1 || Pause || Let your minds be imbued with His Love, O blessed and fortunate ones. By His Pleasure, the Guru bestows His Gifts. The Guru has lovingly implanted the Naam, the Name of the Lord, within me; I am a sacrifice to the True Guru. Without the True Guru, the Name of the Lord is not found, even though people may perform hundreds of thousands, even millions of rituals. || 2 || Without destiny, the True Guru is not found, even though He sits within the home of our own inner being, always near and close at hand. There is ignorance within, and the pain of doubt, like a separating screen. Without meeting with the True Guru, no one is transformed into gold.

The self-willed manmukh sinks like iron, while the boat is very close. || 3 || The Boat of the True Guru is the Name of the Lord. How can we climb on board? One who walks in harmony with the True Guru’s Will comes to sit in this Boat. Blessed, blessed are those very fortunate ones, O Nanak, who are united with the Lord through the True Guru. || 4 || 3 || 67 || SIREE RAAG, FOURTH MEHL: I stand by the wayside and ask the Way. If only someone would show me the Way to God – I would go with him. I follow in the footsteps of those who enjoy the Love of my Beloved. I beg of them, I implore them; I have such a yearning to meet God! || 1 || O my Siblings of Destiny, please unite me in Union with my Lord God. I am a sacrifice to the True Guru, who has shown me the Lord God. || 1 || Pause || In deep humility, I fall at the Feet of the Perfect True Guru. The Guru is the Honor of the dishonored.