CONTD FROM Vol 8 ISSUE 27

This friendship is broken in an instant; this friendship leads to corruption. They do not fear the True Lord within their hearts, and they do not love the Naam. O Nanak, why become friends with those whom the Creator Lord Himself has misled?

|| 1 || THIRD MEHL: Some remain constantly imbued with the Love of the One Lord; I am forever a sacrifice to them. I dedicate my body, mind and wealth to them; bowing low, I fall at their feet. Meeting them, the mind is satisfied, and one’s hunger and thirst all depart. O Nanak, those who are attuned to the Naam are happy forever; they lovingly focus their awareness on the True Lord.

|| 2 || PAUREE: I am a sacrifice to the Guru, who recites the sermon of the Lord’s Teachings. I am forever a sacrifice to that Guru, who has led me to serve the Lord. That Beloved True Guru is always with me; wherever I may be, He will save me. Most blessed is that Guru, who imparts understanding of the Lord. O Nanak, I am a sacrifice to the Guru, who has given me the Lord’s Name, and fulfilled the desires of my mind.

|| 5 || SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: Consumed by desire, the world is burning and dying; burning and burning, it screams. But if it meets with the cooling and soothing True Guru, it does not burn any longer. O Nanak, without the Name, and without contemplating the Word of the Shabad, no one becomes fearless.

|| 1 || THIRD MEHL: Wearing ceremonial robes, the fire is not quenched, and the mind is filled with anxiety. Destroying the snake’s hole, the snake is not killed; it is just like doing deeds without a Guru. Serving the Giver, the True Guru, the Word of the Shabad comes to abide in the mind. The mind and body are cooled and soothed; peace ensues, and the fire of desire is quenched. The greatest comforts and lasting peace are obtained, when one eradicates selfishness from within. He alone becomes a detached Gurmukh, who lovingly focuses his awareness on the True Lord. Anxiety does not affect him at all; he is satisfied and satiated with the Name of the Lord. O Nanak, without the Naam, no one is saved; they are utterly ruined by egotism.

|| 2 || PAUREE: Those who meditate on the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, obtain all peace and comforts. Fruitful is the entire life of those, who feel hunger for the Name of the Lord in their minds. Those who worship and adore the Lord through the Guru’s Word, forget all their pain and suffering. Those Gursikhs are good Saints, who care for nothing other than the Lord. Blessed, blessed is their Guru, whose mouth tastes the Ambrosial Fruit of the Lord.

|| 6 || SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: In the Dark Age of Kali Yuga, the Messenger of Death is the enemy of life, but he acts according to the Lord’s Command. Those who are protected by the Guru are saved, while the self-willed manmukhs receive their punishment. The world is in bondage, under the control of the Messenger of Death; no one can hold him back. So serve the One who created Death; become Gurmukh, and no pain will touch you. O Nanak, Death serves the Gurmukhs; the True Lord abides in their minds.

|| 1 || THIRD MEHL: This body is filled with disease; without the Word of the Shabad, the painful disease of egotism does not depart. Meeting the True Guru, one becomes immaculately pure, and the Lord’s Name comes to dwell within the mind. O Nanak, meditating on the Naam, the Name of the Peace-Giving Lord, one’s pains are automatically forgotten.

|| 2 || PAUREE: I am forever a sacrifice to the Guru, who has taught me about God, the Life of the World. I am every bit a sacrifice to the Guru, who has spoken the Name of the Lord. I am a sacrifice to the Guru, who has totally cured me of the fatal disease of egotism. Glorious and great are the virtues of the Guru, who has eradicated evil, and instructed me in virtue. The True Guru meets with those upon whose foreheads such blessed destiny is recorded.

|| 7 || SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: They alone worship the Lord, who remain dead while yet alive; the Gurmukhs always worship God. God blesses them with the treasure of devotional worship, which no one can take away. They obtain the treasure of virtue, the One True Lord, within their minds. O Nanak, the Gurmukhs remain united with God; they shall never be separated again.

|| 1 || THIRD MEHL: They do not serve the True Guru; how can they contemplate? They do not appreciate the value of the Shabad; the fools wander in corruption and poison. The blind and the ignorant perform all sorts of ritualistic actions; they are in love with duality. Those who take unjustified pride in themselves, are punished and humiliated by the Messenger of Death. O Nanak, who else is there to ask? God Himself is the Forgiver.

|| 2 || PAUREE: You, O Creator, know all things; all beings belong to You. Those who are pleasing to You, You unite with Yourself; what can the poor creatures do? You are the all-powerful Cause of causes, the True Creator Lord. Those whom You unite, O Beloved, are united with You; the Gurmukhs contemplate You. I am a sacrifice to my True Guru, who has led me to see my unseen Lord.

|| 8 || SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: He is the Assayer of jewels; He contemplates the jewel. The ignorant person is totally blind – he does not appreciate the value of the jewel. The Jewel is the Word of the Guru’s Shabad; the Knower alone knows it. The fools take pride in themselves, and are ruined in birth and death. O Nanak, he alone obtains the jewel, who, as Gurmukh, enshrines love for it. Chant the Naam, the Name of the Lord, forever and ever – make the Name of the Lord your daily occupation. If God grants His Grace, then He is enshrined within my heart.

|| 1 || THIRD MEHL: They do not serve the True Guru, and they do not embrace love for the Lord’s Name. Do not even think that they are alive – the Creator Lord Himself has killed them. Egotism is such a terrible disease; in the love of duality, they do their deeds. O Nanak, the self-willed manmukhs are in a living death; forgetting the Lord, they suffer in pain.

|| 2 || PAUREE: Let all bow in reverence, to that humble being whose heart is pure within. I am a sacrifice to that humble being whose mind is filled with the treasure of the Naam. He has a discriminating intellect; he meditates on the Name of the Lord. That True Guru is a friend to all; everyone is dear to Him. The Lord, the Supreme Soul, is pervading everywhere; reflect upon the wisdom of the Guru’s Teachings.

|| 9 || SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: Without serving the True Guru, the soul is in the bondage of deeds done in ego. Without serving the True Guru, one finds no place of rest; he dies, and is reincarnated, and continues coming and going. Without serving the True Guru, one’s speech is vapid and insipid; the Naam, the Name of the Lord, does not abide in his mind. O Nanak, without serving the True Guru, they are bound and beaten in the City of Death; they arise and depart with blackened faces.

|| 1 || FIRST MEHL: Burn away those rituals which lead you to forget the Beloved Lord. O Nanak, sublime is that love, which preserves my honor with my Lord Master.

|| 2 || PAUREE: Serve the One Lord, the Great Giver; meditate on the One Lord. Beg from the One Lord, the Great Giver, and you shall obtain your heart’s desires. But if you beg from another, then you shall be shamed and destroyed. One who serves the Lord obtains the fruits of his rewards; all of his hunger is satisfied. Nanak is a sacrifice to those, who night and day, meditate within their hearts on the Name of the Lord.

|| 10 || SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: He Himself is pleased with His humble devotees; my Beloved Lord attaches them to Himself. The Lord blesses His humble devotees with royalty; He fashions the true crown upon their heads. They are always at peace, and immaculately pure; they perform service for the True Guru. They are not said to be kings, who die in conflict, and then enter again the cycle of reincarnation. O Nanak, without the Name of the Lord, they wander about with their noses cut off in disgrace; they get no respect at all.

|| 1 || THIRD MEHL: Hearing the teachings, he does not appreciate them, as long as he is not Gurmukh, attached to the Word of the Shabad. Serving the True Guru, the Naam comes to abide in the mind, and doubts and fears run away. As he knows the True Guru, so he is transformed, and then, he lovingly focuses his consciousness on the Naam. O Nanak, through the Naam, the Name of the Lord, greatness is obtained; he shall be resplendent in the Court of the Lord hereafter.

|| 2 || PAUREE: The minds of the Gursikhs are filled with the love of the Lord; they come and worship the Guru. They trade lovingly in the Lord’s Name, and depart after earning the profit of the Lord’s Name. The faces of the Gursikhs are radiant; in the Court of the Lord, they are approved. The Guru, the True Guru, is the treasure of the Lord’s Name; how very fortunate are the Sikhs who share in this treasure of virtue. I am a sacrifice to those Gursikhs who, sitting and standing, meditate on the Lord’s Name.

|| 11 || SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: O Nanak, the Naam, the Name of the Lord, is the treasure, which the Gurmukhs obtain. The self-willed manmukhs are blind; they do not realize that it is within their own home. They die barking and crying.

|| 1 || THIRD MEHL: That body is golden and immaculate, which is attached to the True Name of the True Lord. The Gurmukh obtains the Pure Light of the Luminous Lord, and his doubts and fears run away. O Nanak, the Gurmukhs find lasting peace; night and day, they remain detached, while in the Love of the Lord.

|| 2 || PAUREE: Blessed, blessed are those Gursikhs, who, with their ears, listen to the Guru’s Teachings about the Lord. The Guru, the True Guru, implants the Naam within them, and their egotism and duality are silenced. There is no friend, other than the Name of the Lord; the Lord’s humble servants reflect upon this and see. Those Gursikhs, with whom the Lord is pleased, accept the Word of the True Guru. Those Gurmukhs who meditate on the Naam are imbued with the four-fold color of the Lord’s Love.

|| 12 || SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: The self-willed manmukh is cowardly and ugly; lacking the Name of the Lord, his nose is cut off in disgrace. Night and day, he is engrossed in worldly affairs, and even in his dreams, he finds no peace. O Nanak, if he becomes Gurmukh, then he shall be saved; otherwise, he is held in bondage, and suffers in pain.

|| 1 || THIRD MEHL: The Gurmukhs always look beautiful in the Court of the Lord; they practice the Word of the Guru’s Shabad. There is a lasting peace and happiness deep within them; at the Court of the True Lord, they receive honor. O Nanak, the Gurmukhs are blessed with the Name of the Lord; they merge imperceptibly into the True Lord.

|| 2 || PAUREE: As Gurmukh, Prahlaad meditated on the Lord, and was saved. As Gurmukh, Janak lovingly centered his consciousness on the Lord’s Name. As Gurmukh, Vashisht taught the Teachings of the Lord.Without the Guru, no one has found the Lord’s Name, O my Siblings of Destiny.