CONTD FROM Vol 8 ISSUE 45

So meet with the Perfect True Guru, O Siblings of Destiny, and merge in the Word of the Shabad.

|| 2 || Adoring the feet of the True Guru, O Siblings of Destiny, doubt and fear are dispelled. Joining the Society of the Saints, cleanse your mind, O Siblings of Destiny, and dwell in the Name of the Lord. The darkness of ignorance shall be dispelled, O Siblings of Destiny, and the lotus of your heart shall blossom forth. By the Guru’s Word, peace wells up, O Siblings of Destiny; all fruits are with the True Guru.

|| 3 || Give up your sense of mine and yours, O Siblings of Destiny, and become the dust of the feet of all. In each and every heart, God is contained, O Siblings of Destiny; He sees, and hears, and is ever-present with us. On that day when one forgets the Supreme Lord God, O Siblings of Destiny, on that day, one ought to die crying out in pain. He is the all-powerful Cause of Causes, O Siblings of Destiny; he is totally filled with all powers.

|| 4 || The Love of the Name is the greatest treasure, O Siblings of Destiny; through it, emotional attachment to Maya is dispelled. If it is pleasing to His Will, then He unites us in His Union, O Siblings of Destiny; the Naam, the Name of the Lord, comes to abide in the mind. The heart-lotus of the Gurmukh blossoms forth, O Siblings of Destiny, and the heart is illumined. The Glory of God has been revealed, O Siblings of Destiny, and the earth and sky have blossomed forth.

|| 5 || The Perfect Guru has blessed me with contentment, O Siblings of Destiny; day and night, I remain attached to the Lord’s Love. My tongue continually chants the Lord’s Name, O Siblings of Destiny; this is the true taste, and the object of human life. Listening with my ears, I hear and so I live, O Siblings of Destiny; I have obtained the unchanging, unmoving state. That soul,which does not place its faith in the Lord shall burn, O Siblings of Destiny.

|| 6 || My Lord and Master has so many virtues, O Siblings of Destiny; I am a sacrifice to Him. He nurtures even the most worthless, O Siblings of Destiny, and gives home to the homeless. He gives us nourishment with each and every breath, O Siblings of Destiny; His Name is everlasting. One who meets with the True Guru, O Siblings of Destiny, does so only by perfect destiny.

|| 7 || Without Him, I cannot live, even for an instant, O Siblings of Destiny; He is totally filled with all powers.With every breath and morsel of food, I will not forget Him, O Siblings of Destiny; I behold Him ever-present. In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, I meet Him, O Siblings of Destiny; He is totally pervading and permeating everywhere. Those who do not embrace love for the Lord, O Siblings of Destiny, always die crying out in pain.

|| 8 || Grasping hold of the hem of His robe, O Siblings of Destiny, we are carried across the worldocean of fear and pain. By His Glance of Grace, He has blessed us, O Siblings of Destiny; He shall be with us until the very end. My mind and body are soothed and calmed, O Siblings of Destiny, nourished by the food of the Naam. Nanak has entered His Sanctuary, O Siblings of Destiny; the Lord is the Destroyer of sins.

|| 9 || 1 || SORAT’H, FIFTH MEHL: The womb of the mother is an ocean of pain, O Beloved; even there, the Lord causes His Name to be chanted. When he emerges, he finds corruption pervading everywhere, O Beloved, and he becomes increasingly attached to Maya. One whom the Lord blesses with His kind favor, O Beloved, meets the Perfect Guru. He worships the Lord in adoration with each and every breath, O Beloved; he is lovingly attached to the Lord’s Name.

|| 1 || You are the support of my mind and body, O Beloved; You are the support of my mind and body. There is no other Creator except for You, O Beloved; You alone are the Inner-knower, the Searcher of hearts. || Pause || After wandering in doubt for millions of incarnations, he comes into the world, O Beloved; for uncounted lifetimes, he has suffered in pain. He has forgotten his True Lord and Master, O Beloved, and so he suffers terrible punishment. Those who meet with the Perfect True Guru, O Beloved, are attached to the True Name. We are saved by following those, O Beloved, who seek the Sanctuary of the True Lord.

|| 2 || He thinks that his food is so sweet, O Beloved, but it makes his body ill. It turns out to be bitter, O Beloved, and it produces only sadness. The Lord leads him astray in the enjoyment of pleasures, O Beloved, and so his sense of separation does not depart. Those who meet the Guru are saved, O Beloved; this is their pre-ordained destiny.

|| 3 || He is filled with longing for Maya, O Beloved, and so the Lord does not ever come into his mind. Those who forget You, O Supreme Lord Master, their bodies turn to dust. They cry out and scream horribly, O Beloved, but their torment does not end. Those who meet the Guru, and reform themselves, O Beloved, their capital remains intact.

|| 4 || As far as possible, do not associate with the faithless cynics, O Beloved. Meeting with them, the Lord is forgotten, O Beloved, and you rise and depart with a blackened face. The self-willed manmukh finds no rest or shelter, O Beloved; in the Court of the Lord, they are punished. Those who meet with the Guru, and reform themselves, O Beloved, their affairs are resolved.

|| 5 || One may have thousands of clever tricks and techniques of austere self-discipline, O Beloved, but not even one of them will go with him. Those who turn their backs on the Lord of the Universe, O Beloved, their families are stained with disgrace. He does not know that thing which is, O Beloved; falsehood will not help him. Those who meet with the True Guru, O Beloved, dwell upon the True Name.

|| 6 || When the Lord casts His Glance of Grace, O Beloved, one is blessed with Truth, contentment, wisdom and meditation. Night and day, he sings the Kirtan of the Lord’s Praises, O Beloved, totally filled with Ambrosial Nectar. He crosses over the sea of pain, O Beloved, and swims across the terrifying world-ocean. One who is pleasing to His Will, He unites with Himself, O Beloved; he is forever true.

|| 7 || The all-powerful Divine Lord is compassionate, O Beloved; He is the Support of His devotees. I seek His Sanctuary, O Beloved; He is the Innerknower, the Searcher of hearts. He has adorned me in this world and the next, O Beloved; He has placed the Emblem of Truth upon my forehead. I shall never forget that God, O Beloved; Nanak is forever a sacrifice to Him.

|| 8 || 2 || SORAT’H, FIFTH MEHL, SECOND HOUSE, ASHTAPADEES: ONE UNIVERSAL CREATOR GOD. BY THE GRACE OF THE TRUE GURU: They read scriptures, and contemplate the Vedas; they practice the inner cleansing techniques of Yoga, and control of the breath. But they cannot escape from the company of the five passions; they are increasingly bound to egotism.

|| 1 || O Beloved, this is not the way to meet the Lord; I have performed these rituals so many times. I have collapsed, exhausted, at the Door of my Lord Master; I pray that He may grant me a discerning intellect. || Pause || One may remain silent and use his hands as begging bowls, and wander naked in the forest. He may make pilgrimages to river banks and sacred shrines all over the world, but his sense of duality will not leave him.

|| 2 || His mind’s desires may lead him to go and dwell at sacred places of pilgrimage, and offer his head to be sawn off; but this will not cause the filth of his mind to depart, even though he may make thousands of efforts.

|| 3 || He may give gifts of all sorts – gold, women, horses and elephants. He may make offerings of corn, clothes and land in abundance, but this will not lead him to the Lord’s Door.

|| 4 || He may remain devoted to worship and adoration, bowing his forehead to the floor, practicing the six religious rituals. He indulges in egotism and pride, and falls into entanglements, but he does not meet the Lord by these devices.

|| 5 || He practices the eighty-four postures of Yoga, and acquires the supernatural powers of the Siddhas, but he gets tired of practicing these. He lives a long life, but is reincarnated again and again; he has not met with the Lord.

|| 6 || He may enjoy princely pleasures, and regal pomp and ceremony, and issue unchallenged commands. He may lie on beautiful beds, perfumed with sandalwood oil, but this will led him only to the gates of the most horrible hell.

|| 7 || Singing the Kirtan of the Lord’s Praises in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is the highest of all actions. Says Nanak, he alone obtains it, who is pre-destined to receive it.

|| 8 || Your slave is intoxicated with this Love of Yours. The Destroyer of the pains of the poor has become merciful to me, and this mind is imbued with the Praises of the Lord, Har, Har. || Second Pause

|| 1 || 3 || VAAR OF RAAG SORAT’H, FOURTH MEHL: ONE UNIVERSAL CREATOR GOD. BY THE GRACE OF THE TRUE GURU: SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: Sorat’h is always beautiful, if it brings the True Lord to dwell in the mind of the soul-bride. Her teeth are clean and her mind is not split by duality; the Name of the True Lord is on her tongue. Here and hereafter, she abides in the Fear of God, and serves the True Guru without hesitation. Discarding worldly adornments, she meets her Husband Lord, and she celebrates joyfully with Him. She is adorned forever with the Name in her mind, and she does not have even an iota of filth. Her husband’s younger and elder brothers, the corrupt desires, have died, suffering in pain; and now, who fears Maya, the mother-in-law? If she becomes pleasing to her Husband Lord, O Nanak, she bears the jewel of good karma upon her forehead, and everything is Truth to her.

|| 1 || FOURTH MEHL: Sorat’h is beautiful only when it leads the soul-bride to seek the Lord’s Name. She pleases her Guru and God; under Guru’s Instruction, she speaks the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. She is attracted to the Lord’s Name, day and night, and her body is drenched in the color of the Love of the Lord, Har, Har. No other being like the Lord God can be found; I have looked and searched over the whole world. The Guru, the True Guru, has implanted the Naam within me; my mind does not waver any more. Servant Nanak is the Lord’s slave, the slave of the slaves of the Guru, the True Guru.

|| 2 || PAUREE: You Yourself are the Creator, the Fashioner of the world. You Yourself have arranged the play, and You Yourself arrange it. You Yourself are the Giver and the Creator; You Yourself are the Enjoyer. The Word of Your Shabad is pervading everywhere, O Creator Lord. As Gurmukh, I ever praise the Lord; I am a sacrifice to the Guru.

|| 1 || SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: In the flames of egotism, he is burnt to death; he wanders in doubt and the love of duality. The Perfect True Guru saves him, making him His own. This world is burning; through the Sublime Word of the Guru’s Shabad, this comes to be seen. Those who are attuned to the Shabad are cooled and soothed; O Nanak, they practice Truth.

TO BE CONTINUED