CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS ISSUE

The self-willed manmukhs perform their actions, but they do not understand; they waste away their lives in vain. Gurbani is the Light to illuminate this world; by His Grace, it comes to abide within the mind.

|| 1 || O mind, chant the Naam, the Name of the Lord, and find peace. Praising the Perfect Guru, you shall easily meet with that God. || 1 || Pause || Doubt departs, and fear runs away, when you focus your consciousness on the Lord’s Feet. The Gurmukh practices the Shabad, and the Lord comes to dwell within the mind. In the mansion of the home within the self, we merge in Truth, and the Messenger of Death cannot devour us. || 2 || Naam Dayv the printer, and Kabeer the weaver, obtained salvation through the Perfect Guru. Those who know God and recognize His Shabad lose their ego and class consciousness. Their Banis are sung by the angelic beings, and no one can erase them, O Siblings of Destiny!

|| 3 || The demon’s son Prahlaad had not read about religious rituals or ceremonies, austerity or self-discipline; he did not know the love of duality. Upon meeting with the True Guru, he became pure; night and day, he chanted the Naam, the Name of the Lord. He read only of the One and he understood only the One Name; he knew no other at all. || 4 || The followers of the six different life-styles and worldviews, the Yogis and the Sanyaasees have gone astray in doubt without the Guru. If they serve the True Guru, they find the state of salvation; they enshrine the Dear Lord within their minds. They focus their consciousness on the True Bani, and their comings and goings in reincarnation are over.

|| 5 || The Pandits, the religious scholars, read and argue and stir up controversies, but without the Guru, they are deluded by doubt. They wander around the cycle of 8.4 million reincarnations; without the Shabad, they do not attain liberation. But when they remember the Name, then they attain the state of salvation, when the True Guru unites them in Union. || 6 || In the Sat Sangat, the True Congregation, the Name of the Lord wells up, when the True Guru unites us in His Sublime Love. I offer my mind and body, and I renounce my selfishness and conceit; I walk in Harmony with the Will of the True Guru. I am forever a sacrifice to my Guru, who has attached my consciousness to the Lord.

|| 7 || He alone is a Brahmin, who knows the Lord Brahma, and is attuned to the Love of the Lord. God is close at hand; He dwells deep within the hearts of all. How rare are those who, as Gurmukh, know Him. O Nanak, through the Naam, greatness is obtained; through the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, He is realized. || 8 || 5 || 22 || SIREE RAAG, THIRD MEHL: Everyone longs to be centered and balanced, but without the Guru, no one can. The Pandits and the astrologers read and read until they grow weary, while the fanatics are deluded by doubt. Meeting with the Guru, intuitive balance is obtained, when God, in His Will, grants His Grace.

|| 1 || O Siblings of Destiny, without the Guru, intuitive balance is not obtained. Through the Word of the Shabad, intuitive peace and poise wells up, and that True Lord is obtained. || 1 || Pause || That which is sung intuitively is acceptable; without this intuition, all chanting is useless. In the state of intuitive balance, devotion wells up. In intuitive balance, love is balanced and detached. In the state of intuitive balance, peace and tranquility are produced. Without intuitive balance, life is useless. || 2 || In the state of intuitive balance, praise the Lord forever and ever. With intuitive ease, embrace Samaadhi. In the state of intuitive balance, chant His Glories, lovingly absorbed in devotional worship. Through the Shabad, the Lord dwells within the mind, and the tongue tastes the Sublime Essence of the Lord.

|| 3 || In the poise of intuitive balance, death is destroyed, entering the Sanctuary of the True One. Intuitively balanced, the Name of the Lord dwells within the mind, practicing the lifestyle of Truth. Those who have found Him are very fortunate; they remain intuitively absorbed in Him. || 4 || Within Maya, the poise of intuitive balance is not produced. Maya leads to the love of duality. The self-willed manmukhs perform religious rituals, but they are burnt down by their selfishness and conceit. Their births and deaths do not cease; over and over again, they come and go in reincarnation.

|| 5 || In the three qualities, intuitive balance is not obtained; the three qualities lead to delusion and doubt. What is the point of reading, studying and debating, if one loses his roots? In the fourth state, there is intuitive balance; the Gurmukhs gather it in. || 6 || The Naam, the Name of the Formless Lord, is the treasure. Through intuitive balance, understanding is obtained. The virtuous praise the True One; their reputation is true. The wayward are united with God through intuitive balance; through the Shabad, union is obtained. || 7 || Without intuitive balance, all are blind. Emotional attachment to Maya is utter darkness. In intuitive balance, understanding of the True, Infinite Shabad is obtained. Granting forgiveness, the Perfect Guru unites us with the Creator.

|| 8 || In intuitive balance, the Unseen is recognized – the Fearless, Luminous, Formless Lord. There is only the One Giver of all beings. He blends our light with His Light. So praise God through the Perfect Word of His Shabad; He has no end or limitation. || 9 || Those who are wise take the Naam as their wealth; with intuitive ease, they trade with Him. Night and day, they receive the Profit of the Lord’s Name, which is an inexhaustible and over-flowing treasure. O Nanak, when the Great Giver gives, nothing at all is lacking. || 10 || 6 || 23 || SIREE RAAG, THIRD MEHL: Meeting with the True Guru, you shall not have to go through the cycle of reincarnation again; the pains of birth and death will be taken away. Through the Perfect Word of the Shabad, all understanding is obtained; remain absorbed in the Name of the Lord.

|| 1 || O my mind, focus your consciousness on the True Guru. The Immaculate Naam itself, ever-fresh, comes to abide within the mind. || 1 || Pause || O Dear Lord, please protect and preserve me in Your Sanctuary. As You keep me, so do I remain. Through the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, the Gurmukh remains dead while yet alive, and swims across the terrifying world-ocean.

|| 2 || By great good fortune, the Name is obtained. Following the Guru’s Teachings, through the Shabad, you shall be exalted. God, the Creator Himself, dwells within the mind; remain absorbed in the state of intuitive balance. || 3 || Some are self-willed manmukhs; they do not love the Word of the Shabad. Bound in chains, they wander lost in reincarnation. Through 8.4 million lifetimes, they wander over and over again; they waste away their lives in vain. || 4 || In the minds of the devotees there is bliss; they are attuned to the Love of the True Word of the Shabad. Night and day, they constantly sing the Glories of the Immaculate Lord; with intuitive ease, they are absorbed into the Naam, the Name of the Lord. || 5 || The Gurmukhs speak the Ambrosial Bani; they recognize the Lord, the Supreme Soul in all. They serve the One; they worship and adore the One. The Gurmukhs speak the Unspoken Speech.

|| 6 || The Gurmukhs serve their True Lord and Master, who comes to dwell in the mind. They are forever attuned to the Love of the True One, who bestows His Mercy and unites them with Himself. || 7 || He Himself does, and He Himself causes others to do; He wakes some from their sleep. He Himself unites us in Union; Nanak is absorbed in the Shabad. || 8 || 7 || 24 || SIREE RAAG, THIRD MEHL: Serving the True Guru, the mind becomes immaculate, and the body becomes pure. The mind obtains bliss and eternal peace, meeting with the Deep and Profound Lord. Sitting in the Sangat, the True Congregation, the mind is comforted and consoled by the True Name. || 1 || O mind, serve the True Guru without hesitation. Serving the True Guru, the Lord abides within the mind, and no trace of filth shall attach itself to you.

|| 1 || Pause || From the True Word of the Shabad comes honor. True is the Name of the True One. I am a sacrifice to those who conquer their ego and recognize the Lord. The self-willed manmukhs do not know the True One; they find no shelter, and no place of rest anywhere. || 2 || Those who take the Truth as their food and the Truth as their clothing, have their home in the True One. They constantly praise the True One, and in the True Word of the Shabad they have their dwelling. They recognize the Lord, the Supreme Soul in all, and through the Guru’s Teachings they dwell in the home of their own inner self.

|| 3 || They see the Truth, and they speak the Truth; their bodies and minds are True. True are their teachings, and True are their instructions; True are the reputations of the true ones. Those who have forgotten the True One are miserable – they depart weeping and wailing.

TO BE CONTINUED