CONTD FROM Vol 7 ISSUE 34 || 2 || The Brass Age of Dwaapar Yuga came, and people wandered in doubt. The Lord created the Gopis and Krishna. The penitents practiced penance, they offered sacred feasts and charity, and performed many rituals and religious rites. They performed many rituals and religious rites; two legs of religion dropped away, and only two legs remained. So many heroes waged great wars; in their egos they were ruined, and they ruined others as well. The Lord, Compassionate to the poor, led them to meet the Holy Guru. Meeting the True Guru, their filth is washed away. The Brass Age of Dwaapar Yuga came, and the people wandered in doubt. The Lord created the Gopis and Krishna.

|| 3 || The Lord ushered in the Dark Age, the Iron Age of Kali Yuga; three legs of religion were lost, and only the fourth leg remained intact. Acting in accordance with the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, the medicine of the Lord’s Name is obtained. Singing the Kirtan of the Lord’s Praises, divine peace is obtained. The season of singing the Lord’s Praise has arrived; the Lord’s Name is glorified, and the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, grows in the field of the body. In the Dark Age of Kali Yuga, if one plants any other seed than the Name, all profit and capital is lost. Servant Nanak has found the Perfect Guru, who has revealed to him the Naam within his heart and mind. The Lord ushered in the Dark Age, the Iron Age of Kali Yuga; three legs of religion were lost, and only the fourth leg remained intact.

|| 4 || 4 || 11 || AASAA, FOURTH MEHL: One whose mind is pleased with the Kirtan of the Lord’s Praises, attains the supreme status; the Lord seems so sweet to her mind and body. She obtains the sublime essence of the Lord, Har, Har; through the Guru’s Teachings, she meditates on the Lord, and the destiny written on her forehead is fulfilled. By that high destiny written on her forehead, she chants the Name of the Lord, her Husband, and through the Name of the Lord, she sings the Lord’s Glorious Praises. the jewel of immense love sparkles on her forehead, and she is adorned with the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. Her light blends with the Supreme Light, and she obtains God; meeting the True Guru, her mind is satisfied. One whose mind is pleased with the Kirtan of the Lord’s Praises, attains the supreme status; the Lord seems sweet to her mind and body.

|| 1 || Those who sing the Praises of the Lord, Har, Har, obtain the supreme status; they are the most exalted and acclaimed people. I bow at their feet; each and every moment, I wash the feet of those, unto whom the Lord seems sweet. The Lord seems sweet to them, and they obtain the supreme status; their faces are radiant and beautiful with good fortune. Under Guru’s Instruction, they sing the Lord’s Name, and wear the garland of the Lord’s Name around their necks; they keep the Lord’s Name in their throats. They look upon all with equality, and recognize the Supreme Soul, the Lord, pervading among all. Those who sing the Praises of the Lord, Har, Har, obtain the supreme status; they are the most exalted and acclaimed people.

|| 2 || One whose mind is pleased with the Sat Sangat, the True Congregation, savors the sublime essence of the Lord; in the Sangat, is this essence of the Lord. He meditates in adoration upon the Lord, Har, Har, and through the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, he blossoms forth. He plants no other seed. There is no Nectar, other than the Lord’s Ambrosial Nectar. One who drinks it in, knows the way. Hail, hail to the Perfect Guru; through Him, God is found. Joining the Sangat, the Naam is understood. I serve the Naam, and I meditate on the Naam.Without the Naam, there is no other at all. One whose mind is pleased with the Sat Sangat, savors the sublime essence of the Lord; in the Sangat, is this essence of the Lord.

|| 3 || O Lord God, shower Your Mercy upon me; I am just a stone. Please, carry me across, and lift me up with ease, through the Word of the Shabad. I am stuck in the swamp of emotional attachment, and I am sinking. O Lord God, please, take me by the arm. God took me by the arm, and I obtained the highest understanding; as His slave, I grasped the Guru’s feet. I chant and meditate in adoration upon the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, according to the good destiny written upon my forehead. The Lord has showered His Mercy upon servant Nanak, and the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, seems so sweet to his mind. O Lord God, shower Your Mercy upon me; I am just a stone. Please, carry me across, and lift me up with ease, through the Word of the Shabad. || 4 || 5 || 12 || AASAA, FOURTH MEHL: One who chants the Naam, the Name of the Lord, Har, Har in his mind – the Lord is pleasing to his mind.

In the mind of the devotees there is a great yearning for the Lord. Those humble beings who remain dead while yet alive, drink in the Ambrosial Nectar; through the Guru’s Teachings, their minds embrace love for the Lord. Their minds love the Lord, Har, Har, and the Guru is Merciful to them. They are Jivan Mukta – liberated while yet alive, and they are at peace. Their birth and death, through the Name of the Lord, are illustrious, and in their hearts and minds, the Lord, Har, Har, abides. The Name of the Lord, Har, Har, abides in their minds, and through the Guru’s Teachings, they savor the Lord, Har, Har; they drink in the sublime essence of the Lord with abandon. One who chants the Naam, the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, in his mind – the Lord is pleasing to his mind. In the mind of the devotees there is such a great yearning for the Lord.

|| 1 || The people of the world do not like death; they try to hide from it. They are afraid that the Messenger of Death may catch them and take them away. Inwardly and outwardly, the Lord God is the One and Only; this soul cannot be concealed from Him. How can one keep one’s soul, when the Lord wishes to have it? All things belong to Him, and He shall take them away. The self-willed manmukhs wander around in pathetic lamentation, trying all medicines and remedies. God, the Master, unto whom all things belong, shall take them away; the Lord’s servant is redeemed by living the Word of the Shabad. The people of the world do not like death; they try to hide from it. They are afraid that the Messenger of Death may catch them and take them away.

|| 2 || Death is pre-ordained; the Gurmukhs look beauteous, and the humble beings are saved, meditating on the Lord, Har, Har. Through the Lord they obtain honor, and through the Lord’s Name, glorious greatness. In the Court of the Lord, they are robed in honor. Robed in honor in the Court of the Lord, in the perfection of the Lord’s Name, they obtain peace through the Lord’s Name. The pains of both birth and death are eliminated, and they merge into the Name of the Lord. The Lord’s servants meet with God and merge into Oneness. The Lord’s servant and God are one and the same. Death is preordained; the Gurmukhs look beauteous, and the humble beings are saved, meditating on the Lord, Har, Har. || 3 || The people of the world are born, only to perish, and perish, and perish again. Only by attaching oneself to the Lord as Gurmukh, does one become permanent. The Guru implants His Mantra within the heart, and one savors the sublime essence of the Lord; the Ambrosial Nectar of the Lord trickles into his mouth. Obtaining the Ambrosial Essence of the Lord, the dead are restored to life, and do not die again. Through the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, one obtains the immortal status, and merges into the Lord’s Name. The Naam, the Name of the Lord, is the only Support and Anchor of servant Nanak; without the Naam, there is nothing else at all. The people of the world are born, only to perish, and perish, and perish again. Only by attaching oneself to the Lord as Gurmukh, does one become permanent.

|| 4 || 6 || 13 || AASAA, FOURTH MEHL, CHHANT: My Lord of the Universe is great, unapproachable, unfathomable, primal, immaculate and formless. His condition cannot be described; His Glorious Greatness is immeasurable. My Lord of the Universe is invisible and infinite. The Lord of the Universe is invisible, infinite and unlimited. He Himself knows Himself. What should these poor creatures say? How can they speak of and describe You? That Gurmukh who is blessed by Your Glance of Grace contemplates You. My Lord of the Universe is great, unapproachable, unfathomable, primal, immaculate and formless. || 1 || You, O Lord, O Primal Being, are the Limitless Creator; Your limits cannot be found. You are pervading and permeating each and every heart, everywhere, You are contained in all. Within the heart is the Transcendent, Supreme Lord God, whose limits cannot be found. He has no form or shape; He is unseen and unknown. The Gurmukh sees the unseen Lord. He remains in continual ecstasy, day and night, and is spontaneously absorbed into the Naam. You, O Lord, O Primal Being, are the Limitless Creator; Your limits cannot be found.

|| 2 || You are the True, Transcendent Lord, forever imperishable. The Lord, Har, Har, is the treasure of virtue. The Lord God, Har, Har, is the One and only; there is no other at all. You Yourself are the all-knowing Lord. You are the all-knowing Lord, the most exalted and auspicious; there is no other as great as You. The Word of Your Shabad is pervading in all; whatever You do, comes to pass. The One Lord God is permeating all; the Gurmukh comes to understand the Lord’s Name. You are the True, Transcendent Lord, forever imperishable. The Lord, Har, Har, is the treasure of virtue. || 3 || You are the Creator of all, and all greatness is Yours. As it pleases Your Will, so do we act. As it pleases Your Will, so do we act. All are merged into Your Shabad. When it pleases Your Will, we obtain greatness through Your Shabad. The Gurmukh obtains wisdom, and eliminates his self-conceit, and remains absorbed in the Shabad. The Gurmukh obtains Your incomprehensible Shabad; O Nanak, he remains merged in the Naam. You are the Creator of all, and all greatness is Yours. As it pleases Your Will, so do we act.

|| 4 || 7 || 14 || ONE UNIVERSAL CREATOR GOD. BY THE GRACE OF THE TRUE GURU: AASAA, FOURTH MEHL, CHHANT, FOURTH HOUSE: My eyes are wet with the Nectar of the Lord, and my mind is imbued with His Love, O Lord King. The Lord applied His touch-stone to my mind, and found it one hundred per cent gold. As Gurmukh, I am dyed in the deep red of the poppy, and my mind and body are drenched with His Love. Servant Nanak is drenched with His Fragrance; blessed, blessed is his entire life. || 1 || The Bani of the Lord’s Love is the pointed arrow, which has pierced my mind, O Lord King. Only those who feel the pain of this love, know how to endure it. Those who die, and remain dead while yet alive, are said to be Jivan Mukta, liberated while yet alive. O Lord, unite servant Nanak with the True Guru, that he may cross over the terrifying world-ocean