(When he compiled the Adi Granth or Granth Sahib, the fifth Guru, Arjan Dev, gave Japji the first place in the sacred anthology. It remains the most important prayer of the Sikhs.)
There is One God.
He is the supreme truth.
He, the Creator,
Is without fear and without hate.
He, the Omnipresent,
Pervades the universe.
He is not born,
Nor does He die to be born again.
By His grace shalt thou worship Him.
Before time itself There was truth.
When time began to run its course
He was the truth.
Even now, He is the truth
And evermore shall truth prevail.
Not by thought alone
Can He be known,
Though one think
A hundred thousand times;
Not in solemn silence
Nor in deep meditation.
Though fasting yields an abundance of virtue
It cannot appease the hunger for truth.
No, by none of these,
Nor by a hundred thousand other devices,
Can God be reached.
How then shall the Truth be known?
How the veil of false illusion torn?
O Nanak, thus runneth the writ divine,
The righteous path—let it be thine.
By Him are all forms created,
By Him infused with life and blessed,
By Him are some to excellence elated,
Others born lowly and depressed.
By His writ some have pleasure, others pain;
By His grace some are saved,
Others doomed to die, relive, and die again.
His will encompasseth all, there be none beside.
O Nanak, he who knows, hath no ego and no pride.
Who has the power to praise His might?
Who has the measure of His bounty?
Of His portents who has the sight?
Who can value His virtue, His deeds, His charity?
Who has the knowledge of His wisdom,
Of His deep, impenetrable thought?
How worship Him who creates life,
Then destroys,
And having destroyed doth recreate?
How worship Him who appeareth far
Yet is ever present and proximate?
There is no end to His description,
Though the speakers and their speeches be legion.
He the Giver ever giveth,
We who receive grow weary,
On His bounty humanity liveth
From primal age to posterity.
God is the Master, God is Truth,
His name spelleth love divine,
His Creatures ever cry: ‘O give, O give,’
He the bounteous doth never decline.
What then in offering shall we bring
That we may see His court above?
What then shall we say in speech
That hearing may evoke His love?
In the ambrosial hours of fragrant dawn
On truth and greatness ponder in meditation,
Though action determine how thou be born,
Through grace alone cometh salvation.
O Nanak, this need we know alone,
That God and Truth are two in one.
He cannot be proved, for He is uncreated;
He is without matter, self-existent.
They that serve shall honoured be,
O Nanak, the Lord is most excellent.
Praise the Lord, hear them that do Him praise,
In your hearts His name be graven,
Sorrows from your soul erase
And make your hearts a joyous haven.
The Guru’s word has the sage’s wisdom,
The Guru’s word is full of learning,
For though it be the Guru’s word
God Himself speaks therein.
Thus run the words of the Guru:
‘God is the destroyer, preserver and creator,
God is the Goddess too.
Words to describe are hard to find,
I would venture if I knew.’
This alone my teacher taught,
There is but one Lord of all creation,
Forget Him not.
If it please the Lord
In holy waters would I bathe,
If it pleases Him not,
Worthless is that pilgrimage.
This is the law of all creation,
That nothing’s gained save by action.
Thy mind, wherein buried lie
Precious stones, jewels, gems,
Shall opened be if thou but try
And hearken to the Guru’s word.
This the Guru my teacher taught,
There is but one Lord of all creation,
Forget Him not.
Were life’s span extended to the four ages
And ten times more,
Were one known over the nine continents
Ever in humanity’s fore,
Were one to achieve greatness
With a name noised over the earth,
If one found not favour with the Lord
What would it all be worth?
Among the worms be as vermin,
By sinners be accused of sin.
O Nanak, the Lord fills the vicious with virtue,
The virtuous maketh more true.
Knowest thou of any other
Who in turn could the Lord thus favour?
By hearing the word
Men achieve wisdom, saintliness, courage, and contentment.
By hearing the word
Men learn of the earth, the power that supports it, and the firmament.
By hearing the word
Men learn of the upper and nether regions, of islands and continents.
By hearing the word
Men conquer fear of death and the elements.
O Nanak, the word hath such magic for the worshippers,
Those that hear, death do not fear,
Their sorrows end and sins disappear.
By hearing the word
Mortals are to godliness raised.
By hearing the word
The foul-mouthed are filled with pious praise.
By hearing the word
Are revealed the secrets of the body and of nature.
Is acquired the wisdom of all the scriptures.
O Nanak, the word hath such magic for the worshippers,
Those that hear, death do not fear,
Their sorrows end and sins disappear.
By hearing the word
One learns of truth, contentment, and is wise.
By hearing the word
The need for pilgrimages does not arise.
By hearing the word
The student achieves scholastic distinction.
By hearing the word
The mind is easily led to meditation.
O Nanak, the word hath such magic for the worshippers,
Those that hear, death do not fear,
Their sorrows end and sins disappear.
By hearing the word
One sounds the depths of virtue’s sea.
One acquires learning, holiness, and royalty.
By hearing the word
The blind see and their paths are visible.
By hearing the word
The fathomless becomes fordable.
O Nanak, the word hath such magic for the worshippers,
Those that hear, death do not fear,
Their sorrows end and sins disappear.
The believer’s bliss one cannot describe,
He who endeavours regrets in the end,
There is no paper, pen, nor any scribe
Who can the believer’s state comprehend.
The name of the Lord is immaculate.
He who would know must have faith.
The believer hath wisdom and understanding;
The believer hath knowledge of all the spheres;
The believer shall not stumble in ignorance,
Nor of death have any fears.
The name of the Lord is immaculate,
He who would know must have faith.
The believer’s way is of obstructions free;
The believer is honoured in the presence sublime;
The believer’s path is not lost in futility,
For faith hath taught him law divine.
The name of the Lord is immaculate,
He who would know must have faith.
The believer reaches the gate of salvation;
His kith and kin he also saves.
The believer beckons the congregation,
Their souls are saved from transmigration.
The name of the Lord is immaculate,
He who would know must have faith.
Thus are chosen the leaders of men,
Thus honoured in God’s estimation;
Though they grace the courts of kings,
Their minds are fixed in holy meditation.
Their words are weighed with reason,
They know that God’s works are legion.
Law which like the fabled bull supports the earth
Is of compassion born;
Though it bind the world in harmony,
Its strands are thin and worn.
He who the truth would learn
Must know of the bull and the load it bore,
For there are worlds besides our own
And beyond them many more.
Who is it that bears these burdens?
What power bears him that beareth them?
Of creatures of diverse kinds and colours
The ever-flowing pen hath made record.
Can anyone write what it hath writ
Or say how great a task was it?
How describe His beauty and His might?
His bounty how estimate?
How speak of Him who with one word
Did the whole universe create,
And made a thousand rivers flow therein?
What might have I to praise Thy might?
I have not power to give it praise.
Whatever be Thy wish, I say Amen.
Mayst Thou endure, O Formless One.
There is no count of those who pray,
Nor of those who Thee adore;
There is no count of those who worship,
Nor of those who by penance set store.
There is no count of those who read the holy books aloud
Nor of those who think of the world’s sorrows and lament.
There is no count of sages immersed in thought and reason,
Nor of those who love humanity and are benevolent.
There is no count of warriors who match their strength with steel,
Nor of those who contemplate in peace and are silent.
What might have I to praise Thy might?
I have not power to give it praise.
Whatever be Thy wish, I say Amen.
Mayst Thou endure, O Formless One.
There is no count of fools who will not see,
Nor of thieves who live by fraud,
There is no count of despots practising tyranny,
Nor of those whose hands are soiled with blood.
There is no count of those who sin and go free,
Nor of liars caught in the web of falsehood,
There is no count of the polluted who live on filth,
Nor of the evil-tongued weighed down with calumny.
Of such degradation, O Nanak, also think.
What might have I to praise Thy might?
I have not power to give it praise.
Whatever be Thy wish, I say Amen.
Mayst Thou endure, O Formless One.
Though there is no count of Thy names and habitations,
Nor of Thy regions uncomprehended,
Yet many there have been with reason perverted
Who to Thy knowledge have pretended.
Though by words alone we give Thee name and praise,
And by words, reason, worship, and Thy virtue compute;
Though by words alone we write and speak
And by words our ties with Thee constitute;
The word does not its Creator bind,
What Thou ordainest we receive,
Thy creations magnify Thee,
Thy name in all places find.
What might have I to praise Thy might?
I have not power to give it praise.
Whatever be Thy wish, I say Amen.
Mayst Thou endure, O Formless One.
As hands or feet besmirched with slime,
Water washes white;
As garments dark with grime
Rinsed with soap are made light;
So when sin soils the soul
Prayer alone shall make it whole.
Words do not the saint or sinner make,
Action alone is written in the book of fate,
What we sow that alone we take;
O Nanak, be saved or forever transmigrate.
Pilgrimage, austerity, mercy, almsgiving, and charity
Bring merit, be it as little as the mustard seed;
But he who hears, believes, and cherishes the word,
An inner pilgrimage and cleansing is his meed.
All virtue is Thine, for I have none,
Virtue follows a good act done.
Blessed Thou the Creator, the Prayer, the Primal
Truth and beauty and longing eternal.
What was the time, what day of the week,
What the month, what season of the year,
When Thou didst create the earthly sphere?
The Pandit knows it not, nor is it writ in his Puran;
The Qadi knows it not, though he read and copy the Koran.
The Yogi knows not the date nor the day of the week,
He knows not the month or even the season.
Only Thou who made it all can speak,
For knowledge is Thine alone.
How then shall I know Thee, how describe, praise, and name?
O Nanak, many there be who pretend to know, each bolder in his claim.
All I say is: ‘Great is the Lord, great His name;
What He ordains comes to be,’
O Nanak, he who sayeth more shall hereafter regret his stupidity.
Numerous worlds there be in regions beyond the skies and below,
But the research-weary scholars say, we do not know.
The Hindu and the Muslim books are full of theories; the answer is but one.
If it could be writ, it would have been, but the writer thereof be none.
O Nanak, say but this, the Lord is great, in His knowledge He is alone.
Worshippers who praise the Lord know not His greatness,
As rivers and rivulets that flow into the sea know not its vastness.
Mighty kings with domains vaster than the ocean,
With wealth piled high in a mountainous heap
Are less than the little ant
That the Lord’s name in its heart doth keep.
Infinite His goodness, and the ways of exaltation;
Infinite His creation and His benefaction;
Infinite the sights and sounds, infinite His great design;
Infinite its execution, infinite without confine.
Many there be that cried in pain to seek the end of all ending,
Their cries were all in vain, for the end is past understanding.
It is the end of which no one knoweth,
The more one says the more it groweth.
The Lord is of great eminence, exalted is His name.
He who would know His height, must in stature be the same.
He alone can His own greatness measure.
O Nanak, what He gives we must treasure.
Of His bounty one cannot write too much,
He the great Giver desires not even a mustard seed;
Even the mighty beg at His door, and others such
Whose numbers can never be conceived.
There be those who receive but are self-indulgent,
Others who get but have no gratitude.
There be the foolish whose bellies are never filled,
Others whom hunger’s pain doth ever torment.
All this comes to pass as Thou hast willed.
Thy will alone breaks mortal bonds,
No one else hath influence.
The fool who argues otherwise
Shall be smitten into silence.
The Lord knows our needs, and gives,
Few there be that count their blessings,
He who is granted gratitude and power to praise,
O Nanak, is the king of kings.
His goodness cannot be priced or traded,
Nor His worshippers valued, nor their store;
Priceless too are dealers in the market sacred
With love and peace evermore.
Perfect His law and administration,
Precise His weights and measures;
Boundless His bounty and His omens,
Infinite mercy in His orders.
How priceless Thou art one cannot state,
Those who spoke are mute in adoration,
The readers of the scriptures expatiate,
Having read, are lost in learned conversation.
The great gods Brahma and Indra do Thee proclaim,
So do Krishna and his maidens fair;
Siva and the Saivites do Thee name.
The Buddhas Thou made, Thy name bear.
The demons and the demi-gods,
Men, brave men, seers, and the sainted,
Having discoursed and discussed
Have spoken and departed.
If Thou didst many more create
Not one could any more state,
For Thou art as great as is Thy pleasure.
O Nanak, Thou alone knowest Thy measure.
He who claims to know blasphemeth
And is the worst among the stupidest.
Where is the gate, where the mansion,
From whence Thou watchest all creation,
Where sounds of musical melodies,
Of instruments playing, minstrels singing,
Are joined in divine harmony?
There the breezes blow, the waters run and the fires burn,
There Dharamraj, the King of death, sits in state;
There the recording angels Chitra and Gupta write
For Dharamraj to read and adjudicate.
There are the gods Isvara and Brahma,
The goddess Devi of divine grace;
There Indra sits on his celestial throne
And lesser gods, each in his place.
There ascetics in deep meditation,
Holy men in contemplation,
The pure of heart, the continent,
Men of peace and contentment,
Doughty warriors never yielding,
Thy praises are ever singing.
From age to age, the pandit and the sage
Do Thee exalt in their study and their writing.
There maidens fair, heart bewitching,
Who inhabit the earth, the upper and the lower regions,
Thy praises chant in their singing.
By the gems that Thou didst create,
In the sixty-eight places of pilgrimage,
Is Thy name exalted.
By warriors strong and brave in strife,
By the sources four from whence came life,
Of egg or womb, of sweet or seed,
Is Thy name magnified.
The regions of the earth, the heavens and the universe
That Thou didst make and dost sustain,
Sing to Thee and praise Thy name.
Only those Thou lovest and with whom Thou art pleased
Can give Thee praise and in Thy love be steeped.
Others too there must be who Thee acclaim,
I have no memory of knowing them
Nor of knowledge, O Nanak, make a claim.
He alone is the Master True, Lord of the word, ever the same,
He Who made creation is, shall be and shall ever remain;
He Who made things of diverse species, shapes, and hues,
Beholds that His handiwork His greatness proves.
What He wills He ordains,
To Him no one can an order give,
For He, O Nanak, is the King of Kings,
As He wills so we must live.
As a beggar goes a-begging,
Bowl in one hand, staff in the other,
Rings in his ears, in ashes smothered,
So go thou forth in life.
With ear-rings made of contentment,
With modesty thy begging bowl,
Meditation the fabric of thy garment,
Knowledge of death thy cowl,
Let thy mind be chaste, virginal clean,
Faith the staff on which to lean.
Thou shalt then thy fancy humiliate,
With mind subdued, the world subjugate.
Hail! and to Thee be salutation.
Thou art primal, Thou art pure,
Without beginning, without termination,
In single form, forever endure.
From the storehouse of compassion
Seek knowledge for thy food.
Let thy heartbeat be the call of the conch shell
Blown in gratitude.
He is the Lord, His is the will, His the creation,
He is the Master of destiny, of union and separation.
Hail! and to Thee be salutation.
Thou art primal, Thou art pure,
Without beginning, without termination,
In single form, forever endure.
Maya, mythical goddess in wedlock divine,
Bore three gods accepted by all,
The creator of the world, the one who preserves,
And the one who adjudges its fall.
But it is God alone Whose will prevails
Others but their obedience render.
He sees and directs, but is by them unseen,
That of all is the greatest wonder.
Hail! and to Thee be salutation.
Thou art primal, Thou art pure,
Without beginning, without termination,
In single form, forever endure.
He hath His prayer-mat in every region,
In every realm His store.
To human beings He doth apportion
Their share for once and evermore.
The Maker having made doth His own creation view.
O Nanak, He made truth itself, for He Himself is true.
Hail! and to Thee be salutation.
Thou art primal, Thou art pure,
Without beginning, without termination,
In single form, forever endure.
Were I given a hundred thousand tongues instead of one
And the hundred thousand multiplied twenty-fold,
A hundred thousand times would I say, and say again,
The Lord of all the worlds is One.
These the steps that mount,
Ascend thus to the Lord’s mansion
And with Him be joined in unison.
The sound of the songs of Heaven thrills
The like of us who crawl, but desire to fly.
O Nanak, His grace alone it is that fulfills,
The rest mere prattle, and a lie.
Ye have no power to speak or in silence listen,
To grant or give away.
Ye have no power to live or die.
Ye have no power to acquire wealth and dominion,
To compel the mind to thought or reason,
To escape the world and fly.
He who hath the pride of power, let him try and see.
O Nanak, before the Lord there is no low or high degree.
He Who made the night and day,
The days of the week and the seasons,
He Who made the breezes blow, the waters run
The fires and the lower regions,
Made the earth—the temple of Law.
He Who made creatures of diverse kinds
With a multitude of names,
Made this the Law—
By thought and deed be judged forsooth,
For God is true and dispenseth truth.
There the elect His court adorn,
And God Himself their actions honours;
There are sorted deeds that were done and bore fruit
From those that to action could never ripen.
This, O Nanak, shall hereafter happen.
In the realm of justice there is law;
In the realm of knowledge there is reason.
Wherefore are the breezes, the waters and fire,
Gods that preserve and destroy, Krishnas and Sivas?
Wherefore are created forms, colours, attire,
Gods that create, the many Brahmas?
Here one strives to comprehend
The golden mount of knowledge ascend,
And learn as did the sage Dhruva.
Wherefore are the thunders and lightning,
The moons and suns,
Wherefore are the sages, seers, wise men,
Goddesses, false prophets, demons and demi-gods,
Wherefore are there jewels in the ocean?
How many forms of life there be,
How many tongues,
How many kings of proud ancestry?
Of these things many strive to know,
Many the slaves of reason.
Many there are, O Nanak, their numbers are legion.
As in the realm of knowledge reason is triumphant,
And yields a myriad joys,
So in the realm of bliss is beauty resplendent.
There are fashioned forms of great loveliness;
Of them it is best to remain silent
Than hazard guesses and then repent.
There too are fashioned consciousness, understanding, mind, and reason,
The genius of the sage and seer, the power of men superhuman.
In the realm of action, effort is supreme,
Nothing else prevails.
There dwell doughty warriors brave and strong,
With hearts full of godliness,
And celestial maidens of great loveliness
Who sing their praise.
They cannot die nor be beguiled
For God Himself in their hearts resides.
There too are congregations of holy men
Who rejoice, for the Lord in their midst presides.
In the realm of truth is the Formless One
Who, having created, watches His creation
And graces us with the blessed vision.
There are the lands, the earths and the spheres
Of whose description there is no limit;
There by a myriad forms are a myriad purposes fulfilled,
What He ordains is in them instilled.
What He beholds, thinks and contemplates,
O Nanak, is too hard to state.
If thou must make a gold coin true
Let thy mint these rules pursue.
Let the goldsmith be a man of patience,
His tools be made of knowledge,
His anvil made of reason;
With the fear of God the bellows blow,
With prayer and austerity make the fire glow,
Pour the liquid in the mould of love,
Print the name of the Lord thereon,
And cool it in the holy waters.
For thus in the mint of Truth the word is coined,
Thus those who are graced are to work enjoined.
O Nanak, by His blessing have joy everlasting.
Air, water, and earth,
Of these are we made.
Air like the Guru’s word gives the breath of life
To the babe born to the great mother earth
Sired by the waters.
The day and night our nurses be
That watch us in our infancy.
In their laps we play,
The world is our playground.
Our acts right and wrong at Thy court shall come to judgment;
Some be seated near Thy seat, some ever kept distant.
The toils have ended of those that have worshipped Thee,
O Nanak, their faces are lit with joyful radiance— many others they set free.
* * *
panj nivajan vakht panj
There are five prayers
Each with a time and a name of its own.
First, truthfulness.
Second, to take only what is your due.
Third, goodwill towards all.
Fourth, pure intentions;
And praise of God, the fifth.
Let good acts be your creed: persevere with them;
Then proclaim you are a Muslim.
O Nanak, the more false the man
The more evil his power.
* * *
Moti ta mandir usraih ratani ta hoe jadao
Were I to live in a palace built of walls
Studded with pearls and rubies,
Fragrant with odours of musk and saffron
Smeared with agar and sandal
Lord, let not mine eyes be deceived by these
That I fail to recall Thy Name.
Without the Lord my soul would be burnt to cinders.
I asked my guru and now I know
There is no sanctuary but the Lord.
Were my floor embedded with diamonds and rubies,
On the floor a couch likewise with rubies inlaid
And on the couch a jewel-bedecked damsel
Sportive and wanton.
Lord, let not mine eyes be deceived by these
That I fail to recall Thy Name.
Were I endowed with powers to perform miracles,
To attract people by the gift of making gold;
Were I able to vanish and reappear at will
Thus strike awe in the hearts of the populace.
Lord, let not mine eyes be deceived by these
That I fail to recall Thy Name.
Were I a Sultan attended by retainers
With armies under my command and
My foot planted firmly upon my throne;
Were my word law, all revenues mine;
O Nanak, all this would be like thin air.
Lord, let not mine eyes be deceived by these
That I fail to recall Thy Name.
* * *
Kot kotee meri arja pavan peean apiao
Were I to live a million years in a cavern
Pierced neither by the sun nor the moon;
Too small to let me stretch myself,
Too small to sleep and dream;
Were my food and drink the air I breathed
(And I tried to assess Thy worth)
I would not know how great Thou art,
How then can I praise Thee?
He is the Truth, He is without form.
He is self-existent, His status is unique.
We hear of Him, then we speak of Him.
If He wills we have to know Him.
Were I to be slashed to shreds
Minced and ground to pulp
Fired in a furnace, with ashes mingled,
I would not know how great Thou art.
Were I a bird soaring through a hundred skies
Beyond the range of vision
Feeding on nothing, drinking nothing,
I would not know how great Thou art,
How then can I praise Thee?
O Nanak, had I a hundred thousand tons of paper
And filled the pages with essence of learning
Pen plying with the speed of wind, dipping in an inexhaustible inkwell,
Even so
I would not know how great Thou art,
How then can I praise Thee?
* * *
Lekhai bolan bolana lekhai khana khao
There is a limit to the amount we talk
And to the food we eat;
There is a limit to our wanderings
To the sights we see, to the sounds we hear;
There is a limit to the number of breaths a man breathes
We do not have to ask learned men about truths like these.
Brother, Maya hath spread its deception everywhere;
Those it blinds forget His Name.
For them there is no peace in this life
And in life hereafter it will be the same.
Once born, man has to live to the end of his days,
To sustain himself for that span of time.
Man goes alone to the place of reckoning when he dies
The wailings of those he leaves behind are but meaningless cries.
Everyone says the Lord is great,
None will be outdone in praising Him;
Yet no one has discovered His real worth.
His stature increased by praise.
The worlds are packed with a multitude of people
But Thou alone art our Lord and Master,
Thou alone art the Truth.
Of the low castes mine is the lowest,
I am the meanest of the mean.
O Nanak, amongst the poor seek thy friends and companions
Emulate not the mighty.
Where the fallen have protected been
There is Thy grace and mercy seen.
* * *
Jal moh ghas mas kar mat kagad kar sar
Burn away attachment to things of the world
Crush its soot to make ink;
Use your understanding as if it were a sheet of paper,
With the pen of love
Your mind the scribe
And the guru to guide you
Write down your thoughts.
Write praises of the Lord
Write that He is without end and without limit.
Brother, if you learn to write all these things
Yours will be the password at the place of reckoning.
You will be acclaimed with honour.
A joyous welcome you will receive,
On your forehead will be the mark of approval
If in the Name of the True One you truly believe.
This is the gift of grace
Idle prattle is all else.
One comes, another goes;
Some style themselves as sardars
Others are destined to beg
Yet others hold grand darbars.
Man will know this truth when he dies
That without the Name nothing avails
(Without the Name all else is lies).
Thy might strikes terror in my heart,
My body wastes away in fear of Thee.
Proud, titled Khans and Sultans have I seen
Reduced to dust.
O Nanak, many have I seen pack up and go
I have seen the bonds of false love cut asunder.
* * *
Avauh bhainey gal milauh ank saheladeeah
Come my sister
Let us embrace!
Come beloved friend
Let us speak of love!
Let us sit together
And talk of our Husband
Our perfect, powerful Lord.
Lord, Thou art the Truth,
Thou, the repository of goodness,
We the repositories of evil,
Thou art the Creator
And all is within Thy power.
By Thy One Name we abide
When Thou art there
Why need we think of anyone beside?
Go ask the happy spouse,
‘What virtues earned you favour of the Lord?’
(She will tell thee)
‘It’s the gentle path of sahaj, calmness of manner and sweetness of tongue.’
If you hearken unto the guru’s word
You will meet your Husband, the Lord of Love.
Manifold is Thy nature, Great is Thy bounty
Manifold Thy creatures who praise Thee day and night.
Manifold Thy shapes and colours
Manifold Thy races and castes.
On meeting the true guru
One gains knowledge of the truth
Then one merges into the Truthful One.
From the guru’s teaching we learn the fear of the Lord.
From comprehension of the truth we gain honour.
O Nanak! Truth is the king of kings
He taketh us and uniteth us with Him.
* * *
Dhat milai phun dhat kau sifti sifat samai
As pieces of metal of the same kind melt into one another,
So a worshipper merges his personality in the object of his worship.
Like the dark red of the poppy flower
Is he dyed in the fast colours of truth.
He who in repose and single-minded meditation
Prays to the Truthful One
Becomes one with the Lord.
O brother! Be as the dust under the feet of saints.
In the company of the saintly you’ll find
Your guru and the gift of salvation,
You will get Kamadhenu, the celestial cow,
The giver of all things desired.
High in the heavens
In setting paradisal
Stands the mansion of the Lord.
A truthful life and good deeds done
Earn us the right to human birth;
By love we find our way
To the gate of the Lord’s mansion.
The saintly train their minds to ponder
On the all-pervading soul in meditation.
If we live by the threefold fruits of Karma
(the good, the neutral and the bad)
We shall be victims of hopes and anxieties.
How can one escape the stranglehold of this triple noose?
How find the gentle path of sahaj and peace
Save by guidance of the guru?
(Under the guidance of the guru)
We know that in our own home
Stands the mansion of the Lord.
We can invoke His grace
And be cleansed of our sins.
Without the guru’s help we cannot wash off the dirt of the world,
Without the Lord’s grace how can we our haven find?
Abandon hope in other things
On the Divine Word fix your mind.
Sacrificed to that guru may Nanak’s life be
Who having himself seen the Lord
Shows others how to see.
* * *
Tan jal bal nati bhaia, man maya moh manoor
My body is burnt to ashes and mingled with dust
My mind is rusted with attachment to worldly things;
Once again my sins pursue me
And falsehood trumpets its victory.
Without the Word we are caught in the wheel
(Of birth, death and rebirth).
Thus hath double-minded duality
Been the undoing of multitudes.
My soul, fix thy mind on the Word Divine
The Word will take thee across the waters of life.
Those who the guru’s teaching do not know
Will die and be reborn, go and come, come and go.
A person is pure
If he enshrines the True Name within him.
His body is imbued with the fear of the True One
And his tongue loves the taste of truth.
He, by God’s grace, is in a state of ecstasy
His body is of passions free.
The True One made the air,
From air came water
From the waters He made the three regions
In every heart He lit His lamp.
The Lord is Pure, He cannot be defiled.
He who is dyed in the colours of the Lord
Will be honoured (and remain unsullied).
The mind is the true abode of peace
Therein comes the grace of the Lord
The five elements of his body
Are tempered in the fear of the True One
The light of Truth illumines his mind.
O Nanak! his sins are forgiven
And the guru preserves his honour.
* * *
Nanak bedi sach ki bhareeai gur veechar
Sayeth Nanak: Launch the boat of truth with thoughts of the guru.
One comes into the world, another goes
Everyone full of self-esteem.
A closed and stubborn mind will sink thy vessel,
But truth of the guru’s teaching will take it across.
Without the guru to guide me
How can I cross over to the other shore?
How can I reach the haven of peace?
Lord, preserve me if so Thy pleasure be
I have no other Protector save Thee.
Facing me I see a forest on fire
Behind me I see new life in green.
(And I know thereby that) life begins as it ends
(From God it’s born, into God it blends).
Let Truth in every heart be instilled.
He is the Uniter, He makes the union
He takes us to His mansion.
Let every breath I take breathe Thy Name
Lord, let me never forget Thee.
The more my Master possesses my mind
The more I imbibe the nectar of my guru’s message.
Lord, to Thee I surrender my body and my mind
Thou art my Master.
Lord, destroy Thou my self-esteem
And let me mingled be in Thee.
Created also the three regions.
Men of God see the Divine Light
They that turn their backs on God
Stumble in darkness.
In every heart shines the Light Eternal
Through the guru’s guidance can it be discerned.
Praise be to the saintly who know God
They are blended with the True One
Their true worth shines forth.
O Nanak! His Name doth such peace bring
For the body and soul are in His keeping.
* * *
Ik til pyara veesrai rog vadda man mah
If I forget the Beloved even for a trice
A serious sickness afflicts my soul.
If Hari dwell not within my mind
In His court no place of honour will I find.
On meeting the guru we find peace
Hunger’s fire is doused by the waters of virtue.
O heart! Day and night sing praises of God.
Rare in the world are people
Who forget not the Name for even a moment.
Blend your light with the Light Eternal
Mingle your consciousness with His—and see
Violence, selfhood, wanderings of the mind
Anxiety and sorrow will cease to be.
By the grace of the guru meet the saintly
In whose hearts dwells Hari the Lord.
If I offer my body as if it were a bride
The Lord will take it as if He were the groom.
Love not a mortal who you know
Is here for a while as in a passing show.
The saintly blend with the Lord
The virtuous share His couch and become one with Him.
With the sacred water given by the guru
Quench the four fires (of cruelty and anger, of greed and love of worldly things).
The lotus which is within thee will blossom
And thy heart will fill with ambrosia.
O Nanak! Make the true guru thy friend
He will take thee to the court of the True One.
* * *
Hari Hari japaoh pyariah gurmat ley Hari bol
Beloved friend, on thy lips ever be the Name of God!
Heed the advice of the guru and call on Hari!
Test thy mind with the touchstone of truth
See that it is of perfect weight,
The mind is a priceless gem
No one has valued it.
O Brother! The gem that is Hari
Is in possession of the guru.
By associating with men of God thou wilt find the true guru.
And day and night thou wilt sing songs of praise.
In the light of the guru’s teaching
Truthful be thy trade
Truthful too thy earnings.
As fire is put out by water
So will desire be subdued
And become the slave of thy slave.
The demon of death will not pursue thee
Thou wilt swim across the fearful ocean of life.
Men of God like not falsehood
Being themselves true, they love the truthful.
Those who worship mammon, love not the truth
Falsehood’s mansion is raised on a false foundation.
Those imbued with truth, meet the guru
The truthful blend with the Truthful One.
In our minds is embedded the gem, the ruby of the Name,
It is a nugget, a diamond beyond all price.
Truth be our investment and our merchandise
The Name of the Lord the treasure we earn.
In the depth of every heart dwells the Lord
O Nanak! The saintly guru and guide we find
If the priceless gem that is Hari be kind.
* * *
Bharmai bhah na vijhvai je bhave disantar des
The fire of pride is not extinguished
By wandering over distant lands.
The dirt of the mind is not cleansed
By wearing clean garments.
Fie, the life of falsehood! Fie, the mask of divinity!
Nothing will make thee a Bhakta true
Save the teaching of the true guru.
O mind! If thou seekest good and annihilate pride
Let the guru’s word find a place in thine heart
And the craving of the ego will be destroyed.
The mind is a priceless pearl
With it thou canst acquire an honoured place beside the Master.
In the company of the pious seek the Lord
For the Lord loves those on whose lips is His Name.
Thy pride shall vanish, and thine be the bliss
Of a wave mingling back into the waters.
Those that have not brought the thought of Hari to their minds
Shall be caught in the cycle of birth and death.
Those that come not to the True One, the Supreme Being,
Shall be ruined and like flotsam drift.
On the turbulent waters of life
Human life which is priceless beyond compare
Will thus be bartered away for a worthless shell.
Those to whom the true guru tells the secret,
Acquire complete wisdom.
The guru takes them across the waters
And they are received with honour.
O Nanak! Their faces are radiant
And in their hearts is joy,
Born of the music of His Word.
* * *
Dhan joban ar phulda natheedai din char
Wealth, youth and flowers
Are short-lived—as guests for four brief days.
As leaves of a water-hyacinth taken out of water wither
So wither they.
Dear friend! Make merry while the sap of youth courses in your veins
Your days shorten and weariness will overtake your ageing body.
My friend once so gay
Has gone to sleep in his grave;
A wretched outcaste that I am,
I too will follow him
Wailing in my feeble voice.
My soul! My fair one! Didst thou not hear
With thine own ear
Not forever is the bliss of the parental home?
For thy groom (death) awaits thee there?
O Nanak! In her father’s home she slept
So carefree as if the night were endless;
In broad daylight was she robbed
Her dowry of goodness was thus lost
And her sack filled with sin.
* * *
Tu daryao dana bina mai machali kaisey ant lahah
Lord, Thou art the mighty river,
Thou knowest and seest all things.
How can I, a poor fish know
Thy depth and Thy expanse?
Whichever way I turn,
Taken away from Thine waters,
I suffocate and die.
I know not the fisherman
I see not his net.
But when I am caught in it
In my black agony
It is to Thee I turn.
Lord, Thou who art present everywhere,
In my folly I believed Thou wert far from me.
Whatever I do is known to Thee
When Thou seest all
How can I deny my deeds?
I am not worthy to serve Thee,
I cannot glorify Thy Name.
Whatever Thou givest
That will I eat;
I beg at no other door but Thine.
Nanak hath but one petition
Let his body and soul be in Thine keeping.
He is near, He is far.
He is midway between the two;
All that He has created in the world
He watches and He hears.
Comes to pass.
* * *
Achal chalai na chalai
He deprives of delusion
The things that delude;
He blunts the edge of the dagger
And it does not wound.
Man’s mind wavers for it is full of craving;
He is safe only in the Lord’s keeping.
How then light the lamp when there is no oil?
Let your body be the lamp,
From the holy books take wisdom
And use it as oil.
Let knowledge of His presence be the wick
And with the tinder of truth
Strike the spark.
Thus light you the oil-lamp
And in its light meet your Lord.
When the recording Angel claims your body
And catalogues your deeds,
Your good acts will save you from the cycle of birth and death.
If in life you have served others
Your reward shall be a place in His court.
Says Nanak: You will raise your arms in joy.
* * *
Akh akh man vavana jeo jeo japai vai
Let your heart sing of God with every breath you draw;
How great is He whom we serenade? Where does He live?
All those that sang Thy praise are now in deep meditation.
Brother! Allah is beyond our reach and beyond limit
Pure is His Name; pure His abode, He is in truth our Preserver.
How great is Thy dominion cannot be known; no one knows how to write of it:
A hundred bards singing in chorus could not describe a fraction of Thy greatness.
Nobody hath found Thy worth; everyone repeats what he has heard another say.
Saints, prophets, guides (who show the way to God),
Men of faith, men of God and martyrs
Preachers, seekers and law-givers
Guardians of mosques and the Darvesh who are welcomed at God’s gate,
Gain greater blessing.
Their lives are like the additional prayer when worship is over.
He asks no one when He builds; He asks no one when He destroys;
He asks no one when He gives or takes.
He knows His own creation; He acts and causes others to act.
He extends His grace to everyone; and favours those who please Him.
We know not His dwelling; we know not His Name.
We know not how great His Name is among other names.
How great is the place where lives my Lord, the king of kings?
None can reach it; of whom shall I ask the way?
When God raises one caste above others,
Those not raised do not like it.
Greatness is in the hands of the Great One; He gifts to whom He pleases.
He sees that His rule obtains everywhere; He brooks no delay.
Everyone cries for more hoping thereby to increase his share.
How great is Thy bounty, Thou giver of countless gifts !
Nanak, from age to age, never does His storehouse diminish.
* * *
Sabhe kant maheliya saglia karah seegar
We are His wives; we adorn ourselves for Him.
We dress ourselves in bright red to gain His attention
But love is not won by bargaining; a counterfeit coin gilded with gold is soon found out and spells ruin.
How does a woman win the attention of the Lord?
Lord, she who is pleasing to Thy sight is in nuptial bliss; Thy mercy is her adornment.
The guru’s word is her adornment; her body and soul are with her Lord.
With hands clasped she waits on Him; her prayer comes from the truthfulness of her heart.
She is immersed in His love, she lives in fear of the True One;
And when dyed with His love, her colour is fast and true.
She is counted among the followers of the Beloved.
She is recognized as one of His hand-maidens.
Her love is not sundered; the True One unites her with Himself.
Her soul is plaited with the Word
I am ever a sacrifice unto her.
She who is absorbed in the true guru becomes immortal, never shall she become a widow.
Her Beloved is forever handsome and renews
His youth; He does not die nor depart.
He ever enjoys His fulfilled wife; His gracious eyes rest on her ever-obedient person.
Truth is in the plaits of her hair, love in her dress and ornaments,
God within her is like the breath of sandal perfume, her chamber has the tenth gate (through which the Lord enters).
She lights the lamp of the Word, she wears God’s name as her necklace.
She is beautiful amongst women of beauty; on her forehead she wears the jewel of love.
Her beauty and wisdom are bewitching, her love is true and infinite.
She knows no man besides her Beloved; it is only for the true guru that she has love and affection.
Why did you waste the dark night in sleep?
How will you pass the hours without your Lord?
Woman, your bosom shall be afire, your body burn, and your mind be aflame.
A woman not taken by her Husband wastes away her youth.
Her Husband is on her couch; but she sleeps and knows not of His presence.
I sleep while my Beloved is awake; to whom shall I turn for advice?
Sayeth Nanak, the true guru teaches how to fear and love God
And thus be united with Him.
* * *
Macchli jal na janian sar khara asgah
A fish in the deep and salty sea
Very wise and pretty was she,
How was it then that she was taken unawares
And knew not of the net?
She suffered for her acts
None can escape the noose of death.
Brothers, know that the angel of death hovers above you.
As on the fish so on us men
When we least expect it
Will fall the net.
The entire world is within death’s compass
Without the guru there is no means of combating it.
By truth gain release
Through truth dispel doubt and duality
My life be a sacrifice to the truthful
Who have reached the gate of the True One.
As a small bird in the talons of a hawk,
Or on the ground caught in the huntsman snare
So is man in the thrall of death.
Only those the guru protects are saved.
If ye have not the Name
You will be picked out and destroyed
You will have no friends or companions to help you.
He is True,
His realm is Truth.
Those who have faith in Him
Are pure of heart.
Those who have gained this knowledge from the guru
Are true and speak the truth.
Thus do I pray to the true guru:
’Take me to the Lord and unite me with Him,’
On being united, I will gain peace,
The demon of death will poison himself and die,
’Let me abide by the Name
And let the Name abide in me.’
Without the guru we stumble in the dark,
Without the Word there is no understanding,
The guru’s teaching illumines the mind
And attaches it to the truth
Then hath death no dominion
Our light blends with the Light Eternal.
Thou art our Companion, Thou art wise,
Thou art Thyself the Uniter.
Through the teaching of the guru
We exalt Thee who hast no end nor limit.
Where there is the immortal Word of the guru
Death shall have no dominion.
By His ordinances comes all creation into being,
By His ordinances all labour and earn.
Under His ordinance is death,
By His ordinance we mingle with Truth.
O Nanak! Whatever pleases Him comes to pass
We mortals by ourselves can do nothing.
* * *
Jap tap sanjam sadheeai teerath keechai vas
Prayer, austerity, control over the senses
Pilgrimages to holy places,
Giving of alms, charity and all other good deeds,
What matter they unless they gain merit
With the Lord who is Truth?
As you sow, so shall you reap
Life without virtue is life without hope.
If thou becomest the hand-maiden of good deeds
Thou shalt attain peace and joy.
Abandon evil ways, merge with the Lord
And find fulfilment in the teaching of the guru.
Without goods to sell, a trader sits idly staring in all directions
He knows not how to start, his merchandise earns no profit.
Without anything to trade in, he suffers heavy losses.
Thus one who trades in falsehood suffers
And is afflicted with sorrow.
If he looks within himself
And examines the gem in his heart
He will earn much profit.
Days and nights will bring increase in his income
He will take home his earnings
And thus depart with his affairs settled.
Tradesman, let thy trade be under the guidance of saints,
Meditate upon the Creator.
If it please God the Uniter
You will meet men of God.
He in whom is lit the light Eternal
Will never thereafter suffer separation.
Truthful his life,
True his love and adoration.
Those who recognize their real selves
Their hearts become the abode of God.
They take on the hues of the True One
The True One becomes their gain.
In the three regions, He alone is the Supreme Lord,
He is the Truth, His Name is Truth.
A wife who knows the company of her Husband
Who is sent for by Him to His mansion
And with whom He disports Himself
Is in veritable bliss.
Call her happy, call her true
She hath won her Lord’s heart by her virtue.
I stumble in the desert wastes
From deserts I clamber up the hills;
I lose myself in the forests.
Without the guru to guide me
I shall not find my way.
If thus I wander everywhere
I shall come and go from life to life.
Go, ask travellers who tread the path of servitude,
How to recognize our Sovereign Lord.
How to gain admission to his mansion
Without being questioned at the gates.
O Nanak! The One Lord reigns supreme everywhere
There is no second person, there is no other.
* * *
Sun man bhooley bavrey gur ki charni lag
Thou simple, stupid soul
Hearken unto me!
Attach thyself to the feet of the guru
Pray to Hari, ponder over His Name.
The demon of death will be affeared of Thee
Sorrows will flee from thee.
A woman with dual loyalties suffers much;
How can she remain happily married?
Brother! I have no other sanctuary
Save His Name; it is my only treasure.
My guru gave it to me
I am forever beholden to him.
Through the guru’s teaching we attain honour
To the guru be all praise for uniting me to Him.
Without Him I would not live a single watch of the day,
Without the name I would surely perish.
Blind am I, let me not lose sight of the Name;
Let my mind be steadfast when I leave for my last journey.
Those whose gurus are themselves blind
Pointless is their pursuit (of Truth)
Without guidance of the true guru
We cannot find the Name.
Without the Name life hath no purpose.
It’s birth and death and regret
It is like the cawing of a crow in a deserted house.
Without the Name the body is like a hall of sorrows
With its walls eaten up by dry rot;
We cannot reach His abode
Unless there is truth in our hearts.
If we are imbued with the Name
In our own homes we attain salvation.
I enquired of my guru,
By his direction I earned my life’s wages.
Ego that fouled my soul,
Ego that caused sorrow
Was thus burnt out by the Word of God.
By the gentle path of sahaj did I meet Him,
Purified by truth I merged in the Truest of the True.
Those imbued with the Word are without stain,
They conquer anger and pride;
They worship Thy name a hundred times and more
And have Hari enshrined in their hearts.
Why forget Him who sustains life?
He who dies with the divine Word on his lips
Dies to death
He need not die a second time.
Only through the Word shall we find Him
And learn the love of prayer.
Without the Word, people wander in error
They die only to be reborn, over and over again.
Everyone praises himself
From being great he becomes greatest of the great.
Without the guru’s help he knows not his real self,
He only hears what others say about him.
O Nanak! He who knows the Word
Never thereafter talks of himself.
* * *
Satgur poora je milai paeeiai ratan beechar
If we find the true, the perfect guru
Our thoughts become priceless as a ruby;
If we present our minds to the guru
We are rewarded with all-embracing love,
We get the gift of salvation
The Forgiver forgives us our sins.
O brother! Know that without the guru there is no knowledge
Go ask Brahma, Narad and Vyasa, ask anyone.
The guru gives us knowledge and power to concentrate,
The guru makes the incomprehensible capable of understanding.
The guru is like the tree in full leaf casting a vast shade,
The guru’s treasury is full of rubies, gems and other precious stones.
In the guru’s treasury is the Name unsullied and pure love
(From it we can borrow)
Trade in truth
And earn profit beyond reckoning.
The true guru is the giver of joy
And the dispeller of sorrows.
He is the destroyer of the five demons of sin (lust, anger, greed, attachment and pride).
The ocean of life is terrifying and difficult to cross.
We can see neither the land behind us nor the opposite shore,
Neither boat nor raft, neither an oar nor a boatman.
Let the fear of the true guru be our boat.
By His grace He will take us across.
If for a trice you forget the Beloved Lord
Sorrow will afflict you, joy will depart.
Burn the wretched tongue which loves not repeating the Name.
The body’s earthen vessel cracks, it is wracked with pain,
The demon of death grabs you, your regrets are then in vain.
All our lives we cry; ‘this is mine’ and depart crying, ’this too is mine’.
We discover that neither body, nor wealth, nor wife was ours to take away.
There is no wealth except the Name;
(Without the Name) we are lost in the maze of maya
Serve the Master who is Truth
The guru will tell you of One who is beyond telling.
On the wheel of birth, death and rebirth
Are our natures moulded
And the pattern of our lives determined.
What is writ cannot be erased by anyone,
For it is the dictate of the Lord.
Without the Name of Hari there is no escape
(From the cycle of birth, death and rebirth)
The teaching of the guru shows the way to union divine.
I have no one save the Lord
My life and soul belong to Him.
I have burnt away my ego
I have burnt my greed and pride.
Sayeth Nanak, ponder over the Name Divine
The treasure of virtues will all be thine.
* * *
Re man Hari seo aisee preet kar jaisee jal kamleh
My soul hearken unto me!
Love thy Lord as the lotus loves water
Buffeted by waves its affection does not falter.
Creatures that have their being in water,
Taken out of water, die.
My soul! If thou hast not such love
How wilt thou obtain release?
If the Word of the guru is within us
We shall accumulate a store of devotion.
My soul hearken unto me!
Love thy Lord as a fish loves water.
The more the water, the greater its joy,
Greater the tranquillity of its body and mind.
Without water it cannot live one watch of the day
Only God knows the anguish of its heart.
My soul hearken unto me!
Love thy Lord as the Chatrik loves the rain.
Although the lakes be full, the plains flooded and green
It will not drink one drop.
By God’s grace, its thirst will be slaked
But destiny may doom it to die.
My soul hearken unto me!
Love thy Lord as water loves milk.
It takes on the heat, boils and evaporates before the milk can suffer.
He alone unites, He alone separates
He alone bestows true greatness.
My soul hearken unto me!
Love thy Lord as the Chakvi loves the sun
It sleeps not a wink for the distant sun it deems close.
The perverse of mind know not that the godly are ever in His presence.
The perverse of mind make many calculations
What the Creator does comes to pass.
Much as all desire to evaluate Him, He cannot be evaluated.
Through the teaching of the guru can He be found
And with the True One comes tranquillity.
If the true guru presents it, true love will not sunder
We are given the gift of knowledge and learn the secret of the three worlds.
If we trade in goodness, we shall not forget the Name that is pure.
Birds that fed on land and water have sported and left their feeding ground.
We are here a watch or two on borrowed time; our sport is also for the day and the morrow.
He whom Thou unitest with Thyself find their true abode.
Without the guru, love cannot be born
The dross of the ego cannot be rinsed away.
He who recognizes the God within
Understands the secret of the Word and is happy.
Disciples of the guru know their real selves,
No need have they for anyone’s help.
Why speak of those who are already one with God?
They have the Word and are fulfilled.
The perverse of mind do not comprehend,
They are separated from God and suffer.
O Nanak! There is but one gate to the Lord’s mansion
And there is no other sanctuary.
* * *
Ram nam man bedhiya, avar ki kari vichar
My heart is pierced by the Name of Rama! What else shall I reflect upon?
Tranquil is the mind which meditates on the Word,
Happy is the one who is imbued with God.
Preserve me as it pleases Thee,
Thy Name, O Hari, is my support.
My soul, the will of the Master is just.
Attach thyself to Him who made thy body and mind and adorned it.
Were I to weigh my body, cut into tiny pieces and burn in a sacrificial fire;
Were I to turn my body and soul into firewood, burn it every day;
Were I to light hundreds of thousands of sacrificial fires, they would not equal the Name of Hari.
Were my head sawed in twain, my torso torn in two;
Were my body frozen in Himalayan snows,
It would not rid my mind of disease.
No remedy equals the Name of Hari
This have I tested and found true.
Were I to give away castles of gold,
Strings of horses of good pedigree
And mighty elephants;
Were I to make gifts of land and of herds of cows.
I would be aware of my goodness
And pride would remain in my heart.
The guru has given me the true gift;
My mind is pierced by the Name of Rama.
How many hard-headed thinkers are there?
How many interpretations of the Vedas?
In how many fetters is the soul bound?
The gate of salvation is only reached through the guru’s instruction.
Truth is above all; above truth is truthful conduct.
Call everyone exalted; let no one appear to thee low.
The One God fashioned the vessels,
One source of light illumines the three worlds,
By His grace we find the truth; what He gives once none can take away.
When a good man meets a saint
He gains the guru’s affection
And attains tranquillity.
If we are absorbed in the true guru, we can meditate in matters beyond the realm of speech.
He who drinks the nectar of the Name shall find fulfilment,
He shall go to God’s court wearing robes of honour.
In the hearts of those who love the Word, reverberate strains of the lute.
Few there are who hearken to the guru’s words everyday and obtain understanding.
O Nanak! Forget not the Name, let the Word be thy wage and gain release.
* * *
Chite disai dhaulhar bage bank duar
Behold, gilded mansions with white ornamented gates!
Knowing they are perishable and delude us into love of worldly things
Our eyes rejoice at the sight.
Likewise the human body; it shall decay and be mingled with the dust.
If it hath love in it, nothing else will remain.
Listen brother! Neither thy body nor thy wealth will accompany thee.
The Name of Rama is real wealth; God gives it through the guru.
If the Giver gives real wealth of the Name of Rama
He who is befriended by the guru and the Creator shall not be questioned in the world to come.
If God wills it, we shall be liberated; God alone can pardon us.
The fool believes that daughters, sons and relations belong to him;
He sees his wife and is pleased. He knows not that she who brings joy, also brings sorrow.
Men of God are imbued with the Word, day and night imbibe Hari’s ambrosia.
The mind of the unbeliever wavers and wanders in the futile quest after wealth.
We waste ourselves in looking all round while the Real Thing is within us.
The perverse preoccupied with themselves do not see it;
The saintly secure it in their aprons.
Infidel, who art without virtue, learn thy true origin!
The body which is compounded of blood and semen shall be burnt in fire.
Thy body is at the mercy of breath
It will last as long as it is fated to last.
We pray for long life; no one seeks death.
Only he can be described as happy who through the guru’s teaching has God in his heart.
Worthless is life without the Name,
Wasted is life if it gains not a vision of God.
As a man knows not his state when he sleeps at night,
So one who hath pride in his heart knows not that he is in the coils of duality and maya’s serpent.
Hearken to the teaching of your guru,
Ponder on the nature of this world
And you will see that life and the world are as dreams.
As the fire of thirst is slaked by water,
As mother’s milk is to her hungry child,
As the lake is to the lotus and the fish,
Without which they die—
So is the nectar or Hari’s Name given by the guru, sayeth Nanak.
‘May my life be spent singing the songs of the Lord.’
* * *
Doongar dekh daravano paeidai daryas
The mountain of life is awesome; I watch it from my father’s house and am terrified.
It is steep and difficult to ascend; there is no ladder to climb.
I took my guru’s teaching to my heart; the guru united me to God and I was saved.
Brother! The ocean of life is fearful and hard to cross!
If the perfect, the true guru, in his pleasure receives me,
He will take me across on the Name of God.
If all I do is to say ’I have to go’
It will be of no avail.
If in fact I realize that death is certain
Everyone who comes into the world must go;
Only God and the guru are immortal.
Praise the True One,
Cherish the place where His praise is sung.
Beautiful gateways,
Houses and palaces
Strongholds by the thousand;
Elephants and horses richly caparisoned,
Hundreds of thousands of troops—beyond all count.
Not one of these will accompany you on your last journey.
The fool pines away for them and dies in his ignorance.
Man amasses gold and silver,
He knows not that wealth is an entangling net.
Man may have his dominion proclaimed by beat of drum throughout the whole world.
He knows not that without the Name death will ever hover about his head.
When the body collapses, the game of life is over,
What then shall be the state of the evil-doers?
Man delights when he sees his sons
Has the sight of his wife on her couch;
He wears perfumes of aloe and sandal; he dresses in fine clothes and ornaments
Yet shall he leave his home and family; dust must return to dust.
However great the title—chief, emperor or raja.
Governor, khan, headman or chieftain,
These are but faggots in the fire of pride.
Turn your face against God and ye shall be
As stalks of pampas in a forest fire.
Whoever comes into the world
Shall depart;
However proud he be,
Must die and go.
The whole world is as a chamber black with soot;
The body and soul which enter it are also blackened.
Only they whom the guru preserves remain clean
For the fire of desires is extinguished by prayer.
O Nanak! We cross the ocean of life by the True Name of God who is the king of kings!
May I not forget the Name of Hari; may the Name of Hari be as a jewel of my purchase.
The perverse perish in the terrible ocean of the world;
Only men of God cross the fathomless sea.
* * *
Air, water and fire
Of these elements is our body made
Within it is the restless agitation of the mind.
It has nine doorways
The tenth is the one through which one goes to meet God.
O learned one, have you thought of this?
Everyone can discourse, speak and listen.
Only he who thinks for himself is a true scholar
And a learned divine.
The body is made of clay
The sounds that emerge are of substance airy.
Know you, O learned one,
What dies when a man does die?
Consciousness dies
Then dies the ego
But the soul, it dies not.
What seek you in pilgrimage to sacred rivers?
The priceless jewel is enthroned within your breast.
The learned pandit reads much, declaims much
But knows not of the treasure within.
It is not I who die.
But the demon of ignorance who is destroyed;
The soul that sustains me dies not.
Says Nanak, this is what the Lord the Creator has shown me
Now I know there is neither birth nor death.
* * *
Jato jae kahan te avai
Know you whence comes life?
How we are born? Where we go when we die?
Why some are caught in the cycle of birth and rebirth
While others are freed to merge in the Deathless One?
Those who have Him in their hearts
And have His Name ever on their lips;
Those who worship Him but seek no return
To them gently comes birth and death.
Thoughts arise in the mind, in the mind do they subside.
Only the guru’s word gives us freedom,
Contemplating upon it, we achieve deliverance.
Like birds at dusk settling on trees
To roost for the night
Some joyous, some sorrowing; all lost in themselves.
When dawns the day and gone is the night
They look up at the sky and resume their wayward flight.
So does man fulfil his destiny.
Those who through the Lord’s Name have knowledge
Know that the world is but a temporary shepherd’s hut
In a pastureland.
Man is a vessel overflowing with lust and anger.
Without stores the shop looks desolate
And so does the home
So also the human frame without the treasure trove of the Name.
The guru breaks down the massive walls of ignorance.
By virtue of your past deeds you meet the holy,
Truly joyful are godly men.
Those that gently give up their bodies and soul to the Lord
At their feet will Nanak prostrate himself.
* * *
Amrit kaya rahai sukhali baji eh sansaro
Lookest thou upon thyself as immortal?
Art thou happy in that fond delusion?
The entire world plays this game of make-believe
Thus hunger, greed and untruth we earn in ample measure.
O body of mine! I have seen thee humbled,
I have seen thee as dust upon the face of the earth.
My soul, hearken to these words of mine!
Good deeds will abide with thee
But thou wilt not again have the opportunity to perform them.
I speak to thee, my body
Hearken unto these words of mine!
Do not speak evil of others, pry not into their affairs
Create not mischief and destroy confidence among people.
Go not unto other men’s wives,
Steal not nor commit other evil deeds
Thy soul like the swan will fly away,
Leaving thee widowed and untenanted in the world.
O body of mine! Thou livest in a dream-world,
What merit didst thou earn for thyself?
It replied: ‘I stole whatever pleased my fancy
I earned no merit in this life,
I gained no moorings in the life to come,
Thus did I waste away my human birth.
O Baba Nanak, I was really caught in two minds
And no one heeded my plight.’
‘Strings of horses I had, of Tadjik and Turkish blood
Gold and silver I had, I was rich in raiment.
O Nanak, none of these could I take with me.
All had to be shed, all went to waste.
Crystallized sugar and dried fruits, I tasted all
They did not last,
I found that only the Name of the Lord is immortal.’
‘Deep foundations I dug
And on them raised high walls;
But the temple I built collapsed in a rubbled heap.
I hoarded my treasure, I gave nothing away.
I was blind, I believed it was mine to keep
Then like the golden Lanka all was gone.’
O foolish, ignorant soul listen to me!
Only the Lord’s will comes to pass.
Our Master is a great Merchant Prince,
We His travelling salesmen,
Our souls and bodies are His investment
He fills and re-animates as He wills.
* * *
Avar panch ham ek jana keo rakhao ghar bar mana
They were five, I was alone
How could I guard my home and my possessions?
They beat and looted me again and again,
To whom shall I lodge a complaint?
My soul! Repeat the Name of Rama
Facing thee is the army of Yama,
The god of death.
He raised the body like a house with many gates
Within He put the soul as housewife.
While she disports herself believing the house and all it has
Is hers forever
The five are forever plundering her.
Death demolished the house,
Looted all therein,
And took the housewife captive.
Death beat her with a rod
And put a chain around her neck.
The five took to their heels and fled.
A wife wants silver and gold,
Friends ask for food and drink,
O Nanak, one who sins for such cheap gains
Shall go to his doom bound in chains.
* * *
Rain gavaee soi ke divas gavaya khae
I wasted my nights in sleep
The days I wasted eating and enjoying,
The priceless gift of life
I bartered away for a cowrie shell.
I knew not the Name of Rama
Fool! You will regret this hereafter.
Man buries his hoard under the earth.
He seeks not God who is truly without limit.
Those who go into the world seeking gain
Lose the Lord when they return.
If all one desired one got
All of us would be wealthy;
Not by words but by deeds do we reach
The goal for which we aspire.
O Nanak, the Creator takes care
Of what He did create.
We do not comprehend His Ordinances
Nor why He makes some men great.
* * *
Choa chandan ank chadavau, pat patambar pehor hadavau
I may perfume my body with scented aloe and sandal
Drape it in silks and satins,
Without the Name of Hari, how shall I find happiness?
What shall I wear? What display?
Without the Lord of the world, how shall I find happiness?
I may wear ring in my ears and a necklace of pearls about my neck,
I may sit on a red mattress adorned with poppy flowers,
Without the Lord of the world, how shall I find happiness?
I may possess a beautiful woman with bewitching eyes
Lovelier for the sixteen kinds of beauty aids.
Without the Lord of the world, forever shall I wander in frustration.
I may have houses and mansions with luxurious couches to recline on,
Gardens with gardeners tending flowerbeds at all hours,
Without the Name of Hari, they will be abodes of sorrow.
I may have horses and elephants, lancers and bondsmen
Militia, mace-bearers and retainers,
Without the Lord of the world, these will be but sham display.
I may gain renown as a miracle maker,
Have power to make gold, power to vanish at will.
I may wear a crown on my head and over it a royal umbrella to shade me,
Without the Lord of the world, how shall I find truth?
I may be a khan, a chieftain, a king
Order everyone about: ‘Come here you! And you!’
It will all be sham display,
Without the guru’s word my affairs will not prosper.
I have overcome my ego and my pride;
By the guru’s teaching
I know that God the destroyer of demons
Doth within me reside.
Nanak makes this supplications,
‘Master I crave Thy protection.’
* * *
Seva ek na janas avrey, parpanch biadh tyagai kavrey
He who serves the One God will know no other,
He does not concern himself with the world’s bitterness and strife;
By love and truth he is united with the truest of the True.
Such a man is a devotee of God,
He sings praises of the Lord;
He washes away the dirt on his person
And makes his Union with God.
The lotus in our hearts is upside down;
The world heeds false messages and burns in error;
Only he who meditates on the guru’s words will be saved.
The bumble-bee and the moth, the elephant and the fish
Like deer meet their doom because of their own doings.
So it is with men: cravings makes them blind to reality.
Lust fills their hearts; they become lovers of women,
Frustration and anger prove their undoing.
They lose their minds and their poise
Because they forget the Name.
Concern with other people’s affairs makes their minds wander in error;
They put halters around their necks and are enmeshed in troubles.
Only the saintly who sing praises of God escape.
As a widow will for the love of money give her body to strangers
So we pledge our minds to others.
Without the Lord as our lover we shall never find fulfilment.
Study all the scriptures, all litanies recite
Read all the religious epics and have them explained;
Unless you are dyed in the essence of Truth
Your mind will wobble in error.
As the Chatrik bird loves the rain
And cries for a few drops to slake its thirst;
As the fish gambols in the waters,
Nanak is athirst for the Name of Hari,
He drinks and his heart is filled with joy.
* * *
Mundh rain duheladia jeeo need na avai
Long and sleepless is the night (of life)
For a woman separated from the Lord
She wears away pining for Him,
She becomes weak waiting and watching for the return of her Spouse.
Her adornments, the sweet delicacies offered to her
Are without taste; life has no purpose for her.
Her youth bursting like heady wine turns sour
But youth returns not; her bosom will not fill again.
Sayeth Nanak: as with a woman so with us all
We shall meet the Lord when He wills,
Else our nights will be long and without sleep.
If the wretched woman be deprived of her Lord and Husband
How shall she find fulfilment?
Without her Husband her house will not be a home.
Ask her friends and companions, they will tell you
Without the love of the Name
There is no truth, no life of comfort.
In your heart let there be truth,
Let contentment be your companion,
In your mind the guru’s message.
These facilitate union with the Lover, our Husband.
Sayeth Nanak, a woman who never forsakes the Name
Is gently united with her Lord.
Come my friends and companions!
Let us praise the Lord, our Husband.
I will ask my guru and write a message of love to be sent to Him,
My guru hath shown me my True Lord.
The perverse of mind will have cause to regret,
My wayward mind has ceased to wander;
It is stilled and I recognize the truth.
The wine of truth renews its strength,
The Word renews the vigour of love;
O Nanak, when the Lord is gracious
Truth is easily comprehended.
’Friends and companions! I am united with the Lord,
My desires are fulfilled,
My Beloved hath come to my home.
Women! Sing hosannas to the Lord
Sing songs of joy and bliss.
The Lord hath fulfilled me.
My sorrows are over.
My foes are filled with envy.’
Such a woman’s prayer is true
And true her earnings.
With the palms of her hands joined she prays:
‘Lord, night and day let me live in Thy love.’
Sayeth Nanak, when man and wife are thus united
Are their desires truly fulfilled.
* * *
Sun nah prabhu jeo ekaldi ban mahe
All alone am I in the wilderness
O Lord, my Husband, listen to me!
How can a wife be free to care
Unless she finds You who are free of all care?
She cannot live without her Husband
Her nights are long and hard to endure
For sleep comes not to her,
O Lord of Love, listen to my prayer!
Only my Love cares for me, none else gives a thought to me,
Alone am I in my lamentation.
O Nanak, the fortunate woman has her tryst with her Lord
And becomes one with Him.
Without Him her life is indeed a tale of sorrow.
* * *
Sun vadda akhai sab koi
Having heard of Thy greatness
All say Thou art great;
How great Thou art
We shall know when we see Thee;
Thy worth cannot be valued
Thy praise not put into words;
Those who tried to speak of Thee were merged in Thee.
O Great Master of mine! Of wisdom profound, of virtues a treasure!
Of Thy great apron none hath the measure.
All learned men with their loads of Vedic learning,
All evaluations put together;
Scholars, thinkers, teachers and those who teachers teach
Could not even a sesame seed of Thy greatness gauge.
All charities and giving of alms;
All penances, all that good deeds gain
Praises by Siddhas who perform miracles (all, all are in vain)
Without Thy aid Siddhas could no miracles make
None can come between us if Thou art compassionate.
Sorry is the plight of one who tries to contain in words,
Thy treasure is replete with words of praise.
Whom Thou givest the power need try no other ways
‘This truth have I beheld,’ Nanak says.
* * *
Akhan jivan visrai mar jaun
By prayer I live; without it I die.
The Name of the True One is hard to say
Hunger for the Name of the True One
Fulfils that hunger and sorrows fly away.
Why then forget Him, O mother of mine?
The Lord is true, His Name is Truth divine.
Praise of the True Name is a bare mustard seed (of His real greatness)
We’ll speak of Him till we are weary of speech,
(We run out of words) and yet not His values reach.
If all together we exalted His nature
It would neither increase nor decrease His stature.
He does not die; He suffers no sorrow
He goes on giving, His bounty never fails,
This virtue alone hath He
None like Him there was before
None like Him shall hereafter be.
Thy bounty is as great as Thy might
Thou madest the day and also the night.
He who forgets Thee is of low birth
O Nanak! one without Name is lowest of the low-born.
* * *
Jeta sabad surat dhun teti jeta rup kaya teri
All the sounds we hear are but a part of the mighty roar of Thy torrent,
All the sights we see are but a part of Thy vast creation,
Thou art the taste (in all we taste)
Thou art the fragrance (in all that is fragrant)
O mother of mine! no other hath these qualities.
My Master is One
He is One, brother, the only One.
He is the Destroyer and the Redeemer
He gives and He takes
He regards and rejoices,
He is the granter of grace.
He is the Doer of whatever is to be done,
No one else can make that claim.
As He deals with us, so we speak of Him.
Everything doth His greatness proclaim.
In this dark age man’s mind is like a brewer’s vat
Filled with the sweet wine of delusion.
Sayeth humble Nanak,
This is also one of Thy many manifestations.
* * *
Niv pae lagau gur apney atam Ram nihariya
I bow low to clasp the feet of my guru,
I have vision of God Rama.
My mind meditated on Him
In my heart I saw and enshrined Him.
Utter the Name of Rama and be saved!
By the guru’s grace
The gem that is God you will find,
The darkness of ignorance will be dispelled
And your mind will be illumined.
Mere lip-worship cannot break our fetters
Nor dissipate delusions of the ego;
When we meet the true guru, thoughts of self disappear
And we reach our goal.
Those who worship the Name of Hari
Regard Him as their well-beloved Lord;
Their hearts fill with peace
As the oceans fill with water.
The Bountiful Giver of life to the world
Loves those who worship Him.
Let the guru’s teaching guide your thinking,
Hari will Himself take you across the ocean of life.
He who kills himself battling his own heart finds God,
In his own mind he vanquishes his cravings.
Sayeth Nanak, if the Lord, Life-of-the-World be kind
The gentle path of prayer we shall find.
* * *
Dudh bin dhen, pankh bin pankhi
A cow that yields no milk
A bird clipped of its wings
Are of as little use as unwatered, withered vegetation;
So like a king to whom no one makes salutation
Is the heart without the Name:
A cell in pitch-black darkness.
When I forget Thee many sorrows assail me
Lord, forsake me not in my afflictions.
My eyes have lost their light
My tongue hath lost its taste
No sounds echo in my ear
With the aid of crutches my feet move forward.
Such is the harvest of bitter fruit reaped by those who serve not God.
In the orchard of your heart, O man
Sow seeds of the divine Word!
Water it in plenty with love.
Your trees will bear fruit of the One Name.
If you make not this effort
How do you expect to reap any harvest?
All creatures are Thine
If they serve Thee not,
They will reap no fruit.
Sorrow and joy are as Thou willest
Without Thy Name there is no life.
To kill thoughts of self within oneself
Is true living; there is no other way to live.
Sayeth Nanak, Thou art the Restorer of life
Preserve us as it pleases Thee.
* * *
Kaia Brahma man hai dhoti, gyan janeu dhyan kuspati
If thy body were a Brahmin priest performing ritual
Let thy heart be the dhoti he wears;
Let divine knowledge be thy sacred thread
Meditation the leaf-ring he wears on his finger,
Instead of alms, beg for the name of God and thank Him.
By the guru’s favour you will blend in your Maker.
O pandit priest! Let the Name of God be thy purification,
Let the Name be thy learning, wisdom and way of life.
The sacred thread on the body means little
Unless there be divine light within thee.
Make remembrance of the Name
The mark on thy forehead and thy dhoti.
The Name shall abide by thee in this life
And the life hereafter.
Seek the Name and nothing else besides.
With love in thy heart worship the Lord
And burn away love for wealth.
Seek only the One, seek no other.
See the essence of reality
Through the vault that opens the tenth gate
Repeat His Name and upon it meditate.
If love be thy sacred food
Fear and superstition will flee;
If the watchman is wakeful
Thieves will not break in at night.
Let knowledge that God is One be the mark
on your forehead
Consciousness of the God within the essence of learning.
No one can win favour with God by mere performance of ritual;
Mere recitation of sacred texts does not reveal His worth
His secrets are not unravelled by the eighteen Puranas or the four Vedas.
Sayeth Nanak, only the true guru can show you the Creator.
* * *
Kachi gagar deh duheli upjal binsai dukh pae
The body is like a pitcher of soft clay filled with sorrow;
It is made and unmade
And each time it suffers.
This world is like a turbulent sea,
How shall we swim in it?
Without the help of God and the guru
We will not find the opposite shore.
Except Thee I have no other, my Beloved!
O Hari, except Thee I have no other!
Thou giveth colour to all that is colourful
Thou giveth shape to everything that hath shape;
Thou forgiveth those on whom descends Thy grace.
Maya is like a wicked mother-in-law
Who will not let me make a home
Nor let me meet my Lord and Husband.
(In gratitude) shall I clasp the feet of my friends and companions.
For by the kindness of my guru
The Lord hath looked upon me with favour
And I shall be saved.
I meditated
I conquered my mind and perceived
There is no greater friend than Thou.
As you ordain, so shall I live.
Sorrow and joy you apportion, I’ll accept.
Hopes and ambitions have I dispelled
I’ll seek neither the good nor the neutral nor the evil
The blessed fourth stage I’ll find in the guru’s teaching
The assemblage of the saintly will be my sanctuary.
All our learning and thinking
All prayers and penances
Are directed to God who is beyond comprehension and whose secret is unravelled.
Sayeth Nanak, my mind is imbued with the Name of Rama,
Teaching of the guru hath pointed out to me the gentle path of sahaj and service.
* * *
If you desire to acquire true knowledge
Make people’s welfare thy aim in life.
When you master your five senses
Life itself will become a pilgrimage.
When the mind is stilled
It hears the tinkle of a dancer’s bells.
What then can Yama do to thee?
He who abandons desires,
Is the real sanyasi.
He who has mastered passions
Enjoys his body and is a true yogi.
He who has compassion
And looks within himself
Is like a sky-clad Digambar hermit.
For he has killed his self without killing anyone.
O Nanak, he who knows Thy sportive ways
Knows Thou art One but hath many disguises.
* * *
Tit sarvade bhai lai nivasa
We live in a pond whose waters
He Himself hath filled with fire;
Our feet are stuck in the mud of attachment
We cannot move; many have I seen sunk in the mire.
Heart! Foolish heart! Never dwellest thou on the One
If thou forgettest thy Lord,
Thou shalt dissipate the deserts of the virtue.
Neither continent, nor truthful, nor learned am I,
Foolish and ignorant was I begot;
Nanak prays for the protection of those
Who never have Thine Name forgot.
* * *
Deeva mera ek nam dukh vich paya tel
The Name of the Lord is my only lamp
In it I put my sorrows of oil;
The brighter burns the flame
The quicker is consumed the oil
Thus I escape encounter with the demon of death.
People, do not mock me!
Just as a thousand piles of logs
Can be lit by a tiny spark
(So can the Name set alight the world).
(For my obsequial ceremony)
Instead of rice-cakes and leaf-plates
Be used the Name of God.
The Name of the True Creator shall also my oblations be,
In this world and the worlds to come
In the future and in time past
Lord, Thy praise will be my pilgrimage to Benares
My soul will dip into the waters of the holy Ganga
My ablution will be performed if day and night I cherish Thee.
Some rice-cakes are offered to the ancestors,
Others to the spirits that wander round the globe;
But it is the Brahmins who eat them all.
O Nanak, if there is grace upon the rice-cake
Never never will it go to waste.
* * *
Man maigal sakat devana, ban khand maya moh hairana
Our mind is like a rogue elephant erazed with notions of its own might.
It lives in a jungle of delusions and attachment.
It runs hither and thither in terror of death
If it finds the guru to guide, it will find its sanctuary.
Without the guru’s word, the mind will not be stilled;
Repeat the Name of Rama, it is utterly pure
Abandon other ritual, it is bitterness of the ego.
How can this wayward mind be stilled?
Unless it understands, it will suffer at the hands of death.
God is our Saviour,
The true guru can unite us with God.
He can draw the thorn of death out of our flesh
He can make truth triumphant.
The mind though compounded of five elements
Determines our destiny for it is the doer
And in the mind is law divine.
The mind of the fool worships power and is full of greed,
By the guru’s advice it worships the Name, is freed
And attains eternal felicity.
Under the guru’s instruction the mind finds its true function;
Under the guru’s instruction the mind comprehends the three worlds.
The mind can be a celibate yogi or the householder.
The mind can be a performer of penances;
Under the guru’s instruction it can realize God.
Thus doth the restless mind come to rest
And relinquish thoughts of self.
In every heart is the contagion of duality;
Under instruction of the guru (it avoids the contagion)
It tastes the divine essence of God.
And at every door of every home and mansion it is welcomed with honour.
This mind of ours can be a monarch
And the hero of the field of battle,
The guru gives it the gift of the Name and makes it fearless.
Man, conquer your five enemies
(lust, anger, greed, attachment and pride)
Reduce them to servitude
And along with your ego bundle them into one!
The music of the guru’s message fulfils
Man loses taste for other food.
The guru’s message awakens the mind to worship.
It hears music unstruck and meditates on the Name
It understands its spiritual self and becomes formless.
In the mansion of the Lord is our mind purified
The guru teaches it to love and worship.
Day and night it sings praises of God—such grace the guru brings
In every heart is God who is without end and without a beginning.
This mind is drunk with juices of God
Under the guru’s instruction find God, the curer of all ailments.
Sit at the feet of the guru and become a worshipper
Nanak is the slave of the slaves of the people of God.
* * *
Roodo Thakur mahro roodi Gurbani
Excellent is my Master,
Excellent are the songs of the guru,
The very fortunate meet the true guru
And attain salvation.
I am lowest of the low,
I am Thy slave boy,
As Thou keepest so shall I live.
Thy name will ever be on my lips.
I thirst for vision of Thee
Thy ordinances my heart accepts
My Master holds greatness in the palm of His hand
If it be His pleasure, I will be received with honour.
Do not regard the True One as far away,
He is within us.
Whichever way I turn, I see Him there;
Who has evaluated Him?
He makes, He demolishes,
He watches and glories in His work.
By treading the saintly path
We shall have His vision
And thus appraise His worth.
Such are the doings of the guru
That in this life we can earn profit.
But we can only find the true guru
If it is writ in our book of fate.
The perverse of mind will forever suffer loss
They stumble in superstition and mislead others
The perverse of mind are like the blind.
If they recall Him not to their mind,
How can they expect to see Him?
When you have attached yourself to the True One
Consider your lives on earth worthwhile;
The guru is like a touchstone
On meeting him (iron is transmuted into gold)
He blends your light with the Light Eternal.
Ever and always remain aloof from things of the world
Serve only the Primal Lord.
Sayeth Nanak, the name produces tranquillity
It absorbs us in love of the feet of God.
* * *
Toon sun harna kalia kee vadeeai rata Ram
Black buck, listen to me!
What makes thee break into fenced-off fields?
Forbidden fruit tastes sweet but for four short days
Thereafter it produces ill-humours in the body.
What thou cravest produces great sorrow and anguish.
Those who forego the Name
Suffer the flames of hell.
As short-lived as the wave in the ocean,
Brief as the flash of lightning,
Is the joy of forbidden fruit.
There is no other protector save God.
And it is God thou hast forsaken.
Sayeth Nanak, man ponder over this in thy heart:
What is it that makes the black buck race to its doom?
O Rama! My mind is like the honey bee
(Stealing nectar from the flowers);
O Rama! It will suffer great affliction.
I asked my guru about bees and creepers in bloom.
The guru pondered and asked me in return
‘Why like the honey bee art thou lost amongst the flowers?’
When (ends the night of life and) the sun riseth,
With hot oil will your body be scalded.
You will be in the thrall of death,
Buffeted by Yama’s blows;
Without the Word, you will be like an evil spirit.’
‘O my soul!’ says Nanak truthfully, ’meditate on the Lord
For the way of the black honey bee is the way to damnation.’
My soul! thou art not native to this world.
Why dost thou enmesh thyself in it?
If the True Master dwell in thy heart
How can the noose of Yama fall on thee?
As when the fisherman separates the fish from the water
And puts it in his net
The fishes’ eyes fill with tears
(So will it be with thee).
The world which we cherish as sweet
Is but a delusion.
Only in the end is the veil of delusion
Lifted from our eyes.
Fix your mind on God
Free it of anxieties.
Nanak speaks the truth:
My soul, ponder over the fact that
Thou art not native to this world.
O Rama! Rivers in their course break into streams
And streams again run back into the river,
So are our souls united with God from whom they came.
O Rama! Some rare one who hath renounced the world knows
That the world which appears so sweet in every age
Is really full of venom.
Those who meditate on the message of the true guru
Find Truth through the gentle way of sahaj
And realize God.
Without the Name of God thoughtless fools are we;
We stumble on paths of ignorance and superstition.
Those who worship not the Name of Hari
Nor have truth in their hearts
Will regret it in the end; they’ll beat their breasts and lament.
Nanak speaks the truth when he says
Through the Word we meet the Truth
And our prolonged separation ends in ultimate union.
* * *
Purkhan birkhan teerthan tattan meghan khetan
Mankind and arbours
Places of pilgrimage by river banks
Clouds that float over farmers’ fields
Islands and spheres,
Continents and the universe, the entire cosmos.
All that is born of egg and womb,
Born of water and sweat
Of all these He alone hath estimate.
O Nanak, He knows the oceans and the mountains
He knows the masses of mankind
O Nanak, He who gave life to creatures
He will keep them in His mind.
He who makes must take care of what He hath made!
Let the cares of the world He made be His worry.
To Him make obeisance, to Him be victory!
May His court be in eternal session!
O Nanak, if we have not the True Name
Worthless is the mark on the forehead,
Worthless too the sacred thread.
* * *
Sach to par janeeai ja ridai sacha hoi
He alone is truly truthful
In whose heart is the True One living
Whose soul within is rinsed of falsehood
And his body without is cleansed by washing.
He alone is truly truthful
Who loves truth with passion
Whose heart rejoices in the Name
And finds the door to salvation.
He alone is truly truthful
Who knows the art of living
Who prepares his body like a bed
And plants the seed of the Lord therein.
He alone is truly truthful
Who accepts the true message
Towards the living shows mercy
Gives something as alms and in charity.
He alone is truly truthful
Whose soul in pilgrimage resides
Who consults the true guru
And by his counsel ever abides.
Truth is the nostrum for all ills.
It exorcizes sin, washes the body clean.
Those that have truth in their aprons
Before them doth Nanak himself demean.
* * *
Simal rukh saradya ati diragh ati much
The simal tree is huge and straight
But if one comes to it with hope of gain
What will one get and whither turn?
Its fruit is without taste
Its flowers have no fragrance
Its leaves are of no use.
O Nanak, humility and sweetness
Are the essence of virtue and goodness.
Readily do we all pay homage to ourselves
Before others we refuse to bow.
Weigh anything in a pair of scales and see
That of greater substance does the lower go.
The wicked man bends over double
As deer-slayer shooting his dart.
What use is bending or bowing of head
When you bow not your heart?
* * *
Daya kapah santokh soot jat gandhi sat vat
When making the sacred thread, the Janeau,
See that following rules you pursue.
Out of the cotton of compassion
Spin the thread of tranquillity
Let continence be the knot
And virtue the twist thereon.
O pandit, if such a sacred thread there be
Around our neck, we shall wear it willingly.
A thread so made will not break
It will not get dirty, be burnt or lost.
O Nanak, thou shall see
Those who wear this shall blessed be.
For four cowrie shells this thread is bought
A square is marked for the ceremony.
The Brahmin whispers a mantra in the ear
And thus becomes the guru and teacher.
But when the wearer dies, cast away is his thread
And threadless he goes on his voyage ahead.
* * *
Je kar sootak manneeai sab tai sootak hoe
Once we say: This is pure, this unclean,
See that in all things there is life unseen.
There are worms in wood and cowdung cakes,
There is life in the corn ground into bread.
There is life in the water which turns plants green.
How then be clean when impurity is over the kitchen spread?
O Nanak, not thus are things impure purified
Wash them with divine knowledge instead.
Impurity of the mind is greed,
Of tongue, untruth
Impurity of the eye is coveting
Another’s wealth, his wife, her comeliness;
Impurity of the ears is listening to calumny.
O Nanak, thus does the fettered soul
Wing its way to the city of doom.
* * *
Apey bhandey sajeean apey pooran dey
God gives shape to human vessels
And God fills them with what He wills
Into some He pours milk
Others He makes simmer on the hearths,
Some are destined to sleep on soft couches
Others spend their nights keeping a vigil,
He saves those whom He wills.
* * *
Vade kiyan vadieyeean
Beyond speech is the glory of the Great One
He is the Creator, mighty and benign.
To each He gives his living
Our lives fulfil His great design.
God is our one and only refuge
Besides Him there is no second one
Whatever pleases Him, He causes to be done.
* * *
Tera nam karee channatheea jey man ursa hoe
If our minds could be made into grindstones,
Thy Name the stick of sandal to rub upon them;
If our good deeds could be as saffron
(And with paste so made we anointed our gods)
That worship would be worship from the heart.
Let our worship be meditation on Thy Name;
Without the Name there is no worship.
We bathe our gods; why not bathe our minds?
Why not rinse our hearts of lies
And thus take the road to paradise?
Learn goodness from your cattle!
You give them only hay
With nectar-like milk they repay.
But man is ungrateful,
He forgets the Name.
(He gives no thanks to his Maker)
Accursed is his life and all he does.
The Lord is beside you,
Deem Him not far away.
Forever He watches over us
And cares for us.
Sayeth Nanak, whatever He gives we eat
That is the Truth
(That Truth is sweet).
* * *
Kavan kavan jachah Prabhu datey takey ant na parah sumar
There is no limit to Thy bounty,
There is no count of those who beg of Thee,
Thou art most bountiful.
Whatever be the hunger in the heart
Dost Thou fulfil it: Thou art Truth Omnipotent
Thou art the Great Giver.
Ho Sir! Prayer, penance and control of the senses
Need to be supported by Truth.
If God grants us the gift of the Name
We attain peace.
Thy treasure is brimful with devotion.
Many are entranced in profound meditation
They concentrate only on the one divine Word;
They are not aware of water nor of land,
Neither of the earth nor of the sky;
They are conscious only of the Creator who made them all.
Not for them is maya’s cup of delusion
For them ignorance casts no shade
They are not bothered by the eternal light of the sun or the moon.
They comprehend entire creation in the heart’s eye
And in one glance take in the three worlds.
They know that God made air, water and fire;
God made Brahma, Vishnu and Siva;
We all are but beggars at Thy door
Thou alone art our Lord, the Great Giver.
Thou givest us gifts as it pleases Thee.
Thirty-three million gods beg of Thee;
Thou givest, but Thy store never diminishes.
A vessel held upside down can contain nothing
Placed as it should be it can be filled with ambrosia.
Miracle-makers in trance know Thee in their hearts
They beg miracles from Thee
And cry ‘To Thee be victory!’
Whatever the mind thirsts for
He slakes that thirst.
Great is the fortune of those who can serve their guru
From them there are no secrets separating guru from God.
For them there is no death nor fear of death,
They know the Word and in their hearts meditate thereon.
Neither now nor at any later time
Shall I ask God for anything besides the Name;
(The Name) unsullied and Love Divine.
As the Chatrik bird (craves for drops of rain)
So shall Nanak crave for drops of nectar.
Merciful Lord, we shall our voices raise
Give us the power to sing Thy praise.
* * *
Amli amal na ambdai machi neer na hoe
To the opium addict there is nothing like opium.
To the fish water is everything.
Those imbued with the Name of their Lord
Find every prospect pleasing.
May every moment of my life be a sacrifice to Thy Name, O my Master!
My Master is like a tree that beareth fruit
The Name of the fruit is nectar
Those who drink its juice are truly fulfilled
May my life be sacrificed to them!
Thou livest amongst all creatures
Yet I see Thee not;
How can the thirsty their thirst slake,
If a wall separates them from the like?
Nanak is Thy tradesman;
Thou art my Master and my goods.
My mind would rid itself of delusion
If to Thee I addressed my prayers
And to Thee my petition.
* * *
Mori run jhun laya, bhainey savan aya
Sweet sound of water gurgling down the water-spout
(The peacock’s shrill, exultant cry)
Sister, it’s savan, the month of rain!
Beloved Thine eyes bind me in a spell
(They pierce through me like daggers)
They fill my heart with greed and longing;
For one glimpse of Thee I’ll give my life
For Thy Name may I be a sacrifice.
When Thou art mine, my heart fills with pride,
What can I be proud of if Thou art not with me?
Woman, smash thy bangles on thy bedstead
Break thy arms, break the arms of thy couch;
Thy adornments hold no charms
Thy Lord is in another’s arms.
The Lord liked not thy bangle-seller
Thy bracelets and glass bangles He doth spurn
Arms that do not the Lord’s neck embrace
With anguish shall forever burn.
All my friends have gone to their lovers
I feel wretched, whose door shall I seek?
Friends, of proven virtue and fair am I
Lord, does nothing about me find favour in Thine eye?
I plaited my tresses,
With vermilion daubed the parting of my hair
And went to Him
But with me He would not lie.
My heart is grief-stricken, I could die.
I wept, and the world wept with me.
Even birds of the forest cried,
Only my soul torn out of my body shed not a tear,
Nay, my soul which separated me from my Beloved shed not a tear.
In a dream He came to me
(I woke) and He was gone.
I wept a flood of tears.
Beloved I cannot come to Thee,
No messenger will take my message;
Blessed sleep come thou back to me,
That in my dreams my Lover I again may see!
Nanak, what wilt thou give the messenger
Who brings thee a message from thy Master?
I’ll sever my head to make a seat for him;
Headless though I be, I’ll continue to serve him.
Why then do I not die? Why not give away my life?
My Husband is estranged from me and has taken another wife!
* * *
Jalao aisee reet jit mai pyara veesrai
Ritual that makes me forget my Beloved Lord shall I burn.
O Nanak that love is best that in the Lord’s eyes doth merit earn.
The body is like a wife in her home,
When her Lord is away
She pines for him.
If her intentions are pure, she’ll be reunited any time any day.
O Nanak, unless there be love,
False and futile is all talk.
Man who calculates good
In the spirit of give and take
Even for the good he does
He doth its virtue vitiate.
* * *
Sabhna marna dya vichhoda sabhna
Death will come to everyone,
To everyone separation,
Who will heareafter be reunited?
Go ask the wise ones.
Those who forget my Master
Will suffer much tribulation.
Forever worship Him who is the Truth
By His grace you will gain joy everlasting.
Praise Him as the Mighty
He alone is and ever shall be.
Lord, Thou art the One, the Only Giver;
Mankind’s gifts account for nothing.
What Thou ordainest comes to pass
All else is as futile as women’s wailing.
Many raised forts and castles upon the earth
Proclaimed dominion by beat of drum—and passed on;
Those who walked with their heads in the clouds
Are now like beasts led by the nose-string.
Man knowing how like a stake driven through the body
Will be thy pain
Thou eatest sweet things of the world,
Why dost thou not abstain?
Sayeth Nanak, the more we sin, the heavier the chain we forge about our necks.
It can be severed by good deeds which are like our brothers and well-wishers.
When we pass on and our credentials are examined
Those who had no guru are beaten and discarded.
* * *
Alakh apar agam agochar na tis kal na karma
Beyond comprehension, without end
Beyond reach, beyond description
Immortal, beyond cause and effect
Beyond the pale of caste and castelessness
Beyond the cycle of life, death and rebirth
Self-existent and alone
Without desire, without delusion.
He is the Truest of the True
To Him I sacrifice my life.
He hath no form nor colour nor line
He manifests Himself through His Word divine.
He hath no mother or father or other kin
He hath no woman nor lusts for one;
He hath no forefathers, nothing contaminates Him,
He is endless, He is infinite.
Thou art the light of all light.
In every heart art Thou hid
In every heart burneth Thy light.
The guru’s message bursts open the granite doors to understanding
And it reveals the Fearless One entranced in profound meditation.
He created life and over it spread the pall of death
All man’s cunning devices He knows and controls.
Serve the true guru, a priceless treasure will be thine.
To gain release, live according to the Word divine.
If thy vessel (thy body) be clean, the True One will enter it and there remain;
But rare are those whose character is without stain.
As essences merge in the quintessence
So doth man’s soul blend in the primal soul.
Sayeth Nanak, Lord, Thou art my refuge.
* * *
Jis jal nidhi karan tum jag aye so amrit gur pahi jeeo
The elixir you came into the world to seek
That sacred font of nectar you’ll find with the guru;
Take off your mask and other disguises
Give up trickery and all other pursuit
Doubt and duality bear no fruit.
Man, stand firm, go not astray
If elsewhere you look, yours will be frustration and grief
For the ambrosia you seek
Is within your heart, within your home.
Abandon the path of evil, take the path of virtue
You’ll regret the evil acts you do.
If you know not good from evil, (the further you go)
The deeper in the mire will you sink.
Of what avail is external washing of the body,
When the grime of greed and falsehood is within?
If under the guru’s guidance you worship the pure Name
You will be saved, your inner self be cleansed of sin.
Discard greed and calumny, with falsehood make no compromise
With the guru’s teaching pluck the fruit of truth.
As be Thy will, O Lord,
So keep me, I crave.
Praises of Thy Word I’ll sing,
Nanak is Thy bond slave.
* * *
Jeeo darat hai apna kai seo karee pukar
My mind is beset with fears
Before whom shall I cry for help?
I shall serve the Remover of Sorrows
He is forever bountiful, He gives me what I ask.
My Master reveals Himself,
Ever fresh, forever new,
He is forever and ever bountiful.
Night and day will I serve my Master
When comes my end, He will be my Redeemer.
Woman who has bewitched my heart, O hark! O hear!
The Lord alone can take us to the other shore.
O Merciful Lord, Thy Name shall be my boat.
To Thee shall I sacrifice my life forever.
In all the world Thou alone art True
There is none besides Thee
On whom falls Thy grace,
Are destined to serve Thee.
Beloved, without Thee how shall I survive?
Grant me the boon that I cling to Thy Name.
My Love, there is no other to whom I can turn.
Master, Thee alone shall I serve, of Thee alone will I beg;
Forever will Nanak be Thy servant.
Every joint and limb of my body I dedicate to Him,
Yea, every limb and every joint I offer to my Master.
* * *
Jeeo tapat hai baro bar
Fires of temptation assail me time and again,
I weaken and am a prey to many ills;
I forgot the guru’s hymns
And like one chronically sick and in bodily pain
I groan and moan and complain.
Too much talk is foolish prattle
Without our telling
He knows everything
That is worth knowing.
He who gave us ears, eyes and nose,
Who gave us tongue so cunning of speech,
He who preserved us in the furnace of the womb
At His bidding is all the breath we breathe.
As strong our attachments, our loves and cravings
So black is the stain they leave on our reputations.
Those who pursue the path of transgression will be branded
And will not find a seat in His presence.
By Thy grace we have power to worship Thy Name
Thy Name alone saves, we have no other recourse.
Even those sunk can thus be salvaged
O Nanak, the True One is bounteous towards everyone.
* * *
Chor salahai cheet na bheejai, jey badi karai ta tasoo na chheejai
Words of praise from a thief do not please the mind
Nor words of calumny spoken by him in the least detract;
For a thief no one stands surety, no one will hold a brief
How can anything good be expected of a thief?
My mind, listen! Thou blind, base cur! listen forsooth
Without being told, the True One finds the Truth.
A thief may appear learned and wise
He’ll be a base coin worth two pies
However much you mix the base with the genuine
Base will be found to be base when carefully examined.
As our acts, so will our deserts be
As we sow, so shall we reap;
Of himself whatever a man may say
(It changes not his real self) his senses determine his way.
A hundred lies he may tell to cover up his filth and falsehood;
He may win acclaim all over the world.
(It will not help, the base can never be good)
If it be Thy will, even a fool wilt Thou receive
O Nanak, He is wise and omniscient,
Nobody doth the Lord deceive.
* * *
ARTI: Gagan mai thal ravi chand dipak banai
The firmament is Thy salver
The sun and moon Thy lamps;
The galaxy of stars as pearls strewn.
A mountain of sandal is Thy joss-stick
Breezes that blow Thy fan;
All the woods and vegetation
All flowers that bloom
Take their colours from Thy light.
Thus we wave the salver of lamps
How beautiful is this ritual!
Thou art the destroyer of the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
In Thy temple echo beats the drum unstruck by hands.
A thousand eyes hast Thou, yet no eye hast Thou.
A thousand shapes hast Thou, yet no shape hast Thou.
A thousand feet hast Thou, yet no foot hast Thou.
A thousand nostrils hast Thou, yet no nose hast Thou.
These are miracles that have bewitched my heart.
Thine is the light in every lamp.
Thine the radiance in all that is radiant.
The guru’s teaching illumines our minds.
What pleases Him is the true worship of lamps.
As the honey bee seeks honey in flowers
My soul which is ever athirst,
Seeks Thy lotus feet
To slake its thirst for nectar.
Lord, show Thy mercy
Give Nanak the water he seeks.
He like the sarang cries for rain
Let him forever abide in Thy Name.
* * *
Gur sagar ratani bharpoorey
The guru is a sea full of pearls
The saintly are like swans that feed
And are never far from its shore.
They pick up their share of the nectar (of the Name)
The Lord loves them and holds them dear.
In this sea the swans find God, the Lord of life.
The wretched heron wades in the dirty pond
It wallows in the mire, it cannot be cleansed.
The wise watch their steps ere they go
They reject duality and worship God as the Formless One.
They drink nectar and attain salvation
The guru rescues them from the cycle of death and rebirth.
Swans never leave the sea,
With love and adoration they gently become a part of it.
Then is the swan in the sea and the sea within the swan
It knows the unknowable and pays homage to the guru’s words.
Entranced in profound meditation is the Divine Yogi
He is neither male nor female, how can one describe Him?
In the three worlds is His divine light worshipped
Gods and men and ascetics seek refuge in Him.
God is the root of the tree of bliss,
He is the Protector of the helpless;
In meditation and in worship
Men of God follow the gentle method of sahaj.
God cherishes His worshippers, He is the Destroyer of fear
Man conquers his ego, his steps turn towards the Lord.
Man tries countless other devices but death dogs his footsteps;
For those who came into the world, death is destined
Life is an invaluable gift, man squanders it in duality,
He knows it not himself, he stumbles in doubt and sorely grieves.
Those who know speak, read, and hear praises of the One God,
The God who supports the earth,
He instils in them faith and fortitude, and becomes their protector.
Their minds become chaste, righteous and self-controlled
If they choose, they attain the fourth estate.
So pure are the truthful, nothing can soil them;
The guru’s teaching dispels doubt and fear.
Nanak begs of the Truthful One, the Primal Lord
Handsome of face and feature which are beyond compare.
* * *
Teerath navan jao teerath Nam hai
Why go ye on pilgrimage to bathe in holy waters?
Know that real pilgrimage is worship of the Name!
True pilgrimage is meditation on the Word and knowledge of the self.
Knowledge imparted by the guru is more real (than a sacred river bank);
It is more rewarding than bathing on the ten holy days;
It is like an unending festival of Dussehra.
Forever shall I beg the Name of God, Hari.
God, Sustainer of the world, give Thy Name to me!
The world is sick, God’s Name is the remedy.
If we do not have the Name of the True One
We shall forever be smeared in sin.
The guru’s teaching is pure, eternally effulgent.
It is ever the truest pilgrimage and ablution.
Dirt does not stick to those who are truthful
They have no need to scrub or rinse themselves.
If you string a garland of good deeds around your neck,
You need not then raise cries of regret.
Contemplation conquers ego,
It helps man save himself and save others.
It prevents rebirth.
The one who contemplates becomes the supreme meditator.
The touchstone (whereby all truths are tested)
The truthful please the Truthful One.
Day and night is he in true ecstatic bliss
Sin and sorrow do not afflict him.
He hath found the Name of the True One.
The guru hath shown him the way to God.
No sin can stain him because
The True One abides in his heart.
Meeting and companionship of the men of God is real bathing, true pilgrimage,
One who sings the songs of the Lord is himself exalted,
Praise the True One, have faith in the true guru.
Thy nature will turn to giving alms and charity,
Performing of good deeds and acts of mercy.
If thou love being with thy Lord
In the gentle stream of sahaj willst thou then bathe
It is a stream as holy as the Sangam
(Where meet Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati).
Thou shalt be the truest of the true;
Thou shalt worship the One God who is the truth
And whose bounty ever increaseth.
Friends! Company of the saintly
Is the way to salvation.
God grants this in His grace and unites us with Himself.
Everyone speaks of the Lord
Who can say how great He is?
I am foolish, low-born and ignorant
I learn from the guru’s teaching
Which is like drinking pure nectar.
It persuaded my mind to accept the truth.
We come into the world with a load of sin,
We depart with the self-same load.
Only my guru’s teaching explains the truth to me.
We can endlessly talk of the Lord; He Himself is the keeper of the treasure of worship.
His presence is felt everywhere.
Nanak speaks the truth and pleads
He who cleanses his heart is truly cleansed.
* * *
Yak arj guftam pes to dar gos kun kartar
Creator! A petition I place at Thy door
Give ear and hear what I have to say.
Thou art just, great, merciful and of evil free
Thou art Protector of all things that be.
We must always bear in mind
That the world is perishable.
The angel of death hath my hair in his grasp
And yet my heart hath no knowledge of it.
Neither wife nor son, neither father nor brother,
Not one can extend to me a helping hand!
When comes my time to depart,
Time to say the final prayer
No one will hear my call,
And to my rescue come.
Night and day, I trod the path of greed
My mind thought only evil thoughts
I did not do any good deed.
I am unfortunate, niggardly and thoughtless,
A shameless wretch am I;
I have even lost the fear of God.
Sayeth Nanak, Thy slave am I,
Yea, I am the dust of the feet of Thy slaves.
* * *
Ih tan maya pahia pyarey leetda lab rangae
Dear friend, I am like one drowned in a dyer’s vat
Brimful with delusions of maya
I have become like a cloth dyed with greed.
Dear friend, the colour of my cloak
Pleases not the Lord my Groom.
How then shall I who am His bride,
Be invited to His nuptial couch?
Let my life be a sacrifice unto Thee, O Merciful One!
Let my life be a sacrifice!
Let my life be a sacrifice to those who worship Thy Name.
Yea, let my life be sacrificed to them a hundred times.
Dear friend, if the body be like a dyer’s vat
We must fill it with the madder of the Lord’s Name;
The Divine Dyer will dye it in hues none hath ever seen.
Dear friend, she whose garment is thus dyed
Hath the Lord her Groom by her side.
Nanak prays for the dust of her feet.
The Lord weaves the cloth and dyes it.
He Himself appraises the colours.
Sayeth Nanak, if the woman thus adorned please Him
He will be gracious and take her unto Himself.
* * *
Jog na khintha, jog na dandey, jog na bhasam chadhaeeai
Religion lieth not in the patched coat the yogi wears,
Not in the staff he bears,
Nor in the ashes on his body.
Religion lieth not in rings in the ears,
Not in a shaven head,
Nor in the blowing of the conch-shell.
If thou must the path of true religion see,
Among the world’s impurities, be of impurities free.
Not by talk can you achieve union
He who sees all mankind as equals
Can be deemed to be a yogi.
Religion lieth not in visiting tombs
Nor in visiting places where they burn the dead
Not in sitting entranced in contemplation
Nor in wandering in the countryside or foreign lands
Nor in bathing at places of pilgrimage.
If thou must the path of true religion see,
Among the world’s impurities, be of impurities free.
When a man meets the true guru
His doubts are dispelled
And his mind ceases its wanderings;
Drops of nectar pour down on him like rain.
His ears catch strains of sahaj’s celestial music
And his mind is lit up with knowledge divine.
If thou must the path of true religion see,
Among the world’s impurities, be of impurities free.
Sayeth Nanak, if thou must be a real yogi,
Be in the world but be dead to its tinsel values.
When the lute strikes notes without being touched
Know then that thou hast conquered fear.
If thou must the path of true religion see,
Among the world’s impurities, be of impurities free.
* * *
Sabh avgun mai gun nahi koe
Full of evil, no virtues have I
How will I my husband meet?
My face is not comely, there is no lustre in my eyes
I have no lineage, no winsome ways, nor sweet speech.
She who comes adorned with the beauty nature gave
Shall find favour with her Lord
And her marriage consummated.
He hath neither form nor shape
But seek Him now.
Put of not prayer till the end is near.
I have no sense, no learning, no ability
Lord have mercy, let me clasp Thy feet.
What avail is my youth
If it please not my Lord?
Maya hath deluded me; I have lost my way.
When the notion of self goes, God enters
Then the bride finds her Groom and the nine treasures.
Many lives have I spent sorrowing separated from Thee
My Lord, my lover take me in Thine arms and save me
Says Nanak: those He likes, He accepts
The Lord is—and ever shall be.
* * *
Sau ulame dinai key rati milan sahans
The day’s hundred regrets
By night multiply tenfold;
As a swan instead of feeding on pearls
(Which are the real sustenance)
Pecks at carrion
So man forgets to sing hosannas to his God
(Which are the real sustenance for his soul
And turns instead to the fleshpots of the world).
Cursed be the life thus wasted
In stuffing food and increasing the paunch.
The Name of the True One changes not; that much we know
All else, sayeth Nanak, turns from friend to foe.
* * *
Deeva balai andhera jai, bed path mati papa khai
When a lamp is lit, darkness is dispelled
Where scriptures are read, evil thoughts are expelled.
When the sun rises, the moon is not seen
When knowledge comes, ignorance is dispelled.
The reading of the Vedas is now a worldly trade
O pandit! You read much, but without thought,
Without understanding this reading is a loss.
Says Nanak, only those the guru loves will go across.
* * *
Too sultan kaha hau miyan teri kavan vaddiaee
Thou art the Sultan
If I address Thee as the village headman
Do I magnify Thy Name?
Lord, I address thee as Thou hast empowered me
I am foolish and know not the art of polite speech.
As Thou instructest me so shall I word my praise
Thy will shall be my way of life, in Thy truth shall I abide.
All that comes to pass is at Thy bidding
Everything that happens is within Thy knowing
My Master, I know not Thy dimensions
I have no means of knowing, I am blind.
What shall I say? I tried to speak
I learned that I could not speak of One
Who is beyond description.
I can only say as much as Thou willst me to say
And that is but a tiny fragment of Thy real greatness.
You are the shade in which we rest
And the mansions we raise.
None other besides You will I ever know, O Master,
Forever shall I sing in praise of You.
Men and beasts, all Your shelter seek
You have to look after everyone.
This is Nanak’s one prayer and only request
That he look upon Your will as the best.
* * *