Manmukh lok samjhayiai kadon samjhaya jae
If you preach to the wicked
Can you turn them from their wicked ways?
They will not mingle with the good however much you try
But will tread their own wayward paths
For such is their desert.
There are two ways:
Love of the Lord and love of gold.
By His ordinance alone one finds the right path.
The good conquer their sinfulness
And the touchstone of the Guru’s word
Declares them pure.
It is with the mind we must battle,
With the mind we must come to terms
And with the mind make peace.
The mind gets what it wills
By the power of Truth and love of the word.
Drink deep of the nectar that is the Name
And let your deeds be righteous.
If your battles are not with your own mind
But with others
You will have wasted your life.
The wicked surrender to their wilful minds
Their ways are false, their reward evil.
The good win their battles over their minds
For they have their thoughts fixed on God.
Nanak says: The good through Truth attain salvation
The wicked escape not the cycle of birth and death.
* * *
Maya kis no akhiai, kya maya karm kamae?
What is maya? What acts spring from it?
The snare of joy and sorrow in which our lives are caught,
The thought of self that moves us to action.
Without the word there is no wisdom,
Nothing to tear apart maya’s veil of illusion,
Nothing to exorcise the ego.
Without love you cannot be a devotee,
Without the word, you will find no rest.
It is the word alone that conquers self
And destroys illusion.
The pious receive the gift of the Name
By gentle ways and good conduct.
Without the Guru one cannot tell
The good from the bad.
Without goodness, prayer has no meaning.
If God is in the heart
He can be met face to face.
He comes as gently as comes sleep.
O Nanak, raise your voice in praise of the Guru
By His grace you shall attain salvation.
* * *
Kajal phul tambol ras
She put black in her eyes, flowers in her hair,
With betel leaves sweetened her breath and her lips stained;
But the Lord came not to her bed
All her adornments were in vain.
Woman and man who just live together, speak not of them as truly wed,
When in two bodies a single light burns, then are man and woman truly wed.
Without the fear of the Lord
One cannot be a true devotee
For one has no love of the Name.
Love is born on meeting the true Guru.
Fear and love together give the proper hue
They kill the hunger of the ego
And with His Name, body and soul imbue.
Body and Soul thus cleansed, made of beauty rare
Give to the Lord, the Destroyer of Evil.
Both fear and love to him the Lord does give
Who in this world do truthfully live.
* * *
Anandu bhaiya meri mayi
Mother, my heart is full of joy
For I have found my true guru;
I found the true guru following the gentle path of sahaj
My heart resounds with cries of felicitation
Jewel-like ragas and their families of fairy-like houris
Have come to sing hymns of praise;
They within whom Hari resides, divine hymns sing
Says Nanak, I have attained bliss because the true guru I did find.
* * *
Ae man meriya tun sadaa rahe Hari naale
My heart, ever abide with the Lord Hari
Abide with the Lord and forget all your misery;
He will sort out all your affairs.
In every way He is your master
Why then let Him out of your mind?
Says Nanak, my mind, forever with the Hari abide.
* * *
Sache sahiba kiya nahi dhari tere
Master true, what is it that is not in Your house?
There is everything there
Only those You choose to give find it.
Lord grant me the gift of ever singing Your praise
So Your name gets imprinted on my mind.
The hearts of those wherein dwells the name
Always resound with hymns of praise
Asks Nanak, true Lord what is there not found in Your house?
* * *
Sacha nam mera adharo
Name of the true Lord is my support
With the true name’s help, I lost all my hungers
It gave me peace of mind, contentment and fulfilled all my desires
Forever may my life be sacrificed to the guru who is so great
Says Nanak, ye men of God, cherish his words
For the name of the true one is my mainstay.
* * *
Vaje panch sabad titu dhari sabhage
All five kinds of musical instruments
Play in the hearts of the blessed;
In their blessed homes plays celestial music
Where God has infused his magic and might.
And the five evils (lust, anger, greed, self-love and arrogance) are suppressed
And the fear of death is no more
Only those who were predestined
Attach themselves and the true name find.
Says Nanak, there is always happiness
Where uninterrupted divine music plays.
* * *
Kalao masaajni ki-aa sadaeai hirdai hi likh leho
Why need you pen and ink? Write upon your heart.
Dye yourself in the colour of the Lord, and you are his forever.
Pen and ink will not endure, nor even what was written.
O Nanak, love of the Lord shall not perish; it is a gift from the True One.
* * *
Hearing the divine music all your heart’s desires will be fulfilled.
You will find the great creator,
All your worldly cares will disappear;
Pain, sickness, worry will vanish
When you hear the true hymns of praise.
Pious and holy men will be overjoyed, assures the true guru.
Purified are they who hear,
And purified they who sing
The Lord is to be found in his words.
Says Nanak, you clasp the sacred feet of the guru
And you will hear divine music for eternity.