COMMUNAL

Shaloks of the Ninth Guru

THE SHALOKS (‘Couplets’) were composed by Guru Tegh Bahadur, the Ninth Guru, shortly before his execution in 1675. Brevity and simplicity constitute the poetic power of these fifty-seven couplets. They come at the end of the Guru Granth and are prominent in Bhog (‘Pleasure’) ceremonies. Bhog is a form of thanksgiving which concludes every reading of the Guru Granth. During Bhog, the congregation comes together and the reader begins to read slowly the last five pages of the Guru Granth beginning with the Shaloks and followed by Guru Arjan’s Mundavani, the seal to the Guru Granth (Guru Granth, pp. 1426–9).

1 Unless we sing divine praise
our life passes in vain;

Says Nanak, love the Divine, my mind,
as a fish loves water.

2 Why are we caught in worldly delights?
Why can’t we be free for a moment?

Says Nanak, love the Divine, my mind;
be saved from the snare of death.

3 Youth has passed away,
old age taken over.

Says Nanak, love the Divine, my mind;
life hastens so quickly away.

4 Old age sets in,
still we don’t think of death.

Says Nanak, fool,
why don’t you love the Almighty?

5 Riches, wives and all possessions
we regard as our own.

But which of them goes with us, my mind?
Says Nanak, know that this is true.

6 Saviour of the fallen! Dispeller of fear!
Home of the homeless!

Says Nanak, know That One
abiding with us for ever.

7 Who gave us our body, who gave us wealth,
That One we have not loved.

Says Nanak, fool,
why do you waver so wretchedly?

8 That One who blessed us with body and wealth,
with comforts and beautiful homes.

Says Nanak, listen my mind,
why don’t you remember That One?

9 The Bestower of all joys is the Divine,
there is no other.

Says Nanak, listen my mind,
we are liberated by remembering That One.

10 Whose remembrance is liberating, my friend,

love That One.

Says Nanak, listen my mind,
our life diminishes every moment.

11 Recognize, clever person,
our body is made of the five elements.

From That which it emerged, says Nanak,
into That will it merge.

12 The Divine permeates each and every heart,
so the faithful proclaim.

Says Nanak, my mind remember That One
who takes us across the world.

13 They who are free from joy and sorrow,
from greed, passion and pride.

Says Nanak, listen my mind,
they indeed are the image of the Almighty.

14 They for whom praise and abuse are alike,
for whom iron and gold are alike,

Says Nanak, listen my mind,

know that they are truly free.

15 They who are neither happy nor sad,
who have neither friend nor foe,

Says Nanak, listen my mind,
they are truly free.

16 They who neither incite fear in others
nor fear anyone themselves,

Says Nanak, listen my mind,
know that they are enlightened.

17 They who reject the poisons of the world
and take up the way of detachment,

Says Nanak, listen my mind,
their foreheads glow with good fortune.

18 They who abandon fleeting delights and passions
and are free from all attachments,

Says Nanak, listen my mind,
the Almighty abides in them.

19 They who abandon their own ego

and recognize the Creator,

Says Nanak, know this, my mind,
they truly are liberated!

20 The divine Name in this dark age
dispels fear and ignorance.

Says Nanak, they who recite It night and day,
triumph in every action.

21 Recite divine praise with your tongues,
hear the divine Name with your ears,

Says Nanak, listen my mind,
you will never succumb to death.

22 They who abandon attachment
greed, passion, and pride,

Says Nanak, they themselves are free
and lead many others to freedom.

23 A dream or a show,
know the world is so;

Says Nanak, save for the Almighty,
there is nothing real in here.

24 Lured by illusionary delights,
we mortals waver night and day.

Says Nanak, there is one in a million,
who remembers the Divine.

25 Like a bubble on the waters
ever rising and falling,

Says Nanak, listen my friend,
so is our world fashioned.

26 We are oblivious to all,
blinded by worldly intoxicants.

Says Nanak, without devotion
we succumb to the snare of death.

27 If we want eternal happiness,
we must ever seek the Lap of the Divine.

Says Nanak, listen my mind,
human life is hard to attain.

28 Ignorant fools

chase fleeting delights;

Says Nanak, without devotion,

their life goes to waste.

29 The mortals who recite divine glory night and day,
are the image of the Divine.

Says Nanak, know this for sure,
between the Divine and them, no difference lies.

30 Drowned in worldly delights,
the mind forgets the Name.

Says Nanak, without devotion to the Divine,
what is the purpose of life?

31 We do not remember the Divine,
through the stupor of wordly intoxicants.

Says Nanak, without devotion
we succumb to the snare of death.

32 In times of joy, there are countless friends;
in times of sorrow, not one.

Says Nanak, my mind, be devoted.
That One is our friend for ever.

33 For so long have I wandered from birth to birth,
and still have not conquered my fear of death.

Says Nanak, my mind, be devoted;
so will you dwell with the Fearless One.

34 I have tried so hard
but cannot give up my ego.

Says Nanak, I am caught in ignorance;
save me, Almighty One!

35 Life has three stages:
Childhood, youth and old age.

Says Nanak, without devotion
they come to naught.

36 Sunk in avarice, we left undone
all that was to be done.

Says Nanak, time has passed,
ignorant fool, why weep now?

37 The mind is sunk in wordly delights,
It cannot be freed, my friend,

Says Nanak, like a fresco
which cannot be pared from its wall.

38 We hope for something

while quite another happens.

Says Nanak, while we busily deceive others
our own minds are ensnared by death.

39 We strive for comforts
but never for pain.

Says Nanak, listen my mind,
all happens as the Divine wills.

40 The world goes begging around,
but the sole bestower is the Divine.

Says Nanak, my mind, contemplate That;
so will all your works be fulfilled.

41 Why all this false pride?
The world is but a dream.

Says Nanak, my mind,
none of it belongs to you.

42 This body in which we take such pride,
vanishes in an instant, my friend.

Says Nanak, they who exalt the Divine,
they conquer the world.

43 They who enshrine the Divine in their self,
know them as liberated.

Says Nanak, know this for sure,
between the Divine and them, no difference lies.

44 They who are devoid
of devotion for the One,

Says Nanak, know them to be
pigs and dogs.

45 Like the faithful dog
that never leaves its owner’s house,

Says Nanak, worship the Divine,
with single mind.

46 Pilgrimage, fasts and charity;
while there is pride in the heart,

Says Nanak, all such actions are as futile
as an elephant’s bath.

47 The head shakes, feet falter,
eyes lose their light.

Says Nanak, knowing this to be our end,
why aren’t we suffused with the divine nectar?

48 I saw the world as my own,
but nothing here belongs to anyone.

Says Nanak, devotion alone is constant;
keep this in mind.

49 The world is false;
know this, my friend.

Says Nanak, it crumbles
like a wall of sand.

50 Rama departed, Ravana departed,
so did their huge families.

Says Nanak, nothing here abides;
the world is but a dream.

51 We should worry only
about what we can prevent.

Says Nanak, this is the way;
everything is passing.

52 What is born must die,
if not today then tomorrow.

Says Nanak, let us sing divine praise
and free ourselves from all fetters.

53 I am weakened and shackled,
no effort avails.

Says Nanak, protect me
as once You helped the elephant.

54 I am empowered and unshackled;
all my efforts are fulfilled.

Says Nanak, all is in Your hands;
You are our constant companion.

55 Friends and relatives desert,
none is our ally for ever.

Says Nanak, in times of distress
You are our only shelter.

56 The Name is eternal, the faithful are eternal,
eternal is the sustaining Guru.

Says Nanak, there are few in this world
who remember the Guru’s Word.

57 Let us enshrine the Name in our hearts,
for none is its equal.

The Name dispels our suffering;
the Name brings us the sight of You.