Ang 1288

SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: Modesty and righteousness both, O Nanak, are qualities of those who are blessed with true wealth. Do not refer to that wealth as your friend, which leads you to get your head beaten. Those who possess only this worldly wealth are known as paupers. But those, within whose hearts You dwell, O Lord — those people are oceans of virtue. ||1|| FIRST MEHL: Worldly possessions are obtained by pain and suffering; when they are gone, they leave pain and suffering. O Nanak, without the True Name, hunger is never satisfied. Beauty does not satisfy hunger; when the man sees beauty, he hungers even more. As many as are the pleasures of the body, so many are the pains which afflict it. ||2|| FIRST MEHL: Acting blindly, the mind becomes blind. The blind mind makes the body blind. Why make a dam with mud and plaster? Even a dam made of stones gives way. The dam has burst. There is no boat. There is no raft. The water’s depth is unfathomable. O Nanak, without the True Name, many multitudes have drowned. ||3|| FIRST MEHL: Thousands of pounds of gold, and thousands of pounds of silver; the king over the heads of thousands of kings. Thousands of armies, thousands of marching bands and spearmen; the emperor of thousands of horsemen. The unfathomable ocean of fire and water must be crossed. The other shore cannot be seen; only the roar of pitiful cries can be heard. O Nanak, there, it shall be known, whether anyone is a king or an emperor. ||4|| PAUREE: Some have chains around their necks, in bondage to the Lord. They are released from bondage, realizing the True Lord as True. One whose pre-ordained destiny is activated, comes to know the True Lord. By God’s Command, it is ordained. When the mortal goes, he knows. Realize the Word of the Shabad, and cross over the terrifying world-ocean. Thieves, adulterers and gamblers are pressed like seeds in the mill. Slanderers and gossipers are hand-cuffed. The Gurmukh is absorbed in the True Lord, and is famous in the Court of the Lord. ||21||

SHALOK, SECOND MEHL: The beggar is known as an emperor, and the fool is known as a religious scholar. The blind man is known as a seer; this is how people talk. The trouble-maker is called a leader, and the liar is seated with honor. O Nanak, the Gurmukhs know that this is justice in the Dark Age of Kali Yuga. ||1|| FIRST MEHL: Deer, falcons and government officials are known to be trained and clever. When the trap is set, they trap their own kind; hereafter they will find no place of rest. He alone is learned and wise, and he alone is a scholar, who practices the Name. First, the tree puts down its roots, and then it spreads out its shade above. The kings are tigers, and their officials are dogs; they go out and awaken the sleeping people to harass them. The public servants inflict wounds with their nails. The dogs lick up the blood that is spilled. But there, in the Court of the Lord, all beings will be judged. Those who have violated the people’s trust will be disgraced; their noses will be cut off. ||2|| PAUREE: He Himself creates the world, and He himself takes care of it. Without the Fear of God, doubt is not dispelled, and love for the Name is not embraced. Through the True Guru, the Fear of God wells up, and the Door of Salvation is found. Through the Fear of God, intuitive ease is obtained, and one’s light merges into the Light of the Infinite. Through the Fear of God, the terrifying world-ocean is crossed over, reflecting on the Guru’s Teachings. Through the Fear of God, the Fearless Lord is found; He has no end or limitation. The self-willed manmukhs do not appreciate the value of the Fear of God. Burning in desire, they weep and wail. O Nanak, through the Name, peace is obtained, by enshrining the Guru’s Teachings within the heart. ||22||

SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: Beauty and sexual desire are friends; hunger and tasty food are tied together. Greed is bound up in its search for wealth, and sleep will use even a tiny space as a bed. Anger barks and brings ruin on itself, blindly pursuing useless conflicts. It is good to be silent, O Nanak; without the Name, one’s mouth spews forth only filth. ||1|| FIRST MEHL: Royal power, wealth, beauty, social status and youth are the five thieves. These thieves have plundered the world; no one’s honor has been spared. But these thieves themselves are robbed, by those who fall at the Guru’s Feet. O Nanak, the multitudes who do not have good karma are plundered. ||2|| PAUREE: The learned and educated are called to account for their actions. Without the Name, they are judged false; they become miserable and suffer hardship. Their path becomes treacherous and difficult, and their way is blocked. Through the Shabad, the Word of the True and Independent Lord God, one becomes content. The Lord is deep and profound and unfathomable; His depth cannot be measured. Without the Guru, the mortals are beaten and punched in the face and the mouth, and no one is released. Chanting the Naam, the Name of the Lord, one returns to his true home with honor. Know that the Lord, by the Hukam of His Command, gives sustenance and the breath of life. ||23||