Ang 1416

The poisonous snake, the serpent of Maya, has surrounded the world with its coils, O mother! The antidote to this poisonous venom is the Name of the Lord; the Guru places the magic spell of the Shabad into the mouth. Those who are blessed with such pre-ordained destiny come and meet the True Guru. Meeting with the True Guru, they become immaculate, and the poison of egotism is eradicated. Radiant and bright are the faces of the Gurmukhs; they are honored in the Court of the Lord. Servant Nanak is forever a sacrifice to those who walk in harmony with the Will of the True Guru. ||22|| The True Guru, the Primal Being, has no hatred or vengeance. His heart is constantly attuned to the Lord. Whoever directs hatred against the Guru, who has no hatred at all, only sets his own home on fire. Anger and egotism are within him night and day; he burns, and suffers constant pain. They babble and tell lies, and keep on barking, eating the poison of the love of duality. For the sake of the poison of Maya, they wander from house to house, and lose their honor. They are like the son of a prostitute, who does not know the name of his father. They do not remember the Name of the Lord, Har, Har; the Creator Himself brings them to ruin. The Lord showers His Mercy upon the Gurmukhs, and reunites the separated ones with Himself. Servant Nanak is a sacrifice to those who fall at the Feet of the True Guru. ||23|| Those who are attached to the Naam, the Name of the Lord, are saved; without the Name, they must go to the City of Death. O Nanak, without the Name, they find no peace; they come and go in reincarnation with regrets. ||24|| When anxiety and wanderings come to an end, the mind becomes happy. By Guru’s Grace, the soul-bride understands, and then she sleeps without worry. Those who have such pre-ordained destiny meet with the Guru, the Lord of the Universe. O Nanak, they merge intuitively into the Lord, the Embodiment of Supreme Bliss. ||25|| Those who serve their True Guru, who contemplate the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, who honor and obey the Will of the True Guru, who keep the Lord’s Name enshrined within their hearts, are honored, here and hereafter; they are dedicated to the business of the Lord’s Name. Through the Word of the Shabad, the Gurmukhs gain recognition in that Court of the True Lord. The True Name is their merchandise, the True Name is their expenditure; the Love of their Beloved fills their inner beings. The Messenger of Death does not even approach them; the Creator Lord Himself forgives them. O Nanak, they alone are wealthy, who are imbued with the Naam; the rest of the world is poor. ||26||

The Lord’s Name is the Support of the Lord’s humble servants. Without the Lord’s Name, the there is no other place, no place of rest. Following the Guru’s Teachings, the Name abides in the mind, and one is intuitively, automatically absorbed in the Lord. Those with great good fortune meditate on the Naam; night and day, they embrace love for the Name. Servant Nanak begs for the dust of their feet; I am forever a sacrifice to them. ||27|| The 8.4 million species of beings burn in desire and cry in pain. All this show of emotional attachment to Maya shall not go with you at that very last instant. Without the Lord, peace and tranquility do not come; unto whom should we go and complain? By great good fortune, one meets the True Guru, and comes to understand the contemplation of God. The fire of desire is totally extinguished, O servant Nanak, enshrining the Lord within the heart. ||28|| I make so many mistakes, there is no end or limit to them. O Lord, please be merciful and forgive me; I am a sinner, a great offender. O Dear Lord, if You made an account of my mistakes, my turn to be forgiven would not even come. Please forgive me, and unite me with Yourself. The Guru, in His Pleasure, has united me with the Lord God; He has cut away all my sinful mistakes. Servant Nanak celebrates the victory of those who meditate on the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. ||29|| Those who have been separated and alienated from the Lord are united with Him again, through the Fear and the Love of the True Guru. They escape the cycle of birth and death, and, as Gurmukh, they meditate on the Naam, the Name of the Lord. Joining the Saadh Sangat, the Guru’s Congregation, the diamonds and jewels are obtained. O Nanak, the jewel is priceless; the Gurmukhs seek and find it. ||30|| The self-willed manmukhs do not even think of the Naam. Cursed are their lives, and cursed are their homes. That Lord who gives them so much to eat and wear — they do not enshrine that Lord, the Treasure of Virtue, in their minds. This mind is not pierced by the Word of the Shabad; how can it come to dwell in its true home? The self-willed manmukhs are like discarded brides, ruined by coming and going in the cycle of reincarnation. The Gurmukhs are embellished and exalted by the Naam, the Name of the Lord; the jewel of destiny is engraved upon their foreheads. they enshrine the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, within their hearts; the Lord illumines their heart-lotus. I am forever a sacrifice to those who serve their True Guru. O Nanak, radiant and bright are the faces of those whose inner beings are illuminated with the Light of the Naam. ||31||

Those who die in the Word of the Shabad are saved. Without the Shabad, no one is liberated. They wear religious robes and perform all sorts of rituals, but they are ruined; in the love of duality, their world is ruined. O Nanak, without the True Guru, the Name is not obtained, even though one may long for it hundreds of times. ||32|| The Name of the Lord is utterly great, lofty and high, the highest of the high. No one can climb up to it, even though one may long for it, hundreds of times. Speaking about self-discipline, no one become pure; everyone walks around wearing religious robes. Those blessed by the karma of good deeds go and climb the ladder of the Guru. The Lord comes and dwells within that one who contemplates the Word of the Guru’s Shabad. O Nanak, when someone dies in the Word of the Shabad, the mind is pleased and appeased. True is the reputation of those who are true. ||33|| Emotional attachment to Maya is a treacherous ocean of pain and poison, which cannot be crossed. Screaming, “Mine, mine!”, they rot and die; they pass their lives in egotism. The self-willed manmukhs are in limbo, neither on this side, nor the other; they are stuck in the middle. They act as they are pre- destined; they cannot do anything else. Following the Guru’s Teachings, the jewel of spiritual wisdom abides in the mind, and then God is easily seen in all. O Nanak, the very fortunate ones embark on the Boat of the True Guru; they are carried across the terrifying world-ocean. ||34|| Without the True Guru, there is no giver who can bestow the Support of the Lord’s Name. By Guru’s Grace, the Name comes to dwell in the mind; keep it enshrined in your heart. The fire of desire is extinguished, and one finds satisfaction, through the Love of the Name of the Lord. O Nanak, the Gurmukh finds the Lord, when He showers His Mercy. ||35|| Without the Shabad, the world is so insane, that it cannot even be described. Those who are protected by the Lord are saved; they remain lovingly attuned to the Word of the Shabad. O Nanak, the Creator who made this making knows everything. ||36|| The Pandits, the religious scholars, have grown weary of making fire-offerings and sacrifices, making pilgrimages to all the sacred shrines, and reading the Puraanas. But they cannot get rid of the poison of emotional attachment to Maya; they continue to come and go in egotism. Meeting with the True Guru, one’s filth is washed off, meditating on the Lord, the Primal Being, the All- knowing One. Servant Nanak is forever a sacrifice to those who serve their Lord God. ||37||