Ang 143

SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: When the crop is ripe, then it is cut down; only the stalks are left standing. The corn on the cob is put into the thresher, and the kernels are separated from the cobs. Placing the kernels between the two mill-stones, people sit and grind the corn. Those kernels which stick to the central axle are spared—Nanak has seen this wonderful vision! ||1|| FIRST MEHL: Look, and see how the sugar-cane is cut down. After cutting away its branches, its feet are bound together into bundles, and then, it is placed between the wooden rollers and crushed. What punishment is inflicted upon it! Its juice is extracted and placed in the cauldron; as it is heated, it groans and cries out. And then, the crushed cane is collected and burnt in the fire below. Nanak: come, people, and see how the sweet sugar-cane is treated! ||2|| PAUREE: Some do not think of death; they entertain great hopes. They die, and are re-born, and die, over and over again. They are of no use at all! In their conscious minds, they call themselves good. The King of the Angels of Death hunts down those self-willed manmukhs, over and over again. The manmukhs are false to their own selves; they feel no gratitude for what they have been given. Those who merely perform rituals of worship are not pleasing to their Lord and Master. Those who attain the True Lord and chant His Name are pleasing to the Lord. They worship the Lord and bow at His Throne. They fulfill their pre-ordained destiny. ||11||

FIRST MEHL, SHALOK: What can deep water do to a fish? What can the vast sky do to a bird? What can cold do to a stone? What is married life to a eunuch? You may apply sandalwood oil to a dog, but he will still be a dog. You may try to teach a deaf person by reading the Simritees to him, but how will he learn? You may place a light before a blind man and burn fifty lamps, but how will he see? You may place gold before a herd of cattle, but they will pick out the grass to eat. You may add flux to iron and melt it, but it will not become soft like cotton. O Nanak, this is the nature of a fool—everything he speaks is useless and wasted. ||1|| FIRST MEHL: When pieces of bronze or gold or iron break, the metal-smith welds them together again in the fire, and the bond is established. If a husband leaves his wife, their children may bring them back together in the world, and the bond is established. When the king makes a demand, and it is met, the bond is established. When the hungry man eats, he is satisfied, and the bond is established. In the famine, the rain fills the streams to overflowing, and the bond is established. There is a bond between love and words of sweetness. When one speaks the Truth, a bond is established with the Holy Scriptures. Through goodness and truth, the dead establish a bond with the living. Such are the bonds which prevail in the world. The fool establishes his bonds only when he is slapped in the face. Nanak says this after deep reflection: through the Lord’s Praise, we establish a bond with His Court. ||2|| PAUREE: He Himself created and adorned the Universe, and He Himself contemplates it. Some are counterfeit, and some are genuine. He Himself is the Appraiser. The genuine are placed in His Treasury, while the counterfeit are thrown away. The counterfeit are thrown out of the True Court—unto whom should they complain? They should worship and follow the True Guru—this is the lifestyle of excellence. The True Guru converts the counterfeit into genuine; through the Word of the Shabad, He embellishes and exalts us. Those who have enshrined love and affection for the Guru, are honored in the True Court. Who can estimate the value of those who have been forgiven by the Creator Lord Himself? ||12||

SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: All the spiritual teachers, their disciples and the rulers of the world shall be buried under the ground. The emperors shall also pass away; God alone is Eternal. You alone, Lord, You alone. ||1|| FIRST MEHL: Neither the angels, nor the demons, nor human beings, nor the Siddhas, nor the seekers shall remain on the earth. Who else is there? You alone, Lord, You alone. ||2|| FIRST MEHL: Neither the just, nor the generous, nor any humans at all, nor the seven realms beneath the earth, shall remain. The One Lord alone exists. Who else is there? You alone, Lord, You alone. ||3|| FIRST MEHL: Neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the planets, nor the seven continents, nor the oceans, nor food, nor the wind—nothing is permanent. You alone, Lord, You alone. ||4|| FIRST MEHL: Our sustenance is not in the hands of any person. The hopes of all rest in the One Lord. The One Lord alone exists—who else is there? You alone, Lord, You alone. ||5|| FIRST MEHL: The birds have no money in their pockets. They place their hopes on trees and water. He alone is the Giver. You alone, Lord, You alone. ||6|| FIRST MEHL: O Nanak, that destiny which is pre-ordained and written on one’s forehead—no one can erase it. The Lord infuses strength, and He takes it away again. You alone, O Lord, You alone. ||7|| PAUREE: True is the Hukam of Your Command. To the Gurmukh, it is known. Through the Guru’s Teachings, selfishness and conceit are eradicated, and the Truth is realized. True is Your Court. It is proclaimed and revealed through the Word of the Shabad. Meditating deeply on the True Word of the Shabad, I have merged into the Truth. The self-willed manmukhs are always false; they are deluded by doubt. They dwell in manure, and they do not know the taste of the Name. Without the Name, they suffer the agonies of coming and going. O Nanak, the Lord Himself is the Appraiser, who distinguishes the counterfeit from the genuine. ||13||