Ang 147

SHALOK, SECOND MEHL: Twenty-four hours a day, destroy the eight things, and in the ninth place, conquer the body. Within the body are the nine treasures of the Name of the Lord—seek the depths of these virtues. Those blessed with the karma of good actions praise the Lord. O Nanak, they make the Guru their spiritual teacher. In the fourth watch of the early morning hours, a longing arises in their higher consciousness. They are attuned to the river of life; the True Name is in their minds and on their lips. The Ambrosial Nectar is distributed, and those with good karma receive this gift. Their bodies become golden, and take on the color of spirituality. If the Jeweller casts His Glance of Grace, they are not placed in the fire again. Throughout the other seven watches of the day, it is good to speak the Truth, and sit with the spiritually wise. There, vice and virtue are distinguished, and the capital of falsehood is decreased. There, the counterfeit are cast aside, and the genuine are cheered. Speech is vain and useless. O Nanak, pain and pleasure are in the power of our Lord and Master. ||1|| SECOND MEHL: Air is the Guru, Water is the Father, and Earth is the Great Mother of all. Day and night are the two nurses, in whose lap all the world is at play. Good deeds and bad deeds—the record is read out in the Presence of the Lord of Dharma. According to their own actions, some are drawn closer, and some are driven farther away. Those who have meditated on the Naam, the Name of the Lord, and departed after having worked by the sweat of their brow—O Nanak, their faces are radiant in the Court of the Lord, and many others are saved along with them! ||2|| PAUREE: The True Food is the Love of the Lord; the True Guru has spoken. With this True Food, I am satisfied, and with the Truth, I am delighted. True are the cities and the villages, where one abides in the True Home of the self. When the True Guru is pleased, one receives the Lord’s Name, and blossoms forth in His Love. No one enters the Court of the True Lord through falsehood. By uttering falsehood and only falsehood, the Mansion of the Lord’s Presence is lost. No one blocks the way of those who are blessed with the Banner of the True Word of the Shabad. Hearing, understanding and speaking Truth, one is called to the Mansion of the Lord’s Presence. ||18||

SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: If I dressed myself in fire, and built my house of snow, and made iron my food; and if I were to drink in all pain like water, and drive the entire earth before me; and if I were to place the earth upon a scale and balance it with a single copper coin; and if I were to become so great that I could not be contained, and if I were to control and lead all; and if I were to possess so much power within my mind that I could cause others to do my bidding—so what? As Great as our Lord and Master is, so great are His gifts. He bestows them according to His Will. O Nanak, those upon whom the Lord casts His Glance of Grace, obtain the glorious greatness of the True Name. ||1|| SECOND MEHL: The mouth is not satisfied by speaking, and the ears are not satisfied by hearing. The eyes are not satisfied by seeing—each organ seeks out one sensory quality. The hunger of the hungry is not appeased; by mere words, hunger is not relieved. O Nanak, hunger is relieved only when one utters the Glorious Praises of the Praiseworthy Lord. ||2|| PAUREE: Without the True One, all are false, and all practice falsehood. Without the True One, the false ones are bound and gagged and driven off. Without the True One, the body is just ashes, and it mingles again with ashes. Without the True Ome, all food and clothes are unsatisfying. Without the True One, the false ones do not attain the Lord’s Court. Attached to false attachments, the Mansion of the Lord’s Presence is lost. The whole world is deceived by deception, coming and going in reincarnation. Within the body is the fire of desire; through the Word of the Shabad, it is quenched. ||19||

SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: O Nanak, the Guru is the tree of contentment, with flowers of faith, and fruits of spiritual wisdom. Watered with the Lord’s Love, it remains forever green; through the karma of good deeds and meditation, it ripens. Honor is obtained by eating this tasty dish; of all gifts, this is the greatest gift. ||1|| FIRST MEHL: The Guru is the tree of gold, with leaves of coral, and blossoms of jewels and rubies. The Words from His Mouth are fruits of jewels. Within His Heart, He beholds the Lord. O Nanak, He is obtained by those, upon whose faces and foreheads such pre-recorded destiny is written. The sixty-eight sacred shrines of pilgrimage are contained in the constant worship of the feet of the Exalted Guru. Cruelty, material attachment, greed and anger are the four rivers of fire. Falling into them, one is burned, O Nanak! One is saved only by holding tight to good deeds. ||2|| PAUREE: While you are alive, conquer death, and you shall have no regrets in the end. This world is false, but only a few understand this. People do not enshrine love for the Truth; they chase after worldly affairs instead. The terrible time of death and annihilation hovers over the heads of the world. By the Hukam of the Lord’s Command, the Messenger of Death smashes his club over their heads. The Lord Himself gives His Love, and enshrines it within their minds. Not a moment or an instant’s delay is permitted, when one’s measure of life is full. By Guru’s Grace, one comes to know the True One, and is absorbed into Him. ||20||

SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: Bitter melon, swallow-wort, thorn-apple and nim fruit— these bitter poisons lodge in the minds and mouths of those who do not remember You. O Nanak, how shall I tell them this? Without the karma of good deeds, they are only destroying themselves. ||1|| FIRST MEHL: The intellect is a bird; on account of its actions, it is sometimes high, and sometimes low. Sometimes it is perched on the sandalwood tree, and sometimes it is on the branch of the poisonous swallow-wort. Sometimes, it soars through the heavens. O Nanak, our Lord and Master leads us on, according to the Hukam of His Command; such is His Way. ||2|| PAUREE: Some speak and expound, and while speaking and lecturing, they pass away. The Vedas speak and expound on the Lord, but they do not know His limits. Not by studying, but through understanding, is the Lord’s Mystery revealed. There are six pathways in the Shaastras, but how rare are those who merge in the True Lord through them. The True Lord is Unknowable; through the Word of His Shabad, we are embellished. One who believes in the Name of the Infinite Lord, attains the Court of the Lord. I humbly bow to the Creator Lord; I am a minstrel singing His Praises. Nanak enshrines the Lord within his mind. He is the One, throughout the ages. ||21||