Ang 467

SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: In ego they come, and in ego they go. In ego they are born, and in ego they die. In ego they give, and in ego they take. In ego they earn, and in ego they lose. In ego they become truthful or false. In ego they go to heaven or hell. In ego they laugh, and in ego they weep. In ego they become dirty, and in ego they are washed clean. In ego they lose social status and class. In ego they are ignorant, and in ego they are wise. They do not know the value of salvation and liberation. In ego they love Maya, and in ego they are kept in darkness by it. Living in ego, mortal beings are created. When one understands ego, then the Lord’s gate is known. Without spiritual wisdom, they babble and argue. O Nanak, by the Lord’s Command, destiny is recorded. As the Lord sees us, so are we seen. ||1|| SECOND MEHL: This is the nature of ego, that people perform their actions in ego. This is the bondage of ego, that time and time again, they are reborn. Where does ego come from? How can it be removed? This ego exists by the Lord’s Order; people wander according to their past actions. Ego is a chronic disease, but it contains its own cure as well. If the Lord grants His Grace, one acts according to the Teachings of the Guru’s Shabad. Nanak says, listen, people: in this way, troubles depart. ||2|| PAUREE: Those who serve are content, they meditate on the Truest of the True. They do not place their feet in sin, but do good deeds and live righteously in Dharma. They burn away the bonds of the world, and eat a simple diet of grain and water. You are the Great Forgiver; You give continually, more and more each day. By His greatness, the Great Lord is obtained. ||7||

SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: Men, trees, sacred shrines of pilgrimage, banks of sacred rivers, clouds, fields, islands, continents, worlds, solar systems, and universes; the four sources of creation — born of eggs, born of the womb, born of the earth and born of sweat; oceans, mountains, and all beings — O Nanak, He alone knows their condition. O Nanak, having created the living beings, He cherishes them all. The Creator who created the creation, takes care of it as well. He, the Creator who formed the world, cares for it. Unto Him I bow and offer my reverence; His Royal Court is eternal. O Nanak, without the True Name, of what use is the frontal mark of the Hindus, or their sacred thread? ||1|| FIRST MEHL: Hundreds of thousands of virtues and good actions, and hundreds of thousands of blessed charities, hundreds of thousands of penances at sacred shrines, and the practice of Sehj Yoga in the wilderness, hundreds of thousands of courageous actions and giving up the breath of life on the field of battle, hundreds of thousands of divine understandings, hundreds of thousands of divine wisdoms and meditations and readings of the Vedas and the Puraanas — before the Creator who created the creation, and who ordained coming and going, O Nanak, all these things are false. True is the Insignia of His Grace. ||2|| PAUREE: You alone are the True Lord. The Truth of Truths is pervading everywhere. He alone receives the Truth, unto whom You give it; then, he practices Truth. Meeting the True Guru, Truth is found. In His Heart, Truth is abiding. The fools do not know the Truth. The self-willed manmukhs waste their lives away in vain. Why have they even come into the world? ||8||

SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: You may read and read loads of books; you may read and study vast multitudes of books. You may read and read boat-loads of books; you may read and read and fill pits with them. You may read them year after year; you may read them as many months are there are. You may read them all your life; you may read them with every breath. O Nanak, only one thing is of any account: everything else is useless babbling and idle talk in ego. ||1|| FIRST MEHL: The more one write and reads, the more one burns. The more one wanders at sacred shrines of pilgrimage, the more one talks uselessly. The more one wears religious robes, the more pain he causes his body. O my soul, you must endure the consequences of your own actions. One who does not eat the corn, misses out on the taste. One obtains great pain, in the love of duality. One who does not wear any clothes, suffers night and day. Through silence, he is ruined. How can the sleeping one be awakened without the Guru? One who goes barefoot suffers by his own actions. One who eats filth and throws ashes on his head — the blind fool loses his honor. Without the Name, nothing is of any use. One who lives in the wilderness, in cemetaries and cremation grounds — that blind man does not know the Lord; he regrets and repents in the end. One who meets the True Guru finds peace. He enshrines the Name of the Lord in his mind. O Nanak, when the Lord grants His Grace, He is obtained. He becomes free of hope and fear, and burns away his ego with the Word of the Shabad. ||2|| PAUREE: Your devotees are pleasing to Your Mind, Lord. They look beautiful at Your door, singing Your Praises. O Nanak, those who are denied Your Grace, find no shelter at Your Door; they continue wandering. Some do not understand their origins, and without cause, they display their self-conceit. I am the Lord’s minstrel, of low social status; others call themselves high caste. I seek those who meditate on You. ||9||