Ang 588

SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: The friends who love the True Guru, meet with the Lord, the True Friend. Meeting their Beloved, they meditate on the True Lord with love and affection. Their minds are appeased by their own minds, through the incomparable Word of the Guru’s Shabad. These friends are united, and will not be separated again; they have been united by the Creator Lord Himself. Some do not believe in the Blessed Vision of the Guru’s Darshan; they do not contemplate the Word of the Shabad. The separated ones are in love with duality — what more separation can they suffer? Friendship with the self- willed manmukhs lasts for only a few short days. This friendship is broken in an instant; this friendship leads to corruption. They do not fear the True Lord within their hearts, and they do not love the Naam. O Nanak, why become friends with those whom the Creator Lord Himself has misled? ||1|| THIRD MEHL: Some remain constantly imbued with the Love of the One Lord; I am forever a sacrifice to them. I dedicate my body, mind and wealth to them; bowing low, I fall at their feet. Meeting them, the mind is satisfied, and one’s hunger and thirst all depart. O Nanak, those who are attuned to the Naam are happy forever; they lovingly focus their awareness on the True Lord. ||2|| PAUREE: I am a sacrifice to the Guru, who recites the sermon of the Lord’s Teachings. I am forever a sacrifice to that Guru, who has led me to serve the Lord. That Beloved True Guru is always with me; wherever I may be, He will save me. Most blessed is that Guru, who imparts understanding of the Lord. O Nanak, I am a sacrifice to the Guru, who has given me the Lord’s Name, and fulfilled the desires of my mind. ||5||

SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: Consumed by desire, the world is burning and dying; burning and burning, it screams. But if it meets with the cooling and soothing True Guru, it does not burn any longer. O Nanak, without the Name, and without contemplating the Word of the Shabad, no one becomes fearless. ||1|| THIRD MEHL: Wearing ceremonial robes, the fire is not quenched, and the mind is filled with anxiety. Destroying the snake’s hole, the snake is not killed; it is just like doing deeds without a Guru. Serving the Giver, the True Guru, the Word of the Shabad comes to abide in the mind. The mind and body are cooled and soothed; peace ensues, and the fire of desire is quenched. The greatest comforts and lasting peace are obtained, when one eradicates selfishness from within. He alone becomes a detached Gurmukh, who lovingly focuses his awareness on the True Lord. Anxiety does not affect him at all; he is satisfied and satiated with the Name of the Lord. O Nanak, without the Naam, no one is saved; they are utterly ruined by egotism. ||2|| PAUREE: Those who meditate on the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, obtain all peace and comforts. Fruitful is the entire life of those, who feel hunger for the Name of the Lord in their minds. Those who worship and adore the Lord through the Guru’s Word, forget all their pain and suffering. Those Gursikhs are good Saints, who care for nothing other than the Lord. Blessed, blessed is their Guru, whose mouth tastes the Ambrosial Fruit of the Lord. ||6||

SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: In the Dark Age of Kali Yuga, the Messenger of Death is the enemy of life, but he acts according to the Lord’s Command. Those who are protected by the Guru are saved, while the self-willed manmukhs receive their punishment. The world is in bondage, under the control of the Messenger of Death; no one can hold him back. So serve the One who created Death; become Gurmukh, and no pain will touch you. O Nanak, Death serves the Gurmukhs; the True Lord abides in their minds. ||1|| THIRD MEHL: This body is filled with disease; without the Word of the Shabad, the painful disease of egotism does not depart. Meeting the True Guru, one becomes immaculately pure, and the Lord’s Name comes to dwell within the mind. O Nanak, meditating on the Naam, the Name of the Peace-Giving Lord, one’s pains are automatically forgotten. ||2|| PAUREE: I am forever a sacrifice to the Guru, who has taught me about God, the Life of the World. I am every bit a sacrifice to the Guru, who has spoken the Name of the Lord. I am a sacrifice to the Guru, who has totally cured me of the fatal disease of egotism. Glorious and great are the virtues of the Guru, who has eradicated evil, and instructed me in virtue. The True Guru meets with those upon whose foreheads such blessed destiny is recorded. ||7||