Ang 707

SHALOK: The benefits of millions of charitable donations and cleansing baths, and countless ceremonies of purification and piety, O Nanak, are obtained by chanting the Name of the Lord, Har, Har with one’s tongue; all sins are washed away. ||1|| I gathered together a great stack of firewood, and applied a tiny flame to light it. When the True Lord and Master abides in one’s mind, O Nanak, all sins are dispelled. ||2|| PAUREE: Millions of sins are totally erased, by meditating on the Lord’s Name. The fruits of one’s heart’s desires are obtained, by singing the Glorious Praises of the Lord. The fear of birth and death is eradicated, and one’s eternal, unchanging true home is obtained. If it is so pre-ordained, one is absorbed in the Lord’s lotus feet. Bless me with Your mercy, God — please preserve and save me! Nanak is a sacrifice to You. ||5||

SHALOK: They are involved in their beautiful houses, and the pleasures of the mind’s desires. They never remember the Lord in meditation; O Nanak, they are like maggots in manure. ||1|| They are engrossed in ostentatious displays, lovingly attached to all their possessions. That body which forgets the Lord, O Nanak, shall be reduced to ashes. ||2|| PAUREE: He may enjoy a beautiful bed, countless pleasures and all sorts of enjoyments. He may possess mansions of gold, studded with pearls and rubies, plastered with fragrant sandalwood oil. He may relish in the pleasures of his mind’s desires, and have no anxiety at all. But if he does not remember God, he is like a maggot in manure. Without the Lord’s Name, there is no peace at all. How can the mind be comforted? ||6||

SHALOK: One who loves the Lord’s lotus feet searches for Him in the ten directions. He renounces the deceptive illusion of Maya, and joins the blissful form of the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy. ||1|| The Lord is in my mind, and with my mouth I chant His Name; I seek Him in all the lands of the world. O Nanak, all ostentatious displays are false; hearing the Praises of the True Lord, I live. ||2|| PAUREE: He dwells in a broken- down shack, in tattered clothes, with no social status, no honor and no respect; he wanders in the wilderness, with no friend or lover, without wealth, beauty, relatives or relations. Even so, he is the king of the whole world, if his mind is imbued with the Lord’s Name. With the dust of his feet, men are redeemed, because God is very pleased with him. ||7||

SHALOK: The various sorts of pleasures, powers, joys, beauty, canopies, cooling fans and thrones to sit on — the foolish, ignorant and blind are engrossed in these things. O Nanak, desire for Maya is just a dream. ||1|| In a dream, he enjoys all sorts of pleasures, and emotional attachment seems so sweet. O Nanak, without the Naam, the Name of the Lord, the beauty of Maya’s illusion is fake. ||2|| PAUREE: The fool attaches his consciousness to the dream. When he awakes, he forgets the power, pleasures and enjoyments, and he is sad. He passes his life chasing after worldly affairs. His works are not completed, because he is enticed by Maya. What can the poor helpless creature do? The Lord Himself has deluded him. ||8||

SHALOK: They may live in heavenly realms, and conquer the nine regions of the world, but if they forget the Lord of the world, O Nanak, they are just wanderers in the wilderness. ||1|| In the midst of millions of games and entertainments, the Lord’s Name does not come to their minds. O Nanak, their home is like a wilderness, in the depths of hell. ||2|| PAUREE: He sees the terrible, awful wilderness as a city. Gazing upon the false objects, he believes them to be real. Engrossed in sexual desire, anger and egotism, he wanders around insane. When the Messenger of Death hits him on the head with his club, then he regrets and repents. Without the Perfect, Divine Guru, he roams around like Satan. ||9||