Ang 70

SIREE RAAG, THIRD MEHL: Serving the True Guru, the mind becomes immaculate, and the body becomes pure. The mind obtains bliss and eternal peace, meeting with the Deep and Profound Lord. Sitting in the Sangat, the True Congregation, the mind is comforted and consoled by the True Name. ||1|| O mind, serve the True Guru without hesitation. Serving the True Guru, the Lord abides within the mind, and no trace of filth shall attach itself to you. ||1|| Pause|| From the True Word of the Shabad comes honor. True is the Name of the True One. I am a sacrifice to those who conquer their ego and recognize the Lord. The self-willed manmukhs do not know the True One; they find no shelter, and no place of rest anywhere. ||2|| Those who take the Truth as their food and the Truth as their clothing, have their home in the True One. They constantly praise the True One, and in the True Word of the Shabad they have their dwelling. They recognize the Lord, the Supreme Soul in all, and through the Guru’s Teachings they dwell in the home of their own inner self. ||3|| They see the Truth, and they speak the Truth; their bodies and minds are True. True are their teachings, and True are their instructions; True are the reputations of the true ones. Those who have forgotten the True One are miserable—they depart weeping and wailing. ||4|| Those who have not served the True Guru—why did they even bother to come into the world? They are bound and gagged and beaten at Death’s door, but no one hears their shrieks and cries. They waste their lives uselessly; they die and are reincarnated over and over again. ||5|| Seeing this world on fire, I rushed to the Sanctuary of the True Guru. The True Guru has implanted the Truth within me; I dwell steadfastly in Truth and self-restraint. The True Guru is the Boat of Truth; in the Word of the Shabad, we cross over the terrifying world-ocean. ||6|| People continue wandering through the cycle of 8.4 million incarnations; without the True Guru, liberation is not obtained. Reading and studying, the Pandits and the silent sages have grown weary, but attached to the love of duality, they have lost their honor. The True Guru teaches the Word of the Shabad; without the True One, there is no other at all. ||7|| Those who are linked by the True One are linked to Truth. They always act in Truth. They attain their dwelling in the home of their own inner being, and they abide in the Mansion of Truth. O Nanak, the devotees are happy and peaceful forever. They are absorbed in the True Name. ||8||17||8||25||

SIREE RAAG, FIFTH MEHL: When you are confronted with terrible hardships, and no one offers you any support, when your friends turn into enemies, and even your relatives have deserted you, and when all support has given way, and all hope has been lost—if you then come to remember the Supreme Lord God, even the hot wind shall not touch you. ||1|| Our Lord and Master is the Power of the powerless. He does not come or go; He is Eternal and Permanent. Through the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, He is known as True. ||1|| Pause|| If you are weakened by the pains of hunger and poverty, with no money in your pockets, and no one will give you any comfort, and no one will satisfy your hopes and desires, and none of your works is accomplished—if you then come to remember the Supreme Lord God, you shall obtain the eternal kingdom. ||2|| When you are plagued by great and excessive anxiety, and diseases of the body; when you are wrapped up in the attachments of household and family, sometimes feeling joy, and then other times sorrow; when you are wandering around in all four directions, and you cannot sit or sleep even for a moment—if you come to remember the Supreme Lord God, then your body and mind shall be cooled and soothed. ||3|| When you are under the power of sexual desire, anger and worldly attachment, or a greedy miser in love with your wealth; if you have committed the four great sins and other mistakes; even if you are a murderous fiend who has never taken the time to listen to sacred books, hymns and poetry—if you then come to remember the Supreme Lord God, and contemplate Him, even for a moment, you shall be saved. ||4||

People may recite by heart the Shaastras, the Simritees and the four Vedas; they may be ascetics, great, self-disciplined Yogis; they may visit sacred shrines of pilgrimage and perform the six ceremonial rituals, over and over again, performing worship services and ritual bathings. Even so, if they have not embraced love for the Supreme Lord God, then they shall surely go to hell. ||5|| You may possess empires, vast estates, authority over others, and the enjoyment of myriads of pleasures; you may have delightful and beautiful gardens, and issue unquestioned commands; you may have enjoyments and entertainments of all sorts and kinds, and continue to enjoy exciting pleasures—and yet, if you do not come to remember the Supreme Lord God, you shall be reincarnated as a snake. ||6|| You may possess vast riches, maintain virtuous conduct, have a spotless reputation and observe religious customs; you may have the loving affections of mother, father, children, siblings and friends; you may have armies well-equipped with weapons, and all may salute you with respect. But still, if you do not come to remember the Supreme Lord God, then you shall be taken and consigned to the most hideous hell! ||7|| You may have a body free of disease and deformity, and have no worries or grief at all; you may be unmindful of death, and night and day revel in pleasures; you may take everything as your own, and have no fear in your mind at all; but still, if you do not come to remember the Supreme Lord God, you shall fall under the power of the Messenger of Death. ||8|| The Supreme Lord showers His Mercy, and we find the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy. The more time we spend there, the more we come to love the Lord. The Lord is the Master of both worlds; there is no other place of rest. When the True Guru is pleased and satisfied, O Nanak, the True Name is obtained. ||9||1||26||