Ang 878

RAAMKALEE, FIRST MEHL: Listen, Machhindra, to what Nanak says. One who subdues the five passions does not waver. One who practices Yoga in such a way, saves himself, and saves all his generations. ||1|| He alone is a hermit, who attains such understanding. Day and night, he remains absorbed in deepest Samaadhi. ||1|| Pause|| He begs for loving devotion to the Lord, and lives in the Fear of God. He is satisfied, with the priceless gift of contentment. Becoming the embodiment of meditation, he attains the true Yogic posture. He focuses his consciousness in the deep trance of the True Name. ||2|| Nanak chants the Ambrosial Bani. Listen, O Machhindra: this is the insignia of the true hermit. One who, in the midst of hope, remains untouched by hope, shall truly find the Creator Lord. ||3|| Prays Nanak, I share the mysterious secrets of God. The Guru and His disciple are joined together! One who eats this food, this medicine of the Teachings, has the wisdom of the six Shaastras. ||4||5||

RAAMKALEE, FIRST MEHL: My boat is wobbly and unsteady; it is filled with sins. The wind is rising — what if it tips over? As sunmukh, I have turned to the Guru; O my Perfect Master; please be sure to bless me with Your glorious greatness. ||1|| O Guru, my Saving Grace, please carry me across the world-ocean. Bless me with devotion to the perfect, imperishable Lord God; I am a sacrifice to You. ||1|| Pause|| He alone is a Siddha, a seeker, a Yogi, a wandering pilgrim, who meditates on the One Perfect Lord. Touching the feet of the Lord Master, they are emancipated; they come to receive the Word of the Teachings. ||2|| I know nothing of charity, meditation, self-discipline or religious rituals; I only chant Your Name, God. Nanak has met the Guru, the Transcendent Lord God; through the True Word of His Shabad, he is set free. ||3||6||

RAAMKALEE, FIRST MEHL: Focus your consciousness in deep absorption on the Lord. Make your body a raft, to cross over. Deep within is the fire of desire; keep it in check. Day and night, that lamp shall burn unceasingly. ||1|| Float such a lamp upon the water; this lamp will bring total understanding. ||1|| Pause|| This understanding is good clay; a lamp made of such clay is acceptable to the Lord. So shape this lamp on the wheel of good actions. In this world and in the next, this lamp shall be with you. ||2|| When He Himself grants His Grace, then, as Gurmukh, one may understand Him. Within the heart, this lamp is permanently lit. It is not extinguished by water or wind. Such a lamp will carry you across the water. ||3|| Wind does not shake it, or put it out. Its light reveals the Divine Throne. The Kh’shaatriyas, Brahmins, Soodras and Vaishyas cannot find its value, even by thousands of calculations. If any of them lights such a lamp, O Nanak, he is emancipated. ||4||7||

RAAMKALEE, FIRST MEHL: To place one’s faith in Your Name, Lord, is true worship. With an offering of Truth, one obtains a place to sit. If a prayer is offered with truth and contentment, the Lord will hear it, and call him in to sit by Him. ||1|| O Nanak, no one returns empty-handed; such is the Court of the True Lord. ||1|| Pause|| The treasure I seek is the gift of Your Grace. Please bless this humble beggar — this is what I seek. Please, pour Your Love into the cup of my heart. This is Your pre-determined value. ||2|| The One who created everything, does everything. He Himself appraises His own value. The Sovereign Lord King becomes manifest to the Gurmukh. He does not come, and He does not go. ||3|| People curse at the beggar; by begging, he does not receive honor. O Lord, You inspire me to speak Your Words, and tell the Story of Your Court. ||4||8||

RAAMKALEE, FIRST MEHL: The drop is in the ocean, and the ocean is in the drop. Who understands, and knows this? He Himself creates the wondrous play of the world. He Himself contemplates it, and understands its true essence. ||1|| How rare are those who contemplate this spiritual wisdom. Through this, the supreme state of liberation is attained. ||1|| Pause|| The night is in the day, and the day is in the night. The same is true of hot and cold. No one else knows His state and extent; without the Guru, this is not understood. ||2|| The female is in the male, and the male is in the female. Understand this, O God-realized being! The meditation is in the music, and knowledge is in meditation. Become Gurmukh, and speak the Unspoken Speech. ||3|| The Light is in the mind, and the mind is in the Light. The Guru brings the five senses together, like brothers. Nanak is forever a sacrifice to those who enshrine love for the One Word of the Shabad. ||4||9||