Ang-1001 — Chapter 43
In this world of love and attachment, no one is anyone else's friend or companion; without the Lord, without the Guru, who has ever found peace? ||4||
He, unto whom the Perfect Guru grants His Grace,
is merged in the Word of the Shabad, through the Teachings of the brave, heroic Guru.
O Nanak, dwell upon, and serve at the Guru's feet; He places those who wander back on the Path. ||5||
The wealth of the Lord's Praise is very dear to the humble Saints.
Through the Guru's Teachings, I have obtained Your Name, Lord.
The beggar serves at the Lord's door, and in the Court of the Lord, sings His Praises. ||6||
When one meets the True Guru, he is called into the Mansion of the Lord's Presence.
In the True Court, he is blessed with salvation and honor.
The faithless cynic has no place of rest in the Lord's palace; he suffers the pains of birth and death. ||7||
So serve the True Guru, the unfathomable ocean,
and you shall obtain the profit, the wealth, the jewel of the Naam.
The filth of corruption is washed away, by bathing in the pool of Ambrosial Nectar. In the Guru's pool, contentment is obtained. ||8||
So serve the Guru without hesitation.
And in the midst of hope, remain unmoved by hope.
Serve the Eradicator of cynicism and suffering, and you shall never again be afflicted by the disease. ||9||
One who is pleasing to the True Lord is blessed with glorious greatness.
Who else can teach him anything?
The Lord and the Guru are pervading in one form. O Nanak, the Lord loves the Guru. ||10||
Some read scriptures, the Vedas and the Puraanas.
Some sit and listen, and read to others.
Tell me, how can the heavy, rigid doors be opened? Without the True Guru, the essence of reality is not realized. ||11||
Some collect dust, and smear their bodies with ashes;
but deep within them are the outcasts of anger and egotism.
Practicing hypocrisy, Yoga is not obtained; without the True Guru, the unseen Lord is not found. ||12||
Some make vows to visit sacred shrines of pilgrimage, keep fasts and live in the forest.
Some practice chastity, charity and self-discipline, and speak of spiritual wisdom.
But without the Lord's Name, how can anyone find peace? Without the True Guru, doubt is not dispelled. ||13||
Inner cleansing techniques, channeling the energy to raise the Kundalini to the Tenth Gate,
inhaling, exhaling and holding the breath by the force of the mind -
by empty hypocritical practices, Dharmic love for the Lord is not produced. Only through the Word of the Guru's Shabad is the sublime, supreme essence obtained. ||14||
Seeing the Lord's creative power, my mind remains satisfied.
Through the Guru's Shabad, I have realized that all is God.
O Nanak, the Lord, the Supreme Soul, is in all. The Guru, the True Guru, has inspired me to see the unseen Lord. ||15||5||22||
Maaroo, Solhay, Third Mehl:
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
By the Hukam of His Command, He effortlessly created the Universe.
Creating the creation, He gazes upon His own greatness.
He Himself acts, and inspires all to act; in His Will, He pervades and permeates all. ||1||
The world is in the darkness of love and attachment to Maya.
How rare is that Gurmukh who contemplates, and understands.
He alone attains the Lord, unto whom He grants His Grace. He Himself unites in His Union. ||2||
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Hadith (An-Nawawi 13)
“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Leviticus 19:18
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Mahabharata 5.1517
“One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself.”
Impermanence & Letting Go
Dhammapada 20:277
“All conditioned things are impermanent. When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.”
Tao Te Ching 76
“A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff. The soft and yielding is the disciple of life.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”
Bhagavad Gita 2:22
“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.”
The Path to Wisdom
Proverbs 4:7
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.”
Dhammapada 20:282
“Wisdom springs from meditation; without meditation wisdom wanes.”
Analects 2:11
“If you study the past and use it to understand the present, you are worthy of being a teacher.”
Tao Te Ching 33
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.”
Humility & Surrender
Bhagavad Gita 18:66
“Abandon all varieties of dharma and simply surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions; do not fear.”
Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Tao Te Ching 22
“If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to become full, let yourself be empty.”
Quran 2:45
“Seek help through patience and prayer. It is indeed exacting, but not for those who are humble.”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Genesis 1:3
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”