Ang-1201 — Chapter 38
Salok, Second Mehl:
He Himself creates, O Nanak; He establishes the various creatures.
How can anyone be called bad? We have only One Lord and Master.
There is One Lord and Master of all; He watches over all, and assigns all to their tasks.
Some have less, and some have more; no one is allowed to leave empty.
Naked we come, and naked we go; in between, we put on a show.
O Nanak, one who does not understand the Hukam of God's Command - what will he have to do in the world hereafter? ||1||
First Mehl:
He sends out the various created beings, and he calls back the various created beings again.
He himself establishes, and He Himself disestablishes. He fashions them in various forms.
And all the human beings who wander around as beggars, He Himself gives in charity to them.
As it is recorded, the mortals speak, and as it is recorded, they walk. So why put on all this show?
This is the basis of intelligence; this is certified and approved. Nanak speaks and proclaims it.
By past actions, each being is judged; what else can anyone say? ||2||
Pauree:
The Guru's Word makes the drama play itself out. Through virtue, this becomes evident.
Whoever utters the Word of the Guru's Bani - the Lord is enshrined in his mind.
Maya's power is gone, and doubt is eradicated; awaken to the Light of the Lord.
Those who hold onto goodness as their treasure meet the Guru, the Primal Being.
O Nanak, they are intuitively absorbed and blended into the Name of the Lord. ||2||
Salok, Second Mehl:
The merchants come from the Banker; He sends the account of their destiny with them.
On the basis of their accounts, He issues the Hukam of His Command, and they are left to take care of their merchandise.
The merchants have purchased their merchandise and packed up their cargo.
Some depart after having earned a good profit, while others leave, having lost their investment altogether.
No one asks to have less; who should be celebrated?
The Lord casts His Glance of Grace, O Nanak, upon those who have preserved their capital investment. ||1||
First Mehl:
United, the united separate, and separated, they unite again.
Living, the living die, and dying, they live again.
They become the fathers of many, and the sons of many; they become the gurus of many, and the disciples.
No account can be made of the future or the past; who knows what shall be, or what was?
All the actions and events of the past are recorded; the Doer did, He does, and He will do.
The self-willed manmukh dies, while the Gurmukh is saved; O Nanak, the Gracious Lord bestows His Glance of Grace. ||2||
Pauree:
The self-willed manmukh wanders in duality, lured and enticed by duality.
He practices falsehood and deception, telling lies.
Love and attachment to children and spouse is total misery and pain.
He is gagged and bound at the door of the Messenger of Death; he dies, and wanders lost in reincarnation.
The self-willed manmukh wastes his life; Nanak loves the Lord. ||3||
Salok, Second Mehl:
Those who are blessed with the glorious greatness of Your Name - their minds are imbued with Your Love.
O Nanak, there is only One Ambrosial Nectar; there is no other nectar at all.
O Nanak, the Ambrosial Nectar is obtained within the mind, by Guru's Grace.
They alone drink it in with love, who have such pre-ordained destiny. ||1||
✦ 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.”
Divine Compassion & Mercy
Quran 1:1
“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.”
Psalm 23:1
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
Luke 6:36
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Snp 1.8
“As a mother would risk her life to protect her child, her only child, even so should one cultivate a limitless heart with regard to all beings.”
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.”