Ang-1301 — Chapter 57
and sings the Kirtan of His Praises in the Saadh Sangat, O Nanak, shall never see the Messenger of Death. ||34||
Wealth and beauty are not so difficult to obtain. Paradise and royal power are not so difficult to obtain.
Foods and delicacies are not so difficult to obtain. Elegant clothes are not so difficuilt to obtain.
Children, friends, siblings and relatives are not so difficult to obtain. The pleasures of woman are not so difficult to obtain.
Knowledge and wisdom are not so difficult to obtain. Cleverness and trickery are not so difficult to obtain.
Only the Naam, the Name of the Lord, is difficult to obtain. O Nanak, it is only obtained by God's Grace, in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy. ||35||
Wherever I look, I see the Lord, whether in this world, in paradise, or the nether regions of the underworld.
The Lord of the Universe is All-pervading everywhere. O Nanak, no blame or stain sticks to Him. ||36||
Poison is transformed into nectar, and enemies into friends and companions.
Pain is changed into pleasure, and the fearful become fearless.
Those who have no home or place find their place of rest in the Naam, O Nanak, when the Guru, the Lord, becomes Merciful. ||37||
He blesses all with humility; He has blessed me with humility as well. He purifies all, and He has purified me as well.
The Creator of all is the Creator of me as well. O Nanak, no blame or stain sticks to Him. ||38||
The moon-god is not cool and calm, nor is the white sandalwood tree.
The winter season is not cool; O Nanak, only the Holy friends, the Saints, are cool and calm. ||39||
Through the Mantra of the Name of the Lord, Raam, Raam, one meditates on the All-pervading Lord.
Those who have the wisdom to look alike upon pleasure and pain, live the immaculate lifestyle, free of vengeance.
They are kind to all beings; they have overpowered the five thieves.
They take the Kirtan of the Lord's Praise as their food; they remain untouched by Maya, like the lotus in the water.
They share the Teachings with friend and enemy alike; they love the devotional worship of God.
They do not listen to slander; renouncing self-conceit, they become the dust of all.
Whoever has these six qualities, O Nanak, is called a Holy friend. ||40||
The goat enjoys eating fruits and roots, but if it lives near a tiger, it is always anxious.
This is the condition of the world, O Nanak; it is afflicted by pleasure and pain. ||41||
Fraud, false accusations, millions of diseases, sins and the filthy residues of evil mistakes;
doubt, emotional attachment, pride, dishonor and intoxication with Maya
these lead mortals to death and rebirth, wandering lost in hell. In spite of all sorts of efforts, salvation is not found.
Chanting and meditating on the Name of the Lord in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, O Nanak, mortals become immaculate and pure.
They continually dwell upon the Glorious Praises of God. ||42||
In the Sanctuary of the Kind-hearted Lord, our Transcendent Lord and Master, we are carried across.
God is the Perfect, All-powerful Cause of causes; He is the Giver of gifts.
He gives hope to the hopeless. He is the Source of all riches.
Nanak meditates in remembrance on the Treasure of Virtue; we are all beggars, begging at His Door. ||43||
The most difficult place becomes easy, and the worst pain turns into pleasure.
Evil words, differences and doubts are obliterated, and even faithless cynics and malicious gossips become good people.
They become steady and stable, whether happy or sad; their fears are taken away, and they are fearless.
✦ 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.”
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.”