Ang-1301 — Chapter 59
His Power provides nourishment in the womb of the mother, and does not let disease strike.
His Power holds back the ocean, O Nanak, and does not allow the waves of water to destroy the land. ||53||
The Lord of the World is Supremely Beautiful; His Meditation is the Life of all.
In the Society of the Saints, O Nanak, He is found on the path of devotional worship of the Lord. ||54||
The mosquito pierces the stone, the ant crosses the swamp,
the cripple crosses the ocean, and the blind sees in the darkness,
meditating on the Lord of the Universe in the Saadh Sangat. Nanak seeks the Sanctuary of the Lord, Har, Har, Haray. ||55||
Like a Brahmin without a sacred mark on his forehead, or a king without the power of command,
or a warrior without weapons, so is the devotee of God without Dharmic Faith. ||56||
God has no conch-shell, no religious mark, no paraphernalia; he does not have blue skin.
His Form is Wondrous and Amazing. He is beyond incarnation.
The Vedas say that He is not this, and not that.
The Lord of the Universe is Lofty and High, Great and Infinite.
The Imperishable Lord abides in the hearts of the Holy. He is understood, O Nanak, by those who are very fortunate. ||57||
Living in the world, it is like a wild jungle. One's relatives are like dogs, jackals and donkeys.
In this difficult place, the mind is intoxicated with the wine of emotional attachment; the five unconquered thieves lurk there.
The mortals wander lost in love and emotional attachment, fear and doubt; they are caught in the sharp, strong noose of egotism.
The ocean of fire is terrifying and impassable. The distant shore is so far away; it cannot be reached.
Vibrate and meditate on the Lord of the World, in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy; O Nanak, by His Grace, we are saved at the Lotus Feet of the Lord. ||58||
When the Lord of the Universe grants His Grace, all illnesses are cured.
Nanak chants His Glorious Praises in the Saadh Sangat, in the Sanctuary of the Perfect Transcendent Lord God. ||59||
The mortal is beautiful and speaks sweet words, but in the farm of his heart, he harbors cruel vengeance.
He pretends to bow in worship, but he is false. Beware of him, O friendly Saints. ||60||
The thoughtless fool does not know that each day, his breaths are being used up.
His most beautiful body is wearing away; old age, the daughter of death, has seized it.
He is engrossed in family play; placing his hopes in transitory things, he indulges in corrupt pleasures.
Wandering lost in countless incarnations, he is exhausted. Nanak seeks the Sanctuary of the Embodiment of Mercy. ||61||
O tongue, you love to enjoy the sweet delicacies.
You are dead to the Truth, and involved in great disputes. Instead, repeat the holy words:
Gobind, Daamodar, Maadhav. ||62||
Those who are proud, and intoxicated with the pleasures of sex,
and asserting their power over others,
never contemplate the Lord's Lotus Feet. Their lives are cursed, and as worthless as straw.
You are as tiny and insignificant as an ant, but you shall become great, by the Wealth of the Lord's Meditation.
Nanak bows in humble worship, countless times, over and over again. ||63||
The blade of grass becomes a mountain, and the barren land becomes green.
The drowning one swims across, and the empty is filled to overflowing.
Millions of suns illuminate the darkness,
prays Nanak, when the Guru, the Lord, becomes Merciful. ||64||
✦ 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.”
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.”