Ang-201 — Chapter 26
The self-willed manmukh is lured by another man's wife.
The noose is around his neck, and he is entangled in petty conflicts.
The Gurmukh is emancipated, singing the Glorious Praises of the Lord. ||5||
The lonely widow gives her body to a stranger;
she allows her mind to be controlled by others for lust or money
, but without her husband, she is never satisfied. ||6||
You may read, recite and study the scriptures,
The Simritees, Vedas and Puraanas;
but without being imbued with the Lord's essence, the mind wanders endlessly. ||7||
As the rainbird thirsts longingly for the drop of rain,
and as the fish delights in the water,
Nanak is satisfied by the sublime essence of the Lord. ||8||11||
Gauree, First Mehl:
One who dies in stubbornness shall not be approved,
even though he may wear religious robes and smear his body all over with ashes.
Forgetting the Naam, the Name of the Lord, he comes to regret and repent in the end. ||1||
Believe in the Dear Lord, and you shall find peace of mind.
Forgetting the Naam, you shall have to endure the pain of death. ||1||Pause||
The smell of musk, sandalwood and camphor,
and the intoxication of Maya, takes one far away from the state of supreme dignity.
Forgetting the Naam, one becomes the most false of all the false. ||2||
Lances and swords, marching bands, thrones and the salutes of others
only increase his desire; he is engrossed in sexual desire.
Without seeking the Lord, neither devotional worship nor the Naam are obtained. ||3||
Union with God is not obtained by arguments and egotism.
But by offering your mind, the comfort of the Naam is obtained.
In the love of duality and ignorance, you shall suffer. ||4||
Without money, you cannot buy anything in the store.
Without a boat, you cannot cross over the ocean.
Without serving the Guru, everything is lost. ||5||
Waaho! Waaho! - Hail, hail, to the one who shows us the Way.
Waaho! Waaho! - Hail, hail, to the one who teaches the Word of the Shabad.
Waaho! Waaho! - Hail, hail, to the one who unites me in the Lord's Union. ||6||
Waaho! Waaho! - Hail, hail, to the one who is the Keeper of this soul.
Through the Word of the Guru's Shabad, contemplate this Ambrosial Nectar.
The Glorious Greatness of the Naam is bestowed according to the Pleasure of Your Will. ||7||
Without the Naam, how can I live, O mother?
Night and day, I chant it; I remain in the Protection of Your Sanctuary.
O Nanak, attuned to the Naam, honor is attained. ||8||12||
Gauree, First Mehl:
Acting in egotism, the Lord is not known, even by wearing religious robes.
How rare is that Gurmukh, who surrenders his mind in devotional worship. ||1||
By actions done in egotism, selfishness and conceit, the True Lord is not obtained.
But when egotism departs, then the state of supreme dignity is obtained. ||1||Pause||
The kings act in egotism, and undertake all sorts of expeditions.
But through their egotism, they are ruined; they die, only to be reborn over and over again. ||2||
Egotism is overcome only by contemplating the Word of the Guru's Shabad.
One who restrains his fickle mind subdues the five passions. ||3||
With the True Lord deep within the self, the Celestial Mansion is intuitively found.
Understanding the Sovereign Lord, the state of supreme dignity is obtained. ||4||
The Guru dispels the doubts of those whose actions are true.
They focus their attention on the Home of the Fearless Lord. ||5||
Those who act in egotism, selfishness and conceit die; what do they gain?
Those who meet the Perfect Guru are rid of all conflicts. ||6||
Whatever exists, is in reality nothing.
Obtaining spiritual wisdom from the Guru, I sing the Glories of God. ||7||
✦ 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.”