Ang-201 — Chapter 31
They do not understand the essence of reality, and they gather their worthless bundles of straw. ||2||
The self-willed manmukhs, in ignorance, take the path of evil.
They forget the Lord's Name, and in its place, they establish all sorts of rituals.
They drown in the terrifying world-ocean, in the love of duality. ||3||
Driven crazy, infatuated by Maya, they call themselves Pandits - religious scholars;
stained with corruption, they suffer terrible pain.
The noose of the Messenger of Death is around their necks; they are constantly tormented by death. ||4||
The Messenger of Death does not even approach the Gurmukhs.
Through the Word of the Shabad, they burn away their ego and duality.
Attuned to the Name, they sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord. ||5||
Maya is the slave of the Lord's devotees; it works for them.
One who falls at their feet attains the Mansion of the Lord's Presence.
He is forever immaculate; he is absorbed in intuitive peace. ||6||
Those who listen to the Lord's Sermon are seen to be the wealthy people in this world.
Everyone bows down to them, and adores them, night and day.
They intuitively savor the Glories of the True Lord within their minds. ||7||
The Perfect True Guru has revealed the Shabad;
it eradicates the three qualities, and attunes the consciousness to the fourth state.
O Nanak, subduing egotism, one is absorbed into God. ||8||4||
Gauree, Third Mehl:
Brahma studied the Vedas, but these lead only to debates and disputes.
He is filled with darkness; he does not understand himself.
And yet, if he chants the Word of the Guru's Shabad, he finds God. ||1||
So serve the Guru, and you shall not be consumed by death.
The self-willed manmukhs have been consumed by the love of duality. ||1||Pause||
Becoming Gurmukh, the sinful mortals are purified.
Through the Word of the Guru's Shabad, they find intuitive peace and poise deep within.
I have found my God, through the Guru's Shabad, and I have been reformed. ||2||
God Himself unites us in Union with the True Guru,
when we become pleasing to the Mind of my True God.
They sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord, in the poise of celestial peace. ||3||
Without the True Guru, they are deluded by doubt.
The blind, self-willed manmukhs constantly eat poison.
They are beaten by the Messenger of Death with his rod, and they suffer in constant pain. ||4||
The Messenger of Death does not catch sight of those who enter the Sanctuary of the Lord.
Subduing egotism, they lovingly center their consciousness on the True Lord.
They keep their consciousness constantly focused on the Lord's Name. ||5||
Those humble beings who serve the True Guru are pure and immaculate.
Merging their minds into the Mind, they conquer the entire world.
In this way, you too shall find happiness, O my friend. ||6||
Those who serve the True Guru are blessed with fruitful rewards.
The Naam, the Name of the Lord, abides in their hearts; selfishness and conceit depart from within them.
The unstruck melody of the Shabad vibrates for them. ||7||
Who - who has not been purified by the True Guru, O my Siblings of Destiny?
The devotees are purified, and honored in His Court.
O Nanak, greatness is in the Lord's Name. ||8||5||
Gauree, Third Mehl:
Those who speak of the three qualities - their doubts do not depart.
Their bonds are not broken, and they do not obtain liberation.
The True Guru is the Bestower of liberation in this age. ||1||
Those mortals who become Gurmukh give up their doubts.
The celestial music wells up, when they lovingly attune their consciousness to the Lord. ||1||Pause||
Those who are controlled by the three qualities have death hovering over their heads.
✦ 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.”