Ang-301 — Chapter 19
Fifth Mehl:
Like the flash of lightning, worldly affairs last only for a moment.
The only thing which is pleasing, O Nanak, is that which inspires one to meditate on the Name of the Master. ||2||
Pauree:
People have searched all the Simritees and Shaastras, but no one knows the Lord's value.
That being, who joins the Saadh Sangat enjoys the Love of the Lord.
True is the Naam, the Name of the Creator, the Primal Being. It is the mine of precious jewels.
That mortal, who has such pre-ordained destiny inscribed upon his forehead, meditates in remembrance on the Lord.
O Lord, please bless Nanak, Your humble guest, with the supplies of the True Name. ||4||
Salok, Fifth Mehl:
He harbors anxiety within himself, but to the eyes, he appears to be happy; his hunger never departs.
O Nanak, without the True Name, no one's sorrows have ever departed. ||1||
Fifth Mehl:
Those caravans which did not load the Truth have been plundered.
O Nanak, those who meet the True Guru, and acknowledge the One Lord, are congratulated. ||2||
Pauree:
Beautiful is that place, where the Holy people dwell.
They serve their All-powerful Lord, and they give up all their evil ways.
The Saints and the Vedas proclaim, that the Supreme Lord God is the Saving Grace of sinners.
You are the Lover of Your devotees - this is Your natural way, in each and every age.
Nanak asks for the One Name, which is pleasing to his mind and body. ||5||
Salok, Fifth Mehl:
The sparrows are chirping, and dawn has come; the wind stirs up the waves.
Such a wondrous thing the Saints have fashioned, O Nanak, in the Love of the Naam. ||1||
Fifth Mehl:
Homes, palaces and pleasures are there, where You, O Lord, come to mind.
All worldly grandeur, O Nanak, is like false and evil friends. ||2||
Pauree:
The wealth of the Lord is the true capital; how rare are those who understand this.
He alone receives it, O Siblings of Destiny, unto whom the Architect of Destiny gives it.
His servant is imbued with the Love of the Lord; his body and mind blossom forth.
In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, he sings the Glorious Praises of the Lord, and all of his sufferings are removed.
O Nanak, he alone lives, who acknowledges the One Lord. ||6||
Salok, Fifth Mehl:
The fruit of the swallow-wort plant looks beautiful, attached to the branch of the tree;
but when it is separated from the stem of its Master, O Nanak, it breaks apart into thousands of fragments. ||1||
Fifth Mehl:
Those who forget the Lord die, but they cannot die a complete death.
Those who turn their backs on the Lord suffer, like the thief impaled on the gallows. ||2||
Pauree:
The One God is the treasure of peace; I have heard that He is eternal and imperishable.
He is totally pervading the water, the land and the sky; the Lord is said to be permeating each and every heart.
He looks alike upon the high and the low, the ant and the elephant.
Friends, companions, children and relatives are all created by Him.
O Nanak, one who is blessed with the Naam, enjoys the Lord's love and affection. ||7||
Salok, Fifth Mehl:
Those who do not forget the Lord, with each breath and morsel of food, whose minds are filled with the Mantra of the Lord's Name
- they alone are blessed; O Nanak, they are the perfect Saints. ||1||
Fifth Mehl:
Twenty-four hours a day, he wanders around, driven by his hunger for food.
How can he escape from falling into hell, when he does not remember the Prophet? ||2||
✦ 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.”