Ang-401 — Chapter 2
Children, wives, homes, and all possessions - attachment to all of these is false. ||1||
O mind, why do you burst out laughing?
See with your eyes, that these things are only mirages. So earn the profit of meditation on the One Lord. ||1||Pause||
It is like the clothes which you wear on your body - they wear off in a few days.
How long can you run upon a wall? Ultimately, you come to its end. ||2||
It is like salt, preserved in its container; when it is put into water, it dissolves.
When the Order of the Supreme Lord God comes, the soul arises, and departs in an instant. ||3||
O mind, your steps are numbered, your moments spent sitting are numbered, and the breaths you are to take are numbered.
Sing forever the Praises of the Lord, O Nanak, and you shall be saved, under the Shelter of the Feet of the True Guru. ||4||1||123||
Aasaa, Fifth Mehl:
That which was upside-down has been set upright; the deadly enemies and adversaries have become friends.
In the darkness, the jewel shines forth, and the impure understanding has become pure. ||1||
When the Lord of the Universe became merciful,
I found peace, wealth and the fruit of the Lord's Name; I have met the True Guru. ||1||Pause||
No one knew me, the miserable miser, but now, I have become famous all over the world.
Before, no one would even sit with me, but now, all worship my feet. ||2||
I used to wander in search of pennies, but now, all the desires of my mind are satisfied.
I could not bear even one criticism, but now, in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, I am cooled and soothed. ||3||
What Glorious Virtues of the Inaccessible, Unfathomable, Profound Lord can one mere tongue describe?
Please, make me the slave of the slave of Your slaves; servant Nanak seeks the Lord's Sanctuary. ||4||2||124||
Aasaa, Fifth Mehl:
O fool, you are so slow to earn your profits, and so quick to run up losses.
You do not purchase the inexpensive merchandise; O sinner, you are tied to your debts. ||1||
O True Guru, You are my only hope.
Your Name is the Purifier of sinners, O Supreme Lord God; You are my only Shelter. ||1||Pause||
Listening to the evil talk, you are caught up in it, but you are hesitant to chant the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
You are delighted by slanderous talk; your understanding is corrupt. ||2||
Others' wealth, others' wives and the slander of others - eating the uneatable, you have gone crazy.
You have not enshrined love for the True Faith of Dharma; hearing the Truth, you are enraged. ||3||
O God, Merciful to the meek, Compassionate Lord Master, Your Name is the Support of Your devotees.
Nanak has come to Your Sanctuary; O God, make him Your Own, and preserve his honor. ||4||3||125||
Aasaa, Fifth Mehl:
They are attached to falsehood; clinging to the transitory, they are trapped in emotional attachment to Maya.
Wherever they go, they do not think of the Lord; they are blinded by intellectual egotism. ||1||
O mind, O renunciate, why don't you adore Him?
You dwell in that flimsy chamber, with all the sins of corruption. ||1||Pause||
Crying out, "Mine, mine", your days and nights pass away; moment by moment, your life is running out.
✦ 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.”
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.”