Ang-401 — Chapter 20
If it pleases the Commander, one goes to His Court, robed in honor.
By His Command, God's slaves are hit over the head. ||5||
The profit is earned by enshrining Truth and justice in the mind.
They obtain what is written in their destiny, and overcome pride. ||6||
The self-willed manmukhs are hit over the head, and consumed by conflict.
The cheaters are plundered by falsehood; they are chained and led away. ||7||
Enshrine the Lord Master in your mind, and you shall not have to repent.
He forgives our sins, when we practice the Teachings of the Guru's Word. ||8||
Nanak begs for the True Name, which is obtained by the Gurmukh.
Without You, I have no other at all; please, bless me with Your Glance of Grace. ||9||16||
Aasaa, First Mehl:
Why should I go searching in the forests, when the woods of my home are so green?
The True Word of the Shabad has instantaneously come and settled in my heart. ||1||
Wherever I look, there He is; I know no other.
Working for the Guru, one realizes the Mansion of the Lord's Presence. ||1||Pause||
The True Lord blends us with Himself, when it is pleasing to His Mind.
One who ever walks in accordance with His Will, merges into His Being. ||2||
When the True Lord dwells in the mind, that mind flourishes.
He Himself grants greatness; His Gifts are never exhausted. ||3||
Serving this and that person, how can one obtain the Lord's Court?
If someone embarks on a boat of stone, he shall drown with its cargo. ||4||
So offer your mind, and surrender your head with it.
The Gurmukh realizes the true essence, and finds the home of his own self. ||5||
People discuss birth and death; the Creator created this.
Those who conquer their selfhood and remain dead, shall never have to die again. ||6||
Do those deeds which the Primal Lord has ordered for you.
If one surrenders his mind upon meeting the True Guru, who can estimate its value? ||7||
That Lord Master is the Assayer of the jewel of the mind; He places the value on it.
O Nanak, True is the Glory of that one, in whose mind the Lord Master dwells. ||8||17||
Aasaa, First Mehl:
Those who have forgotten the Naam, the Name of the Lord, are deluded by doubt and duality.
Those who abandon the roots and cling to the branches, shall obtain only ashes. ||1||
Without the Name, how can one be emancipated? Who knows this?
One who becomes Gurmukh is emancipated; the self-willed manmukhs lose their honor. ||1||Pause||
Those who serve the One Lord become perfect in their understanding, O Siblings of Destiny.
The Lord's humble servant finds Sanctuary in Him, the Immaculate One, from the very beginning, and throughout the ages. ||2||
My Lord and Master is the One; there is no other, O Siblings of Destiny.
By the Grace of the True Lord, celestial peace is obtained. ||3||
Without the Guru, no one has obtained Him, although many may claim to have done so.
He Himself reveals the Way, and implants true devotion within. ||4||
Even if the self-willed manmukh is instructed, he stills goes into the wilderness.
Without the Lord's Name, he shall not be emancipated; he shall die, and sink into hell. ||5||
He wanders through birth and death, and never chants the Lord's Name.
He never realizes his own value, without serving the Guru. ||6||
✦ Connected Across Traditions
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.”