Ang-401 — Chapter 41
The outgoing, wandering soul, upon meeting the True Guru, opens the Tenth Gate.
There, Ambrosial Nectar is food and the celestial music resounds; the world is held spell-bound by the music of the Word.
The many strains of the unstruck melody resound there, as one merges in Truth.
Thus says Nanak: by meeting the True Guru, the wandering soul becomes steady, and comes to dwell in the home of its own self. ||4||
O my mind, you are the embodiment of the Divine Light - recognize your own origin.
O my mind, the Dear Lord is with you; through the Guru's Teachings, enjoy His Love.
Acknowledge your origin, and then you shall know your Husband Lord, and so understand death and birth.
By Guru's Grace, know the One; then, you shall not love any other.
Peace comes to the mind, and gladness resounds; then, you shall be acclaimed.
Thus says Nanak: O my mind, you are the very image of the Luminous Lord; recognize the true origin of your self. ||5||
O mind, you are so full of pride; loaded with pride, you shall depart.
The fascinating Maya has fascinated you, over and over again, and lured you into reincarnation.
Clinging to pride, you shall depart, O foolish mind, and in the end, you shall regret and repent.
You are afflicted with the diseases of ego and desire, and you are wasting your life away in vain.
The foolish self-willed manmukh does not remember the Lord, and shall regret and repent hereafter.
Thus says Nanak: O mind, you are full of pride; loaded with pride, you shall depart. ||6||
O mind, don't be so proud of yourself, as if you know it all; the Gurmukh is humble and modest.
Within the intellect are ignorance and ego; through the True Word of the Shabad, this filth is washed off.
So be humble, and surrender to the True Guru; do not attach your identity to your ego.
The world is consumed by ego and self-identity; see this, lest you lose your own self as well.
Make yourself follow the Sweet Will of the True Guru; remain attached to His Sweet Will.
Thus says Nanak: renounce your ego and self-conceit, and obtain peace; let your mind abide in humility. ||7||
Blessed is that time, when I met the True Guru, and my Husband Lord came into my consciousness.
I became so very blissful, and my mind and body found such a natural peace.
My Husband Lord came into my consciousness; I enshrined Him within my mind, and I renounced all vice.
When it pleased Him, virtues appeared in me, and the True Guru Himself adorned me.
Those humble beings become acceptable, who cling to the One Name and renounce the love of duality.
Thus says Nanak: blessed is the time when I met the True Guru, and my Husband Lord came into my consciousness. ||8||
Some people wander around, deluded by doubt; their Husband Lord Himself has misled them.
They wander around in the love of duality, and they do their deeds in ego.
Their Husband Lord Himself has misled them, and put them on the path of evil. Nothing lies in their power.
You alone know their ups and downs, You, who created the creation.
The Command of Your Will is very strict; how rare is the Gurmukh who understands.
Thus says Nanak: what can the poor creatures do, when You mislead them into doubt? ||9||
✦ 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.”