Ang-501 — Chapter 9
They do not obtain the Lord's Name, and they waste away their lives in vain; O Nanak, the Messenger of Death punishes and dishonors them. ||2||
Pauree:
He created Himself - at that time, there was no other.
He consulted Himself for advice, and what He did came to pass.
At that time, there were no Akaashic Ethers, no nether regions, nor the three worlds.
At that time, only the Formless Lord Himself existed - there was no creation.
As it pleased Him, so did He act; without Him, there was no other. ||1||
Salok, Third Mehl:
My Master is eternal. He is seen by practicing the Word of the Shabad.
He never perishes; He does not come or go in reincarnation.
So serve Him, forever and ever; He is contained in all.
Why serve another who is born, and then dies?
Fruitless is the life of those who do not know their Lord and Master, and who center their consciousness on others.
O Nanak, it cannot be known, how much punishment the Creator shall inflict on them. ||1||
Third Mehl:
Meditate on the True Name; the True Lord is pervading everywhere.
O Nanak, by understanding the Hukam of the Lord's Command, one becomes acceptable, and then obtains the fruit of Truth.
He wanders around babbling and speaking, but he does not understand the Lord's Command at all. He is blind, the falsest of the false. ||2||
Pauree:
Creating union and separation, He laid the foundations of the Universe.
By His Command, the Lord of Light fashioned the Universe, and infused His Divine Light into it.
From the Lord of Light, all light originates. The True Guru proclaims the Word of the Shabad.
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, under the influence of the three dispositions, were put to their tasks.
He created the root of Maya, and the peace obtained in the fourth state of consciousness. ||2||
Salok, Third Mehl:
That alone is chanting, and that alone is deep meditation, which is pleasing to the True Guru.
Pleasing the True Guru, glorious greatness is obtained.
O Nanak, renouncing self-conceit, one merges into the Guru. ||1||
Third Mehl:
How rare are those who receive the Guru's Teachings.
O Nanak, he alone receives it, whom the Lord Himself blesses with glorious greatness. ||2||
Pauree:
Emotional attachment to Maya is spiritual darkness; it is very difficult and such a heavy load.
Loaded with so very many stones of sin, how can the boat cross over?
Those who are attuned to the Lord's devotional worship night and day are carried across.
Under the Instruction of the Guru's Shabad, one sheds egotism and corruption, and the mind becomes immaculate.
Meditate on the Name of the Lord, Har, Har; the Lord, Har, Har, is our Saving Grace. ||3||
Salok:
O Kabeer, the gate of liberation is narrow, less than one-tenth of a mustard seed.
The mind has become as big as an elephant; how can it pass through this gate?
If one meets such a True Guru, by His Pleasure, He shows His Mercy.
Then, the gate of liberation becomes wide open, and the soul easily passes through. ||1||
Third Mehl:
O Nanak, the gate of liberation is very narrow; only the very tiny can pass through.
Through egotism, the mind has become bloated. How can it pass through?
Meeting the True Guru, egotism departs, and one is filled with the Divine Light.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
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.”
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.”
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.”