Ang-701 — Chapter 12
Without meditating in remembrance on the Lord, life is like a burning fire, even if one lives long, like a snake.
One may rule over the nine regions of the earth, but in the end, he shall have to depart, losing the game of life. ||1||
He alone sings the Glorious Praises of the Lord, the treasure of virtue, upon whom the Lord showers His Grace.
He is at peace, and his birth is blessed; Nanak is a sacrifice to him. ||2||2||
Todee, Fifth Mehl, Second House, Chau-Padhay:
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
The mind wanders, wandering in the ten directions.
It is intoxicated by Maya, enticed by the taste of greed. God Himself has deluded it. ||Pause||
He does not focus his mind, even for a moment, on the Lord's sermon, or the Lord's Praises, or the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy.
He is excited, gazing on the transitory color of the safflower, and looking at other men's wives. ||1||
He does not love the Lord's lotus feet, and he does not please the True Lord.
He runs around chasing the fleeting objects of the world, in all directions, like the ox around the oil press. ||2||
He does not practice the Naam, the Name of the Lord; nor does he practice charity or inner cleansing.
He does not sing the Kirtan of the Lord's Praises, even for an instant. Clinging to his many falsehoods, he does not please his own mind, and he does not understand his own self. ||3||
He never does good deeds for others; he does not serve or meditate on the True Guru.
He is entangled in the company and the advice of the five demons, intoxicated by the wine of Maya. ||4||
I offer my prayer in the Saadh Sangat; hearing that the Lord is the Lover of His devotees, I have come.
Nanak runs after the Lord, and pleads, "Protect my honor, Lord, and make me Your own." ||5||1||3||
Todee, Fifth Mehl:
Without understanding, his coming into the world is useless.
He puts on various ornaments and many decorations, but it is like dressing a corpse. ||Pause||
With great effort and exertion, the miser works to gather in the riches of Maya.
He does not give anything in charity or generosity, and he does not serve the Saints; his wealth does not do him any good at all. ||1||
The soul-bride puts on her ornaments, embellishes her bed, and fashions decorations.
But if she does not obtain the company of her Husband Lord, the sight of these decorations only brings her pain. ||2||
The man works all day long, threshing the husks with the pestle.
He is depressed, like a forced laborer, and so he is of no use to his own home. ||3||
But when God shows His Mercy and Grace, He implants the Naam, the Name of the Lord, within the heart.
Search the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, O Nanak, and find the sublime essence of the Lord. ||4||2||4||
Todee, Fifth Mehl:
O Lord, ocean of mercy, please abide forever in my heart.
Please awaken such understanding within me, that I may be in love with You, God. ||Pause||
Please, bless me with the dust of the feet of Your slaves; I touch it to my forehead.
I was a great sinner, but I have been made pure, singing the Kirtan of the Lord's Glorious Praises. ||1||
✦ 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.”
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.”