Ang-901 — Chapter 45
Without the Shabad, the essence does not come, O hermit, and the thirst of egotism does not depart.
Imbued with the Shabad, one finds the ambrosial essence, and remains fulfilled with the True Name.
"What is that wisdom, by which one remains steady and stable? What food brings satisfaction?"
O Nanak, when one looks upon pain and pleasure alike, through the True Guru, then he is not consumed by Death. ||61||
If one is not imbued with the Lord's Love, nor intoxicated with His subtle essence,
without the Word of the Guru's Shabad, he is frustrated, and consumed by his own inner fire.
He does not preserve his semen and seed, and does not chant the Shabad.
He does not control his breath; he does not worship and adore the True Lord.
But one who speaks the Unspoken Speech, and remains balanced,
O Nanak, attains the Lord, the Supreme Soul. ||62||
By Guru's Grace, one is attuned to the Lord's Love.
Drinking in the Ambrosial Nectar, he is intoxicated with the Truth.
Contemplating the Guru, the fire within is put out.
Drinking in the Ambrosial Nectar, the soul settles in peace.
Worshipping the True Lord in adoration, the Gurmukh crosses over the river of life.
O Nanak, after deep contemplation, this is understood. ||63||
"Where does this mind-elephant live? Where does the breath reside?
Where should the Shabad reside, so that the wanderings of the mind may cease?"
When the Lord blesses one with His Glance of Grace, he leads him to the True Guru. Then, this mind dwells in its own home within.
When the individual consumes his egotism, he becomes immaculate, and his wandering mind is restrained.
"How can the root, the source of all be realized? How can the soul know itself? How can the sun enter into the house of the moon?"
The Gurmukh eliminates egotism from within; then, O Nanak, the sun naturally enters into the home of the moon. ||64||
When the mind becomes steady and stable, it abides in the heart, and then the Gurmukh realizes the root, the source of all.
The breath is seated in the home of the navel; the Gurmukh searches, and finds the essence of reality.
This Shabad permeates the nucleus of the self, deep within, in its own home; the Light of this Shabad pervades the three worlds.
Hunger for the True Lord shall consume your pain, and through the True Lord, you shall be satisfied.
The Gurmukh knows the unstruck sound current of the Bani; how rare are those who understand.
Says Nanak, one who speaks the Truth is dyed in the color of Truth, which will never fade away. ||65||
"When this heart and body did not exist, where did the mind reside?
When there was no support of the navel lotus, then in which home did the breath reside?
When there was no form or shape, then how could anyone lovingly focus on the Shabad?
When there was no dungeon formed from egg and sperm, who could measure the Lord's value and extent?
When color, dress and form could not be seen, how could the True Lord be known?"
O Nanak, those who are attuned to the Naam, the Name of the Lord, are detached. Then and now, they see the Truest of the True. ||66||
When the heart and the body did not exist, O hermit, then the mind resided in the absolute, detached Lord.
When there was no support of the lotus of the navel, the breath remained in its own home, attuned to the Lord's Love.
When there was no form or shape or social class, then the Shabad, in its essence, resided in the unmanifest Lord.
When the world and the sky did not even exist, the Light of the Formless Lord filled the three worlds.
✦ 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.”
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.”