The divine Guru is my mother, the divine Guru is my father [2], the divine Guru is my lord and Supreme God ;
The divine Guru is my companion and dispeller of spiritual ignorance, the divine Guru is my relation and my brother ; [3]
The divine Guru is the giver and the teacher of God’s name, the divine Guru hath the spell that cannot be counteracted ; [4]
The divine Guru is peace, truth, the image of wisdom ; the divine Guru is a philosopher’s stone by touching which man is saved ;
The divine Guru is a place of pilgrimage, his divine knowledge a lake of nectar, by bathing in which the Ilimitable is obtained ;
The divine Guru is the Creator, the remover of all sin, the divine Guru is the purifier of the impure ;[ p. 169 ]
The divine Guru is from the beginning, from the beginning of time, and in every age; the divine Guru is the spell of God’s name by the utterance of which man is saved.
O God, mercifully bring me—foolish and sinner that I am—into the company of the Guru, so that by clinging to him I may be saved.
Nanak boweth to the divine Guru, the true Guru, the Supreme Brahm, the Supreme God.
SLOK I
God Himself created and caused men to act; He Himself is capable of acting.
Nanak, there is one pervading God; there neither was nor shall be another.
PAURI I
O A M. I bow to the one God, and to the saint the true Guru.
The Formless One is the beginning, the middle, and the end.
He Himself is rest, He Himself hath His seat in bliss ;
He Himself heareth His praises ;
He Himself created Himself ;
He is His own father, His own mother ;
He Himself is small, He Himself is large—
Nanak, His play cannot be understood.
O God, compassionate to the poor, be merciful,
That my heart may become the dust of the saints’ feet.
SLOK II
The one God is without form and yet with form; He is without qualities and yet possesseth all qualities.
Define the one God as one, Nanak, and the one God as manifold.
PAURI II
O A M. The one God, the great Guru, created all things; [5]
He hath strung them all on one string.[6][ p. 170 ]
The three qualities are separately diffused.
Instead of possessing no attributes God now appeareth possessing all attributes.
He made creation of all forms ;
From the increase of mental desires resulteth transmigration ;
He Himself is free from both birth and death.
Nanak, He hath no end or limit.
SLOK III
They are rich and fortunate who possess the hoard of the truth and the stock-in-trade of God’s name.
Nanak, the true and pure Name is obtained from the saints.
PAURI III
S. True, true, true is He;
There is nothing separate from the True Being.
It is he whom He putteth into his asylum who obtaineth His protection,
Remembereth Him, singeth His praises, and causeth others to hear them :
Doubt and error in no way enter him ;
His glory appeareth manifest.
Nanak is ever a sacrifice unto the holy man
Who attaineth to this distinction.
SLOK IV
Why art thou crying out for wealth ? All worldly love is false.
All they who are without the Name, Nanak, are as dust.
PAURI IV
D H. The dust of Thy servant’s feet is pure, O God ;
Blest are they whose souls desire it ;
They want not wealth, they desire not even paradise ;
They are fascinated with the love of the very Dear One, and the dust of the saint’s feet.
Why should worldly affairs affect those
Who forsake not the one God or go elsewhere to worship ? [ p. 171 ]
He in whose heart God hath put the Name,
O Nanak, is a perfect saint of God.
SLOK V
It is not by adopting various religious garbs or by knowledge or meditation, or by obstinacy that God is obtained by any one:
Saith Nanak, he to whom God is merciful is a saint and possessor of divine knowledge.
PAURI V
N G. Divine knowledge consisteth not in words uttered by the mouth,
Nor in extracting different species of arguments from the Shastars.
He possesseth divine knowledge in whose heart God is firmly fixed ;
It is not by discussion he becometh capable.
He who is strict in his obedience to God’s order possesseth divine knowledge ;
Heat and cold are all the same to him.
The possessor of divine knowledge, to whom God extendeth mercy,
Meditateth on God, O Nanak, under the Guru’s instruction.
SLOK VI
Men come into the world, but without knowing God they are as beasts and cattle.
Nanak, the holy man, on whose forehead such destiny hath been written, knoweth God.
PAURI VI
The foetus reversed in the pit of the womb performeth penance,
And continueth to remember God at every breath.
Man then cometh into this world to meet the one God,
But fascinating Maya fascinateth him at his birth.
He becometh entangled with what he must abandon,[ p. 172 ]
And in his soul forgetteth the Giver.
He to whom Thou showest favour, O Lord of the earth,
Will not forget Thee, saith Nanak, either here or there.[7]
SLOK VII
Man is born by God’s order, he dieth by God’s order, no one is exempt from His order ;
Transmigration is at an end for him, Nanak, in whose heart God abideth.
PAURI VII
This soul hath dwelt in many wombs ;
Immersed in sweet illusion it was entangled in them ;
This illusion hath reduced the world[8] to subjection,
And infused a love for itself into every heart :
O my friend, tell us of some device
By which we may escape this dangerous illusion.
Maya approacheth not him,
O Nanak, whom God mercifully associateth with the saints.
SLOK VIII
God Himself hath appointed good and bad acts for man to perform ; [9]
But man the brute indulgeth in pride; Nanak, what can he do without God ?
PAURI VIII
It is God alone who causeth man to act ;
It is He Himself who diffuseth demerits and merits.
Man performeth the duties of the station in which God hath placed him in this world,
And receiveth what God conferreth upon him.
No one knoweth God’s limit ;
It is only what He doeth that occurreth.[ p. 173 ]
It is from Him alone the whole creation hath proceeded. Nanak, He Himself is the arranger.
SLOK IX
Man continueth to love women, pleasures, and the tumult of the passions, things fleeting as the dye of the safflower.[10]
Nanak, take God’s protection and thy selfishness shall depart.
PAURI IX
O my soul, the more thou lovest anything except God, the greater thine entanglements.
The apostates do the very things which in every way hinder their emancipation.
They who while practising pride continue to perform ceremonial works, bear a crushing load :
When there is no love for the Name such works are sinful.
They who are in love with delicious Maya are bound by Death’s rope ;
Deluded by error they know not that God is ever with them ;
They shall not be acquitted when their accounts[11] are examined : a mud wall can never be clean.
He to whom God giveth knowledge, O Nanak, becometh holy and his understanding pure.
SLOK X
They who associate with the saints and who are dyed with the deep dye of the one God’s love, O Nanak, shall have their fetters cut off.
PAURI X
R. Dye this heart of thine with God’s love ;
Repeat God’s name with thy tongue,
So shall no one address thee rudely in God’s court : Every one shall honour thee, saying, ‘Come, sit down.’ In that palace thou shalt obtain thy dwelling [ p. 174 ]
Where there is no transmigration or destruction.
God’s wealth is in the house of him,
Nanak, on whose forehead such destiny was recorded in the beginning.
SLOK XI
The sins of covetousness, falsehood, and worldly love are committed by the foolish and the blind ;
Slaves of Maya, O Nanak, they love an offensive smell.[12]
PAURI XI
L. They are entangled and steeped in the juice of evil passions ;
They are intoxicated with the wine of mental pride and worldly love ;
And from this worldly love resulteth transmigration.
As God ordereth so man acteth.
There is no one imperfect and no one perfect ;
There is no one wise and no one foolish.
Where God appointed men there they perform theirduties.
Nanak, the Lord is always unaffected by mundane affairs.[13]
SLOK XII
My darling God, the Lord of the earth, is deep, profound, and unfathomable ; Nanak, there is none like unto Him, He is unconcerned.
PaurRI XII
L. There is none equal to Him ;
He Himself is the only one, there shall be none other ;
He is now and ever hath been ;
No one hath found His limit ;
He is contained as fully in an ant as in an elephant ;
He is famous, known everywhere :
He to whom He hath given His love
Repeateth His name, O Nanak, under the Guru’s instruction.
[ p. 175 ]
SLOK XIII
He who hath tasted the savour of God naturally enjoyeth His love.
Nanak, blessed is the advent of such into the world; he is acceptable to God.
PAURI XIII
Deem fortunate the birth of him
Whose tongue repeateth God’s praises ;
He goeth and sitteth with the saints,
And night and day meditateth on the Name with love.
He to whom God showeth compassion and mercy,
Is at his birth endued with the Name ;
He has been born once, but shall not again enter the womb ;
Nanak, he shall be absorbed in the sight of God.
SLOK XIV
Nanak, be absorbed in the Name by the repetition of which the heart becometh happy, worldly love is erased,
And there is an end to pain, sorrow, and longing for earthly pleasures.
PAURI XIV
Y. Rid thyself of evil inclinations and duality ;
Relinquishing them sleep in peace and composure.
Y. Go and take the protection of the saints,
By whose assistance thou shalt cross this terrible ocean.
Y. He who taketh the one Name and stringeth it in his heart,
Shall not be born again.
Y. By the support of the Guru thou shalt not lose thy human birth.
Nanak, he in whose heart the one God dwelleth hath obtained happiness.
SLOK XV
He who is our friend in this world and the next, dwelleth within our souls and bodies.[ p. 176 ]
The perfect Guru teacheth us, O Nanak, to utter God’s Name continually.
PAURI XV
Night and day remember Him who will in the end be thy helper.
These worldly pleasures only last for a few days ; every one must leave them and depart.
Who hath a mother, father, son, daughter,
Home, or wife ? Thou canst take none of them with thee.
Amass such things as are not perishable,
So shalt thou depart to thine own home with honour.
They who in this Kal age sing God’s praises in the company of the saints,
O Nanak, shall not come again into the world.
SLOK XVI
Though one be very beautiful, of high birth, wise, a divine in words, and wealthy,
Yet shall he be deemed as dead, O Nanak, if he have no love for God.
PAURI XVI
NG. Even though man be versed in the six Shastar systems,
And perform the exercises of purak, kumbhak and rechak ;[14]
Even though he practise divine knowledge, meditation, pilgrimages, and ablutions,
Only eat food cooked by himself, live apart from human contact and dwell in the forest ;
Yet if he feel no love for God’s name in his heart,
Every act of his shall only be brief.
Superior to him deem thou the pariah,
O Nanak, in whose heart God dwelleth.
[ p. 177 ]
SLOK XVII
Man wandereth about in the four quarters and the ten[15] directions of the world bearing the mark of deeds done.
Weal and woe, deliverance and transmigration, Nanak, are according to man’s written record.
PAURI XVII
K. God is the Creator and cause of everything ;
No one can efface that written record ;
What God once doeth cannot be altered ; [16]
The Creator erreth not.
To one He Himself pointeth out the right way ;
Another He causeth to wander sorrowfully in the wilderness ;
He playeth His own play.
Whatever He giveth, Nanak, man receiveth.
SLOK XVIII
Various and countless people, O Nanak, repeat God’s name.
Men eat, spend, and enjoy [17] themselves, but God’s storehouses fail not them.
PAURI XVIII
K H. With that all-powerful One there is no stint ;
He continueth to give what He deemeth right to give, wheresoever man may go.
The wealth of the Name is the treasure from which the saints spend ; it is their capital.
With patience, humility, joy, and composure they continue to repeat God’s praises.
They to whom God is merciful sport and enjoy themselves.
They who have God’s name for their wealth in their homes are ever wealthy and of good report.[ p. 178 ]
They on whom God looketh with favour suffer not trouble, or pain, or torture ; [18]
Nanak, they who are pleasing to God are successful.
SLOK XIX
Calculate and consider in thy mind that men must assuredly depart.
The desire for transitory things is effaced by the Guru’s instruction ; only in the Name is there health.
PAURI XIX
G. Sing God’s praises at every breath and ever repeat His name.
Why repose confidence in thy body? Delay not, my friend ;
There is no reliance on childhood, youth, or old age:
The time is not known when the noose of Death will fall upon thee.
Behold the wise, the meditative, and the clever; even they remain not here.
The fool clingeth to the things which the rest of the world leaveth behind.
He on whose forehead such destiny hath been written, continueth to remember God by the Guru’s favour.
Nanak, fortunate is her advent who is the spouse of the Beloved.
SLOK XX
I have searched all the Shastars and Veds; they tell of nothing save this,
That the one God was in the beginning, in the beginning of time, is now, Nanak, and ever shall be.
PAURI XX
GH. Put this into thy heart that there is none but God ;
There was none, and there shall be none: He is everywhere contained.[ p. 179 ]
Thou shalt be absorbed[19] in Him, O man, when thou enterest His asylum.
In the Kal age the Name is the real atonement for sins.
After toiling and moiling in superstitious exercises many Reever ii;
Without devotion to God how can stability be obtained ?
He to whom the divine Guru gave the great nectareous essence,
Hath stirred it up, O Nanak, and drunk it.
SLOK XXI
God has counted and fixed for man all his days and breathings ; these cannot be increased or diminished the length of a sesame seed ;
Nanak, they who desire to live on in error and worldly love are fools.
PAURI XXI
N G. Death shall seize him who hath fallen away from God.
He seeth not God who dwelleth in his heart, and he shall suffer many transmigrations.
Divine knowledge and meditation shall come to him
To whom God mercifully granteth them.
No one shall be emancipated by making calculations ;
The frail pitcher shall burst at last.
Only they who utter God’s name their lives long really live ;
They become distinguished, Nanak, and not obscure.
SLOK XXII
In thy heart meditate on God’s lotus feet, and its inverted lotus shall bloom. God Himself will appear, O Nanak, under the saints’ instruction. PAURI XXII CH. Blest, blest that day and auspicious that conjuncture When I cling to the Guru’s lotus feet.[ p. 180 ]
After wandering in the four corners and the ten directions of the globe,
I through the favour of God obtained a sight of him.
Through excellent meditation all duality is removed ;
My mind hath become pure by association with the saints.
Nanak, he to whose eyes the salve of divine knowledge hath been applied,
Shall forget his anxieties and behold the one God.
SLOK XXIII
The breast becometh cool and the heart happy by singing the chant of God’s praises ;
Show such mercy, O God, that Nanak may become Thy slave of slaves.
PAURI XXIII
C H H. Weare Thy slave-boys.
Yea, we are the water-carriers of the slave of Thy slaves. C HH. We are the dust of Thy saints’ feet :
Show us Thy mercy, O God.
We have abandoned all devices and stratagems,
And propped up our souls with the prop of the saints. The puppet of ashes whom the saints assist
Shall, Nanak, obtain the supreme state.
SLOK XXIV
Man is greatly elated by his strength and power, and thereby diseaseth his frail body ; Through his pride he is entangled, Nanak, but the Name will release him.
PAURI XXIV
J. When a man thinketh something of himself,
He is caught like a parrot in a trap ;
When he thinketh he is a saint and possessed of divine knowledge,
God will show him no respect whatever in the next world ;
When he thinketh he is a preacher,[ p. 181 ]
He merely roameth over the earth like a trader.
He who removeth his pride by association with the saints O Nanak, meeteth God.
SLOK XXV
Rise at dawn, utter the Name, yea, night and day worship God ;
Thus shalt thou feel no anxiety, Nanak, and all thy troubles shall vanish.
PAURI XXV
J H. By occupying thyself with God’s name
All thy griefs shall be effaced.
The perverse man whose heart feeleth worldly love
Shall die in excessive grief.
O my soul, when thou hearest the ambrosial word in the company of saints,
Thine impurities and sins shall depart.[20]
Nanak, from him to whom God is merciful,
Lust, wrath, and other evil passions shall depart.
SLOK XXVI
Though you make efforts of various kinds, you shall not have eternal life, my friends.
You shall have eternal life, saith Nanak, if you repeat God’s name with love.
PAURI XXVI
N Y. Know for a certainty that these bodies of yours which you love shall perish.
Even though you make calculations, you cannot count how many have departed.
Whatever you behold shall perish; to what shall you attach yourselves ?
Know this in your hearts as certain that love of the world is false.
He who knoweth this is a saint and removed from error.
Him with whom God is pleased, He extricateth from the blind well.[ p. 182 ]
He whose arm is omnipotent is able to create the world—
Nanak, praise Him who uniteth the soul with Himself.
SLOK XXVII
By serving the saints the bonds of transmigration are broken, and man obtaineth rest :
Nanak, may I never forget the sovereign God, the treasury
of excellences !
PAURI XXVII
Serve the one God to whom no one appealeth in vain ;
If He dwell in thy soul, body, mouth, and heart, thou shalt obtain whatever thou desirest.
He to whom the holy man is kind, shall obtain the service by which God’s court shall be won.
If God be compassionate thou shalt abide in the company of the saints—
I have searched in many lands, but found no happiness without the Name.
The ministers of Death shall recede from him who joineth the society of the saints ;
Again and again I sacrifice myself to the saints,
Through whom, O Nanak, the sins of old are blotted out.
SLOK XXVIII
They with whom God is pleased are not stopped at His gate ;
Supremely blest are they, Nanak, whom God hath made His own.
PAURI XXVIII
T H. He who having abandoned all else attacheth himself to the one God,
Afflicteth no one’s heart.
They who are buffeted by worldly love are dead,
And find nowhere comfort.
They who abide in the company of the saints are refreshed ;
The ambrosial Name is sweet to their souls.
The soul of the man who pleaseth his Lord,
O Nanak, becometh refreshed.
[ p. 183 ]
SLOK XXIX
Prostrations and obeisance many times to Thee, O God, who possessest all contrivances and art omnipotent !
Reach me Thy hand, O God, saith Nanak, and save me from wavering.[21]
PAURI XXIX
D. O my soul, this is not thy dwelling ; know that Place [22] where thy dwelling is ;
Learn from the Guru’s instruction the way to that dwelling.
Man undergoeth toil to erect a dwelling here
Which will not go an inch with him.
He on whom the omnipotent God looketh with favour,
Knoweth the way to that dwelling.
That dwelling is permanent and true, and is obtained in the company of the saints ;
Nanak, they who find it waver not.
SLOK XXX
When Dharmraj beginneth to smite, none can restrain him :
Nanak, they who repeat God’s name in association with the saints shall be saved.
PAURI XXX
D H. Why goest thou about searching ? search in thine own heart.
God dwelleth with thee ; why wanderest thou from forest to forest ?
Throw down thy heap of terrible pride in the company of the saints ;
So shalt thou find rest, abide in peace, and be blest with the sight of God:
He in whom that heap is, shall be born and die, and suffer the pain of the womb ;[ p. 184 ]
He who is steeped in worldly love and entangled with egotism shall come and go.
I have now gradually fallen under the protection of the saints ;
God hath cut the meshes of sorrow, Nanak, and united me with Himself.
SLOK XXXI
Where the saints ever repeat God’s name and praises—
Dharmraj saith, ‘Approach not there, O my ministers : tf you do, neither you nor I shall escape.’
PAURI XXXI
N. He who conquereth his own heart is victorious in the battle ;
He who dieth fighting with his pride and worldly love is blest ; [23]
He who effaceth his pride [24] shall under the perfect Guru’s instruction be dead while alive ; [25]
He shall conquer his heart, meet God, and obtain a robe of honour for his bravery ;
He shall consider nothing his own ; the one God shall be his prop and support ;
He shall continue night and day to remember the supreme and infinite God ;
He shall so act as to make his heart the dust of all men’s feet ;
He shall understand God’s order, be ever happy, Nanak, and obtain what was destined for him.
SLOK XXXII
I will devote my body, soul, and wealth to him who causeth me to meet God ;
Nanak, my doubts and fears shall then be dispelled, and Death shall no longer look for me.
1
[ p. 185 ]
PAURI XXXII
T. Love Him who is the treasury of excellences, the sovereign God ;
Thou shalt then obtain the fruit thy heart desireth, and thy yearning shall depart.
He in whose heart the Name dwelleth, shall have no fear on the road to death ;
His understanding shall become enlightened ; he shall obtain salvation and a place in God’s court.
Nor wealth, nor mansion, nor youth, nor empire shall depart with thee.
In the company of the saints continue to remember God’s name; it is this that shall avail thee.
There shall be no more burning when God Himself removeth thy fever ;
Nanak, God Himself protecteth us; He is our mother and father.
SLOK XXXITI
The perverse have grown weary of their various toils, yet they are not satisfied and their thirst is not allayed ;
They shall die in the midst of their hoarding, Nanak, and their wealth shall not depart with them.
PAURI XXXIII
T H. None is permanent ; why stretchest thou thy feet forward ?[26]
In thine efforts after wealth alone thou committest great fraud and deceit ;
Thou toilest to fill thy purse, O fool, and then fallest down weary :
At the last moment that shall not avail thy soul.
Thou shalt obtain permanence [27] by worshipping God and accepting the saints’ instruction.[ p. 186 ]
Ever love the one God—that is the true love.
He is the cause of causes; all contrivances are in His hand alone.
We remain at the posts to which Thou, O God, hast appointed us; saith Nanak, the creature is helpless.
SLOK XXXIV
His slaves have seen the one God who giveth everything ;
They continue to remember Him at every breath ; Nanak, a sight of Him is their support.
PAURI XXXIV
D. The Giver is one; He giveth to all ;
In His giving there is no stint ; innumerable are His full storehouses.
The Giver liveth for ever.
O my foolish mind, why forgettest thou Him ?
No man is at fault, my friend ;
It is God who forged the fetters of Maya’s illusion.
The holy men whose pain He Himself removeth
Shall, O Nanak, be satisfied.[28]
SLOK XXXV
O my soul, grasp the prop of the one God, lay aside thy hopes in others ;
Ponder on the Name, and thine affairs shall succeed.
PAURI XXXV
D H. If thou abide with the saints. the wanderings of thy heart shall then cease ;
If God Himself bestow mercy from the beginning, the mind shall become enlightened,
They have the true capital and are the true traders,
Whose stock-in-trade is the Name and who deal in God.
Patience, glory, and honour are for him
Who attentively heareth God’s name.
The holy man in whose heart God is contained
Shall, O Nanak, obtain greatness.
[ p. 187 ]
SLOK XXXVI
Nanak, the perfect Guru hath taught that for him who, in the company of the saints,
Repeateth the Name with his tongue and with love in his heart, there is no hell.
PAURI XXXVI
N. They in whose souls and bodies the Name abideth
Shall not fall into hell. |
They who under the Guru’s instruction repeat the Name, which is a treasure,
Shall not perish by the poison of mammon.
No refusal awaiteth him
To whom the Guru hath given the spell of the Name.
God’s name which is full of nectar is the treasury of wealth :
Nanak, unbeaten musical instruments sound for him who repeateth it.
SLOK XXXVII
When I abandoned deceit, worldly love, and sin, the great Supreme Being preserved mine honour : Nanak, adore Him who hath no end or limit.[29]
PAURI XXXVIT
P. The sovereign God is beyond estimate; His limit cannot be ascertained ;
He is the purifier of sinners, and inaccessible.
Millions of sinners who meet the saints
And repeat the ambrosial Name become pure.
He whom Thou Thyself preservest, O Lord of the earth,
Loseth all deception, fraud, and worldly love.
God is emperor; He alone is entitled to the umbrella over His head :
Nanak, there is no other sovereign.
SLOK XXXVITI
By restraining the mind Death’s nooses are cut, transmigration is at an end, and victory obtained.[ p. 188 ]
Nanak, permanence is obtained from the Guru and transmigration effaced for ever and ever.
PAURI XXXVIII
P H. O soul, thou hast returned after long wanderings ;
In this Kal age thou hast obtained a human body so difficult to obtain ;
Thou shalt not again have the present opportunity.
Repeat God’s name, then Death’s noose shall be cut away,
And there shall be no transmigration for thee.
Utter the name of the one God ; that is the real utterance.
Have mercy, O God the Creator,
And unite poor Nanak with Thyself.
SLOK XXXIX
Hear Thou my supplication, Supreme Being, compassionate to the poor and Lord of the earth—
Nanak, the dust of the saints’ feet is to me comfort, wealth, great enjoyment, and pleasure.
PAURI XXXIX
B. It is he who knoweth God who is a Brahman ;
He is a Vaishnav who is pious, and accepteth the pure religion. .
He is a hero who effaceth his wickedness :
Nothing evil may approach him.
Man is bound by the fetters of his own pride,
And yet, blind that he is, he imputeth blame to others.
Discussion and subterfuges are all of no avail.
O God, he whom Thou causest to know Thee, saith Nanak, knoweth Thee.
SLOK XL
Heartily worship God who is the destroyer of fear and the remover of sin and sorrow ;
He in whose heart He dwelleth through the companionship of the saints shall never again, O Nanak, wander in transmigration.
[ p. 189 ]
PAURI XL
BH. Dispel thine errors ;
This world is all a dream.
In error are demigods, goddesses, and gods ;
In error are Sidhs, Strivers, and so is Brahma ;
In mazes of error man is ruined.
This world is difficult to cross and very dangerous.
The pious who have effaced error, fear, and worldly love, Shall, Nanak, obtain supreme happiness.
SLOK XLI
Through wealth the mind wavereth in many ways and becometh entangled ;
He whom Thou, O God, preservest from asking for it, saith Nanak, loveth the Name.
PAURI XLI
M. He who asketh is silly ;
The Bestower who is wise continueth to bestow :
What God giveth He giveth once for all.
O foolish man, why callest thou aloud °?
When thou prayest, thou prayest for worldly things,
From which happiness resulteth to no one.
If thou pray for anything, then pray for the one God,
By whom, saith Nanak, thou shalt be saved.
SLOK XLII
Their wisdom is perfect and they are distinguished in whose hearts is the perfect Guru’s instruction ;
Nanak, they who know their God are fortunate.
PAURI XLII
M. He who knoweth God’s secret
Is satisfied on meeting the company of the saints ;
He deemeth woe and weal as the same ;
He is exempted from entering hell or heaven :
The man who knoweth God’s secret dwelleth in the world, and yet is apart from it ;[ p. 190 ]
He is, as it were, the eminent being who filleth every heart.[30]
He who is not entangled by mammon,
Nanak, hath found happiness in God’s love.
SLOK XLIII
O my friends, allies, and adherents, hear me—there is no emancipation without God :
Nanak, he who falleth at the Guru’s feet hath all his fetters cut away.
PAURI KLIII
Y. Though man make efforts of many kinds,
How far can he succeed without the one Name ?
The efforts by which emancipation is obtained,
Are made in the company of the saints.
The salvation which every one holdeth to,
Cannot be obtained without the repetition of God’s name:
God is capable of giving salvation.
O Master, preserve us men without merits.
Nanak, that man’s intellect becometh enlightened,
Whom God Himself instructeth in thought, word, and deed.
SLOK XLIV
Think of thyself ; be angry with no one ;
Abide humble in the world, Nanak, and through God’s favour thou shalt be saved.
PAURI XLIV
R. Become the dust of every one’s feet ;
Abandon pride, and the sins to thy debit shall be blotted out.
Thou shalt be victorious in the struggle, O brother, and acceptable in God’s court,
If under the Guru’s instruction thou fix thine attention on God’s name,
Thy sins shall gradually be blotted out [ p. 191 ]
By the perfect Guru’s peerless word.
Nanak, they on whom God and the Guru have conferred favours,
Are dyed with the love of God’s name and intoxicated with its savour.
SLOK XLV
The diseases of covetousness, falsehood, and the other deadly sins infest this body ;
But the pious who drink the medicine of God’s nectar, O Nanak, shall be healed.
PAURI XLV
L. He, O God, to whom Thou administerest medicine,
Is at once cured of his sorrows and pains.
That medicine is the Name ; whosoever heartily loveth it Shall not even dream of disease.
The medicine of God’s name is in every heart, my brethren.
Except the perfect Guru no one knoweth how to prepare it.
He whose way of life the perfect Guru hath appointed,
O Nanak, shall never again sicken.
SLOK XLVI
God is everywhere, there is no place without Him ; He is with thee, Nanak, whether thou art at home or abroad ; what concealest thou from Him ?
PAURI XLVI
W. Bear not enmity to any one—
God is contained in every heart ;
He is contained in sea and land ;
By the favour of the Guru some rare person singeth His praises.
Enmity and jealousy shall depart from the heart of him
Who under the Guru’s instruction heareth God’s praises.
Nanak, he who under the Guru’s instruction repeateth God’s name,
Shall be released from all caste and caste marks.
[ p. 192 ]
SLOK XLVII
The stupid and ignorant infidel passeth his life in egoism ; In agony he dieth as one thirsty, O Nanak, and thus obtaineth his deserts.
PAURI XLVII
R. He who by association with the saints worshippeth the Name,
Which is the essence of religious acts, shall not engage in strife.
He in whose heart the Beautiful One dwelleth,
Shall have his strife erased and ended.
It is the ignorant perverse man, in whose heart
The sin of pride dwelleth, who harboureth strife.
Nanak, when the holy man instructeth,
All strife ceaseth in a moment.
SLOK XLVIII
O my soul, grasp the protection of the holy man; lay aside thy phrases and devices :
The Guru’s instruction, Nanak, dwelleth in the heart of him on whose forehead good fortune was written.
PAURI XLVIII
S H. Weary of repeating the Shastars, the Simritis, and the Veds,
We have now, O God, entered Thine asylum.
In my researches I have come to this conclusion,
That without worshipping God there is no deliverance.
We constantly make mistakes ;
Thou art omnipotent, infinite,[31] and illimitable.
O Compassionate One, protect us who have fallen under Thy protection !
Saith Nanak, O God, we are Thy children.
SLOK XLIX
When pride is erased, happiness resulteth, the mind and body are healed,[ p. 193 ]
Nanak, and He who is worthy of praise becometh manifest.
PAURI XLIX
K H. Thoroughly praise God
Who in an instant can fill to the brim what is empty.
When a mortal is thoroughly humble,
He night and day repeateth the name of the eternal God.
The Lord giveth happiness to those who please Him.
The infinite supreme Being is so potent,
That He can in a moment pardon numberless sins :
Nanak, the Lord is merciful.
SLOK L
Verily I say unto thee, hear me, O my soul, fall under the sovereign God’s protection ;
Cast aside all thy phrases and devices, Nanak, and God will unite thee with Himself.
PAURI L
S. O silly man, lay aside devices :
The Lord is not pleased with tricks and orders.[32]
Even though thou practise a thousand forms of cleverness,
Not one shall avail thee.[33]
Day and night repeat His name,
O my soul, which will go with thee.
He whom God Himself applieth to the saint’s service,
Nanak, shall never feel unhappy.
SLOK LI
Happiness resulteth from uttering God’s name and keeping it in mind.
Nanak, God provideth all things, and is everywhere equally contained. |
[ p. 194 ]
PAURI LI
Lo! God filleth the hearts of all—
Men are continually born, but the Guru’s wisdom destroyeth their pain.[34]
He is happy who hath escaped from pride; where there is no pride there is God.
By the power of the company of the saints the pain of birth and death is removed.
God becometh merciful to those who, by association with the saints,
Lovingly fix the name of the compassionate One in their hearts.
Nanak, everything hath proceeded from God ;
Without Him no one hath accomplished anything.
SLOK LII
Looking to his account man shall never be released [35] since he erreth every moment.
Saith Nanak, O Thou Pardoner, pardon us and save us.
PAURI LII
Man is disloyal and a sinner; he is a stranger to God and of little wisdom ;
He knoweth not the Essence of all things, who gave him soul, body, and happiness.
For the sake of worldly gain he goeth searching in every direction ;
God, the Giver, the Bestower, he treasureth not in his heart for an instant.
Greed, falsehood, sin, worldly love, these things he harboureth in his heart.
He passeth his life with great adulterers, thieves, and slanderers.
If pleasing to Thee, O God, pardon the counterfeit along with the genuine. [ p. 195 ]
Saith Nanak, O supreme God, if it please Thee, stones shall float on water.
SLOK LIII
Eating, drinking, playing, and laughing have we wandered in many births ;
O God, rescue us from the terrible ocean, prayeth Nanak ; we rely on Thee.
PAURI LIII
Having both enjoyed and suffered the pain of many births, we have returned as human beings.
Troubles are removed by meeting the holy man, and being absorbed in the true Guru’s instruction.
Man adopting contentment amasseth truth, and liveth upon the ambrosia of the Name.
Genuine is the mercy of God; I have found my haven in joy and happiness.
My cargo hath safely arrived; I have had great profit, and I return home with honour.
Genuine is the consolation the Guru gave me; I have met God on my return.
God Himself acted and acteth ; He was in the beginning and shall be in the end.
Nanak, praise Him who is contained in every heart.
SLOK LIV
O Ocean of mercy, compassionate God, we have entered Thine asylum.
Nanak is happy in giving the one word[36] God a place in his heart.[37]
PAURI LIV
God holdeth the three worlds by letters ;
Through letters the Veds are studied ;[ p. 196 ]
Through letters the Shastars, the Simritis, and the Puramns ;
Through letters hymns, discourses, and sermons ;
Through letters is the way of escape from fear and error ;
Through letters religious and worldly acts are performed and pure faith obtained.
The whole visible world is contained in letters ;
But, Nanak, the Supreme Being is beyond letters.
SLOK LV
O inaccessible One, Thy hand holdeth the pen which writeth man’s destiny on his forehead.
Thou of incomparable form art contained in all things ;
Man’s tongue cannot describe Thy praises ;
Nanak on beholding Thee is fascinated, and devoted unto Thee.
PAURI LV
O eternal, supreme God, indestructible, Destroyer of sin,
O All-pervading, contained in everything, Destroyer of grief, Lord of excellences,
Formless one, O man’s companion, O Thou without the three human attributes, Prop of all,
Supporter of the earth, O Ocean of excellences who hast ever discrimination,
O God, most remote Thou art, wast, and shalt be.
O Thou, constant Companion of the saints, Support of the supportless,
I am Thy slave, I am without merits, no merit is mine.
Saith Nanak, grant me the gift of Thy name that I may string it and keep it in my heart.
SLOK
The divine Guru is my mother, the divine Guru is my father, the divine Guru is my Lord and supreme God ;
The divine Guru is my companion and dispeller of spiritual ignorance, the divine Guru is my relation and my brother ;
The divine Guru is the giver and the teacher of God’s name, the divine Guru hath the spell that cannot be counteracted ; [ p. 197 ]
The divine Guru is peace, truth, and the image of wisdom ; the divine Guru isa philosopher’s.stone by whose touch man is saved ;
The divine Guru is a place of pilgrimage, his divine knowledge a lake of nectar, by bathing in which the Illimitable is obtained ;
The divine Guru is the creator, the remover of all sin, the divine Guru is the purifier of the impure ;
The divine Guru is from the beginning, from the beginning of time and in every age; the divine Guru is the spell of God’s name, by whose utterance man is saved.
O God, mercifully bring me—foolish and sinner that I am—into the company of the Guru, so that by clinging to him I may be saved.
Nanak boweth to the divine Guru, the true Guru, the supreme Brahm, the supreme God.
The words bawan akhari mean the fifty-two letters of the Sanskrit language. A similar number of words of religious meaning or significance is introduced and expounded. The intention was that their initials should be in the order of the Sanskrit letters, but, for some hitherto unexplained reason, the projected arrangement was not adhered to. The Sloks of the Bawan Akhari are of general religious import ; it is in the Pauris the words chosen for exposition are found. The Bawan Akhari consists altogether of fifty-five Sloks and Pauris. ↩︎
In India the mother is placed first. In English, following the Greek idiom, precedence is given to the father. ↩︎
Sahodara, from sah, the same, and udar, the womb. Compare the Greek adelphos and its ordinary derivation from a, and delphus, the womb. ↩︎
Mant nirodhara. The gyanis translate—the spell most potent to save. It is, however, the Sanskrit niruddhar mantar as translated in the text. ↩︎
Akar. Literally—forms, bodies. ↩︎
So that they may be in His power. ↩︎
Either in the womb or after birth. Others translate—Either in this world or the next. ↩︎
Trigun. Literally—the three qualities which prevail in the world. ↩︎
Also translated—Man doeth good and evil according to destiny, as God Himself hath ordained. ↩︎
Also translated—Which are fleeting as the dye of the safflower and
bitter as poison. ↩︎
Also translated—lIt is not by counting prayers said or actions done. ↩︎
That is, evil deeds. ↩︎
That is, men are placed in the world according to their good and bad acts in previous birth, and not by God’s special interference. ↩︎
These are exercises in the Jog religious system. Purak, inspiration, is closing the right nostril and drawing up air through the left; kumbhak, suspension, stopping the mouth and closing both nostrils ; and rechak, expiration, through the right nostril. ↩︎
The four cardinal points, the four intermediate points, heaven above, and earth below. ↩︎
Literally—nothing occurs twice. ↩︎
Men enjoy themselves and in doing so squander. ↩︎
The torture inflicted by the god of death. ↩︎
Also translated-—thou shalt be saved. ↩︎
Literally—shall drop or fall off as leaves from trees. ↩︎
This slok is recited by Sikh minstrels when they begin to sing,
and also by readers of the Granth Sahib on opening it. ↩︎
That is, God. ↩︎
Bhadu, blest, happy, from the Sanskrit dhaddra. It may, however, be a corruption of the word bahadur, brave, a hero. If so sobha du hoi be read, the translation will be—He shall be honoured in both worlds. ↩︎
Mani, to consider things as one’s own. ↩︎
This is explained to mean that he will be very humble. ↩︎
A metaphor from the quarrels of Indian landowners. On a disputed plot one claimant puts his foot forward, his opponent does the same. In the text the expression means to bring everything within one’s grasp. ↩︎
Thou shalt no more wander in transmigration. ↩︎
This pauri is repeated as a grace before meals. ↩︎
Sikhs repeat this couplet when tying on their turbans. ↩︎
Also translated—He enjoyeth the happiness of God who filleth every heart. ↩︎
Literally—innumerable. ↩︎
Ordering God in a familiar manner to grant worldly favours, such as to send rain, heal sickness, provide sons for parents, &c.—a practice of Brahmans. ↩︎
Literally—not one of them shall go with thee. ↩︎
This and the preceding line are also translated—
God filleth the hearts of all, and will ever and ever do so; He is the destroyer of sorrow and greatly wise. ↩︎
Man’s account with God is always on the debit side. ↩︎
Akhar. Literally—a letter. There is however a pun on the word. It also means indestructible, from the Sanskrit a negative, and kshar, destruction. ↩︎
This slok and pauri LV are sung by the Sikhs on the conclusion of the intonement of a passage from the Granth Sahib. ↩︎