Selections from the Guru Granth Sahib · 165 of 228

Raag Aasaa: Shalok, First Mehl (VIII)

Shalok, First Mehl:

First, purifying himself, the Brahmin comes and sits in his purified enclosure.

The pure foods, which no one else has touched, are placed before him.

Being purified, he takes his food, and begins to read his sacred verses.

But it is then thrown into a filthy place - whose fault is this?

The corn is sacred, the water is sacred; the fire and salt are sacred as well; when the fifth thing, the ghee, is added, then the food becomes pure and sanctified.

Coming into contact with the sinful human body, the food becomes so impure that is is spat upon.

That mouth which does not chant the Naam, and without the Name eats tasty foods

- O Nanak, know this: such a mouth is to be spat upon. ||1||

First Mehl:

From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married.

Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come.

When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound.

So why call her bad? From her, kings are born.

From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.

O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman.

That mouth which praises the Lord continually is blessed and beautiful.

O Nanak, those faces shall be radiant in the Court of the True Lord. ||2||

Pauree:

All call You their own, Lord; one who does not own You, is picked up and thrown away.

Everyone receives the rewards of his own actions; his account is adjusted accordingly.

Since one is not destined to remain in this world anyway, why should he ruin himself in pride?

Do not call anyone bad; read these words, and understand.

Don’t argue with fools. ||19||

Shalok, First Mehl:

O Nanak, speaking insipid words, the body and mind become insipid.

He is called the most insipid of the insipid; the most insipid of the insipid is his reputation.

The insipid person is discarded in the Court of the Lord, and the insipid one’s face is spat upon.

The insipid one is called a fool; he is beaten with shoes in punishment. ||1||

First Mehl:

Those who are false within, and honorable on the outside, are very common in this world.

Even though they may bathe at the sixty-eight sacred shrines of pilgrimage, still, their filth does not depart.

Those who have silk on the inside and rags on the outside, are the good ones in this world.

They embrace love for the Lord, and contemplate beholding Him.

In the Lord’s Love, they laugh, and in the Lord’s Love, they weep, and also keep silent.

They do not care for anything else, except their True Husband Lord.

Sitting, waiting at the Lord’s Door, they beg for food, and when He gives to them, they eat.

There is only One Court of the Lord, and He has only one pen; there, you and I shall meet.

In the Court of the Lord, the accounts are examined; O Nanak, the sinners are crushed, like oil seeds in the press. ||2||

Section 08 - Raag Aasaa - Part 128 Pauree:

You Yourself created the creation; You Yourself infused Your power into it.

You behold Your creation, like the losing and winning dice of the earth.

Whoever has come, shall depart; all shall have their turn.

He who owns our soul, and our very breath of life - why should we forget that Lord and Master from our minds?

With our own hands, let us resolve our own affairs. ||20||

Shalok, Second Mehl:

What sort of love is this, which clings to duality?

O Nanak, he alone is called a lover, who remains forever immersed in absorption.

But one who feels good only when good is done for him, and feels bad when things go badly

- do not call him a lover. He trades only for his own account. ||1||

Second Mehl:

One who offers both respectful greetings and rude refusal to his master, has gone wrong from the very beginning.

O Nanak, both of his actions are false; he obtains no place in the Court of the Lord. ||2||

Pauree:

Serving Him, peace is obtained; meditate and dwell upon that Lord and Master forever.

Why do you do such evil deeds, that you shall have to suffer so?

Do not do any evil at all; look ahead to the future with foresight.

So throw the dice in such a way, that you shall not lose with your Lord and Master.

Do those deeds which shall bring you profit. ||21||