Selections from the Guru Granth Sahib · 21 of 228
Raag Maajh: Shalok, First Mehl (VIII)
Shalok, First Mehl:
If I dressed myself in fire, and built my house of snow, and made iron my food;
and if I were to drink in all pain like water, and drive the entire earth before me;
and if I were to place the earth upon a scale and balance it with a single copper coin;
and if I were to become so great that I could not be contained, and if I were to control and lead all;
and if I were to possess so much power within my mind that I could cause others to do my bidding-so what?
As Great as our Lord and Master is, so great are His gifts. He bestows them according to His Will.
O Nanak, those upon whom the Lord casts His Glance of Grace, obtain the glorious greatness of the True Name. ||1||
Second Mehl:
The mouth is not satisfied by speaking, and the ears are not satisfied by hearing.
The eyes are not satisfied by seeing-each organ seeks out one sensory quality.
The hunger of the hungry is not appeased; by mere words, hunger is not relieved.
O Nanak, hunger is relieved only when one utters the Glorious Praises of the Praiseworthy Lord. ||2||
Pauree:
Without the True One, all are false, and all practice falsehood.
Without the True One, the false ones are bound and gagged and driven off.
Without the True One, the body is just ashes, and it mingles again with ashes.
Without the True Ome, all food and clothes are unsatisfying.
Without the True One, the false ones do not attain the Lord’s Court.
Attached to false attachments, the Mansion of the Lord’s Presence is lost.
The whole world is deceived by deception, coming and going in reincarnation.
Within the body is the fire of desire; through the Word of the Shabad, it is quenched. ||19||
Shalok, First Mehl:
O Nanak, the Guru is the tree of contentment, with flowers of faith, and fruits of spiritual wisdom.
Watered with the Lord’s Love, it remains forever green; through the karma of good deeds and meditation, it ripens.
Honor is obtained by eating this tasty dish; of all gifts, this is the greatest gift. ||1||
First Mehl:
The Guru is the tree of gold, with leaves of coral, and blossoms of jewels and rubies.
The Words from His Mouth are fruits of jewels. Within His Heart, He beholds the Lord.
O Nanak, He is obtained by those, upon whose faces and foreheads such pre-recorded destiny is written.
The sixty-eight sacred shrines of pilgrimage are contained in the constant worship of the feet of the Exalted Guru.
Cruelty, material attachment, greed and anger are the four rivers of fire.
Falling into them, one is burned, O Nanak! One is saved only by holding tight to good deeds. ||2||
Pauree:
While you are alive, conquer death, and you shall have no regrets in the end.
This world is false, but only a few understand this.
People do not enshrine love for the Truth; they chase after worldly affairs instead.
The terrible time of death and annihilation hovers over the heads of the world.
By the Hukam of the Lord’s Command, the Messenger of Death smashes his club over their heads.
The Lord Himself gives His Love, and enshrines it within their minds.
Not a moment or an instant’s delay is permitted, when one’s measure of life is full.
By Guru’s Grace, one comes to know the True One, and is absorbed into Him. ||20||
Shalok, First Mehl:
Bitter melon, swallow-wort, thorn-apple and nim fruit
-these bitter poisons lodge in the minds and mouths of those who do not remember You.
O Nanak, how shall I tell them this? Without the karma of good deeds, they are only destroying themselves. ||1||
First Mehl:
The intellect is a bird; on account of its actions, it is sometimes high, and sometimes low.
Section 06 - Raag Maajh - Part 055 Sometimes it is perched on the sandalwood tree, and sometimes it is on the branch of the poisonous swallow-wort. Sometimes, it soars through the heavens.
O Nanak, our Lord and Master leads us on, according to the Hukam of His Command; such is His Way. ||2||
Pauree:
Some speak and expound, and while speaking and lecturing, they pass away.
The Vedas speak and expound on the Lord, but they do not know His limits.
Not by studying, but through understanding, is the Lord’s Mystery revealed.
There are six pathways in the Shaastras, but how rare are those who merge in the True Lord through them.
The True Lord is Unknowable; through the Word of His Shabad, we are embellished.
One who believes in the Name of the Infinite Lord, attains the Court of the Lord.
I humbly bow to the Creator Lord; I am a minstrel singing His Praises.
Nanak enshrines the Lord within his mind. He is the One, throughout the ages. ||21||