Selections from the Guru Granth Sahib · 24 of 228
Raag Gauree: Gwaarayree, First Mehl, Chau-Padas & Du-Padas
Raag Gauree Gwaarayree, First Mehl, Chau-Padas & Du-Padas:
One Universal Creator God. Truth Is The Name. Creative Being Personified. No Fear. No Hatred. Image Of The Undying. Beyond Birth. Self-Existent. By Guru's Grace:
The Fear of God is overpowering, and so very heavy, while the intellect is lightweight, as is the speech one speaks.
So place the Fear of God upon your head, and bear that weight;
by the Grace of the Merciful Lord, contemplate the Guru. ||1||
Without the Fear of God, no one crosses over the world-ocean.
This Fear of God adorns the Love of the Lord. ||1||Pause||
The fire of fear within the body is burnt away by the Fear of God.
Through this Fear of God, we are adorned with the Word of the Shabad.
Without the Fear of God, all that is fashioned is false.
Useless is the mold, and useless are the hammer-strokes on the mold. ||2||
The desire for the worldly drama arises in the intellect, but even with thousands of clever mental tricks, the heat of the Fear of God does not come into play.
O Nanak, the speech of the self-willed manmukh is just wind.
His words are worthless and empty, like the wind. ||3||1||
Gauree, First Mehl:
Place the Fear of God within the home of your heart; with this Fear of God in your heart, all other fears shall be frightened away.
What sort of fear is that, which frightens other fears?
Without You, I have other place of rest at all.
Whatever happens is all according to Your Will. ||1||
Be afraid, if you have any fear, other than the Fear of God.
Afraid of fear, and living in fear, the mind is held in tumult. ||1||Pause||
The soul does not die; it does not drown, and it does not swim across.
The One who created everything does everything.
By the Hukam of His Command we come, and by the Hukam of His Command we go.
Before and after, His Command is pervading. ||2||
Cruelty, attachment, desire and egotism
- there is great hunger in these, like the raging torrent of a wild stream.
Let the Fear of God be your food, drink and support.
Without doing this, the fools simply die. ||3||
If anyone really has anyone else - how rare is that person!
All are Yours - You are the Lord of all.
All beings and creatures, wealth and property belong to Him.
O Nanak, it is so difficult to describe and contemplate Him. ||4||2||
Gauree, First Mehl:
Let wisdom be your mother, and contentment your father.
Let Truth be your brother - these are your best relatives. ||1||
He has been described, but He cannot be described at all.
Your All-pervading creative nature cannot be estimated. ||1||Pause||
Section 07 - Raag Gauree - Part 002 Modesty, humility and intuitive understanding are my mother-in-law and father-in-law;
I have made good deeds my spouse. ||2||
Union with the Holy is my wedding date, and separation from the world is my marriage.
Says Nanak, Truth is the child born of this Union. ||3||3||
Gauree, First Mehl:
The union of air, water and fire
- the body is the play-thing of the fickle and unsteady intellect.
It has nine doors, and then there is the Tenth Gate.
Reflect upon this and understand it, O wise one. ||1||
The Lord is the One who speaks, teaches and listens.
One who contemplates his own self is truly wise. ||1||Pause||
The body is dust; the wind speaks through it.
Understand, O wise one, who has died.
Awareness, conflict and ego have died, but the One who sees does not die. ||2||
For the sake of it, you journey to sacred shrines and holy rivers;
but this priceless jewel is within your own heart.
The Pandits, the religious scholars, read and read endlessly; they stir up arguments and controversies, but they do not know the secret deep within. ||3||
I have not died - that evil nature within me has died.
The One who is pervading everywhere does not die.
Says Nanak, the Guru has revealed God to me, and now I see that there is no such thing as birth or death. ||4||4||
Gauree, First Mehl, Dakhanee:
I am forever a sacrifice to the one who listens and hears, who understands and believes in the Name.
When the Lord Himself leads us astray, there is no other place of rest for us to find.
You impart understanding, and You unite us in Your Union. ||1||
I obtain the Naam, which shall go along with me in the end.
Without the Name, all are held in the grip of Death. ||1||Pause||
My farming and my trading are by the Support of the Name.
The seeds of sin and virtue are bound together.
Sexual desire and anger are the wounds of the soul.
The evil-minded ones forget the Naam, and then depart. ||2||
True are the Teachings of the True Guru.
The body and mind are cooled and soothed, by the touchstone of Truth.
This is the true mark of wisdom: that one remains detached, like the water-lily, or the lotus upon the water.
Attuned to the Word of the Shabad, one becomes sweet, like the juice of the sugar cane. ||3||
By the Hukam of the Lord's Command, the castle of the body has ten gates.
The five passions dwell there, together with the Divine Light of the Infinite.
The Lord Himself is the merchandise, and He Himself is the trader.
O Nanak, through the Naam, the Name of the Lord, we are adorned and rejuvenated. ||4||5||
Gauree, First Mehl:
How can we know where we came from?
Where did we originate, and where will we go and merge?
How are we bound, and how do we obtain liberation?
How do we merge with intuitive ease into the Eternal, Imperishable Lord? ||1||
With the Naam in the heart and the Ambrosial Naam on our lips, through the Name of the Lord, we rise above desire, like the Lord. ||1||Pause||
With intuitive ease we come, and with intuitive ease we depart.
From the mind we originate, and into the mind we are absorbed.
As Gurmukh, we are liberated, and are not bound.
Contemplating the Word of the Shabad, we are emancipated through the Name of the Lord. ||2||
At night, lots of birds settle on the tree.
Some are happy, and some are sad. Caught in the desires of the mind, they perish.
And when the life-night comes to its end, then they look to the sky.
They fly away in all ten directions, according to their pre-ordained destiny. ||3||
Section 07 - Raag Gauree - Part 003 Those who are committed to the Naam, see the world as merely a temporary pasture.
Sexual desire and anger are broken, like a jar of poison.
Without the merchandise of the Name, the house of the body and the store of the mind are empty.
Meeting the Guru, the hard and heavy doors are opened. ||4||
One meets the Holy Saint only through perfect destiny.
The Lord's perfect people rejoice in the Truth.
Surrendering their minds and bodies, they find the Lord with intuitive ease.
Nanak falls at their feet. ||5||6||
Gauree, First Mehl:
The conscious mind is engrossed in sexual desire, anger and Maya.
The conscious mind is awake only to falsehood, corruption and attachment.
It gathers in the assets of sin and greed.
So swim across the river of life, O my mind, with the Sacred Naam, the Name of the Lord. ||1||
Waaho! Waaho! - Great! Great is my True Lord! I seek Your All-powerful Support.
I am a sinner - You alone are pure. ||1||Pause||
Fire and water join together, and the breath roars in its fury!
The tongue and the sex organs each seek to taste.
The eyes which look upon corruption do not know the Love and the Fear of God.
Conquering self-conceit, one obtains the Name. ||2||
One who dies in the Word of the Shabad, shall never again have to die.
Without such a death, how can one attain perfection?
The mind is engrossed in deception, treachery and duality.
Whatever the Immortal Lord does, comes to pass. ||3||
So get aboard that boat when your turn comes.
Those who fail to embark upon that boat shall be beaten in the Court of the Lord.
Blessed is that Gurdwara, the Guru's Gate, where the Praises of the True Lord are sung.
O Nanak, the One Creator Lord is pervading hearth and home. ||4||7||
Gauree, First Mehl:
The inverted heart-lotus has been turned upright, through reflective meditation on God.
From the Sky of the Tenth Gate, the Ambrosial Nectar trickles down.
The Lord Himself is pervading the three worlds. ||1||
O my mind, do not give in to doubt.
When the mind surrenders to the Name, it drinks in the essence of Ambrosial Nectar. ||1||Pause||
So win the game of life; let your mind surrender and accept death.
When the self dies, the individual mind comes to know the Supreme Mind.
As the inner vision is awakened, one comes to know one's own home, deep within the self. ||2||
The Naam, the Name of the Lord, is austerity, chastity and cleansing baths at sacred shrines of pilgrimage.
What good are ostentatious displays?
The All-pervading Lord is the Inner-knower, the Searcher of hearts. ||3||
If I had faith in someone else, then I would go to that one's house.
But where should I go, to beg? There is no other place for me.
O Nanak, through the Guru's Teachings, I am intuitively absorbed in the Lord. ||4||8||
Gauree, First Mehl:
Meeting the True Guru, we are shown the way to die.
Remaining alive in this death brings joy deep within.
Overcoming egotistical pride, the Tenth Gate is found. ||1||
Death is pre-ordained - no one who comes can remain here.
So chant and meditate on the Lord, and remain in the Sanctuary of the Lord. ||1||Pause||
Meeting the True Guru, duality is dispelled.
The heart-lotus blossoms forth, and the mind is attached to the Lord God.
One who remains dead while yet alive obtains the greatest happiness hereafter. ||2||
Meeting the True Guru, one becomes truthful, chaste and pure.
Climbing up the steps of the Guru's Path, one becomes the highest of the high.
When the Lord grants His Mercy, the fear of death is conquered. ||3||
Uniting in Guru's Union, we are absorbed in His Loving Embrace.
Granting His Grace, He reveals the Mansion of His Presence, within the home of the self.
O Nanak, conquering egotism, we are absorbed into the Lord. ||4||9||
Section 07 - Raag Gauree - Part 004 Gauree, First Mehl:
Past actions cannot be erased.
What do we know of what will happen hereafter?
Whatever pleases Him shall come to pass.
There is no other Doer except Him. ||1||
I do not know about karma, or how great Your gifts are.
The karma of actions, the Dharma of righteousness, social class and status, are contained within Your Name. ||1||Pause||
You are So Great, O Giver, O Great Giver!
The treasure of Your devotional worship is never exhausted.
One who takes pride in himself shall never be right.
The soul and body are all at Your disposal. ||2||
You kill and rejuvenate. You forgive and merge us into Yourself.
As it pleases You, You inspire us to chant Your Name.
You are All-knowing, All-seeing and True, O my Supreme Lord.
Please, bless me with the Guru's Teachings; my faith is in You alone. ||3||
One whose mind is attuned to the Lord, has no pollution in his body.
Through the Guru's Word, the True Shabad is realized.
All Power is Yours, through the greatness of Your Name.
Nanak abides in the Sanctuary of Your devotees. ||4||10||
Gauree, First Mehl:
Those who speak the Unspoken, drink in the Nectar.
Other fears are forgotten, and they are absorbed into the Naam, the Name of the Lord. ||1||
Why should we fear, when fear is dispelled by the Fear of God?
Through the Shabad, the Word of the Perfect Guru, I recognize God. ||1||Pause||
Those whose hearts are filled with the Lord's essence are blessed and acclaimed, and intuitively absorbed into the Lord. ||2||
Those whom the Lord puts to sleep, evening and morning
- those self-willed manmukhs are bound and gagged by Death, here and hereafter. ||3||
Those whose hearts are filled with the Lord, day and night, are perfect.
O Nanak, they merge into the Lord, and their doubts are cast away. ||4||11||
Gauree, First Mehl:
One who loves the three qualities is subject to birth and death.
The four Vedas speak only of the visible forms.
They describe and explain the three states of mind, but the fourth state, union with the Lord, is known only through the True Guru. ||1||
Through devotional worship of the Lord, and service to the Guru, one swims across.
Then, one is not born again, and is not subject to death. ||1||Pause||
Everyone speaks of the four great blessings;
the Simritees, the Shaastras and the Pandits speak of them as well.
But without the Guru, they do not understand their true significance.
The treasure of liberation is obtained through devotional worship of the Lord. ||2||
Those, within whose hearts the Lord dwells, become Gurmukh; they receive the blessings of devotional worship.
Through devotional worship of the Lord, liberation and bliss are obtained.
Through the Guru's Teachings, supreme ecstasy is obtained. ||3||
One who meets the Guru, beholds Him, and inspires others to behold Him as well.
In the midst of hope, the Guru teaches us to live above hope and desire.
He is the Master of the meek, the Giver of peace to all.
Nanak's mind is imbued with the Lotus Feet of the Lord. ||4||12||