Weary of wandering in the four corners of the world and in every direction, we have come to Thy protection.
A cow without milk is of no avail :
Without water the tree withereth and beareth no fruit.
If we meet not the Lord God, the Friend, how shall we find rest ?
The city or village or house where God is not seen is as a furnace.
All decorations, betel, and tasteful viands are unstable together with the body.
Without the Lord God all friends are as the god of death.
Nanak’s supplication is, 4 Mercifully grant me Thy name ;
In Chet worship God and you shall greatly rejoice.
You shall obtain Him by meeting saints and repeating His name.
It is only those who have found their God, whose advent into the world is of account:
Vain is his birth who liveth even for a moment without Him.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 125
God is equally contained in sea and land, the nether regions, the firmament, and the forests.
With how much pain shall man reckon if God enter not his heart ?
They who repeat God’s name are very fortunate,
Nanak, my mind desireth. my mind thirsteth for a sight of God.
I shall touch his feet who causeth me to meet God in the month of Chet.
In Baisakh how can they find consolation who are separated from God, in whose hearts there is no love,
Who forget Him the Friend, and attach themselves to deceitful mammon ?
Son, wife, wealth remain not ; God alone perisheth not.
The whole world is strangled in its love of false occupations.
All but the name of the one God shall be lost on man’s last journey.
He who forgetteth God is ruined ; there is none but Him.
Pure is the fame of those who are attached to the feet of the Beloved.
Nanak’s prayer, 0 God, is—‘ Unite me with Thee that I may obtain Thee.’
Baisakh is then delightful when the saints cause man to meet God.
In Jeth man should unite with God before whom all bow.
He who clingeth to the skirt of God, the Friend, shall never be bound by any one.
God’s name is like gems and pearls which none may steal.
In God are all the loves which delight the mind.
What God desireth He doeth, and creatures act according to His will.
They whom God hath made His own are blest.
Could men on their own account 1 meet God, why should they weep in separation ?
Nanak, God is obtained by association with the saints; and they who obtain Him are happy.
In Jeth the playful God is obtained by the fortunate for whom it hath been so recorded.
Asarh 1 is a burning month for him to whom the Lord God is not near.
He who forsaketh God the life of the world and resteth his hopes on man,
Shall be ruined by his love of mammon, and shall wear Death’s halter around his neck.
As man sowed, in a previous life , so was the destiny recorded on his forehead, and so hath he reaped.
When the night of human life hath passed, man regretteth and departeth without hope.
They who meet the saints shall be released in God’s court.
O God, show Thy mercy unto me that I may thirst for a sight of Thee.
Nanak representeth—0 God, there is none but Thee.
Asarh is pleasant for him in whose heart dwell God’s feet.
In Sawan happy is the woman who loveth God’s lotus feet.
Her mind and body are imbued with true love, and her one support is the Name.
The love of worldly pleasures is false ; everything we see shall become ashes.
Pleasant are the drops of God’s nectar ; he shall drink them who meet eth saints.
The woods and glades rejoice with God the omnipotent and unequalled.
My mind longeth to meet God ; His favour shall cause me to meet Him.
I am ever a sacrifice to my companions who have met God.
Nanak, God mercifully regenerateth men with the Word.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 127
Sawan is pleasant for those who clasp God’s name to their hearts.
In Bhadon she who loveth mammon is lost in doubt.
Though she have hundreds of thousands of decorations, they are of none avail.
They whom man loved leave him in a moment.
He wringeth his hands, his body trembleth, and changeth from black to white.
On the very day his body perisheth men call out 4 ghost ! ’
The myrmidons of Death seize and take away the soul , and tell no one their secret. 1
As man soweth, so shall he reap the field of his works.
Nanak, God givcth His feet as a boat to him who hath sought His protection.
They who love the Guru, their saviour, shall not go to hell in Bhadon.
In Assu ariseth the pang of love—how man can meet God.
The mind and body greatly thirst for a sight of some one to come and cause us to meet God.
I fall at the feet of the saints who support me in my love.
How can any one obtain happiness but in God ? there •is no place beside.
They who have tasted the juice of love are satiated and cloyed.
Humbling thyself make this supplication, 4 O God, attach me to Thy skirt ! ’
They whom God the Spouse united with Himself shall never be separated from Him.
Nanak, there is no other shelter than God.
In Assu they dwell happy to whom God showeth mercy.
In Kartik they who do bad acts cannot impute the blame to others.
They who forget God suffer from every disease.
They who have turned their faces from God, are separated from Him at every birth.
All the sweets of mammon become bitter for them in a moment.
No one will mediate for them ; to whom shall they make their daily complaints ?
Nothing resulteth from man’s own efforts ; he obtaineth what was recorded in his original destiny.
My Lord is found by good fortune ; then shall all pains of separation depart.
O God, save Nanak, and release him from this prison.
If in Kartik man obtain the society of the saints all his anxieties shall depart.
The month of Maghar is beautiful for those who sit with their beloved God.
How can their glory be told whom God blendeth with Himself ?
The bodies and minds of those who have the saints for their companions rejoice in the Lord.
They who are deprived of the society of the saints dwell alone ;
Their pain never departcth ; they are bound in the thrall of Death.
They who have enjoyed their Lord are seen ever standing in His service.
Their necklaces are set with God for gems, jewels, and rubies.
Nanak desireth the dust of the feet of those who fall for shelter at God’s door.
They who worship God in Maghar shall never be born again.
In Poh cold shall never be felt by those whom the Lord God hath embraced.
God’s lotus feet have entered my heart, and I desire to behold Him.
Take shelter in God and His service shall be thy gain.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 129
On meeting the holy sing God’s praises and sin shall not affect thee.
Thou shalt be blended with what thou hast sprung from; wherefore be absorbed in true love.
He whom the Supreme Being hath taken by the hand shall never be separated from Him.
I am a hundred thousand times a sacrifice to God the Friend, the unapproachable and unfathomable.
Nanak hath fallen at God’s door : it is to His honour to protect him.
Poh is agreeable and bringeth all happiness to him whom God pardoneth.
In Magh bathe in the dust of the saints’ feet ;
Meditate on God’s name, and bestow it upon all ;
So shall the filth of the sins of births be washed away, and pride vanish from thy heart.
Lust and anger shall not seduce, and the dog covetousness shall be destroyed.
The world praiseth those who walk in the true way.
Mercy to human beings is more acceptable than bathing at the sixty-eight places of pilgrimage, and than all alms offered there :
He on whom God mercifully bestoweth it is a wise man.
Nanak is a sacrifice to those who have met their Lord.
In Magh they to whom the perfect Guru is kind are called the pure.
In Phagun they enjoy happiness to whom God hath manifested Himself.
The saints who render man assistance with God have mercifully blended me with Him.
Since then my couch is beautiful ; I possess all happiness, and there is no room for sorrow.
My desires have been fulfilled ; I am very fortunate in having obtained God as my Spouse.
My companions, come to me, sing a song of rejoicing, and chant the hymns of the Lord.
Nobody appeareth like God; no one is equal to Him.
K
SIKH, III
He hath prepared for me this world and the next, and given me a stable position.
He hath rescued me from the ocean of the world, and I shall not again have to run through births.
My tongue is but one, while manifold are His attributes : Nanak is saved by falling at His feet :
In Phagun ever praise Him who hath not a particle of avarice.
The affairs of those who meditated on the Name have been adjusted.
They who adore God the perfect Guru shall be found genuine in His court.
God’s feet are the basis of all comforts; through them man crosseth over the terrible and dangerous ocean.
. They who have obtained love and devotion burn not in sin.
Their falsehood hath vanished, their worldliness hath disappeared, and they are filled to the brim with the truth.
They serve God the supreme Being, and put Him alone in their hearts.
All months, days, and minutes are good for him on whom God looketh with favour.
Nanak craveth the boon of a sight of Thee, 0 God ; be Thou merciful unto him.
Gauri
An inquirer asked the Guru in the first two lines of the following how final rest and God were obtained. The Guru duly replied :—
How is comfort found, 0 my brother ?
How shall God the helper be obtained ?
There is no comfort in the house ivhose master saith ‘ All this wealth is mine ’;
Nor in dwelling in a lofty and beautifully built mansion.
In such deceptive avarice man loseth his human life.
He is pleased on beholding his elephants and his horses,
The assemblage of his army, his mace-bearers, and his servants;
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 131
But on their account, there is a halter of pride round his neck.
Were man to rule over the whole world,
Enjoy pleasures and embrace many women,
It would be as if a beggar became a king in a dream. One comfort the true Guru hath pointed out to me—
‘ Whatever God doeth is pleasing to His saints.’
Slave Nanak, he who destroyeth his pride shall be absorbed in God.
In this way comfort is found, O my brother ;
Thus God the Helper is obtained.
Since God is everywhere contained, man may lead a holy life as a householder :—
Why wander ? Who would wander
When God is contained in the water, dry land, the earth, and in the firmament ?
The holy are saved ; the perverse lose their honour,
None can equal him
Whom the merciful God protecteth.
Since the one infinite Being pervadeth all things,
Be thou free from care and sleep happy:
God knoweth everything which happeneth.
The perverse are dying of thirst for mammon ;
They wander through many births on account of their destiny writ from the beginning.
As man soweth, so shall he eat.
On beholding God, the heart delighteth ;
The light of God is everywhere manifested.
God hath fulfilled all Nanak’s desires.
Man after long transmigration having obtained human birth, ought to endeavour to utilize it and work out his deliverance :—
In how many births wert thou a worm or a moth !
In how many births an elephant, a fish, or a deer !
In how many births a bird or a serpent !
In how many births wert thou yoked as a horse or an
Meet the Lord of the world—this is the time to meet Him.
After a long period this human body hath been formed for thee.
In how many births wert thou created in rocks and mountains !
In how many births wert thou aborted from the womb!
In how many births wert thou born as a vegetable !
Thou didst wander through the eighty-four lakhs of existences.
Human birth having now been obtained by thee, associate with the saints,
Perform service, repeat God’s name under the guidance of the Guru,
And renounce pride, falsehood, and insolence.
If thou be dead when alive, thou shalt be acceptable in God’s court.
There is none other fit to perform it.
Man shall meet Thee, O Lord, if Thou cause him to do so.
Saith Nanak, sing God’s praises.
Man in his present state of probation ought to practise holiness:—
Sow the Name in this productive soil, 1
And thy desires shall be accomplished ;
Thou shalt obtain the fruit of thy labour and the fear of Death shall be dispelled.
Ever sing God’s attributes and praises ;
Clasp His name to thy heart,
And thou shalt quickly attain thine object.
Fix thine attention upon God,
And thou shalt obtain honour at His court.
Abandon all thy tricks and devices of speech,
And cling to the feet of holy men.
He in whose power all men are,
Shall never be separated from us, but shall be with us alway.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 133
Abandon shifts ; grasp His protection,
And in a moment thon shalt obtain deliverance.
Know that He is ever near thee.
Receive God’s commands as true and obey them.
Under the Guru’s instruction efface thyself And repeat God’s name, 0 Nanak.
Man ought to show gratitude to God for His many favours:—
During the eight watches of the day meditate on that God
Who made thee a jewel out of earth,
Who carefully preserved thee in the womb,
And who bestowed on thee renown and greatness.
O All-pervading, may I obtain the dust of Thy saints’ feet!
O men, meet the Guru and meditate on my Lord.
My mind forgetteth not that God,
Who turneth a foolish man into a preacher,
Who turneth a senseless into a sensible man,
And by whose favour the nine treasures are obtained. May I day and night at every breath remember Him Who giveth a home to the homeless,
Who giveth honour to the unhonoured,
Who fulfilleth all desires,
And by whose favour the chains of mammon are cut off! By the favour of the Guru poison hath become nectar. Saith Nanak, nothing is accomplished by man—
Praise ye the Preserver.
The advantages of devotion :—
Hear the Word of God and thy uncleanness shall depart; Thou shalt become very pure and obtain enduring 1 happiness.
By good fortune the society of holy men is obtained, And love to the Supreme Being produced.
God saveth His servants who repeat His name,
And conducteth them across the great sea of fire.
By singing God’s praises the heart is refreshed,
And the sins of many births blotted out.
I behold in my heart God’s whole treasure ;
Why should I now go searching for it abroad ?
When the Master is kind,
His servant’s labour is already accomplished.
Remember, remember, remember the attributes of Him, Who having cut off thy shackles hath made thee His servant.
There is but one God in the heart and in every place : He filleth the whole world.
The perfect Guru hath dispelled all my doubts.
By remembering God, Nanak hath obtained comfort.
The human race tends to degenerate :—
They who arc dead have passed away ;
They who survive stand with their loins girded :
Looking to the occupations in which the former were engaged,
The latter have contracted twice their load of mammon. They are entangled in things which are perishable,
And think not of the last hour.
The foolish person is bound by desire,
And involved in lust, anger, and worldly love :
Dharmraj standeth over him :
He eateth poison deeming it to be sweet, and saith ‘ I shall take mine enemy captive and punish him ;
Who shall dare set foot on my soil ?
I am a pandit, I am clever and wise.’
Attached to the world man knoweth not the Creator : Only God knoweth His own state and condition.
What can one say ? How can any one describe Him ? Man is engaged in whatever duties God appointed for him.
Every one prayeth to secure his own advantage. Everything is Thine ; Thou art the Creator.
Thou hast no end or limits.
Bestow this boon upon Thy slave Nanak,
That he may never forget Thy name.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 135
They who without service to God are attached to mammon shall regret when it is too late:—
Man is not satisfied with^vast wealth.
It is not sufficient for him to see many phases of life; he desireth to see more ;
He is entangled with children and wife, deeming them his own ;
But his wealth shall perish, and his children and wife become heaps of ashes ;
Then shall you behold him lamenting without God’s name.
Accursed the bodies, accursed the wealth of the lovers of mammon.
All wealth is God's; it is but given to man for brief use:—
As when one putteth a bag of money on the head of a forced labourer ;
The money reacheth the master’s house, but the labourer suffereth pain.
As when a beggar in a dream sitteth on a king’s throne,
On opening his eyes he findeth it a baseless phantom.
As when a watchman is placed over another’s field,
. The field belongeth to its owner, and the watchman leaveth when his business is done.
Even though the watchman strive vigorously,
He shall not become owner of the field.
He to whom the empire of the world belongeth hath sent it as a dream.
He who made Maya hath infused avarice into mankind .
God Himself destroyeth, He Himself restoreth.
Nanak, offer thy supplication unto Him.
Men in previous births held high positions, but are not now happy until saints tell them of God :—
I have seen many forms and species of mammon ;
With my pen I have written ingenious things on paper ;
I have known what it is to be a chief, a king, a lord ;
But with all that my mind was not satisfied.
O, ye saints, show me that comfort,
By which my thirst may be quenched and my mind satisfied.
I had fleet horses and elephants to ride on,
Distilled aloe wood, sandal, couches, and beautiful women. Actors sang for me at performances in the arena,
Yet with all that my heart was not satisfied.
Mine were thrones, courts, jewels, and carpets,
All fruits, beautiful gardens,
And the occupation of the chase, the sport of kings,
Yet my heart was not happy ; all was illusion and deception.
The saints of their kindness told me of the True One, And in Him I found all comfort and joy.
Sing God’s praises in the company of the saints;
• Saith Nanak, they are met by great good fortune.
He who hath God as his wealth is happy.
By God’s mercy the company of the saints is obtained.
Men are entangled in mammon as birds in a net:—
Man thinketh that his body is his own ;
Again and again he clingeth to it.
Children, wives, and household are entanglements Which prevent man from becoming the servant of God. What is that way by which God’s praises may be sung ? What is that skill by which man may escape from mammon ?
What is for man’s good he deemeth evil.
If one tell him the truth, he regardeth it as poison. 1 He knoweth not what is for his profit or his loss.
That is how the infidel is entangled in the world.
The fool drinketh what is deadly poison for him.
And deemeth bitter the ambrosial Name.
He never approacheth the company of the saints ;
He wandereth through the eighty-four lakhs of existences. Birds after enjoying pleasures of various descriptions,
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 137
Are all caught in the same net. 1
Saith Nanak, the perfect Guru hath cut the net