Slok II
God having put thee into thy mother’s womb, made the framework of thy body.
Thou didst remember Him at every breath, Nanak, and so the great heat did not consume thee.
With body reversed thou didst dwell in a filthy place.
Nanak, why forget that Lord by whose name thou didst escape therefrom ?
Pauri II
O man, thou wert conceived from blood and seed, and placed in the fire of the womb.
Thy head downwards, thou wert dirty, restless in the darkness of a terrible hell.
By remembering God thou wert not burned ; clasp Him
to thy heart and soul.
Forget not for a moment Him who preserved thee in a painful place.
By forgetting God thou shalt never be happy, but shalt lose thy human life.
Ever remember God and His benefits:—
Slok III
God bestoweth the gift of the fulfilment of the heart’s desires and of all hopes.
Nanak, remember God who destroyeth suffering and misery ; He abideth not far away.
Love Him through whom thou enjoyest all pleasures.
Nanak, forget not that Lord even for a moment who . made this beautiful body.
Thank God for what He hath given thee:—
Pauri III
God who is able to give, gave thee soul, life, body, wealth, and pleasures to enjoy.
He gave thee houses, mansions, chariots, horses, and made thee fortunate ;
He gave thee sons, wife, friends, servants.
Meditate on that God ; thy soul and body shall be refreshed, and the pain of separation from Him healed.
Repeat God’s praises in the company of the saints, and all thy maladies shall depart.
Man’s first duty is to God:—
Slok IV
They who strive for the sake of family and make various efforts for wealth,
Who are without the service and love of God, O Nanak, are as ghosts.
That love shall fade which is devoted to any other than
God.
traa \s my oi \ov'mg ttve Lotd.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 373
The body perishes unhonoured, wherefore man should remember God, with whom rests salvation:—
Pauri IV
By forgetting God the body becometh ashes, and every one calleth it a ghost.
Even they whom one loved allow him not to remain a moment in their house.
Of what use is wealth improperly amassed ?
As man soweth, so shall he reap ; his body is the field of acts.
The ungrateful who forget God shall wander in transmigration.
Superstitious ceremonies are of no avail; God’s light in the heart burns all sin :—
Slok V
Millions of alms, ablutions, and various penances for purification are of no avail.
Nanak, to repeat God’s name with the tongue removeth all sin.
However much firewood one may collect, if a spark be applied to it, it will be consumed in a moment;
So when the true Lord dwelleth in the heart, Nanak, all sins disappear.
The effect of remembering and praising God:—
Pauri V
Millions—yea, all sins depart by remembering God’s name.
Man obtaineth the reward his heart desireth by singing God’s praises.
The fear of transmigration is removed, and a lasting and true abode obtained.
If it be so decreed in the beginning, man becometh absorbed in God’s feet.
The Guru likens to worms those who only think of pleasures:—
Slok VI
They who turn their thoughts to peerless houses, to pleasures, and to delights of the palate,
And who never think on God—such people, Nanak, are worms in filth.
Forsake all worldly things : why fix thy love on them ?
Nanak, the body which forgetteth the Lord shall become ashes.
Pauri VI
Man may enjoy a beauteous couch, varied pleasures, and all delights ;
He may possess a palace, gold, and silver; he may use perfumes and wear pearls and diamonds ;
He may enjoy the pleasures his heart desireth and have no anxiety whatever;
But if he remember not God, he shall he like a worm in ordure.
Without God’s name there is no peace, how shall the heart be consoled ?
The bliss of spiritual happiness obtained by toil:—
Slok VII
Anchorets search in the ten directions for the love of God’s lotus feet :
They renounce deceptive mammon, Nanak, in the delightful company of the saints.
May I repeat God’s name in my heart and with my lips, and wander preaching in all countries !
Nanak, all worldly things are false; I live by hearing God’s true fame.
The poor and holy man, if pious, is king of the
world
Pauri VII . ,
He who liveth in a ruined hut with all his clothes torn,
Who hath neither caste, nor lineage, nor respect,, ^vho wandereth in the wilderness,
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 375
Who hath no friend or lover, who is without wealth or beauty, and who hath no relation or kinsman,
Is king of the whole world if his heart be filled with God’s name.
God is well pleased with him, and men are saved by the dust of his feet.
Worldly pleasures are vain without devotion:—
Slok VIII
A man may have many sports, empire, pleasures, beauty, the umbrella of empire, fans waving over him, and a throne to sit on—
They who are absorbed in such things are fools, ignorant, and blind ; Nanak, the desire for mammon is a dream.
In dreams man enjoyeth all pleasures, and worldly things appear sweet to him.
Nanak, without the Name beautiful Maya is deceptive.
The fool is misled by his folly:—
Pauri VIII
The fool attacheth his heart to a dream :
When he awaketh he forgetteth empires, pleasures, and delights, and suffereth disappointment.
His life passeth away in pursuing worldly things,
But his desires have not been fulfilled because he hath been fascinated by Maya.
What can the poor creature do when God Himself leadeth him astray ?
The condition of the persons and habitations of those who forget God:—
Slok IX
They who forget God, Nanak, are as wanderers in the wilderness,
Even though they dwell in heaven or conquer the nine regions of the earth.
Where there are millions of plays and spectacles, without remembrance of the Name,
Nanak, that place is desolate, and equal to millions of hells.
Pauri IX
Man deemeth a place a city, though it be only a very terrible wilderness.
On seeing false wealth, man believeth it to be real.
Men go mad through lust, wrath, and pride.
When the club of death falleth on their heads, they shall regret.
He who wandereth without the company of the perfect divine Guru is a demon.
Everything deceives except devotion to God:—
Slok X
Deceptive is empire, deceptive is beauty, deceptive are wealth and pride of birth.
Man amasseth poisonous wealth with deceit and guile, Nanak, but nothing can go with him save God’s name.
Men mistake on beholding the colocynth which appeareth beautiful—
It is not worth an eighth of a paisa ; Nanak, thus wealth appeareth beautiful, but will not depart with one.
Contempt of wealth and condemnation of idolatry:—
Pauri X
Why amass what will not go with thee as thou pro- ceedest ?
Say why thou endeavourest to acquire what thou must leave behind ?
How can thy mind be contented and not distressed when thou forgettest God ?
He who forsaketh God and attacheth himself to idols shall abide in hell.
The holy man finds no pleasure in worldly enjoyments :—
Slok XI
Not sweet to me are the pleasures of empire, not sweet are sensuous enjoyments, not sweet are the pleasures of wealth.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 377
Sweet is association with God’s saints, O slave Nanak; sweet is the sight of God.
It is thus love is produced, and the mind absorbed therein.
The real thing is then found and the Lord is then sweet.
Pauri XI
Without God nothing is sweet to His saints :
All other pleasures are insipid : I have seen this after careful search.
The doubt and pain of ignorance were removed when the Guru became my mediator.
When the love of God’s lotus feet pierced my heart, it became as if dyed with madder.
God then dwelt in my life, my soul, my mind, and my body ; and everything that was false vanished.
The lower animals are led by their senses, the saints only by devotion :—
Slok XII
The fish cannot live without water, nor the chatrik without the cloud ;
The deer is smitten with the arrow of the bell; the bee is entangled by the odour of the flower.
The saints are pleased by God’s lotus feet, Nanak, and by nothing else.
The Guru's love for God:—
O God, may I behold Thy face without blinking and not turn my mind elsewhere !
Nanak will abide with that Lord God who is the Friend of the saints.
Pauri XII
How can a fish maintain life without water ?
How can the chatrik be satisfied without raindrops ?
As the deer fascinated by the bell runneth towards the huntsman ;
As the greedy bumble-bee on finding an odorous flower hath itself shut up in it;
So holy men love God and are satisfied on beholding Him,
Slok XIII
The saints meditate on God’s lotus feet and adore them at every breath.
They forget not the name of the Imperishable One ; 0 Nanak, the supreme God fulfilleth their hopes.
God is stitched into their hearts and is never a moment out of them.
Nanak, the true Lord fulfilleth their desires and ever watcheth over them.
. A supplication:—
Pauri XIII
O Lord, fulfil my hopes who have hopes in Thee.
'He who meeteth God shall never grieve.
My heart desireth Thee ; grant me a sight of Thee that my anxiety may depart.
May my body be purified with the dust of Thy feet!
May the supreme God through the divine Guru be ever present!
The devotion of the saints :—
Slok XIV
Nanak is ever a sacrifice to those who meditate on the Supreme Being,
Who repeat His name with their tongues and hear His ambrosial word with their ears.
Everything is false save the Lord alone :
Nanak, blest are they who love the True One.
Holy are they who in any manner are concerned with God:—
Pauri XIV
I am ever a sacrifice to those who hear God’s story.
.. Perfectly distinguished are they who bow their foreheads to God.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 379
The hands of those who write the praises of the Endless One are adorned thereby.
Their feet are pure and clean who walk in God’s way;
They are saved with the saints' and all their .sorrow fleeth away.
Happy the time when the saints meet God:— :
Slok XV
To make effort and repeat God’s name are completely obtained by God’s will.
Happy that moment, O Nanak, when I obtain a sight of God!
The value of that moment cannot be estimated ; its happiness is beyond measure.
Nanak, that time is acceptable when my Beloved meeteth me.
Pauri XV
Tell me what time that is when I shall obtain God : „
That time is very auspicious when I shall meet the Lord.
By meditating on God for the eight watches of the day, the desires of the heart are realised.
By great good fortune the company of the saints is obtained ; I bow and touch their feet.
My heart thirsteth for a sight of the saints; Nanak is a sacrifice unto them.
The reward of devotion :—
Slok XVI
God is the Purifier of sinners, the Remover of every sorrow.
Nanak, they who repeat His name enter His secure asylum.
They altogether abandon pride and cling to God’s feet.
Nanak, on beholding God their troubles and anxieties depart.
A fervent prayer:—
Pauri XVI
Blend me with Thee, 0 Compassionate One; I have fallen at Thy door.
Preserve me, 0 Compassionate to the poor; wandering I have become very weary.
It is Thy function. O God, to love the saints and save sinners.
Beside Thee there is none : grant my supplication.
Take me by the hand, O Compassionate One, and save me from the ocean of the world.
The cure for the heart’s fever :—
Slok XVII
I have the support of the praises of the merciful God who saveth the saints.
Nanak, man groweth pure by associating with the saints and taking shelter in God.
. The heart’s fever is not at all removed by sandal, the moon, or the cold season ;
It is cooled, Nanak, by repeating God’s name.
■Salvation is secured by devotion:—
Pauri XVII
All men are saved by the shelter of God’s lotus feet.
The heart groweth fearless on hearing God’s glory.
There shall be nothing wanting when the wealth of the Name is stored up.
The society of the saints is obtained by greatly meritorious acts.
Meditate on God during the eight watches of the day, and ever hear His praises.
All mercies are obtained by repeating God’s name and praises:—
Slok XVIII
. Nanak, to repeat the praises of the name of the merciful supreme Being
Is to obtain mercy, to remove sorrows, and to shake off mammon.
The burning fever of my heart hath been quenched ; God Hipiself hath preserved me.
Nanak, repeat the name of that God who created the
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 381
The results of meditation and holy association:—
Pauri XVIII
When God is merciful we feel not .worldly love.
Millions of sins are removed by meditating on the one God.
When the body is bathed in the dust of the holy man’s feet, it becometh pure;
The mind and body are relieved; man obtaineth the perfect God,
And he is saved with his family and all his tribe.
Praises of the true Guru :—
Slok XIX
The Guru is Gobind, the Guru is Gopal, the perfect Guru is Narayan ;
The Guru is merciful, the Guru is omnipotent ; Guru Nanak is the saviour of sinners ;
The Guru is the boat to cross over the dangerous and unfathomable ocean of the world.
Nanak, everything is effected by touching the feet of the true Guru.
The Guru’s power :—
Pauri XIX
Hail! hail to the divine Guru in whose company God’s name is repeated !
When the Guru is merciful, all demerits vanish.
The supreme being, the divine Guru, exalteth the lowly ;
He cutteth off the galling chains of mammon, and maketh man his servant.
Through him the tongue singeth the praises of the Eternal God.
God alone to be worshipped:—
Slok XX
The one God is seen, the one God is heard, the one God is spoken of.
Nanak beggeth the gift of His name: 0 compassionate
Being, mercifully grant it to him.
'"I Worship the one God, I remember the one God, I make supplication to the one God.
Nanak hath amassed the wealth of the Name, the real capital.
God alone is merciful, omnipresent, and omnipotent :—
Pauri XX
God is merciful, illimitable ; He alone filleth the world.
He is everything Himself; whom can I mention like Him ?
O God, Thou grantest gifts, and again receivest them.
Transmigration dependeth altogether on Thine order; immovable is Thine abode.
Nanak beggeth a boon ; mercifully grant him Thy name.
Vain are decorations and wealth without devotion :—
Torn
, Without knowing God man’s birth were vain :
He decketh and adorneth himself in various ways, but it is as though he were dressing a corpse.
The miser running in every direction amasseth wealth with toil;
Yet he practiseth not charity or serveth the saints, and his wealth availeth him not.
A woman putteth on her jewels, decketh her couch, and maketh great preparations :
If she obtain not the company of her spouse, the sight of her decorations will but pain her.
A man may work all day pounding husks with a pestle; 1
Yet he only suffereth pain like a forced labourer; his wealth shall not be spent on himself.
God implanteth His name in the heart of him to whom He is kind.
Nanak, such a man yearneth for the society of the saints and obtaineth God’s love.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 383
A prayer to God:—
Ocean of mercy, dwell for ever in my heart;
So enlighten my understanding that I may love Thee, O God.
May I obtain the dust of Thy saints’ feet to apply to my forehead!
From being a great sinner may I be purified and sing Thy praises and Thine attributes !
May Thine order be sweet to me, and what Thou doest please me !
May what Thou givest satiate me, so that I may run after no one else !
O Lord God, may I ever know Thee near me, and may I remain the dust of all men’s feet !
May I meet the company of saints so that I may obtain my God !
We are ever and ever Thy children ; Thou, O God, art our Master.
Saith Nanak, we are children ; Thou art our father and mother : put Thy name as milk into our mouths.
The Guru prays for God's name as the sole means of salvation :—
O Lord, I crave Thy name as a gift ;
Naught else shall depart with me ; may I also obtain the favour of singing Thy praises !
Empire, wealth, varied pleasures and enjoyments are all as the shadow of a tree.
Man hasteth in every direction, but all his efforts are vain.
All his affairs who desireth other than God appear to be unstable.
Nanak prayeth for the dust of the saints’ feet that his mind may obtain rest.
God's name is all things to the Guru:—
God’s name is the support of my soul;
By its use my life, soul, and mind are comforted.
The Name is my caste, the Name is my lineage* the Name is my family;
The Name is ever my companion ; God’s name delivereth me.
The pleasure of worldly things is much spoken of, but none of them shall depart with thee.
The Name is my beloved and my friend ; God’s name is Nanak’s storehouse.
By devotion mind and body are purified:—
Sing God’s excellent praises and thy maladies shall be healed.
Thy countenance shall become bright, thy heart pure, and thy life profitable in this and the next world.
Wash the Guru’s feet, serve him, and make him thy heart as an offering.
Abandon egotism, contention, and pride : accept what cometh from God.
He on whose forehead such destiny hath been written, attacheth himself to the Guru’s service.
Saith Nanak, except the one God there is none able to accomplish aught.
The Guru prays God to forgo his account:—
O True Guru, I have sought Thy protection.
May I obtain Thy name to give comfort and glory and remove my anxiety.
I behold no other place of shelter ; I have arrived weary at Thy gate.
Heed not my account ; without it may I be saved ! deliver me though devoid of virtue.
Thou ever forgivest, Thou art ever kind, Thousupportest all.
The slave Nanak followeth the saints : save him in this . human birth.
The Guru’s beatitude when singing of God:—
When my tongue singeth of God, who is an ocean of merits,
Peace, composure, and delight spring up in my heart, and all sorrows take flight.
O man, whatever thou askest thou shalt obtain by worshipping God’s feet, the abode of pleasure.
HYMNS OF GURU ARJAN 385
They shall free thee from both birth and death, and carry thee across the terrible ocean of the world.
Searching and searching I have ascertained that the real thing is to depend on God as His slave.
If, O Nanak, thou desire everlasting happiness, ever remember God.
The miser especially needs God's favour:—•
O miser, thy body and soul are full of sin.
In the company of the saints worship the Lord ; it is He alone who draweth a veil over thy sins.
When there are many holes in the boat, 1 they cannot be stopped by the fingers.
Address Him who made the boat, and they shall be stopped , and the frail boat become sound.
If any one try to lift a mountain with words, he cannot succeed ; where it was there it remaineth.
Nanakhath no strength or power; O God, preserve him; he hath sought Thy protection.’
They who are slaves of mammon shall with difficulty be saved :—
Alas ! alas ! the wealth in which thou $rt wrapped up, O fool, is little or naught.
What thou deemest thine own is not thine.
Thou hast not thought of thy God for a moment.
What belongeth to another thou deemest thine own.
Thou hast not given a place in thy heart to the Name which is with thee.
Thou hast attached thy heart to things which thou must abandon.