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There is One Creator,
Truth is His Name,
He is the Doer of everything,
Fearless, without anger, undying, unborn, self illumined,
By Guru’s Grace, this awareness comes.
Meditate.
True in the beginning. True through all the ages. True even now.
Nanak, it will ever be true.
1
By thinking, thinking doesn’t come,
Even if my thoughts are a hundred thousand.
Silence, the silence doesn’t bring,
Even if I live with a deep longing.
The hunger of the hungry is not relieved,
Even if all the world’s bounties they receive.
With thousands, or a hundred thousand clever ways,
Not even one with a person stays.
Then how can one live truth, and the wall of lies dispel?
Walk in the ways of God’s will. Nanak writes along with God’s will.
2
Gods will formed creation, and cannot be described.
God’s will forms all souls; by God’s will is greatness realized.
By God’s will, one is high or low, one suffers, or lives peacefully.
By God’s will, some have blessings, while others wander endlessly.
God’s will includes everyone; outside of God’s will are none.
Nanak, if God’s will is understood by one
Then to speak from ego could not be done.
3
Some sing of power; whose is that power?
Some sing of bounty and acknowledge the creator.
Some sing of qualities beauteous and wondrous.
Some sing of obscure wisdom and deep reflections.
Some sing God makes bodies, then dust they become.
Some sing that God draws in souls, then returns them again.
Some sing that God seems far away.
Some sing that God seems present in all ways.
Religious talks and discussions, there’s no lack of these.
Millions and millions talk and talk religious theories.
The Giver keeps giving and takers take ‘til they tire.
Those that eat, keep on eating through ages entire.
The will of the creator propels all the ways.
Nanak, God flourishes, and carefree He stays.
4
God is true, true are God’s ways. God’s infinite love is renown.
Many keep begging "Give, give," and gifts the giver bestows.
What could one give to God, then, to gain sight of His realms?
What words would cause God His love to extend?
In the ambrosial hours, meditate on the great True Name.
Your actions shall have a cover of protection.
You will see in your vision the gate of liberation.
Nanak, so God becomes known, He, who is all Himself the true one.
5
God was not created, and He is not manifest
He is the pure One; by Himself He exists.
Glory comes to one who serves the Guru.
Nanak, sing of God, the source of virtues.
Listen, sing of God, to the mind peace will come,
Sorrows will go, and the peace will come home.
The Gurumukh hears Naad and divine knowledge gains,
And merged with the infinite, the Gurumukh remains.
The Guru is Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu,
And Parvatti, the mother, too..
Even if I had the words, I could not say,
For this is beyond the words to convey.
The Guru has given me one thing to know;
There is One who has given all souls.
May I never forget Him.
6
Pleasing God is my bath at the pilgrim station.
Without pleasing God, what use is the bathing?
How many beings in God’s creation do I see?
Without good actions, what do they gain or receive?
The mind contains the jewels, gems and rubies inside,
If we will but listen to Guru’s one guide.
The Guru has given me one thing to know:
There is One who has given all souls;
May I never forget Him.
7
If a person lived for ages four, or ten times more,
And if everyone followed him, and he had world fame,
And all sang his praises, and he had a good name,
If God from this one His Grace would withdraw,
Then not a person would ask for him at all.
Low as a worm among worms would he be,
And even the sinners would call him guilty.
Nanak, God gives virtues to the virtueless ones,
And God gives the virtues to those who have some.
There is not one who exists at all, able to give any virtues to God.
8
By listening, one is a hero, teacher, Sidha, yogic master.
By listening, one knows the earth, it’s support, and the ethers.
By listening, the worlds, continents and nether regions are known.
By listening, the hold of death is undone.
Nanak, devotees always feel joy.
By listening, pain and sin are destroyed.
9
By listening, one becomes as Shiva, Indra. Brahma.
By listening, God’s praise the sinner’s mouth utters.
By listening, one knows ways of yoga and secrets of the body.
By listening, one knows the teachings of Shastras, Vedas, Smritis.
Nanak, the devotees always feel joy.
By listening, pain and sin are destroyed.
10
By listening comes wisdom, truth, and patience.
By listening, it’s like bathing at sixty-eight holy places.
By listening comes honor, as if one studied deeply.
By listening, the ability to meditate comes simply.
Nanak, devotees always feel joy.
By listening, pain and sin are destroyed.
11
By listening, into the ocean of virtues, one dives deep.
By listening comes respect, as to a scholar, king, or priest.
By listening, to the blind, the path is shown,
By listening, the infinite mysteries are known.
Nanak, devotees always feel joy.
By listening, pain and sin are destroyed.
12
Indescribable is the state of the one who accepts the will of God.
If one attempts to describe it, he’ll wish he never had.
There is not paper, nor pen, nor is there a writer,
Who, sitting in reflection, could relate this state, ever.
Such is the purity of God’s identity,
That accepting God’s will brings the mind to clarity.
13
One who accepts God’s will has divine comprehension.
One who accepts God’s will understands the three regions.
0ne who accepts God’s will is not stopped by life’s blows.
One who accepts God’s will, death’s fear does not hold.
Such is the purity of God’s identity,
That accepting God’s will brings the mind to clarity.
14
One who accepts God’s will walks without interference.
One who accepts God’s will has honor and radiance.
One who accepts God’s will does not walk in worldly ways.
One who accepts God’s will, on the path of Dharma stays.
Such is the purity of God’s identity,
That accepting God’s will brings the mind to clarity.
15
One who accepts God’s will finds the door of liberation.
One who accepts God’s will helps carry his relations.
One who accepts God’s will helps many cross life’s ocean.
One who accepts God’s will, Nanak, never wonders begging.
Such is the purity of God’s identity,
That accepting God’s will brings the mind to clarity.
16
Chosen few are acceptable; chosen few are supreme,
Chosen few in God’s court are esteemed.
In the courts of kings, chosen few have beauty.
For chosen few stay focused on the Guru only.
One may speak of God, and have deep reflections,
But still, the Creator’s actions are beyond comprehension.
The "bull" -- the world’s support, is Dharma, child of compassion
Who is patiently maintaining the whole world’s creation.
A person of truth is the one who knows
How much of world’s weight, this bull holds.
There are worlds upon worlds, beyond, more and more.
What carries the weight, and who holds the power?
The Names of all beings of all colors, and species
Are written by the One who writes without ceasing.
If somebody knew how to write of all this,
The volume of writing would be enormous.
How great the power -- the forms of such beauty!
How can we comprehend the extent of these bounties?
One word, and the whole universe came into being,
And tens of thousands of rivers came gushing.
What power do I have to understand or to speak?
I cannot even make myself an offering to thee.
An action is good when Thou art pleased,
Thou, the formless and ever serene.
17
Countless ways of devotion; countless meditative chants.
Countless ways of worship; countless ways of penance.
Countless are the books; countless Vedic recitations.
Countless are the yogis in detached renunciation.
Countless are those devoted to reflection, wisdom, virtue.
Countless are those who give, and countless live in truth.
Countless are the heroes who sacrifice to the sword,
Countless the silent sages, focused lovingly on the Lord.
What power do I have to understand or to speak?
I cannot even make myself an offering to thee.
An action is good when Thou art pleased,
Thou, the formless and ever serene.
18
Countless are the fools, extremely ignorant.
Countless are the thieves, the destructive and corrupt.
Countless are the rulers who use power to force their will.
Countless are the cutthroats who murderously kill.
Countless are the sinners who continue with their crimes.
Countless are the liars, stuck in webs of their own lies.
Countless are the wretched ones who eat the filth as fare.
Countless are the slanderers, with loads of sins to bear.
In deep contemplation, Nanak of the lowly speaks.
I cannot even make myself an offering to thee.
An action is good when Thou art pleased,
Thou, the formless and ever serene.
19
Countless the names and countless the places,
Countless the realms, faraway, without access.
Just talk of counting, would cause one distress.
With words the Name is spoken; with words we sing Thy praise.
With words we hold the knowledge; with words virtue is upraised.
With words we speak, and with words, all is written.
With words, the destiny on the forehead is spoken.
The Creator, who writes all, has no destiny to relate.
As the Creator commands, so is our fate.
As great as the creation, that’s how great the Name is,
For, without the Name, no place would exist.
What power do I have to understand or to speak?
I cannot even make myself an offering to thee.
An action is good when Thou art pleased,
Thou, the formless and ever serene.
20
If the hands, feet or body are dusty and dirty,
It only takes water to cleanse them completely.
Even if the clothes have urine and dust,
Soap and water makes them clean and spotless.
But if the mind is tainted by error and shame,
It can only be cleansed by the love of the Name.
It’s not by words alone, a saint or a sinner is made;
Actions oft repeated stay with us as engraved.
And so it is that we reap what we sow.
Nanak, by God’s will, we come and we go.
21
Being kind, giving gifts, ritual bathing, austerities,
Small, if any at all, is the honor gained from these.
By listening and accepting, love comes to fill the mind,
Impurities are cleansed away by the bathing that’s inside.
Every virtue comes from Thee; I have not even one.
Without attaining virtues, devotion cannot come.
I bow unto the creator’s primal sound,
Thy truth and beauty ever bring joy into the mind.
What was the time, hour, year, or day
The month, or the season, when the creation was made?
It would be written in the Puranas if the Pundits could divine.
It would be written in the Koran if the Quazis knew the time.
Even the Yogi cannot know the day, month, or season.
Only the One Creator knows the instant of creation.
How can I praise, describe, or know how to speak of this?
But, Nanak, so many try to speak, each one cleverer than the next.
Great is God; great is God’s Name; God is all there is.
Nanak, the one who thinks that he himself knows,
Will find he’s not honored in the next world when he goes.
22
Countless underworlds upon underworlds, and ethers upon ethers.
Limits and bounds cannot be found, though written in the scriptures.
Eighteen thousand is one count given, but the primary essence is One,
And the life of one trying to count it all would end before he was done.
Nanak, many relate that God is great, but God is known by God alone.
23
Many are those singing Thy praises, not knowing Thy totality,
As rivers flowing without knowing they’ll merge into the sea.
Kings with mountains of wealth and oceans of treasure,
Are not equal to the ant that forgets not its maker.
24
Endless are the praises of God; endless are those singing.
Endless are the works of God, and endless is God’s giving.
Endless are the sounds, and endless the sights.
Endless is what is, and all God’s mind creates.
Endless are the manifestations of forms known.
Endless are the limits of what we know.
Many are those longing to know limits and bounds,
But the limits of the creator cannot be found.
There is not one who can know the end of the creation.
The more one speaks, the more must still be spoken.
Great is the Lord and high His throne remains.
Highest of the high, is His Name.
If one could ascend to God’s lofty places,
He would know those high, exalted spaces,
But only God can God’s greatness know.
By God’s Grace alone, are His gifts bestowed.
25
Inexpressible is the greatness of God’s boundless mercy.
The great Giver gives all, and does not withhold any.
Many are the warriors who are asking to win,
Too many to count, or even comprehend.
Many are destroyed, consumed by corruption.
Many take and take with no gratitude.
Many keep devouring and eating, as fools.
There are many who endure hunger, and many ever suffer,
These trials are also thy gifts, gracious Giver.
Liberation from earth’s bonds, by God is bestowed,
And nothing more about this can be told.
If someone denies this, a fool would he be,
And many are the blows that he would receive.
The God who knows, is the One who gives,
But there are few, very few, who with gratitude live.
The one who is blessed with the song of God’s praise,
Nanak, as a king of kings, will he be upraised.
26
Priceless Thy virtues and priceless Thy treasures.
Priceless Thy trade and priceless Thy traders.
Priceless Thy patrons who come and then leave.
Priceless the absorption and devotion unto Thee.
Priceless Thy Dharma and priceless Thy courts.
Priceless Thy scales and priceless Thy weights.
Priceless Thy signs, and priceless Thy gifts.
Priceless Thy dominion, and Thy kindness.
How priceless Thy realms are, words cannot say.
One becomes imbued with Thy love by speaking Thy praise.
Speaking Thy praise are the wise and the scholars.
Speaking Thy praise, are reciters of Vedhas, Puranas.
Speaking Thy praise are the Brahmas and Indras
Speaking Thy praise are the milkmaids and Krishna.
Speaking Thy praise are the Shivas and Sidhas.
Speaking Thy praise are the Buddhas you fashioned.
Speaking Thy praise are demi-gods and demons.
Speaking Thy praise, are Gods, servants, Jains
So many are the speakers blessed with Thy praise!
Many come to praise Thee, and still praising Thee, leave.
In the vastness of creation, if twice as many came to be,
They could describe very little of Thy totality.
As great as God wishes, that will be so.
Nanak, only the True God knows.
If one would boast he could describe the whole,
As a fool of fools he would be known.
27
What is that place, and where the mansion,
Where God on His throne watches creation?
Where endless sounds of naad resound; how many the musicians!
And melodies are sung by angelic ones; how many are those singing!
Sing, winds, water, fire, and at thy door, the lord of justice sings,
And singing to Thee are recording angels, who inscribe what’s in the mind,
And the lord of justice, in deep reflection, notes what they’ve inscribed.
Sing Shiva, Brahma and the great mother devis, glorious and adorned.
And on their thrones, the Indras sing, and the demigods sing at Thy door.
Sing the sadhus who contemplate, and the sidhas who meditate.
Sing the heroes and the celibates, the true, the strong, the patient.
Sing the pundits who read and rishis, ever reciting through time.
Sing the bewitching women, who in every region, ever enchant the mind.
Sing Thy holy places. Sing the jewels you fashioned.
Sing the soldiers, warriors, and four sources of creation.
Sing the cosmos, the planets, placed by Thee and set in motion.
All sing to Thee who are pleasing to Thee, filled with Thy love and nectar.
Nanak, so many sing, I can’t think of them all; it’s impossible to ponder.
God is True; God’s justice is true, and God will be true forever.
The Creator is now; shall be, and will depart not ever.
Creation abounds with myriads of colors, kinds, and all of Maya’s diversity.
First the creator creates, and then beholds, all of creativity.
What pleases God, that comes to be, the One with total sovereignty.
The One God, King of Kings, the Emperor, Supreme.
Nanak, ever surrender to the will of the One True Being.
28
Let patience be your earrings; modesty your begging bowl;
make meditation your ash.
Let remembering death be your patched coat,
Make chastity your path, and let your faith be your staff.
Let the highest sect of yoga be all human brotherhood,
And let the conquest of yourself, be your conquest of the world.
I bow. Unto Thee, I bow.
Without beginning, without end, primal and pure.
In age upon age, Thy one form endures.
29
Make divine knowledge your food, let compassion attend,
Listen to naad, divine music that resonates within.
God, the One Master, has complete power
Over riches, psychic powers, and other allures.
It is God who brings together and God who separates.
All good destinies come from what God’s pen relates.
I bow. Unto Thee, I bow.
Without beginning, without end, primal and pure.
In age upon age, Thy one form endures.
30
The primal mother, to form creation, called on three devotees:
One who creates; one who sustains, and one who destroys, are the three.
But only the One is commanding them all; they must do as He decrees.
The Creator who sees all, they can’t see at all. How wondrous is divinity!
I bow. Unto Thee, I bow.
Without beginning, without end, primal and pure.
In age upon age, Thy one form endures.
31
In realm upon realm, are God’s bounties contained.
He places them once, and there they remain.
The creator creates, then observes what He’s made.
The Creator is true, and true are His ways.
I bow. Unto Thee, I bow.
Without beginning, without end, primal and pure.
In age upon age, Thy one form endures.
32
If my tongue became one hundred thousand, or twenty times more,
With each one I would say millions of times the Name of the Lord.
There are steps that lead to God through the path of the master,
And even the worms seeing these realms, would long to go there.
Nanak, only by God’s Grace is realization attained;
False are those who make other claims.
33
No power to speak, or silence to keep.
No power to beg; no power to give.
No power to die; no power to live.
No power to keep wealth or power from troubling the mind.
No power to listen, to reflect, or understand the divine.
No power to renounce the world, and leave it behind.
That One whose hands hold the power, does all, and beholds,
Nanak, in God’s eyes, none is seen as high or low.
34
Created were the nights, days, lunar cycles and seasons.
Created were the underworlds, waters, fires and winds.
Amidst these, was earth set, as a field for righteous actions,
With myriads of souls of many colors and ways,
Too many to count would be all their names.
All are judged by their actions, the deeds that they do.
As true as God is, so God’s court is true;
There the chosen ones sit with grace and beauty,
And radiance bestowed by the glance of Divinity.
There, the unripe are separated from the ripe, the mature.
Nanak, upon being there, all becomes clear.
35
And so realms of righteousness have been portrayed;
Now the realms of spiritual wisdom, we shall relay.
Many Krishnas and Shivas, many winds, fires and waters,
Many Brahmas creating, many kinds, shapes and colors.
Many plains, many mountains, for many deeds and many lessons,
Many solar systems, planets, Indras; many moons, many suns,
Many yogis, Siddhas, Buddha’s, incarnations of the Goddess.
Many oceans of jewels, demons, Gods, and silent sages.
Many languages, ruling dynasties, many wells of creation.
Many serve God, and many dwell in devotion.
Nanak, it is end without end.
36
In realms of spiritual wisdom, spiritual realization is prime.
In this place are joyful visions, and sounds of naad divine.
In realms of spiritual attainment, the word is beautiful formation,
And, in this place are shaped the most beautiful creations.
How impossible it is these realms to describe.
One attempting to do it would regret if he tried.
Intuition, realization, and wisdom come to the mind from here.
Here are the pious made, and realized beings become aware.
37
Word is the power in the realm of grace.
Where beings attuned to God reside, and no one else.
Here are warriors and heroes, the strong and the great,
All imbued totally with God’s pervading grace.
Great heroines like Sita reside in this place,
Indescribably beautiful are their forms and their ways.
Not affected by death, nor deterred by obstruction
Are those who, in their minds, keep God’s light within them.
Saints from many universes in this realm reside.
Blissful they remain; the True One ever fills their minds.
Here, in the realm of truth, the formless One lives,
Who creates, then beholds, and by gazing, blessings gives.
There are so many worlds, solar systems, and realms,
Trying to speak of them all would be end without end.
Worlds upon worlds, in many manifestations,
As the Creator commands, so is the creation,
Contemplating, beholding, rejoicing in creation.
Nanak, it is hard as iron, to try to form a description.
38
With chastity as the furnace, let patience work the ore,
With understanding as the anvil, let divine knowledge be the forge,
With fear of God the bellows, with meditation as the flame,
The pot is love, and from this vessel, the nectar is obtained.
Then the true coin is forged, sounds of shabd, in celestial refrains.
Those who have attained God’s Grace receive these blessings.
Nanak, by God’s Grace, each glance bestows blessings.
SLOK
Air is the Guru, water is the father; the mother is the great earth.
Earth plays among the days and nights, the male and female nurses.
Every deed, good and bad, before the righteous judge is spoken,
Some move closer to God, some farther away, by actions taken.
Those who work hard before leaving, and on the Name keep their focus.
Nanak, radiant are their faces, and they help many others.