Page 53 ONE UNIVERSAL CREATOR GOD. BY THE GRACE OF THE TRUE GURU: SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL, FIRST HOUSE, ASHTAPADEES: I speak and chant His Praises, vibrating the instrument of my mind. The more I know Him, the more I vibrate it. The One, unto whom we vibrate and sing – how great is He, and where is His Place? Those who speak of Him and praise Him – they all continue speaking of Him with love. O Baba, the Lord Allah is Inaccessible and Infinite. Sacred is His Name, and Sacred is His Place. He is the True Cherisher. The extent of Your Command cannot be seen; no one knows how to write it. Even if a hundred poets met together, they could not describe even a tiny bit of it. No one has found Your Value; they all merely write what they have heard again and again.

The Pirs (religious people), the Prophets, the spiritual teachers, the faithful, the innocents and the martyrs, the Shaikhs, the mystics, the Qazis, the Mullahs and the Dervishes at His Door – they are blessed all the more as they continue reading their prayers in praise to Him. He seeks no advice when He builds; He seeks no advice when He destroys. He seeks no advice while giving or taking. He alone knows His Creative Power; He Himself does all deeds. He beholds all in His Vision. He gives to those with whom He is pleased. |His Place and His Name are not known, no one knows how great is His Name.

How great is that place where my Sovereign Lord dwells? No one can reach it; whom shall I go and ask? One class of people does not like the other, when one has been made great. Greatness is only in His Great Hands; He gives to those with whom He is pleased. By the Hukam of His Command, He Himself regenerates, without a moment's delay. Everyone cries out, "More! More!" with the idea of receiving. How great should we call the Giver? His Gifts are beyond estimation. O Nanak, there is no deficiency; Your Storehouses are filled to overflowing, age after age. FIRST MEHL: All are brides of the Husband Lord; all decorate themselves for Him.

Page 54 But when the time comes to settle their accounts, their red robes are corrupt. His Love is not obtained through hypocrisy. Her false coverings bring only ruin.

The happy soul-bride is pleasing to You, Lord; by Your Grace, You adorn her. She is decorated with the Word of the Guru's Shabad (Sound); her mind and body belong to her Husband Lord. With her palms pressed together, she stands, waiting on Him, and offers her True prayers to Him. Dyed in the deep crimson of the Love of her Darling Lord, she dwells in the Fear of the True One. Imbued with His Love, she is dyed in the color of His Love. She is said to be the hand-maiden of her Beloved Lord; His sweetheart surrenders to His Name.

True Love is never broken; she is united in Union with the True One. Attuned to the Word of the Shabad (Sound), her mind is pierced through. I am forever a sacrifice to Him. That bride, who is absorbed into the True Guru, shall never become a widow. Her Husband Lord is Beautiful; His Body is forever fresh and new. The True One does not die, and shall not go. He continually enjoys His happy soul-bride; He casts His Gracious Glance of Truth upon her, and she abides in His Will. The bride braids her hair with Truth; her clothes are decorated with His Love. Like the essence of sandalwood, He permeates her consciousness, and the Temple of the Tenth Gate is opened. The lamp of the Shabad (Sound) is lit, and the Name of the Lord is her necklace. She is the most beautiful among women; upon her forehead she wears the Jewel of the Lord's Love.

Her glory and her wisdom are magnificent; her love for the Infinite Lord is True. Other than her Beloved Lord, she knows no man. She enshrines love for the True Guru. Asleep in the darkness of the night, how shall she pass her life-night without her Husband? Her limbs shall burn, her body shall burn, and her mind and wealth shall burn as well. When the Husband does not enjoy His bride, then her youth passes away in vain. The Husband is on the Bed, but the bride is asleep, and so she does not come to know Him. While I am asleep, my Husband Lord is awake. Where can I go for advice? The True Guru has led me to meet Him, and now I dwell in the Fear of God. O Nanak, His Love is always with me.

SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL: O Lord, You are Your Own Glorious Praise. You Yourself speak it; You Yourself hear it and contemplate it. You Yourself are the Jewel, and You are the Appraiser. You Yourself are of Infinite Value. O True Lord, You are Honor and Glory; You Yourself are the Giver. O Dear Lord, You are the Creator and the Cause. If it is Your Will, please save and protect me; please bless me with the lifestyle of the Lord's Name. You Yourself are the flawless diamond; You Yourself are the deep crimson color. You Yourself are the perfect pearl; You Yourself are the devotee and the priest. Through the Word of the Guru's Shabad (Sound), You are praised.

In each and every heart, the Unseen is seen. You Yourself are the ocean and the boat. You Yourself are this shore, and the one beyond. O All-knowing Lord, You are the True Way. The Shabad (Sound) is the Navigator to ferry us across. One who does not fear God shall live in fear; without the Guru, there is only pitch darkness. The Creator alone is seen to be Eternal; all others come and go. Only You, Lord, are Immaculate and Pure. All others are bound up in worldly pursuits. Those who are protected by the Guru are saved.

Page 55 They are lovingly attuned to the True Lord. Through the Shabad (Sound), they recognize the Dear Lord; through the Guru's Word, they are attuned to Truth. Filth does not stick to the body of one who has secured a dwelling in his True Home. When the Lord bestows His Glance of Grace, we obtain the True Name. Without the Name, who are our relatives? Those who have realized the Truth are at peace throughout the four ages. Subduing their egotism and desires, they keep the True Name enshrined in their hearts.

In this world, the only real profit is the Name of the One Lord; it is earned by contemplating the Guru. Loading the Merchandise of the True Name, you shall gather in your profits forever with the Capital of Truth. In the Court of the True One, you shall sit in truthful devotion and prayer. Your account shall be settled with honor, in the Radiant Light of the Name of the Lord. The Lord is said to be the Highest of the High; no one can perceive Him. Wherever I look, I see only You. The True Guru has inspired me to see You. The Divine Light within is revealed, O Nanak, through this intuitive understanding.

|SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL: The fish did not notice the net in the deep and salty sea. It was so clever and beautiful, but why was it so confident? By its actions it was caught, and now death cannot be turned away from its head. O Siblings of Destiny, just like this, see death hovering over your own heads! People are just like this fish; unaware, the noose of death descends upon them. The whole world is bound by death; without the Guru, death cannot be avoided. Those who are attuned to Truth are saved; they renounce duality and corruption. I am a sacrifice to those who are found to be Truthful in the True Court.

Those who are protected by the Guru are saved; the others are caught by the bait. Without the Name, they are picked up and thrown away; they have no friends or companions. God is said to be the Truest of the True; His Place is the Truest of the True. Those who obey the True One – their minds abide in true meditation. Those who become Gurmukh (Truth seeker), and obtain spiritual wisdom – their minds and mouths are known to be pure.

Offer your most sincere prayers to the True Guru, so that He may unite you with your Best Friend. Meeting your Best Friend, you shall find peace; the Messenger of Death shall take poison and die. I dwell deep within the Name; the Name has come to dwell within my mind. Without the Guru, there is only pitch darkness; without the Shabad (Sound), understanding is not obtained.

Through the Guru's Teachings, you shall be enlightened; remain absorbed in the Love of the True Lord. Death does not go there; your light shall merge with the Light. You are my Best Friend; You are All-knowing. You are the One who unites us with Yourself. Through the Word of the Guru's Shabad (Sound), we praise You; You have no end or limitation. Death does not reach that place, where the Infinite Word of the Guru's Shabad (Sound) resounds. By the Hukam of His Command, all are created. By His Command, actions are performed. By His Command, all are subject to death; by His Command, they merge in Truth. O Nanak, whatever pleases His Will comes to pass. Nothing is in the hands of these beings.

SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL: If the mind is polluted, then the body is polluted, and the tongue is polluted as well.

Page 56 With false mouths, people speak falsehood. How can they be made pure? Without the Holy Water of the Shabad (Sound), they are not cleansed. From the True One alone comes Truth. O soul-bride, without virtue, what happiness can there be?

…[S]he is at peace in the love of the True Word of the Shabad (Sound). When the Husband goes away, the bride suffers in the pain of separation, like the fish in shallow water, crying for mercy. As it pleases the Will of the Husband Lord, peace is obtained, when He Himself casts His Glance of Grace. Praise your Husband Lord, together with your bridesmaids and friends.

The body is beautified, and the mind is fascinated. Imbued with His Love, we are enraptured. Adorned with the Shabad (Sound), the beautiful bride enjoys her Husband with virtue. The soul-bride is of no use at all, if she is evil and without virtue. She does not find peace in this world or the next; she burns in falsehood and corruption. Coming and going are very difficult for that bride who is abandoned and forgotten by her Husband Lord. The beautiful soul-bride of the Husband Lord…

[s]he is of no use to her Husband if she babbles in useless arguments. At the Door of His Home, she finds no shelter; she is discarded for seeking other pleasures. The Pandits, the religious scholars, read their books, but they do not understand the real meaning. They give instructions to others, and then walk away, but they deal in Maya themselves. Speaking falsehood, they wander around the world, while those who remain true to the Shabad (Sound) are excellent and exalted.

There are so many Pandits and astrologers who ponder over the Vedas. They glorify their disputes and arguments, and in these controversies they continue coming and going. Without the Guru, they are not released from their karma (retribution), although they speak and listen and preach and explain. They all call themselves virtuous, but I have no virtue at all. With the Lord as her Husband, the soul-bride is happy; I, too, love that God. O Nanak, through the Shabad (Sound), union is obtained; there is no more separation.

SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL: You may chant and meditate, practice austerities and self-restraint, and dwell at sacred shrines of pilgrimage; you may give donations to charity, and perform good deeds, but without the True One, what is the use of it all? As you plant, so shall you harvest. Without virtue, this human life passes away in vain. O young bride, be a slave to virtue, and you shall find peace. Renouncing wrongful actions, following the Guru's Teachings, you shall be absorbed into the Perfect One. Without capital, the trader looks around in all four directions. He does not understand his own origins; the merchandise remains within the door of his own house.

Without this commodity, there is great pain. The false are ruined by falsehood. One who contemplates and appraises this Jewel day and night reaps new profits. He finds the merchandise within his own home, and departs after arranging his affairs. So trade with the true traders, and as the Gurmukh (Truth seeker), contemplate God. In the Society of the Saints, He is found, if the Uniter unites us. One whose heart is filled with His Infinite Light meets with Him, and shall never again be separated from Him. True is his position; he abides in Truth, with love and affection for the True One. One who understands himself finds the Mansion of the Lord's Presence within his own home. Imbued with the True Lord, Truth is gathered in.

Page 57 God is known throughout the three worlds. True is the Name of the True One. The wife who knows that her Husband Lord is always with her is very beautiful. The soul-bride is called to the Mansion of His Presence The happy soul-bride is true and good; she is fascinated by the Glories of her Husband Lord. |Wandering around and making mistakes, I climb the plateau; having climbed the plateau, I go up the mountain. But now I have lost my way, and I am wandering around in the forest; without the Guru, I do not understand.

If I wander around forgetting God's Name, I shall continue coming and going in reincarnation, over and over again. Go and ask the travellers, how to walk on the Path as His slave. They know the Lord to be their King, and at the Door to His Home, their way is not blocked. O Nanak, the One is pervading everywhere; there is no other at all. |SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL: Through the Guru, the Pure One is known, and the human body becomes pure as well. The Pure, True Lord abides within the mind; He knows the pain of our hearts. With intuitive ease, a great peace is found, and the arrow of death shall not strike you. O Siblings of Destiny, filth is washed away by bathing in the Pure Water of the Name. You alone are Perfectly Pure, O True Lord; all other places are filled with filth.

The Temple of the Lord is beautiful; it was made by the Creator Lord. The sun and the moon are lamps of incomparably beautiful light. Throughout the three worlds, the Infinite Light is pervading. In the shops of the city of the body, in the fortresses and in the huts, the True Merchandise is traded. The ointment of spiritual wisdom is the destroyer of fear; through love, the Pure One is seen. The mysteries of the seen and the unseen are all known, if the mind is kept centered and balanced. If one finds such a True Guru, the Lord is met with intuitive ease. He draws us to His Touchstone, to test our love and consciousness. The counterfeit have no place there, but the genuine are placed in His Treasury. Let your hopes and anxieties depart; thus pollution is washed away. Everyone begs for happiness; no one asks for suffering. But in the wake of happiness, there comes great suffering.

The self-willed manmukhs (one who follows his or her desires) do not understand this. Those who see pain and pleasure as one and the same find peace; they are pierced through by the Shabad (Sound). The Vedas proclaim, and the words of Vyaasa tell us, that the silent sages, the servants of the Lord, and those who practice a life of spiritual discipline are attuned to the Naam, the Treasure of Excellence. Those who are attuned to the True Name win the game of life; I am forever a sacrifice to them. Those who do not have the Naam in their mouths are filled with pollution; they are filthy throughout the four ages.

Without loving devotion to God, their faces are blackened, and their honor is lost. Those who have forgotten the Naam (the Name of the Lord) are plundered by evil; they weep and wail in dismay. I searched and searched, and found God. In the Fear of God, I have been united in His Union. Through self-realization, people dwell within the home of their inner being; egotism and desire depart. O Nanak, those who are attuned to the Name of the Lord are immaculate and radiant.

SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL: Listen, O deluded and demented mind: hold tight to the Guru's Feet. Chant and meditate on the Naam, the Name of the Lord; death will be afraid of you, and suffering shall depart. The deserted wife suffers terrible pain.

Page 58 How can her Husband Lord remain with her forever? O Siblings of Destiny, I have no other place to go. The Guru has given me the Treasure of the Wealth of the Naam (the Name of the Lord); I am a sacrifice to Him. The Guru's Teachings bring honor. Blessed is He – may I meet and be with Him! Without Him, I cannot live, even for a moment. Without His Name, I die. I am blind – may I never forget the Naam (the Name of the Lord)! Under His Protection, I shall reach my true home. Those chaylaas, those devotees, whose spiritual teacher is blind, shall not find their place of rest.

Without the True Guru, the Name is not obtained. Without the Name, what is the use of it all? People come and go, regretting and repenting, like crows in a deserted house. Without the Name, the body suffers in pain; it crumbles like a wall of sand. As long as Truth does not enter into the consciousness, the Mansion of the Lord's Presence is not found. Attuned to the Shabad (Sound), we enter our home, and obtain the Eternal State of Nirvana (the highest paradise). I ask my Guru for His Advice, and I follow the Guru's Advice. With the Shabads (Sounds) of Praise abiding in the mind, the pain of egotism is burnt away. We are intuitively united with Him, and we meet the Truest of the True. Those who are attuned to the Shabad (Sound) are spotless and pure; they renounce sexual desire, anger, selfishness and conceit.

They sing the Praises of the Naam (the Name of the Lord), forever and ever; they keep the Lord enshrined within their hearts. How could we ever forget Him from our minds? He is the Support of all beings. One who dies in the Shabad (Sound) is beyond death, and shall never die again. Through the Shabad (Sound), we find Him, and embrace love for the Name of the Lord. Without the Shabad (Sound), the world is deceived; it dies and is reborn, over and over again. All praise themselves, and call themselves the greatest of the great. Without the Guru, one's self cannot be known. By merely speaking and listening, what is accomplished? O Nanak, one who realizes the Shabad (Sound) does not act in egotism.

SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL: Without her Husband, the soul-bride's youth and ornaments are useless and wretched…. without her Husband, her ornaments are absurd. The discarded bride suffers terrible pain; her Husband does not come to the bed of her home. O mind, meditate on the Lord, and find peace. Without the Guru, love is not found. United with the Shabad (Sound), happiness is found. Serving the Guru, she finds peace, and her Husband Lord adorns her with intuitive wisdom. Truly, she enjoys the Bed of her Husband, through her deep love and affection.

As Gurmukh (Truth seeker), she comes to know Him. Meeting with the Guru, she maintains a virtuous lifestyle. Through Truth, meet your Husband Lord, O soul-bride. Enchanted by your Husband, enshrine love for Him. Your mind and body shall blossom forth in Truth. The value of this cannot be described. The soul-bride finds her Husband Lord in the home of her own being; she is purified by the True Name.

In the Society of the Saints, peace wells up; the Gurmukhs (Truth seekers) take the Support of the Naam (the Name of the Lord). In an instant, one is born, and in an instant, one dies. In an instant one comes, and in an instant one goes. One who recognizes the Shabad (Sound) merges into it, and is not afflicted by death.