Please bless me with the gift of contentment, that I may receive the True Name as my Support. || 19 || SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: Through the night the time ticks away; through the day the time ticks away. The body wears away and turns to straw. All are involved and entangled in worldly entanglements. The mortal has mistakenly renounced the way of service. The blind fool is caught in conflict, bothered and bewildered. Those who weep after someone has died - can they bring him back to life? Without realization, nothing can be understood. The weepers who weep for the dead shall themselves die as well. O Nanak, this is the Will of our Lord and Master. Those who do not remember the Lord, are dead. || 1 || FIRST MEHL: Love dies, and affection dies; hatred and strife die. The color fades, and beauty vanishes; the body suffers and collapses. Where did he come from? Where is he going? Did he exist or not? The self-willed manmukh made empty boasts, indulging in parties and pleasures. O Nanak, without the True Name, his honor is torn away, from head to foot. || 2 || PAUREE: The Ambrosial Naam, the Name of the Lord, is forever the Giver of peace. It shall be your Help and Support in the end. Without the Guru, the world is insane. It does not appreciate the worth of the Name. Those who serve the True Guru are accepted and approved. Their light merges into the Light. That servant who enshrines the Lord's Will within his mind, becomes just like his Lord and Master. Tell me, who has ever found peace by following his own will? The blind act in blindness. No one is ever satisfied and fulfilled by evil and corruption. The hunger of the fool is not satisfied. Attached to duality, all are ruined; without the True Guru, there is no understanding. Those who serve the True Guru find peace; they are blessed with Grace by the Will of the Lord. || 20 || SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: Modesty and righteousness both, O Nanak, are qualities of those who are blessed with true wealth. Do not refer to that wealth as your friend, which leads you to get your head beaten. Those who possess only this worldly wealth are known as paupers. But those, within whose hearts You dwell, O Lord - those people are oceans of virtue. || 1 || FIRST MEHL: Worldly possessions are obtained by pain and suffering; when they are gone, they leave pain and suffering. O Nanak, without the True Name, hunger is never satisfied. Beauty does not satisfy hunger; when the man sees beauty, he hungers even more. As many as are the pleasures of the body, so many are the pains which afflict it. || 2 || FIRST MEHL: Acting blindly, the mind becomes blind. The blind mind makes the body blind. Why make a dam with mud and plaster? Even a dam made of stones gives way. The dam has burst. There is no boat. There is no raft. The water's depth is unfathomable. O Nanak, without the True Name, many multitudes have drowned. || 3 || FIRST MEHL: Thousands of pounds of gold, and thousands of pounds of silver; the king over the heads of thousands of kings. Thousands of armies, thousands of marching bands and spearmen; the emperor of thousands of horsemen. The unfathomable ocean of fire and water must be crossed. The other shore cannot be seen; only the roar of pitiful cries can be heard. O Nanak, there, it shall be known, whether anyone is a king or an emperor. || 4 || PAUREE: Some have chains around their necks, in bondage to the Lord.

They are released from bondage, realizing the True Lord as True. One whose pre-ordained destiny is activated, comes to know the True Lord. By God's Command, it is ordained. When the mortal goes, he knows. Realize the Word of the Shabad, and cross over the terrifying world-ocean. Thieves, adulterers and gamblers are pressed like seeds in the mill. Slanderers and gossipers are hand-cuffed. The Gurmukh is absorbed in the True Lord, and is famous in the Court of the Lord. || 21 || SHALOK, SECOND MEHL: The beggar is known as an emperor, and the fool is known as a religious scholar. The blind man is known as a seer; this is how people talk. The trouble-maker is called a leader, and the liar is seated with honor. O Nanak, the Gurmukhs know that this is justice in the Dark Age of Kali Yuga. || 1 || FIRST MEHL: Deer, falcons and government officials are known to be trained and clever. When the trap is set, they trap their own kind; hereafter they will find no place of rest. He alone is learned and wise, and he alone is a scholar, who practices the Name. First, the tree puts down its roots, and then it spreads out its shade above. The kings are tigers, and their officials are dogs; they go out and awaken the sleeping people to harass them. The public servants inflict wounds with their nails. The dogs lick up the blood that is spilled. But there, in the Court of the Lord, all beings will be judged. Those who have violated the people's trust will be disgraced; their noses will be cut off. || 2 || PAUREE: He Himself creates the world, and He himself takes care of it. Without the Fear of God, doubt is not dispelled, and love for the Name is not embraced. Through the True Guru, the Fear of God wells up, and the Door of Salvation is found. Through the Fear of God, intuitive ease is obtained, and one's light merges into the Light of the Infinite. Through the Fear of God, the terrifying world-ocean is crossed over, reflecting on the Guru's Teachings. Through the Fear of God, the Fearless Lord is found; He has no end or limitation. The self-willed manmukhs do not appreciate the value of the Fear of God. Burning in desire, they weep and wail. O Nanak, through the Name, peace is obtained, by enshrining the Guru's Teachings within the heart. || 22 || SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: Beauty and sexual desire are friends; hunger and tasty food are tied together. Greed is bound up in its search for wealth, and sleep will use even a tiny space as a bed. Anger barks and brings ruin on itself, blindly pursuing useless conflicts. It is good to be silent, O Nanak; without the Name, one's mouth spews forth only filth. || 1 || FIRST MEHL: Royal power, wealth, beauty, social status and youth are the five thieves. These thieves have plundered the world; no one's honor has been spared. But these thieves themselves are robbed, by those who fall at the Guru's Feet. O Nanak, the multitudes who do not have good karma are plundered. || 2 || PAUREE: The learned and educated are called to account for their actions. Without the Name, they are judged false; they become miserable and suffer hardship. Their path becomes treacherous and difficult, and their way is blocked. Through the Shabad, the Word of the True and Independent Lord God, one becomes content. The Lord is deep and profound and unfathomable; His depth cannot be measured. Without the Guru, the mortals are beaten and punched in the face and the mouth, and no one is released. Chanting the Naam, the Name of the Lord, one returns to his true home with honor. Know that the Lord, by the Hukam of His Command, gives sustenance and the breath of life. || 23 ||

SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: Living beings are formed of air, water and fire. They are subject to pleasure and pain. In this world, in the nether regions of the underworld, and in the Akaashic ethers of the heavens, some remain ministers in the Court of the Lord. Some live long lives, while others suffer and die. Some give and consume, and still their wealth is not exhausted, while others remain poor forever. In His Will He creates, and in His Will He destroys thousands in an instant. He has harnessed everyone with His harness; when He forgives, he breaks the harness. He has no color or features; He is invisible and beyond calculation. How can He be described? He is known as the Truest of the True. All the actions which are done and described, O Nanak, are done by the Indescribable Lord Himself. Whoever hears the description of the indescribable, is blessed with wealth, intelligence, perfection, spiritual wisdom and eternal peace. || 1 || FIRST MEHL: One who bears the unbearable, controls the nine holes of the body. One who worships and adores the Lord with his breath of life, gains stability in his body-wall. Where has he come from, and where will he go? Remaining dead while yet alive, he is accepted and approved. Whoever understands the Hukam of the Lord's Command, realizes the essence of reality. This is known by Guru's Grace. O Nanak, know this: egotism leads to bondage. Only those who have no ego and no self-conceit, are not consigned to reincarnation. || 2 || PAUREE: Read the Praise of the Lord's Name; other intellectual pursuits are false. Without dealing in Truth, life is worthless. No one has ever found the Lord's end or limitation. All the world is enveloped by the darkness of egotistical pride. It does not like the Truth. Those who depart from this world, forgetting the Naam, shall be roasted in the frying pan. They pour the oil of duality within, and burn. They come into the world and wander around aimlessly; they depart when the play is finished. O Nanak, imbued with Truth, the mortals merge in Truth. || 24 || SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: First, the mortal is conceived in the flesh, and then he dwells in the flesh. When he comes alive, his mouth takes flesh; his bones, skin and body are flesh. He comes out of the womb of flesh, and takes a mouthful of flesh at the breast. His mouth is flesh, his tongue is flesh; his breath is in the flesh. He grows up and is married, and brings his wife of flesh into his home. Flesh is produced from flesh; all relatives are made of flesh. When the mortal meets the True Guru, and realizes the Hukam of the Lord's Command, then he comes to be reformed. Releasing himself, the mortal does not find release; O Nanak, through empty words, one is ruined. || 1 || FIRST MEHL: The fools argue about flesh and meat, but they know nothing about meditation and spiritual wisdom. What is called meat, and what is called green vegetables? What leads to sin? It was the habit of the gods to kill the rhinoceros, and make a feast of the burnt offering. Those who renounce meat, and hold their noses when sitting near it, devour men at night. They practice hypocrisy, and make a show before other people, but they do not understand anything about meditation or spiritual wisdom. O Nanak, what can be said to the blind people? They cannot answer, or even understand what is said. They alone are blind, who act blindly. They have no eyes in their hearts. They are produced from the blood of their mothers and fathers, but they do not eat fish or meat.

But when men and women meet in the night, they come together in the flesh. In the flesh we are conceived, and in the flesh we are born; we are vessels of flesh. You know nothing of spiritual wisdom and meditation, even though you call yourself clever, O religious scholar. O master, you believe that flesh on the outside is bad, but the flesh of those in your own home is good. All beings and creatures are flesh; the soul has taken up its home in the flesh. They eat the uneatable; they reject and abandon what they could eat. They have a teacher who is blind. In the flesh we are conceived, and in the flesh we are born; we are vessels of flesh. You know nothing of spiritual wisdom and meditation, even though you call yourself clever, O religious scholar. Meat is allowed in the Puraanas, meat is allowed in the Bible and the Koran. Throughout the four ages, meat has been used. It is featured in sacred feasts and marriage festivities; meat is used in them. Women, men, kings and emperors originate from meat. If you see them going to hell, then do not accept charitable gifts from them. The giver goes to hell, while the receiver goes to heaven - look at this injustice. You do not understand your own self, but you preach to other people. O Pandit, you are very wise indeed. O Pandit, you do not know where meat originated. Corn, sugar cane and cotton are produced from water. The three worlds came from water. Water says, "I am good in many ways." But water takes many forms. Forsaking these delicacies, one becomes a true Sannyaasee, a detached hermit. Nanak reflects and speaks. || 2 || PAUREE: What can I say with only one tongue? I cannot find your limits. Those who contemplate the True Word of the Shabad are absorbed into You, O Lord. Some wander around in saffron robes, but without the True Guru, no one finds the Lord. They wander in foreign lands and countries until they grow weary, but You hide Yourself within them. The Word of the Guru's Shabad is a jewel, through which the Lord shines forth and reveals Himself. Realizing one's own self, following the Guru's Teachings, the mortal is absorbed into Truth. Coming and going, the tricksters and magicians put on their magic show. But those whose minds are pleased by the True Lord, praise the True One, the Ever-stable Lord. || 25 || SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: O Nanak, the tree of actions done in Maya yields ambrosial fruit and poisonous fruit. The Creator does all deeds; we eat the fruits as He ordains. || 1 || SECOND MEHL: O Nanak, burn worldly greatness and glory in the fire. These burnt offerings have caused mortals to forget the Naam, the Name of the Lord. Not even one of them will go along with you in the end. || 2 || PAUREE: He judges each and every being; by the Hukam of His Command, He leads us on. Justice is in Your Hands, O Lord; You are pleasing to my mind. The mortal is bound and gagged by Death and lead away; no one can rescue him. Old age, the tyrant, dances on the mortal's shoulders. So climb aboard the boat of the True Guru, and the True Lord will rescue you. The fire of desire burns like an oven, consuming mortals night and day. Like trapped birds, the mortals peck at the corn; only through the Lord's Command will they find release. Whatever the Creator does, comes to pass; falsehood shall fail in the end. || 26 ||

SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: The True Guru is the All-knowing Primal Being; He shows us our true home within the home of the self. The Panch Shabad, the Five Primal Sounds, resonate and resound within; the insignia of the Shabad is revealed there, vibrating gloriously. Worlds and realms, nether regions, solar systems and galaxies are wondrously revealed. The strings and the harps vibrate and resound; the true throne of the Lord is there. Listen to the music of the home of the heart - Sukhmani, peace of mind. Lovingly tune in to His state of celestial ecstasy. Contemplate the Unspoken Speech, and the desires of the mind are dissolved. The heart-lotus is turned upside-down, and is filled with Ambrosial Nectar. This mind does not go out; it does not get distracted. It does not forget the Chant which is chanted without chanting; it is immersed in the Primal Lord God of the ages. All the sister-companions are blessed with the five virtues. The Gurmukhs dwell in the home of the self deep within. Nanak is the slave of that one who seeks the Shabad and finds this home within. || 1 || FIRST MEHL: The extravagant glamor of the world is a passing show. My twisted mind does not believe that it will end up in a grave. I am meek and lowly; You are the great river. Please, bless me with the one thing; everything else is poison, and does not tempt me. You filled this fragile body with the water of life, O Lord, by Your Creative Power. By Your Omnipotence, I have become powerful. Nanak is a dog in the Court of the Lord, intoxicated more and more, all the time. The world is on fire; the Name of the Lord is cooling and soothing. || 2 || NEW PAUREE, FIFTH MEHL: His wonderful play is all-pervading; it is wonderful and amazing! As Gurmukh, I know the the Transcendent Lord, the Supreme Lord God. All the residues of sin and corruption are washed away, through the insignia of the Shabad, the Word of God. In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, one is saved, and becomes free. Meditating, meditating in remembrance on the Great Giver, I enjoy all comforts and pleasures. I have become famous throughout the world, under the canopy of His kindness and grace. He Himself has forgiven me, and united me with Himself; I am forever a sacrifice to Him. O Nanak, by the Pleasure of His Will, my Lord and Master has blended me with Himself. || 27 || SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: Blessed is the paper, blessed is the pen, blessed is the inkwell, and blessed is the ink. Blessed is the writer, O Nanak, who writes the True Name. || 1 || FIRST MEHL: You Yourself are the writing tablet, and You Yourself are the pen. You are also what is written on it. Speak of the One Lord, O Nanak; how could there be any other? || 2 || PAUREE: You Yourself are all-pervading; You Yourself made the making. Without You, there is no other at all; You are permeating and pervading everywhere. You alone know Your state and extent. Only You can estimate Your worth. You are invisible, imperceptible and inaccessible. You are revealed through the Guru's Teachings. Deep within, there is ignorance, suffering and doubt; through the spiritual wisdom of the Guru, they are eradicated. He alone meditates on the Naam, whom You unite with Yourself, in Your Mercy. You are the Creator, the Inaccessible Primal Lord God; You are all-pervading everywhere. To whatever You link the mortal, O True Lord, to that he is linked. Nanak sings Your Glorious Praises. || 28 || 1 || SUDH ||

Serve the King, the Sovereign Lord of the World. He has no ancestry; He is immaculate and pure. Please bless me with the gift of devotion, which the humble Saints beg for. || 1 || Pause || His Home is the pavilion seen in all directions; His ornamental heavenly realms fill the seven worlds alike. In His Home, the virgin Lakshmi dwells. The moon and the sun are His two lamps; the wretched Messenger of Death stages his dramas, and levies taxes on all. Such is my Sovereign Lord King, the Supreme Lord of all. || 1 || In His House, the four-faced Brahma, the cosmic potter lives. He created the entire universe. In His House, the insane Shiva, the Guru of the World, lives; he imparts spiritual wisdom to expain the essence of reality. Sin and virtue are the standard-bearers at His Door; Chitr and Gupt are the recording angels of the conscious and subconscious. The Righteous Judge of Dharma, the Lord of Destruction, is the door-man. Such is the Supreme Sovereign Lord of the World. || 2 || In His Home are the heavenly heralds, celestial singers, Rishis and poor minstrels, who sing so sweetly. All the Shaastras take various forms in His theater, singing beautiful songs. The wind waves the fly-brush over Him; His hand-maiden is Maya, who has conquered the world. The shell of the earth is His fireplace. Such is the Sovereign Lord of the three worlds. || 3 || In His Home, the celestial turtle is the bed-frame, woven with the strings of the thousand-headed snake. His flower-girls are the eighteen loads of vegetation; His water-carriers are the nine hundred sixty million clouds. His sweat is the Ganges River. The seven seas are His water-pitchers. The creatures of the world are His household utensils. Such is the Sovereign Lord King of the three worlds. || 4 || In His home are Arjuna, Dhroo, Prahlaad, Ambreek, Naarad, Nayjaa, the Siddhas and Buddhas, the ninety-two heavenly heralds and celestial singers in their wondrous play. All the creatures of the world are in His House. The Lord is diffused in the inner beings of all. Prays Naam Dayv, seek His Protection. All the devotees are His banner and insignia. || 5 || 1 || MALAAR: Please do not forget me; please do not forget me, please do not forget me, O Lord. || 1 || Pause || The temple priests have doubts about this, and everyone is furious with me. Calling me low-caste and untouchable, they beat me and drove me out; what should I do now, O Beloved Father Lord? || 1 || If You liberate me after I am dead, no one will know that I am liberated. These Pandits, these religious scholars, call me low-born; when they say this, they tarnish Your honor as well. || 2 || You are called kind and compassionate; the power of Your Arm is absolutely unrivalled.

The Lord turned the temple around to face Naam Dayv; He turned His back on the Brahmins. || 3 || 2 ||

O humble townspeople, I am obviously just a shoemaker. In my heart I cherish the Glories of the Lord, the Lord of the Universe. || 1 || Pause || Even if wine is made from the water of the Ganges, O Saints, do not drink it. This wine, and any other polluted water which mixes with the Ganges, is not separate from it. || 1 || The palmyra palm tree is considered impure, and so its leaves are considered impure as well. But if devotional prayers are written on paper made from its leaves, then people bow in reverence and worship before it. || 2 || It is my occupation to prepare and cut leather; each day, I carry the carcasses out of the city. Now, the important Brahmins of the city bow down before me; Ravi Daas, Your slave, seeks the Sanctuary of Your Name. || 3 || 1 || MALAAR: Those humble beings who meditate on the Lord's Lotus Feet - none are equal to them. The Lord is One, but He is diffused in many forms. Bring in, bring in, that All-pervading Lord. || Pause || He who writes the Praises of the Lord God, and sees nothing else at all, is a low-class, untouchable fabric-dyer by trade. The Glory of the Name is seen in the writings of Vyaas and Sanak, throughout the seven continents. || 1 || And he whose family used to kill cows at the festivals of Eed and Bakareed, who worshipped Shayks, martyrs and spiritual teachers, whose father used to do such things - his son Kabeer became so successful that he is now famous throughout the three worlds. || 2 || And all the leather-workers in those families still go around Benares removing the dead cattle - the ritualistic Brahmins bow in reverence before their son Ravi Daas, the slave of the Lord's slaves. || 3 || 2 ||

What sort of devotional worship will lead me to meet my Beloved, the Lord of my breath of life? In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, I have obtained the supreme status. || Pause || How long shall I wash these dirty clothes? How long shall I remain asleep? || 1 || Whatever I was attached to, has perished. The shop of false merchandise has closed down. || 2 || Says Ravi Daas, when the account is called for and given, whatever the mortal has done, he shall see. || 3 || 1 || 3 ||