Appendix

Cherishing Salvation

Pray forget not Thy servant if for nothing else consider my previous Love of Thee and possess my heart. Thou art Gracious and Uplifter of the fallen and so look not to our faults. Thou art my soul, the very life breath, and all my riches and happiness, kindly burn down the veil of egoism that separates me from Thee: How can a fish live without water? And How an infant without milk? Nanak is thirsty for the Light of Thy Lotus Feet: A glimpse of Thee brings in all happiness that one needs.

Guru Arjan, Bilawal M5

*****

Blessed is the Love which pours itself out on the Lotus Feet of the Beloved; when most fortunately I found the Perfect One, I obtained the fruit of millions of austerities and meditations, I am a poor slave of Thine and depend upon Thee alone with nothing else to depend upon. The repetition of Lord’s Name has vanished all my fears, and with the collyrium of Thy Word (all wisdom), I have been roused from a long drawn sleep of ignorance, Thou art Fathomless and Extremely Great, oh Lord! the veritable Ocean of kindness, full of jewels. Nanak seeks and begs for the Divine Naam: he bows at the feet of the Lord.

Guru Arjan, Kanra M5

*****

Lord be gracious and keep me in Thy Sharan (shelter), for I know not how to serve Thee, los and ignorant as I am. I have the proud privilege to have Thee as my Beloved; we are all sinners and always commit mistakes, while Thou art the Benefactor of the worthless. We run after Maya with our back to the Lord for such are our deeds, Thou givest us everything in Thy compassion, while we are callously ungrateful to Thee, entangled in Thy gifts, we forget the Donoer Divine, there is nothing beyond Thee, oh my Liberator, Nanak saith: Oh I have come to seek Thy shelter, liberate this muddle-headed one also.

Guru Arjan, Bilawal M5

*****

Oh Hari! Save me from disgrace, as I am greatly afraid of Yama (Death), I have come to Thy Sharan, oh Ocean of Mercy; I am foolish and greedy and I have run myself out in sinning and sinning; the fear of death haunts me in and out all the time, I am being consumed in the invisble fires within. I have tried many remedies to obtain salvation, and have searched in all the ten directions, but the secrets of the Lord residing within, I could not find. Devoid of all virtues, I have not done any meditation or undergone any austerities, what should I do now? Oh Nanak! exhausted and defeated as thou art, seek thou His anchorage and pray for the boon of fearlessness.

Guru Gobind Singh, Jaitsari M9

*****

Do hear my prayer, oh my Lord! I am Thy disciple even if filled with millions of sins, Thou art the Destroyer of all ills: ever kind and bewitching, the Dispeller of sorrows and woes, grant me the shelter at Thy feet, and protect me oh Thou, the All-Pervading Absolute. Seated in the hearts of all, Thou art both seeing and hearing us through, for Thou art nearer than the nearest, oh Lord! do hear Nanak’s prayer: save me, for I am Thy disciple. Thou art ever All-Powerful, while we are poor beggars entangled in the worldly attractions, oh, do take us out of the mire and free us from the bondage of mind and matter, for we are every moment paying the penalty for our faults; oh my Creator, Thou art unattached and free from all limitations. Tired as I am, from wanderings into many incarnations, oh have Mercy upon me, Nanak prayeth: I am the slave of Hari; the Lord is the support of my life-breath.

Thou art All-Powerful, while I have inferior intelligence, my Lord; Thou, however, providest even for the ungrateful, perfect as Thou art in Thy Merciful Vision; oh Creator, Thou art beyond all understanding and Limitless, while I am lowly and know naught: with my back upon the pearls, I collect shells, brute, low and ignorant as I am, this hard earned maya (wealth), collected through means fair and foul is transitory and disappears in the twinkling of an eye. Nanak seeks the shelter of the Omnipotent One, do save me from ultimate disgrace.

Guru Arjan, Bihagra M5

*****

We are dirty, Thou art pure: we are so unworthy of Thee, oh benefactor, we are fools, while Thou art All-Wisdom and possessor of all powers (arts). Oh Madho, what a world of difference between the two; we the failing ones and Thou so perfect: we the sinners, and Thou the Destroyer of all sins, oh beautiful Beloved: Thou hast created everything and hast provided for everyone with life, body and soul, this worthless one is without qualities, and yet Thou givest him all out of Thy kindness. Thou doest good, which we do not appreciate and yet Thou art always kind, oh Lord! protect Thy children, Thou the treasure of everything and an ever-abiding Kind. Thy creation begs of Thee; Nanak saith: Low as we are save us for the sage of Thy Saints.

Guru Arjan, Sorath M5

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Make me Thine own. Oh Merciful One, for I have taken shelter at Thy door, save me, oh benefactor of the poor, I have tired myself out in quest of Thee, it is in Thy very nature, to love Thy devotees and to lift up the fallen: there is none else save Thou to hearken to my prayer, I pray, take me up, oh Merciful One, and get me out of the Ocean of Sansara by holding my hand.

Guru Arjan, War Jaitsari M5

*****

Oh my Beloved; hear, how I wander alone in the wilderness? How can I have patience without the Beloved? The Carefree as He is? A wife cannot live without her spouse during the long and tortuous nights, I do not get a wink of sleep, I only yearn for my Love, oh listen to me. In the absence of the Beloved, none has any sympathy for me, and I cry all alone. Nanak saith: The wife doth get her Beloved if she really feels unhappy and is extremely miserable without Him.

The Beloved of my life has left me, who is there to unite me with Him, there is happiness when Love unites, for then the Word (Mystic Sound) becomes pleasant. When the Word doth become blissful, we get the right place, with the Inner (Mystic) Lamp enlightening the body; hear my friend, we become really beautiful by singing the praises of the Supreme Truth. When Satguru united me with the Beloved, I got the pleasure of His company and the divine word, full of nectar, made me buoyant with happiness; Nanak says: A wife can have True Happiness, when the Beloved is also fond with her; though forgetful of Thee, we are still Thine own, oh Lord!

Guru Nanak, Gauri M1

*****

Even if I commit mistakes, still I have the proud privilege to belong to Thee, he whose mind has gone elsewhere, will surely die from the very regret of having done so. How can I leave the side of my Beloved? When I see that He is the Sustainer of my soul.

Thou art my friend and a relation, and I am highly proud of thee, when Tour art in, I am happy and feel that my poor self is honoured. Now that Thou hast been so kind to me: Pray do not let me look anywhere else, and let me keep the gift of Thy remembrance ever locked in my heart. I will walk down leagues to have Thy Darshan (a Love glance), I will love to hear Thy stories should it please Thee and the Satguru. Millions of suns and moons cannot equal the glory of Thy one hair; Thou art the Greatest of the Great: the Indescribable and the Ineffable. I cannot praise Thee sufficiently: Thy friends run into millions and all superior to me, just bestow one Gracious Look on me, and I will be the happiest creature.

By seeing Him, the mind gets Supreme Peace, and all mental ills leave off, how can I forget Him who saturates me with His divine Presence? With great humility I threw myself at His feet, and He made me His own for the asking, Nanak got Him through the help of a Saint, for it was so pre-ordained.

Guru Arjan, Suhi M5

*****

Thou art my father, Thou art my mother, Thou art my soul and life, oh Bestower of Happiness: Thou art my Master, and I am Thy slave, and apart from Thee, none else is mine. Kindly grant that I may be singing Thy praises day and night: we are Thy instruments and Thou playest on them. We are beggars at Thy door, give us the Gift, oh our Benefactor: Through Thy Grace I may enjoy Inner Bliss, for Thou art permeating every heart. Through Thy Grace alone one can repeat Thy sweet Naam, and sing Thy praises in the company of Saints. Through Thy Mercy, our pains are eliminated, and through Thy Grace, the lotus of the heart opens out. I lovingly pour myself out at the feet of the Guru Dev (the Radiant Form of the Master), Whose Darshan (sight) is fruitful and whose service so purifying. Be kind, oh my Lord! that Nanak my sing Thy praises constantly.

Guru Arjan, Bhairon M5

*****

My Lord, what a poor helpless fellow am I? Thou hast raised me into a man from a very low birth, and herein lies Thy greatness, Thou art the Lord of all, the Giver of soul and the life-breath, and none can describe Thy numerous attributes. Beloved of all, thou providest nourishment to all, Thou the Sustainer of life, none knows Thy mystery permeating as Thou art unto the vastness and the Beyond, for all this is Thy manifestation, Nanak prayeth: Grant me the ship of the Saints’ company to cross the ocean of life and death.

Guru Arjan, Sarang M5

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Keep us as it pleaseth Thee, we have come unto Thy Sharan (protection), we commit mistakes day and night, and the Lord forgives us and protects our honour, we are Thy ever-erring children, and Thou our Guru and Father, oh give us good advice: Nanak is Thy servant, save him from disgrace.

Guru Ram Das, Asa M4