- Guru Granth Sahib -
Rag Sri Raag
- Ashtapadis -
First House, M.3
- Guru Amar Das -
Hymn 1, Ashtapadis Hymn 18
By God’s Grace, the Gurmukh practices devotion; without the Guru, there is no devotional worship. One who merges his own self into Him understands, and so becomes pure. The Dear Lord is True, and True is the Word of His Bani. Through the Word of the Shabad, Union with Him is obtained. ||1||
Oh Siblings of Destiny, without devotion, why have people even come into the world? They have not served the Perfect Guru; they have wasted their lives in vain. The Lord Himself, the Life of the World, is the Giver. He Himself forgives, and unites us with Himself. What are these poor beings and creatures? What can they speak and say? God Himself grants glory to the Gurmukhs; He joins them to His Service. ||2||
Beholding your family, you are lured away by emotional attachment, but when you leave, they will not go with you. Serving the True Guru, I have found the Treasure of Excellence. Its value cannot be estimated. The Dear Lord God is my Best Friend. In the end, He shall be my Companion and Support. ||3||
In this world of my father’s home, the Great Giver is the Life of the World. The self-willed manmukhs have lost their honour. Without the True Guru, no one knows the Way. The blind find no place of rest. If the Lord, the Giver of Peace, does not dwell within the mind, then they shall depart with regret in the end. ||4||
In this world of my father’s house, through the Guru’s Teachings, I have cultivated within my mind the Great Giver, the Life of the World. Night and day, performing devotional worship, day and night, ego and emotional attachment are removed. And then, attuned to Him, we become like Him, truly absorbed in the True One. ||5||
Bestowing His Glance of Grace, He gives us His Love, and we contemplate the Word of the Guru’s Shabad. Serving the True Guru, intuitive peace wells up, and ego and desire die. The Lord, the Giver of Virtue, dwells forever within the minds of those who keep Truth enshrined within their hearts. ||6||
My God is forever Immaculate and Pure; with a pure mind, He can be found. If the Treasure of the Name of the Lord abides within the mind, egotism and pain are totally eliminated. The True Guru has instructed me in the Word of the Shabad. I am forever a sacrifice to Him. ||7||
Within your own conscious mind, you may say anything, but without the Guru, selfishness and conceit are not eradicated. The Dear Lord is the Lover of His devotees, the Giver of Peace. By His Grace, He abides within the mind. Oh Nanak, God blesses us with the sublime awakening of consciousness; He Himself grants glorious greatness to the Gurmukh. ||8||1||18||
Ang 64,65
Hymn 2, Ashtapadis Hymn 19
Those who go around acting in egotism are struck down by the Messenger of Death with his club. Those who serve the True Guru are uplifted and saved, in love with the Lord. ||1||
Oh mind, become Gurmukh, and meditate on the Naam, the Name of the Lord. Those who are so pre destined by the Creator are absorbed into the Naam, through the Guru’s Teachings. Without the True Guru, faith does not come, and love for the Naam is not embraced. Even in dreams, they find no peace; they sleep immersed in pain. ||2||
Even if you chant the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, with great longing, your past actions are still not erased. The Lord’s devotees surrender to His Will; those devotees are accepted at His Door. ||3||
The Guru has lovingly implanted the Word of His Shabad within me. Without His Grace, it cannot be attained. Even if the poisonous plant is watered with ambrosial nectar a hundred times, it will still bear poisonous fruit. ||4||
Those humble beings who are in love with the True Guru are pure and true. They act in harmony with the Will of the True Guru; they shed the poison of ego and corruption. ||5||
Acting in stubborn-mindedness, no one is saved; go and study the Simritees and the Shaastras. Joining the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, and practicing the Shabads of the Guru, you shall be saved. ||6||
The Name of the Lord is the Treasure, which has no end or limitation. The Gurmukhs are beauteous; the Creator has blessed them with His Mercy. ||7||
Oh Nanak, the One Lord alone is the Giver; there is no other at all. By Guru’s Grace, He is obtained. By His Mercy, He is found. ||8||2||19||
Ang 65
Hymn 3, Ashtapadis Hymn 20
The soul-bird in the beautiful tree of the body pecks at Truth, with love for the Guru. She drinks in the Sublime Essence of the Lord, and abides in intuitive ease; she does not fly around coming and going. She obtains her home within her own heart; she is absorbed into the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. ||1||
Oh mind, work to serve the Guru. If you walk in harmony with the Guru’s Will, you shall remain immersed in the Lord’s Name, night and day. The birds in the beautiful trees fly around in all four directions. The more they fly around, the more they suffer; they burn and cry out in pain. Withoutthe Guru, they do not find the Mansion of the Lord’s Presence, and they do not obtain the Ambrosial Fruit. ||2||
The Gurmukh is like God’s tree, always green, blessed with the Sublime Love of the True One, with intuitive peace and poise. He cuts off the three branches of the three qualities, and embraces love for the One Word of the Shabad. The Lord alone is the Ambrosial Fruit; He Himself gives it to us to eat. ||3||
The self-willed manmukhs stand there and dry up; they do not bear any fruit, and they do not provide any shade. Don’t even bother to sit near them - they have no home or village. They are cut down and burnt each day; they have neither the Shabad, nor the Lord’s Name. ||4||
According to the Lord’s Command, people perform their actions; they wander around, driven by the karma of their past actions. By the Lord’s Command, they behold the Blessed Vision of His Darshan. Wherever He sends them, there they go. By His Command, the Lord, Har, Har, abides within our minds; by His Command we merge in Truth. ||5||
The wretched fools do not know the Lord’s Will; they wander around making mistakes. They go about their business stubborn-mindedly; they are disgraced forever and ever. Inner peace does not come to them; they do not embrace love for the True Lord. ||6||
Beautiful are the faces of the Gurmukhs, who bear love and affection for the Guru. Through true devotional worship, they are attuned to Truth; at the True Door, they are found to be true. Blessed is their coming into being; they redeem all their ancestors. ||7||
All do their deeds under the Lord’s Glance of Grace; no one is beyond His Vision. According to the Glance of Grace with which the True Lord beholds us, so do we become. Oh Nanak, the Glorious Greatness of the Naam, the Name of the Lord, is received only by His Mercy. ||8||3||20||
Ang 66
Hymn 4, Ashtapadis Hymn 21
The Gurmukhs meditate on the Naam; the self-willed manmukhs do not understand. The faces of the Gurmukhs are always radiant; the Lord has come to dwell within their minds. Through intuitive understanding they are at peace, and through intuitive understanding they remain absorbed in the Lord. ||1||
Oh Siblings of Destiny, be the slaves of the Lord’s slaves. Service to the Guru is worship of the Guru. How rare are those who obtain it! The happy soul-bride is always with her Husband Lord, if she walks in harmony with the Will of the True Guru. She attains her Eternal, Ever-stable Husband, who never dies or goes away. United with the Word of the Shabad, she shall not be separated again. She is immersed in the Lap of her Beloved. ||2||
The Lord is Immaculate and Radiantly Bright; without the Guru, He cannot be found. He cannot be understood by reading scriptures; the deceitful pretenders are deluded by doubt. Through the Guru’s Teachings, the Lord is always found, and the tongue is permeated with the Sublime Essence of the Lord. ||3||
Emotional attachment to Maya is shed with intuitive ease, through the Guru’s Teachings. Without the Shabad, the world wanders lost in pain. The self-willed manmukh is consumed. Through the Shabad, meditate on the Naam; through the Shabad, you shall merge in Truth. ||4||
The Siddhas wander around, deluded by Maya; they are not absorbed in the Samaadhi of the Lord’s Sublime Love. The three worlds are permeated by Maya; they are totally covered by it. Without the Guru, liberation is not attained, and the double-mindedness of Maya does not go away. ||5||
What is called Maya? What does Maya do? These beings are bound by pleasure and pain; they do their deeds in egotism. Without the Shabad, doubt is not dispelled, and egotism is not eliminated from within. ||6||
Without love, there is no devotional worship. Without the Shabad, no one finds acceptance. Through the Shabad, egotism is conquered and subdued, and the illusion of Maya is dispelled. The Gurmukh obtains the Treasure of the Naam with intuitive ease. ||7||
Without the Guru, one’s virtues do not shine forth; without virtue, there is no devotional worship. The Lord is the Lover of His devotees; He abides within their minds. They meet that God with intuitive ease. Oh Nanak, through the Shabad, praise the Lord. By His Grace, He is obtained. ||8||4||21||
Ang 66,67
Hymn 5, Ashtapadis Hymn 22
Emotional attachment to Maya is created by my God; He Himself misleads us through illusion and doubt. The self-willed manmukhs perform their actions, but they do not understand; they waste away their lives in vain.Gurbani is the Light to illuminate this world; by His Grace, it comes to abide withinthe mind. ||1||
Oh mind, chant the Naam, the Name of the Lord, and find peace. Praising the Perfect Guru, you shall easily meet with that God. Doubt departs, and fear runs away, when you focus your consciousness on the Lord’s Feet. The Gurmukh practices the Shabad, and the Lord comes to dwell within the mind. Inthe mansion of the home within the self, we merge in Truth, and the Messenger of Death cannot devour us. ||2||
Naam Dayv the printer, and Kabeer the weaver, obtained salvation through the Perfect Guru. Those who know God and recognize His Shabad lose their ego and class consciousness. Their Banis are sung by the angelic beings, and no one can erase them, O Siblings of Destiny! ||3||
The demon’s son Prahlaad had not read about religious rituals or ceremonies, austerity or self-discipline; he did not know the love of duality. Upon meeting with the True Guru, he became pure; night and day, he chanted the Naam, the Name of the Lord. He read only of the One and he understood only the One Name; he knew no other at all. ||4||
The followers of the six different life-styles and world- views, the Yogis and the Sanyaasees have gone astray in doubt without the Guru. If they serve the True Guru, they find the state of salvation; they enshrine the Dear Lord within their minds. They focus their consciousness on the True Bani, and their comings and goings in reincarnation are over. ||5||
The Pandits, the religious scholars, read and argue and stir up controversies, but without the Guru, they are deluded by doubt. They wander around the cycle of 8.4 million reincarnations; without the Shabad, they do not attain liberation. But when they remember the Name, then they attain the state of salvation, when the True Guru unites them in Union. ||6||
In the Sat Sangat, the True Congregation, the Name of the Lord wells up, when the True Guru unites us in His Sublime Love. I offer my mind and body, and I renounce my selfishness and conceit; I walk in Harmony with the Will of the True Guru. I am forever a sacrifice to my Guru, who has attached my consciousness to the Lord. ||7||
He alone is a Brahmin, who knows the Lord Brahma, and is attuned to the Love of the Lord. God is close at hand; He dwells deep within the hearts of all. How rare are those who, as Gurmukh, know Him. Oh Nanak, through the Naam, greatness is obtained; through the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, He isrealized. ||8||5||22||
Ang 67,68
Hymn 6, Ashtapadis Hymn 23
Everyone longs to be centered and balanced, but without the Guru, no one can. The Pandits and the astrologers read and read until they grow weary, while the fanatics are deluded by doubt. Meeting with the Guru, intuitive balance is obtained, when God, in His Will, grants His Grace. ||1||
Oh Siblings of Destiny, without the Guru, intuitive balance is not obtained. Through the Word of the Shabad, intuitive peace and poise wells up, and that True Lord is obtained. That which is sung intuitively is acceptable; without this intuition, all chanting is useless. In the state of intuitive balance, devotion wells up. In intuitive balance, love is balanced and detached. In the state of intuitive balance, peace and tranquility are produced. Without intuitive balance, life is useless. ||2||
In the state of intuitive balance, praise the Lord forever and ever. With intuitive ease, embrace Samaadhi. In the state of intuitive balance, chant His Glories, lovingly absorbed in devotional worship. Through the Shabad, the Lord dwells within the mind, and the tongue tastes the Sublime Essence of the Lord. ||3||
In the poise of intuitive balance, death is destroyed, entering the Sanctuary of the True One. Intuitively balanced, the Name of the Lord dwells within the mind, practicing the lifestyle of Truth. Those who have found Him are very fortunate; they remain intuitively absorbed in Him. ||4||
Within Maya, the poise of intuitive balance is not produced. Maya leads to the love of duality. The self-willed manmukhs perform religious rituals, but they are burnt down by their selfishness and conceit. Their births and deaths do not cease; over and over again, they come and go in reincarnation. ||5||
In the three qualities, intuitive balance is not obtained; the three qualities lead to delusion and doubt. What is the point of reading, studying and debating, if one loses his roots? In the fourth state, there is intuitive balance; the Gurmukhs gather it in. ||6||
The Naam, the Name of the Formless Lord, is the treasure. Through intuitive balance, understanding is obtained. The virtuous praise the True One; their reputation is true. The wayward are united with God through intuitive balance; through the Shabad, union is obtained. ||7||
Without intuitive balance, all are blind. Emotional attachment to Maya is utter darkness. In intuitive balance, understanding of the True, Infinite Shabad is obtained. Granting forgiveness, the Perfect Guru unites us with the Creator. ||8||
In intuitive balance, the Unseen is recognized-the Fearless, Luminous, Formless Lord. There is only the One Giver of all beings. He blends our light with His Light. So praise God through the Perfect Word of His Shabad; He has no end or limitation. ||9||
Those who are wise take the Naam as their wealth; with intuitive ease, they trade with Him. Night and day, they receive the Profit of the Lord’s Name, which is an inexhaustible and over-flowing treasure. Oh Nanak, when the Great Giver gives, nothing at all is lacking. ||10||6||23||
Ang 68
Hymn 7, Ashtapadis 24
Meeting with the True Guru, you shall not have to go through the cycle of reincarnation again; the pains of birth and death will be taken away. Through the Perfect Word of the Shabad, all understanding is obtained; remain absorbed in the Name of the Lord. ||1||
Oh my mind, focus your consciousness on the True Guru. The Immaculate Naam itself, ever-fresh, comes to abide within the mind. Oh Dear Lord, please protect and preserve me in Your Sanctuary. As You keep me, so do I remain. Through the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, the Gurmukh remains dead while yet alive, and swims across the terrifying world-ocean. ||2||
By great good fortune, the Name is obtained. Following the Guru’s Teachings, through the Shabad, you shall be exalted. God, the Creator Himself, dwells within the mind; remain absorbed in the state of intuitive balance. ||3||
Some are self-willed manmukhs; they do not love the Word of the Shabad. Bound in chains, they wander lost in reincarnation. Through 8.4 million lifetimes, they wander over and over again; they waste away their lives in vain. ||4||
In the minds of the devotees there is bliss; they are attuned to the Love of the True Word of the Shabad. Night and day, they constantly sing the Glories of the Immaculate Lord; with intuitive ease, they are absorbed into the Naam, the Name of the Lord. ||5||
The Gurmukhs speak the Ambrosial Bani; they recognize the Lord, the Supreme Soul in all. They servethe One; they worship and adore the One. The Gurmukhs speak the Unspoken Speech. ||6||
The Gurmukhs serve their True Lord and Master, who comes to dwell in the mind. They are forever attuned to the Love of the True One, who bestows His Mercy and unites them with Himself. ||7||
He Himself does, and He Himself causes others to do; He wakes some from their sleep. He Himself unites us in Union; Nanak is absorbed in the Shabad. ||8||7||24||
Ang 69
Hymn 8, Ashtapadis Hymn 25
Serving the True Guru, the mind becomes immaculate, and the body becomes pure. The mind obtains bliss and eternal peace, meeting with the Deep and Profound Lord. Sitting in the Sangat, the True Congregation, the mind is comforted and consoled by the True Name. ||1||
Oh mind, serve the True Guru without hesitation. Serving the True Guru, the Lord abides within the mind, and no trace of filth shall attach itself to you. From the True Word of the Shabad comes honour. True is the Name of the True One. I am a sacrifice to those who conquer their ego and recognize the Lord. The self-willed manmukhs do not know the True One; they find no shelter, and no place of rest anywhere. ||2||
Those who take the Truth as their food and the Truth as their clothing, have their home in the True One. They constantly praise the True One, and in the True Word of the Shabad they have their dwelling. They recognize the Lord, the Supreme Soul in all, and through the Guru’s Teachings they dwell in the home of their own inner self. ||3||
They see the Truth, and they speak the Truth; their bodies and minds are True. True are their teachings, and True are their instructions; True are the reputations of the true ones. Those who have forgotten the True One are miserable-they depart weeping and wailing. ||4||
Those who have not served the True Guru-why did they even bother to come into the world? They are bound and gagged and beaten at Death’s door, but no one hears their shrieks and cries. They waste their lives uselessly; they die and are reincarnated over and over again. ||5||
Seeing this world on fire, I rushed to the Sanctuary of the True Guru. The True Guru has implanted the Truth within me; I dwell steadfastly in Truth and self-restraint. The True Guru is the Boat of Truth; in the Word of the Shabad, we cross over the terrifying world-ocean. ||6||
People continue wandering through the cycle of 8.4 million incarnations; without the True Guru, liberation is not obtained. Reading and studying, the Pandits and the silent sages have grown weary, but attached to the love of duality, they have lost their honour. The True Guru teaches the Word of the Shabad; without the True One, there is no other at all. ||7||
Those who are linked by the True One are linked to Truth. They always act in Truth. They attain their dwelling in the home of their own inner being, and they abide in the Mansion of Truth. Oh Nanak, the devotees are happy and peaceful forever. They are absorbed in the True Name. ||8||17||8||25||
Ang 69,70
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