Month: August 2014

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS ISSUE

He frees us from bondage, O Saints, and saves us from possessiveness. || 3 || Becoming Merciful, my Lord and Master has ended my comings and goings in reincarnation. Meeting with the Guru, Nanak has recognized the Supreme Lord God.

|| 4 || 27 || 97 || SIREE RAAG, FIFTH MEHL, FIRST HOUSE: Meeting with the humble beings, O Siblings of Destiny, the Messenger of Death is conquered. The True Lord and Master has come to dwell within my mind; my Lord and Master has become Merciful. Meeting with the Perfect True Guru, all my worldly entanglements have ended. || 1 || O my True Guru, I am a sacrifice to You. I am a sacrifice to the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan. By the Pleasure of Your Will, You have blessed me with the Ambrosial Naam, the Name of the Lord.

|| 1 || Pause || Those who have served You with love are truly wise. Those who have the Treasure of the Naam within emancipate others as well as themselves. There is no other Giver as great as the Guru, who has given the gift of the soul.

|| 2 || Blessed and acclaimed is the coming of those who have met the Guru with loving faith. Attuned to the True One, you shall obtain a place of honor in the Court of the Lord. Greatness is in the Hands of the Creator; it is obtained by pre-ordained destiny.

|| 3 || True is the Creator, True is the Doer. True is our Lord and Master, and True is His Support. So speak the Truest of the True. Through the True One, an intuitive and discerning mind is obtained. Nanak lives by chanting and meditating on the One, who is pervading within and contained amongst all.

|| 4 || 28 || 98 || SIREE RAAG, FIFTH MEHL: Worship the Guru, the Transcendent Lord, with your mind and body attuned to love. The True Guru is the Giver of the soul; He gives Support to all. Act according to the Instructions of the True Guru; this is the true philosophy. Without being attuned to the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, all attachment to Maya is just dust.

|| 1 || O my friend, reflect upon the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. In the Saadh Sangat, He dwells within the mind, and one’s works are brought to perfect fruition.

|| 1 || Pause || The Guru is All-powerful, the Guru is Infinite. By great good fortune, the Blessed Vision of His Darshan is obtained. The Guru is Imperceptible, Immaculate and Pure. There is no other as great as the Guru. The Guru is the Creator, the Guru is the Doer. The Gurmukh obtains true glory. Nothing is beyond the Guru; whatever He wishes comes to pass.

|| 2 || The Guru is the Sacred Shrine of Pilgrimage, the Guru is the Wish-fulfilling Elysian Tree. The Guru is the Fulfiller of the desires of the mind. The Guru is the Giver of the Name of the Lord, by which all the world is saved. The Guru is All-powerful, the Guru is Formless; the Guru is Lofty, Inaccessible and Infinite. The Praise of the Guru is so sublime – what can any speaker say?

|| 3 || All the rewards which the mind desires are with the True Guru. One whose destiny is so pre-ordained, obtains the Wealth of the True Name. Entering the Sanctuary of the True Guru, you shall never die again. Nanak: may I never forget You, Lord. This soul, body and breath are Yours.

|| 4 || 29 || 99 || SIREE RAAG, FIFTH MEHL: O Saints, O Siblings of Destiny, listen: release comes only through the True Name. Worship the Feet of the Guru. Let the Name of the Lord be your sacred shrine of pilgrimage. Hereafter, you shall be honored in the Court of the Lord; there, even the homeless find a home.

|| 1 || O Siblings of Destiny, service to the True Guru alone is True. When the True Guru is pleased, we obtain the Perfect, Unseen, Unknowable Lord.

|| 1 || Pause || I am a sacrifice to the True Guru, who has bestowed the True Name. Night and day, I praise the True One; I sing the Glorious Praises of the True One. True is the food, and true are the clothes, of those who chant the True Name of the True One.

|| 2 || With each breath and morsel of food, do not forget the Guru, the Embodiment of Fulfillment. None is seen to be as great as the Guru. Meditate on Him twenty-four hours a day. As He casts His Glance of Grace, we obtain the True Name, the Treasure of Excellence.

|| 3 || The Guru and the Transcendent Lord are one and the same, pervading and permeating amongst all. Those who have such preordained destiny, meditate on the Naam. Nanak seeks the Sanctuary of the Guru, who does not die, or come and go in reincarnation.

|| 4 || 30 || 100 || 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.

|| 1 || O Baba, the Lord Allah is Inaccessible and Infinite. Sacred is His Name, and Sacred is His Place. He is the True Cherisher.

|| 1 || Pause || 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.

|| 2 || The Pirs, 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.

|| 3 || 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.

|| 4 || 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?

|| 5 || 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.

|| 6 || 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.

|| 7 || 1 || FIRST MEHL: All are brides of the Husband Lord; all decorate themselves for Him. 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.

|| 1 || In this way, the Dear Husband Lord ravishes and enjoys His bride. The happy soul-bride is pleasing to You, Lord; by Your Grace, You adorn her.

|| 1 || Pause || She is decorated with the Word of the Guru’s Shabad; 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.

|| 2 || 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, her mind is pierced through. I am forever a sacrifice to Him.

|| 3 || 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.

|| 4 || 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 is lit, and the Name of the Lord is her necklace.

|| 5 || 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.

|| 6 || 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.

|| 7 || 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. TO BE CONTINUED

continued from previous issue

And they met in consultation, joyously with one accord,
Freely and in measured accents,
gave their answer to their lord: “Years of toil and watchful labour weigh upon thee, king of men, Young in years is righteous Rama, Heir and Regent let him reign,
We would see the princely Rama, Heir and Regent duly made,
Riding -on the royal tusker in the white umbrella’s shade!” Searching still their secret purpose, seeking still their thought to know,
Spake again the ancient monarch in his measured words and slow: “I would know your inner feelings,
loyal thoughts and whispers kind,
For a doubt within me lingers and a shadow clouds my mind,
True to Law and true to Duty while I rule this kingdom fair,
Wherefore would you see my Rama seated as the Regent Heir?” “We would see him Heir and Regent,
Dasaratha, ancient lord, For his heart is blessed with valour,
virtue marks his deed and word,
Lives not man in all the wide earth who excels the stainless youth,
In his loyalty to Duty,
in his love of righteous Truth, Truth impels his thought and action,
Truth inspires his soul with grace,
And his virtue fills the wide earth and exalts his ancient race! Bright Immortals know his valour; with his brother Lakshman hold He hath never failed to conquer hostile town or castled hold,
And returning from his battles, from the duties of the war,
Riding on his royal tusker or his allresistless car,
As a father to his children to his loving men he came,
Blessed our homes and maids and matrons till our infants lisped his name,
For our humble woes and troubles Rama hath the ready tear,
To our humble tales of suffering Rama lends his willing ear! Happy is the royal father who hath such a righteous son, For in town and mart and hamlet every heart hath Rama won,
Burghers and the toiling tillers tales of Rama’s kindness say,
Man and infant, maid and matron, morn and eve for Rama pray,
To the Gods and bright Immortals we our inmost wishes send,
May the good and godlike Rama on his father’s throne ascend,
Great in gifts and great in glory,
Rama doth our homage own,
We would see the princely Rama seated on his father’s throne!”

THE CITY DECORATED

With his consort pious Rama, pure in deed and pure in thought,
After evening’s due ablutions NARAYANA’S chamber sought,
Prayed unto the Lord of Creatures, NARAYANA Ancient Sire,
Placed his offering on his forehead,
poured it on the lighted fire,
Piously partook the remnant,
sought for NARAYANA’S aid, As he kept his fast and vigils on the grass of kusa spread.
With her lord the saintly Sita silent passed the sacred night,
Contemplating World’s Preserver,
Lord of Heaven’s ethereal height,
And within the sacred chamber on the grass of kusa lay,
Till the crimson streaks of morning, ushered in the festive day,
Till the royal bards and minstrels chanted forth the morning call,
Healing through the holy chamber,
echoing through the roval hall. Past the night of sacred vigils,
in his silken robes arrayed, Message of the proud anointment Rama to the Brahmans said, And the Brahmans spake to burghers that the festive day was come,
Till the mart and crowded pathway rang with note of pipe and drum,
And the townsmen heard rejoicing of the vigils of the night,
Kept by Rama and by Sita, for the day’s auspicious rite.
Rama shall be Heir and Regent, Rama shall be crowned to-day,
Rapid flew the gladdening message with the morning’s gladsome ray,
And the people of the city, maid and matron, man and boy,
Decorated fair Ayodhya in their wild tumultuous joy! On the temple’s lofty steeple high as cloud above the air,
On the crossing of the pathways,
in the garden green and fair,
On the merchant’s ample warehouse,
on the shop with stores displayed,
On the mansion of the noble by the cunning artist made,
On the gay and bright pavilion, on the high and shady trees.
Banners rose and glittering streamers,
flags that fluttered in the breeze! Actors gay and nimble dancers,
singers skilled in lightsome song,
With their antics and their music pleased the gay and gathered throng,
And the people met in conclaves, spake of Rama, Regent Heir,
And the children by the roadside lisped of Rama brave and fair! Women wove the scented garland,
merry maids the censer lit,
Men with broom and sprinkled water swept the spacious mart and street,
Rows of trees and posts they planted hung with lamps for coming night,
That the midnight dark might rival splendour of the noonday light Troops of men and merry children laboured with a loving care,
Woman’s skill and woman’s fancy made the city passing fair, So that good and kindly Rama might his people’s toil approve, So that sweet and soft-eyed Sita might accept her people’s love! Groups of joyous townsmen gathered in the square or lofty hall,
Praised the monarch Dasa-ratha, regent Rama young and tall: “Great and good is Dasa-ratha born of Raghu’s royal race, In the fulness of his lifetime on his son he grants his grace,
And we hail the rite auspicious for our prince of peerless might, He will guard us by his valotir,
he will save our cherished right, Dear unto his loving brothers in his father’s palace hall,
As is Rama to his brothers dear is Rama to us all, Long live ancient Dasa-ratha king of Raghu’s royal race, We shall see his son anointed by his father’s righteous grace! Thus of Rama’s consecration spake the burghers one and all, And the men from distant hamlets poured within the city wall,
From the confines of the empire,
north and south and west and east,
Came to see the consecration and to share the royal feast! And the rolling tide of nations raised their voices loud and high,
Like the tide of sounding ocean when the full moon lights the sky,
And Ayodhya thronged by people from the hamlet ,
mart and lea, Was tumultuous like the ocean thronged by creatures of the sea!

INTRIGUE

In the inner palace chamber stood the proud and peerless queen,
With a mother’s joy Kaikeyi gaily watched the festive scene,
But with deep and deadly hatred Manthara,
her nurse and maid, Marked the city bright with banners,
and in scornful accents said: “Take thy presents back, Kaikeyi,
for they ill befit the clay,
And when clouds of sorrow darken,
ill beseems thee to be gay,
And thy folly moves my laughter though an anguish wakes my sigh,

to be continued