Month: August 2014

CONTD FROM Vol 8 ISSUE 32

|| 4 || 1 || SORAT’H, FOURTH MEHL: He Himself is born of the egg, from the womb, from sweat and from the earth; He Himself is the continents and all the worlds. He Himself is the thread, and He Himself is the many beads; through His Almighty Power, He has strung the worlds. He holds the thread, and when He withdraws the thread, the beads scatter into heaps.

|| 1 || O my mind, there is no other than the Lord for me. The treasure of the Beloved Naam is within the True Guru; in His Mercy, he pours the Ambrosial Nectar into my mouth. || Pause || The Beloved Himself is in all the oceans and lands; whatever God does, comes to pass. The Beloved brings nourishment to all; there is no other than Him. The Beloved Himself plays, and whatever He Himself does, comes to pass.

|| 2 || The Beloved Himself, all by Himself, is immaculate and pure; He Himself is immaculate and pure. The Beloved Himself determines the value of all; whatever He does comes to pass. The Beloved Himself is unseen – He cannot be seen; He Himself causes us to see.

|| 3 || The Beloved Himself is deep and profound and unfathomable; there is no other as great as He. The Beloved Himself enjoys every heart; He is contained within every woman and man. O Nanak, the Beloved is pervading everywhere, but He is hidden; through the Guru, He is revealed.

|| 4 || 2 || SORAT’H, FOURTH MEHL: He Himself, the Beloved, is Himself all-in-all; He Himself establishes and disestablishes. The Beloved Himself beholds, and rejoices; God Himself works wonders, and beholds them. The Beloved Himself is contained in all the woods and meadows; as Gurmukh, He reveals Himself.

|| 1 || Meditate, O mind, on the Lord, Har, Har; through the sublime essence of Lord’s Name, you shall be satisfied. The Ambrosial Nectar of the Naam, is the sweetest juice; through the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, its taste is revealed. || Pause || The Beloved is Himself the place of pilgrimage and the raft; God Himself ferries Himself across. The Beloved Himself casts the net over all the world; the Lord Himself is the fish. The Beloved Himself is infallible; He makes no mistakes. There is no other like Him to be seen.

|| 2 || The Beloved Himself is the Yogi’s horn, and the sound current of the Naad; He Himself plays the tune. The Beloved Himself is the Yogi, the Primal Being; He Himself practices intense meditation. He Himself is the True Guru, and He Himself is the disciple; God Himself imparts the Teachings.

|| 3 || The Beloved Himself inspires us to chant His Name, and He Himself practices meditation. The Beloved
Himself is the Ambrosial Nectar; He Himself is the juice of it. The Beloved Himself praises Himself; servant Nanak is satisfied, with the sublime essence of the Lord.

|| 4 || 3 || SORAT’H, FOURTH MEHL: God Himself is the balance scale, He Himself is the weigher, and He Himself weighs with the weights. He Himself is the banker, He Himself is the trader, and He Himself makes the trades. The Beloved Himself fashioned the world, and He Himself counter-balances it with a gram.

|| 1 || My mind meditates on the Lord, Har, Har, and finds peace. The Name of the Beloved Lord, Har, Har, is a treasure; the Perfect Guru has made it seem sweet to me. || Pause || The Beloved Himself is the earth, and He Himself is the water; He Himself acts, and causes others to act. The Beloved Himself issues His Commands, and keeps the water and the land bound down. The Beloved Himself instills the Fear of God; He binds the tiger and the goat together.

|| 2 || The Beloved Lord Himself is the firewood, and He Himself keeps the fire within the wood. The Beloved Lord Himself, all by Himself, permeates them, and because of the Fear of God, the fire cannot burn the wood. The Beloved Himself kills and revives; all draw the breath of life, given by Him.

|| 3 || The Beloved Himself is power and presence; He Himself engages us in our work. As the Beloved makes me walk, I walk, as it pleases my Lord God. The Beloved Himself is the musician, and the musical instrument; servant Nanak vibrates His vibration.

|| 4 || 4 || SORAT’H, FOURTH MEHL: The Beloved Himself created the Universe; He made the light of the sun and the moon. The Beloved Himself is the power of the powerless; He Himself is the honor of the dishonored. The Beloved Himself grants His Grace and protects us; He Himself is wise and allknowing.

|| 1 || O my mind, chant the Name of the Lord, and receive His Insignia. Join the Sat Sangat, the True Congregation, and meditate on the Lord, Har, Har; you shall not have to come and go in reincarnation again. || Pause || The Beloved Himself pervades His Glorious Praises, and He Himself approves them. The Beloved Himself grants His forgiveness, and He Himself bestows the Insignia of Truth. The Beloved Himself obeys His Will, and He Himself issues His Command.

|| 2 || The Beloved Himself is the treasure of devotion; He Himself gives His gifts. The Beloved Himself commits some to His service, and He Himself blesses them with honor. The Beloved Himself is absorbed in Samaadhi; He Himself is the treasure of excellence.

|| 3 || The Beloved Himself is the greatest; He Himself is supreme. The Beloved Himself appraises the value; He Himself is the scale, and the weights. The Beloved Himself is unweighable – He weighs Himself; servant Nanak is forever a sacrifice to Him.

|| 4 || 5 || SORAT’H, FOURTH MEHL: The Beloved Himself commits some to His service; He Himself blesses them with the joy of devotional worship. The Beloved Himself causes us to sing His Glorious Praises; He Himself is absorbed in the Word of His Shabad. He Himself is the pen, and He Himself is the scribe; He Himself inscribes His inscription.

|| 1 || O my mind, joyfully chant the Name of the Lord. Those very fortunate ones are in ecstasy night and day; through the Perfect Guru, they obtain the profit of the Lord’s Name. || Pause || The Beloved Himself is the milk-maid and Krishna; He Himself herds the cows in the woods. The Beloved Himself is the blue-skinned, handsome one; He Himself plays on His flute. The Beloved Himself took the form of a child, and destroyed Kuwalia-peer, the mad elephant.

|| 2 || The Beloved Himself sets the stage; He performs the plays, and He Himself watches them. The Beloved Himself assumed the form of the child, and killed the demons Chandoor, Kansa and Kaysee. The Beloved Himself, by Himself, is the embodiment of power; He shatters the power of the fools and idiots.

|| 3 || The Beloved Himself created the whole world. In His hands He holds the power of the ages. The Beloved Himself puts the chains around their necks; as God pulls them, must they go.Whoever harbors pride shall be destroyed, O Beloved; meditating on the Lord, Nanak is absorbed in devotional worship.

|| 4 || 6 || SORAT’H, FOURTH MEHL, DU-TUKAS: Separated from the Lord for countless lifetimes, the self-willed manmukh suffers in pain, engaged in acts of egotism. Beholding the Holy Saint, I found God; O Lord of the Universe, I seek Your Sanctuary.

|| 1 || The Love of God is very dear to me.When I joined the Sat Sangat, the Company of the Holy People, the Lord, the embodiment of peace, came into my heart. || Pause || You dwell, hidden, within my heart day and night, Lord; but the poor fools do not understand Your Love. Meeting with the Almighty True Guru, God was revealed to me; I sing His Glorious Praises, and reflect upon His Glories.

|| 2 || As Gurmukh, I have become enlightened; peace has come, and evil-mindedness has been dispelled from my mind. Understanding the relationship of the individual soul with God, I have found peace, in Your Sat Sangat, Your True Congregation, O Lord.

|| 3 || Those who are blessed by Your Kind Mercy, meet the Almighty Lord, and find the Guru. Nanak has found the immeasurable, celestial peace; night and day, he remains awake to the Lord, the Master of the Forest of the Universe.

|| 4 || 7 || SORAT’H, FOURTH MEHL: The inner depths of my mind are pierced by love for the Lord; I cannot live without the Lord. Just as the fish dies without water, I die without the Lord’s Name. || 1 || O my God, please bless me with the water of Your Name. I beg for Your Name, deep within myself, day and night; through the Name, I find peace. || Pause || The song-bird cries out for lack of water – without water, its thirst cannot be quenched. The Gurmukh obtains the water of celestial bliss, and is rejuvenated, blossoming forth through the blessed Love of the Lord.

|| 2 || The self-willed manmukhs are hungry, wandering around in the ten directions; without the Name, they suffer in pain. They are born, only to die, and enter into reincarnation again; in the Court of the Lord, they are punished.

|| 3 || But if the Lord shows His Mercy, then one comes to sing His Glorious Praises; deep within the nucleus of his own self, he finds the sublime essence of the Lord’s elixir. The Lord has become Merciful to meek Nanak, and through the Word of the Shabad, his desires are quenched.

|| 4 || 8 || SORAT’H, FOURTH MEHL, PANCH-PADAS: If one eats the uneatable, then he becomes a Siddha, a being of perfect spirituality; through this perfection, he obtains wisdom. When the arrow of the Lord’s Love pierces his body, then his doubt is eradicated.

|| 1 || O my Lord of the Universe, please bless Your humble servant with glory. Under Guru’s Instructions, enlighten me with the Lord’s Name, that I may dwell forever in Your Sanctuary. || Pause || This whole world is engrossed in coming and going; O my foolish and ignorant mind, be mindful of the Lord. O Dear Lord, please, take pity upon me, and unite me with the Guru, that I may merge in the Lord’s Name.

|| 2 || Only one who has it knows God; he alone has it, to whom God has given it – so very beautiful, unapproachable and unfathomable. Through the Perfect Guru, the unknowable is known. || 3 || Only one who tastes it knows it, like the mute, who tastes the sweet candy, but cannot speak of it. The jewel is concealed, but it is not concealed, even though one may try to conceal it.

|| 4 || Everything is Yours, O Inner-knower, Searcher of hearts; You are the Lord God of all. He alone receives the gift, unto whom You give it; O servant Nanak, there is no one else.

|| 5 || 9 || SORAT’H, FIFTH MEHL, FIRST HOUSE, TI-TUKAS: ONE UNIVERSAL CREATOR GOD. BY THE GRACE OF THE TRUE GURU: Who should I ask? Who should I worship? All were created by Him. Whoever appears to be the greatest of the great, shall ultimately be mixed with the dust. The Fearless, Formless Lord, the Destroyer of Fear bestows all comforts, and the nine treasures.

|| 1 || O Dear Lord, Your gifts alone satisfy me.Why should I praise the poor helpless man? Why should I feel subservient to him? || Pause || All things come to one who meditates on the Lord; the Lord satisfies his hunger. The Lord, the Giver of peace, bestows such wealth, that it can never be exhausted. I am in ecstasy, absorbed in celestial peace; the True Guru has united me in His Union.

TO BE CONTINUED

contined from vol 8 issue 32

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,
For a gladness stirs thy bosom when thy greatest woo is nigh! Who that hath a woman’s wisdom, who that is a prudent wife.
Smiles in joy when prouder rival triumphs in the race of life,
How can hapless Queen Kaikeyi greet this deed of darkness done,
When the favoured Queen Kausalya wins the empire for her son?
Know the truth, O witless woman! Bharat is unmatched in fame,
Rama, deep and darkly jealous, dreads thy Bharat’s rival claim,
Younger Lakshman with devotion doth on eldest Rama wait,
Young Satrughna with affection follows Bharat’s lofty fate,
Rama dreads no rising danger from the twins,
the youngest-born,
But thy Bharat’s claims and virtues fill his jealous heart with scorn! Trust me,
queen, thy Bharat’s merits are too well and widely known,
And he stands too near and closely by a rival brother’s throne,
Rama hath a wolf-like wisdom and a fang to reach the foe,
And I tremble for thy Bharat,
Heaven avert untimely woe! Happy is the Queen Kausalya,
they will soon anoint her son,
When on Pushya’s constellation gaily rides to-morrow’s moon,
Happy is the Queen Kausalya in her regal pomp and state,
And Kaikeyi like a bond-slave must upon her rival wait! Wilt thou do her due obeisance as we humble women do,
Will thy proud and princely Bharat as his brother’s henchman go,
Will thy Bharat’s gentle consort,
fairest princess in this land,
In her tears and in her anguish wait on Sita’s proud command?
With a woman’s scornful anger Manthara proclaimed her grief,
With a mother’s love for Rama thus Kaikeyi answered brief: “What inspires thee,
wicked woman, thus to rail in bitter tone,
Shall not Rama,
best and eldest, fill his father’s royal throne,
What alarms thee, crooked woman, in the happy rites begun,
Shall not Rama guard his brothers as a father guards his son?
And when Rama’s reign is over, shall not Gods my Bharat speed,
And by law and ancient custom shall not younger son succeed,
In the present bliss of Rama and in Bharat’s future hope,
What offends thee, senseless woman, wherefore dost thou idly mope?
Dear is Rama as my Bharat, ever duteous in his ways,
Rama honours Queen Kausalya, loftier honour to me pays,
Rama’s realm is Bharat’s kingdom, ruling partners they shall prove,
For himself than for his brothers Rama owns no deeper love!” Scorn and anger shook her person and her bosom heaved a sigh, As in wilder,
fiercer accents Manthara thus made reply: What insensate rage or madness clouds thy heart and blinds thine eye, Courting thus thy own disaster,
courting danger dread and high, What dark folly clouds thy vision to the workings of thy foe,
Heedless thus to seek destruction and to sink in gulf of woe? Know, fair queen,
by law and custom,
son ascends the throne of pride,
Rama’s son succeedeth Rama,
luckless Bharat steps aside,
Brothers do not share a kingdom, nor can one by one succeed,
Mighty were the civil discord if such custom were decreed! For to stop all war and tumult,
thus the ancient laws ordain,
Eldest son succeeds his father,
younger children may not reign,
Bharat barred from Rama’s empire,
vainly decked with royal grace, Friendless, joyless, long shall wander,
alien from his land and race! Thou hast home the princely Bharat,
nursed him from thy gentle breast,
To a queen and to a mother need a prince’s claims be pressed,
To a thoughtless heedless mother must I Bharat’s virtues plead,
Must the Queen Kaikeyi witness Queen Kausalya’s son succeed?
Trust thy old and faithful woman who bath nursed thee, youthful queen,
And in great and princely houses many darksome deeds hath seen,
Trust my word, the wily Rama for his spacious empire’s good,
Soon will banish friendless Bharat and secure his peace with blood! Thou hast sent the righteous Bharat to thy ancient father’s land,
And Satrughna young an valiant doth beside his brother stand, Young in years and generous-hearted,
they will grow in mutual love,
As the love of elder Rama doth in Lakshman’s bosom move,
Young companions grow in friendship,
and our ancient legends tell, Weeds protect a forest monarch which the woodman’s axe would fell,
Crownéd Rama unto Lakshman will a loving brother prove,
But for Bharat and Satrughna, Rama’s bosom owns no love, And a danger thus ariseth if the elder wins the throne,
Haste thee, heedless Queen Kaikeyi, save the younger and thy son! Speak thy mandate to thy husband,
let thy Bharat rule at home,
In the deep and pathless jungle let the banished Rama roam, This will please thy ancient father and thy father’s kith and kin,
This will please the righteous people,
Bharat knows no guile or sin! Speak thy mandate to thy husband, win thy son a happy fate,
Doom him not to Rama’s service or his unrelenting hate,
Let not Rama in his rancour shed a younger brother’s blood,
As the lion slays the tiger in the deep and echoing wood! With the magic of thy beauty thou hast won thy monarch’s heart,

TO BE CONTINUED