11.10.2009
SOOHEE, FIRST MEHL:
My mind is imbued with His Glorious Praises; I chant them, and He is pleasing to my mind. Truth is the ladder to the Guru; climbing up to the True Lord, peace is obtained. Celestial peace comes; the Truth pleases me. How could these True Teachings ever be erased? He Himself is Undeceivable; how could He ever be deceived by cleansing baths, charity, spiritual wisdom or ritual bathings? Fraud, attachment and corruption are taken away, as are falsehood, hypocrisy and duality. My mind is imbued with His Glorious Praises; I chant them, and He is pleasing to my mind. || 1 || So praise your Lord and Master, who created the creation. Filth sticks to the polluted mind; how rare are those who drink in the Ambrosial Nectar. Churn this Ambrosial Nectar, and drink it in; dedicate this mind to the Guru, and He will value it highly. I intuitively realized my God, when I linked my mind to the True Lord. I will sing the Lord’s Glorious Praises with Him, if it pleases Him; how could I meet Him by being a stranger to Him? So praise your Lord and Master, who created the creation. || 2 || When He comes, what else remains behind? How can there be any coming or going then? When the mind is reconciled with its Beloved Lord, it is blended with Him. True is the speech of one who is imbued with the Love of his Lord and Master, who fashioned the body fortress from a mere bubble. He is the Master of the five elements; He Himself is the Creator Lord. He embellished the body with Truth. I am worthless; please hear me, O my Beloved! Whatever pleases You is True. One who is blessed with true understanding, does not come and go. || 3 || Apply such an ointment to your eyes, which is pleasing to your Beloved. I realize, understand and know Him, only if He Himself causes me to know Him. He Himself shows me the Way, and He Himself leads me to it, attracting my mind. He Himself causes us to do good and bad deeds; who can know the value of the Mysterious Lord? I know nothing of Tantric spells, magical mantras and hypocritical rituals; enshrining the Lord within my heart, my mind is satisfied. The ointment of the Naam, the Name of the Lord, is only understood by one who realizes the Lord, through the Word of the Guru’s Shabad. || 4 || I have my own friends; why should I go to the home of a stranger? My friends are imbued with the True Lord; He is with them, in their minds. In their minds, these friends celebrate in happiness; all good karma, righteousness and Dharma, the sixty-eight holy places of pilgrimage, charity and worship, are found in the love of the True Name. He Himself creates, establishes and beholds all, by the Pleasure of His Will. My friends are happy in the Love of the Lord; they nurture love for their Beloved. || 5 || If a blind man is made the leader, how will he know the way? He is impaired, and his understanding is inadequate; how will he know the way? How can he follow the path and reach the Mansion of the Lord’s Presence? Blind is the understanding of the blind. Without the Lord’s Name, they cannot see anything; the blind are drowned in worldly entanglements. Day and night, the Divine Light shines forth and joy wells up, when the Word of the Guru’s Shabad abides in the mind. With your palms pressed together, pray to the Guru to show you the way. || 6 || If the man becomes a stranger to God, then all the world becomes a stranger to him. Unto whom should I tie up and give the bundle of my pains? The whole world is overflowing with pain and suffering; who can know the state of my inner self? Comings and goings are terrible and dreadful; there is no end to the rounds of reincarnation. Without the Naam, he is vacant and sad; he does not listen to the Word of the Guru’s Shabad. If the mind becomes a stranger to God, then all the world becomes a stranger to him. || 7 || One who finds the Guru’s Mansion within the home of his own being, merges in the All-pervading Lord. The sevadar performs selfless service when he is pleased, and confirmed in the True Word of the Shabad. Confirmed in the Shabad, with her being softened by devotion, the bride dwells in the Mansion of the Lord’s Presence, deep within her being. The Creator Himself creates; God Himself, in the end, is endless. Through the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, the mortal is united, and then embellished; the unstruck melody of the sound current resounds. One who finds the Guru’s Mansion within the home of his own being, merges in the All-pervading Lord. || 8 || Why praise that which is created? Praise instead the One who created it and watches over it. His value cannot be estimated, no matter how much one may wish. He alone can estimate the Lord’s value, whom the Lord Himself causes to know. He is not mistaken; He does not make mistakes. He alone celebrates victory, who is pleasing to You, through the Invaluable Word of the Guru’s Shabad. I am lowly and abject — I offer my prayer; may I never forsake the True Name, O Sibling of Destiny. O Nanak, the One who created the creation, watches over it; He alone bestows understanding. || 9 || 2 || 5 ||