Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Perfect Destiny attaches one to Guru's Feet
| This Shabad is by Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Raag Gond on Pannaa 864 |
| goNf mhlw 5 ] gurU gurU guru kir mn mor ] gurU ibnw mY nwhI hor ] gur kI tyk rhhu idnu rwiq ] jw kI koie n mytY dwiq ]1] guru prmysru eyko jwxu ] jo iqsu BwvY so prvwxu ]1] rhwau ] gur crxI jw kw mnu lwgY ] dUKu drdu BRmu qw kw BwgY ] gur kI syvw pwey mwnu ] gur aUpir sdw kurbwnu ]2] gur kw drsnu dyiK inhwl ] gur ky syvk kI pUrn Gwl ] gur ky syvk kau duKu n ibAwpY ] gur kw syvku dh idis jwpY ]3] gur kI mihmw kQnu n jwie ] pwrbRhmu guru rihAw smwie ] khu nwnk jw ky pUry Bwg ] gur crxI qw kw mnu lwg ]4]6]8] |
| go(n)add mehalaa 5 || guroo guroo gur kar man mor || guroo binaa mai naahee hor || gur kee ttaek rehahu dhin raath || jaa kee koe n maettai dhaath ||1|| gur paramaesar eaeko jaan || jo this bhaavai so paravaan ||1|| rehaao || gur charanee jaa kaa man laagai || dhookh dharadh bhram thaa kaa bhaagai || gur kee saevaa paaeae maan || gur oopar sadhaa kurabaan ||2|| gur kaa dharasan dhaekh nihaal || gur kae saevak kee pooran ghaal || gur kae saevak ko dhukh n biaapai || gur kaa saevak dheh dhis jaapai ||3|| gur kee mehimaa kathhan n jaae || paarabreham gur rehiaa samaae || kahu naanak jaa kae poorae bhaag || gur charanee thaa kaa man laag ||4||6||8|| |
| Gond, Fifth Mehl: Chant Guru, Guru, Guru, O my mind. I have no other than the Guru. I lean upon the Support of the Guru, day and night. No one can decrease His bounty. ||1|| Know that the Guru and the Transcendent Lord are One. Whatever pleases Him is acceptable and approved. ||1||Pause|| One whose mind is attached to the Guru's feet his pains, sufferings and doubts run away. Serving the Guru, honor is obtained. I am forever a sacrifice to the Guru. ||2|| Gazing upon the Blessed Vision of the Guru's Darshan, I am exalted. The work of the Guru's servant is perfect. Pain does not afflict the Guru's servant. The Guru's servant is famous in the ten directions. ||3|| The Guru's glory cannot be described. The Guru remains absorbed in the Supreme Lord God. Says Nanak, one who is blessed with perfect destiny - his mind is attached to the Guru's feet. ||4||6||8|| |
A Yogi went to visit Guru Nanak to congratulate him on the large number of followers he had. The Guru said that he had very few true Sikhs. To test his disciples, he sent out a call for all true believers to meet together early the next morning.
The day dawned dark and cloudy. When the Guru appeared, he seemed to be someone other than their kind master, for he wore dirty clothes and a hunting knife and had a fierce dog with him. Several of his followers were terrified and ran away. The rest followed the Guru down a road through the forest. After they had walked for a short while, they found the road covered with copper coins. Some of the Sikhs stuffed the coins in their pockets and ran away. The rest of the group continued on down the road. Further along, they found the road covered with silver coins. More of the Sikhs grabbed the coins and ran away. Few Sikhs remained with the Guru and the Yogi.
The small band continued travelling and soon found the road covered with gold coins. The other Sikhs grabbed the coins and fled until only two Sikhs, the Yogi, and the Guru's sevadar Lehna, remained. They came into a clearing where they saw a corpse wrapped up in a white sheet next to a pile of wood. There was a terrible smell in the air. The Guru said to his Sikhs, "Let whoever wants to be a true Sikh of mine eat this with me " The other two Sikhs turned white and drew back in horror, but Lahina kneeled next to the corpse and said, " Master, should I start at the head or the feet?" The Guru told him to start at the waist. As Lahina (Lehna) lifted the sheet to begin eating, the corpse turned into a feast of delicious sacred food.
Lahina offered the food to the Guru first and said he would have what was left over. Guru Nanak was delighted, and said, "You have obtained this sacred food because you desired to share it with others. You now know my secret; you are in my own image. I will share with you the secret which will bring you happiness now and forever." The Guru then taught Lahina the Mool Mantra, the beginning of Japji. The Yogi saw that the light in Nanak was the same as in Lahina. He said, "O Nanak, he shall be your Guru who comes from your body - ang." Upon this, the Guru hugged Lahina, named him Angad, and promised that he would be the next Guru.
Power of Love and Devotion
A devoted old woman had one prayer: that Guru Har Rai would eat the bread made by her own hands. She made her living by spinning, and one day was able to make some extra money with which she bought the wheat flour and other ingredients for making bread. She made two cakes and took them to a spot where the Guru passed daily. She sat down next to the cakes, focused her mind on the Guru, and began praying. The Guru felt the strength of her prayer. He mounted his horse and, on his way to the chase, went joyfully right to where she was waiting.
She had almost given up hope of his coming when he arrived. He said that he was very hungry from the chase, and wished to have something to eat. She offered him the cakes, which he ate on horseback, without washing his hands. He then said to her, "This is the most delicious food I have ever eaten." She was overjoyed and thanked the Guru for visiting her and accepting her hospitality. He shared his spiritual teachings with her and finally blessed her with liberation from rebirth.
Meanwhile, the Sikhs who had accompanied the Guru were astonished that he had taken food from a strange woman, eaten it on horseback, and not washed his hands. They asked him why he had done so. He gave them no reply, but continued on through the forest. The next day, they prepared sweet cakes with great cleanliness and took them to the forest with the Guru, to eliminate his need to eat unclean food from someone of lower caste. After a while, the Sikhs offered the Guru the cakes they had made, but he said, "I ate food from that woman's hands because she was holy. The food you have made for me, with great ceremony, is not pleasing to me." The Sikhs replied, "O Guru, yesterday you ate two cakes on horseback from that old woman. There was no clean and sacred place to eat; the food was in every way impure. Today, with great care we have made the purest cakes, yet you reject them. Why is this so?" The Guru gave this explanation, "With great faith and devotion, that old woman made those cakes out of what she had earned by the sweat of her brow. Because of this, the food was very pure and that is why I ate it. I was hungry for love; in the matter of love for God, no rule is recognized."
| This Shabad is by Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Siree Raag on Pannaa 81 |
| CMqu ] pRym TgaurI pwie rIJwie goibMd mnu moihAw jIau ] sMqn kY prswid AgwiD kMTy lig soihAw jIau ] hir kMiT lig soihAw doK siB joihAw Bgiq lK´x kir vis Bey ] min srb suK vuTy goivd quTy jnm mrxw siB imit gey ] sKI mMglo gwieAw ieC pujwieAw bhuiV n mwieAw hoihAw ] kru gih lIny nwnk pRB ipAwry sMswru swgru nhI poihAw ]4] |
| shha(n)th || praem t(h)agouree paae reejhaae gobi(n)dh man mohiaa jeeo || sa(n)than kai parasaadh agaadhh ka(n)t(h)ae lag sohiaa jeeo || har ka(n)t(h) lag sohiaa dhokh sabh johiaa bhagath lakhyan kar vas bheae || man sarab sukh vut(h)ae govidh thut(h)ae janam maranaa sabh mitt geae || sakhee ma(n)galo gaaeiaa eishh pujaaeiaa bahurr n maaeiaa hohiaa || kar gehi leenae naanak prabh piaarae sa(n)saar saagar nehee pohiaa ||4|| |
| Chhant: Administering the intoxicating drug of love, I have won over the Lord of the Universe; I have fascinated His Mind. By the Grace of the Saints, I am held in the loving embrace of the Unfathomable Lord, and I am entranced. Held in the Lord's loving embrace, I look beautiful, and all my pains have been dispelled. By the loving worship of His devotees, the Lord has come under their power. All pleasures have come to dwell in the mind; the Lord of the Universe is pleased and appeased. Birth and death have been totally eliminated. O my companions, sing the Songs of Joy. My desires have been fulfilled, and I shall never again be trapped or shaken by Maya. Taking hold of my hand, O Nanak, my Beloved God will not let me be swallowed up by the world-ocean. ||4|| |
