Without the Name, they are judged false; they become miserable and suffer hardship.

Their path becomes treacherous and difficult, and their way is blocked.

Through the Shabad, the Word of the True and Independent Lord God, one becomes content.

The Lord is deep and profound and unfathomable; His depth cannot be measured.

Without the Guru, the mortals are beaten and punched in the face and the mouth, and no one is released.

Chanting the Naam, the Name of the Lord, one returns to his true home with honor.

Know that the Lord, by the Hukam of His Command, gives sustenance and the breath of life. ||23||

Section 31 - Raag Malaar - Part 036

Shalok, First Mehl:

Living beings are formed of air, water and fire. They are subject to pleasure and pain.

In this world, in the nether regions of the underworld, and in the Akaashic ethers of the heavens, some remain ministers in the Court of the Lord.

Some live long lives, while others suffer and die.

Some give and consume, and still their wealth is not exhausted, while others remain poor forever.

In His Will He creates, and in His Will He destroys thousands in an instant.

He has harnessed everyone with His harness; when He forgives, he breaks the harness.

He has no color or features; He is invisible and beyond calculation.

How can He be described? He is known as the Truest of the True.

All the actions which are done and described, O Nanak, are done by the Indescribable Lord Himself.

Whoever hears the description of the indescribable,

is blessed with wealth, intelligence, perfection, spiritual wisdom and eternal peace. ||1||

First Mehl:

One who bears the unbearable, controls the nine holes of the body.

One who worships and adores the Lord with his breath of life, gains stability in his body-wall.

Where has he come from, and where will he go?

Remaining dead while yet alive, he is accepted and approved.

Whoever understands the Hukam of the Lord's Command, realizes the essence of reality.

This is known by Guru's Grace.

O Nanak, know this: egotism leads to bondage.

Only those who have no ego and no self-conceit, are not consigned to reincarnation. ||2||

Pauree:

Read the Praise of the Lord's Name; other intellectual pursuits are false.

Without dealing in Truth, life is worthless.

No one has ever found the Lord's end or limitation.

All the world is enveloped by the darkness of egotistical pride. It does not like the Truth.

Those who depart from this world, forgetting the Naam, shall be roasted in the frying pan.

They pour the oil of duality within, and burn.

They come into the world and wander around aimlessly; they depart when the play is finished.

O Nanak, imbued with Truth, the mortals merge in Truth. ||24||

Shalok, First Mehl: