I have inquired of my Guru regarding the true knowledge of God.

I have inquired of the true Guru regarding the knowledge of God; O bumble-bee, thou art enamoured of the flowers.

When the sun riseth,[3] the body falleth, and the soul shall be boiled in hot oil.

O demon, without the Word thou shalt be bound and punished on the road of death.

Verily, saith Nanak, think of it, thou shalt die, O black bee.

My soul from a strange land,[4] why fallest thou into entanglements?

When the true Lord dwelleth in thee, why shouldst thou be entangled in Death's net?

When the fisherman casteth his net, the fish leaveth the water with tears in its eyes.

The love of mammon is dear to the world; all doubts on the subject shall at last be set aside.[5]

Serve God heartily, and dispel thy mental anxieties.

Verily, saith Nanak, think of it, O my soul from a strange land,

Rivers which separate in their course can only meet again by chance.

In every age what is sweet is full of poison, some rare holy man knoweth this.

[1. That is, such fruit is very transitory.

2. The soul in another aspect.

3. When death comes.

4. Which has migrated from another body.

5. Also translated--But at last it shall be delivered from its error.]

{p. 323}

Some rare person who thinketh of the true Guru knoweth divine knowledge and recognizeth God.

Without God's name the fools and the heedless wander in superstition and are ruined.

They whose hearts contain not God's true name and service, at last groan and weep.

Verily, saith Nanak, they who have been long separated meet by the True Word.

RAG GUJARI

Guru Nanak orders man to repeat God's name and engage not in idol worship:--

If the heart be made the scraper,[1] the Name the sandal,

And good acts be mixed with it as kungu, that shall be the real worship of God in the heart.

Worship God by meditating on His name, for without the Name there is no worship.

If any one were to wash his heart as the surface of the idol is washed,

His impurity should be removed, his soul should become pure, and he should depart to deliverance.

Even beasts have their merits; for the oil-cake they eat they give milk, but the Brahmans make no return of the offerings made them.

Without the Name accursed is man's life and the acts he performeth.

God is near, think Him not distant; He ever careth for and remembereth us.

Eat what He giveth, said Nanak verily.

The Guru's God is superior to the demigods of the Hindus:--

Brahma sprang from the lotus of Vishnu's navel, and having attuned his throat began to recite the Veds;

Yet he could not see God's limits, and remained iii the darkness of transmigration.

Why should I forget the Beloved who is the support of my soul,