Truth is contained in pure vessels; few there are whose acts are pure.
By seeking Thy protection, saith Nanak, the soul blendeth with the Supreme Soul.
The condition of a man who has no Guru to communicate God's name:--
As a fish without water, so is the infidel--dying of thirst.
If thy breath be drawn in vain, O man, thou shalt die without God.
[1. Also translated--God is not bound by the influence of His acts.]
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O man, repeat God's name and praises;
But how shalt thou obtain this pleasure without the Guru? It is the Guru who uniteth man with God.
Meeting the society of holy men is as a pilgrimage for the holy.
The advantages of bathing at the sixty-eight places of pilgrimage are obtained by beholding the Guru:--
As a Jogi without continence, devotion, truth, or contentment,
So is the body without the Name; Death Will punish it since it containeth sin in its heart.
God is not found by loving the infidel; He is found by loving the true Guru.
Saith Nanak, he who is absorbed in God's praises obtaineth the Guru who is the dispenser of weal and woe.
Man should cultivate true piety in his own home:--
The nectareous water of life,[1] for which thou camest into the world, is with the Guru.
Abandon garbs, disguises, and cleverness; this water[2] is not obtained by devotion to mammon.
O man, remain at home; go nowhere, my friend.
By searching abroad thou shalt suffer much affliction the water of life is in thy heart at home.
Forsake vice and pursue virtue. thy vice thou shalt regret.
Thou knowest not good from evil thou shalt again and again wallow in the mire.
Inside thee is the great filth of covetousness and falsehood; why washest thou thine outside?
Ever repeat the Pure Name under the Guru's instruction, then shall thy heart be pure.
Abandon covetousness and slander, forswear falsehood and thou shalt obtain the true fruit through the Guru's instruction.
O God, preserve me as Thou pleasest; Nanak praiseth Thy Word.
[1. That is, God's name.
2. Literally--this fruit.]
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God is the invisible Benefactor and is pleased .when men obey His behests:--
All creatures are subject to destiny from the beginning there is none not subject to it.
God alone is not subject to destiny; He beholdeth the work of His own omnipotence; He causeth His order to be executed.
O man, repeat God's name and thou shalt be happy
Day and night worship the feet of the Guru the Giver and the Enjoyer.
Behold Him without thee as He is within thee; there is none other.
Under the Guru's instruction regard all men as equal, since God's light is contained in the heart of each.
Restrain in its place thy wandering mind; thou shalt know how to do this on meeting the Guru.