Ang-11, Chapter 276
This is Ang-11, chapter 276, a sacred text in the Sikhism tradition. You can read it here verse by verse for free, listen to it read aloud, and follow cross-references that connect its themes to other traditions.
He preserves them, and holds out His Hands to protect them.
You may make all sorts of efforts,
but these attempts are in vain.
No one else can kill or preserve
He is the Protector of all beings.
So why are you so anxious, O mortal?
Meditate, O Nanak, on God, the invisible, the wonderful! ||5||
Time after time, again and again, meditate on God.
Drinking in this Nectar, this mind and body are satisfied.
The jewel of the Naam is obtained by the Gurmukhs;
they see no other than God.
Unto them, the Naam is wealth, the Naam is beauty and delight.
The Naam is peace, the Lord's Name is their companion.
Those who are satisfied by the essence of the Naam
their minds and bodies are drenched with the Naam.
While standing up, sitting down and sleeping, the Naam,
says Nanak, is forever the occupation of God's humble servant. ||6||
Chant His Praises with your tongue, day and night.
God Himself has given this gift to His servants.
Performing devotional worship with heart-felt love,
they remain absorbed in God Himself.
They know the past and the present.
They recognize God's Own Command.
Who can describe His Glory?
I cannot describe even one of His virtuous qualities.
Those who dwell in God's Presence, twenty-four hours a day
- says Nanak, they are the perfect persons. ||7||
O my mind, seek their protection;
give your mind and body to those humble beings.
Those humble beings who recognizes God
are the givers of all things.
In His Sanctuary, all comforts are obtained.
By the Blessing of His Darshan, all sins are erased.
So renounce all other clever devices,
and enjoin yourself to the service of those servants.
Your comings and goings shall be ended.
O Nanak, worship the feet of God's humble servants forever. ||8||17||
Salok:
The one who knows the True Lord God, is called the True Guru.
In His Company, the Sikh is saved, O Nanak, singing the Glorious Praises of the Lord. ||1||
Ashtapadee:
The True Guru cherishes His Sikh.
The Guru is always merciful to His servant.
The Guru washes away the filth of the evil intellect of His Sikh.
Through the Guru's Teachings, he chants the Lord's Name.
The True Guru cuts away the bonds of His Sikh.
The Sikh of the Guru abstains from evil deeds.
The True Guru gives His Sikh the wealth of the Naam.
The Sikh of the Guru is very fortunate.
The True Guru arranges this world and the next for His Sikh.
O Nanak, with the fullness of His heart, the True Guru mends His Sikh. ||1||
That selfless servant, who lives in the Guru's household,
is to obey the Guru's Commands with all his mind.
He is not to call attention to himself in any way.
He is to meditate constantly within his heart on the Name of the Lord.
One who sells his mind to the True Guru
- that humble servant's affairs are resolved.
One who performs selfless service, without thought of reward,
shall attain his Lord and Master.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Hadith (An-Nawawi 13)
“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Leviticus 19:18
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Mahabharata 5.1517
“One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself.”
Humility & Surrender
Bhagavad Gita 18:66
“Abandon all varieties of dharma and simply surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions; do not fear.”
Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Tao Te Ching 22
“If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to become full, let yourself be empty.”
Quran 2:45
“Seek help through patience and prayer. It is indeed exacting, but not for those who are humble.”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Genesis 1:3
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”