Sunday, January 3, 2016

They alone are of low birth/ Who forget the True Master

Out of the cotton of compassion/ Spin the thread of contentment,
Tie knots of continence, give it the twist of truth.  
Make such a sacred thread for the mind—
Such a thread once worn will never break/ Nor get soiled, burnt or lost....

To remember Him is to live,/ To forget Him is to die.
It is difficult to explain the True Name.
When hunger for it/ Awakens in the heart/ All other hungers depart
And this hunger consumes all suffering.
O my mother!/ The True Lord,/ How can He be named,/ He whose Name is Truth?
The greatness of His Name/ Men's minds grow weary in trying to grasp….
He is the giver,/ The flow of His gifts is unending.
They alone are of low birth/ Who forget the True Master;
Without the grace of His Name/ Their status is low./ There is no other distinction....

In the dawn of true wisdom—buddhi—/ Fed by the light of God’s Name,
In the company of souls devoted to Guru/ Guru the Giver bestows the sacred Name;
Treasuring it the disciple is absorbed in Him.

   -Guru Nanak, in Life and Teachings of Guru Nanak, Yogiji Press, Santa Cruz, NM, 1996, edited by Steve Gilbar and Parmatma Singh Khalsa, pp. 20-3, 69.

southern Oregon Cascades



Guru Nanak, Lanello--illustrations in Prayer and Meditation, 1978


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