SOHILAA ~ THE SONG OF PRAISE. RAAG GAUREE DEEPAKEE, FIRST MEHL:

In that house where the Praises of the Creator are chanted and contemplated—in that house, sing Songs of Praise; meditate and remember the Creator Lord. || 1 || Sing the Songs of Praise of my Fearless Lord. I am a sacrifice to that Song of Praise which brings eternal peace. || 1 || Pause || Day after day, He cares for His beings; the Great Giver watches over all. Your Gifts cannot be appraised; how can anyone compare to the Giver? || 2 ||

The day of my wedding is pre-ordained. Come, gather together and pour the oil over the threshold. My friends, give me your blessings, that I may merge with my Lord and Master. || 3 || Unto each and every home, into each and every heart, this summons is sent out; the call comes each and every day. Remember in meditation the One who summons us; O Nanak, that day is drawing near! || 4 || 1 ||

RAAG AASAA, FIRST MEHL: There are six schools of philosophy, six teachers, and six sets of teachings. But the Teacher of teachers is the One, who appears in so many forms. || 1 || O Baba: that system in which the Praises of the Creator are sung—follow that system; in it rests true greatness. || 1 || Pause || The seconds, minutes and hours, days, weeks and months, and the various seasons originate from the one sun;

O Nanak, in just the same way, the many forms originate from the Creator. || 2 || 2 ||

RAAG DHANAASAREE, FIRST MEHL: Upon that cosmic plate of the sky, the sun and the moon are the lamps. The stars and their orbs are the studded pearls. The fragrance of sandalwood in the air is the temple incense, and the wind is the fan. All the plants of the world are the altar flowers in offering to You, O Luminous Lord. || 1 || What a beautiful Aartee, lamp-lit worship service this is! O Destroyer of Fear, this is Your Ceremony of Light. The Unstruck Sound-current of the Shabad is the vibration of the temple drums. || 1 || Pause || You have thousands of eyes, and yet You have no eyes. You have thousands of forms, and yet You do not have even one. You have thousands of Lotus Feet, and yet You do not have even one foot. You have no nose, but you have thousands of noses. This Play of Yours entrances me. || 2 || Amongst all is the Light—You are that Light. By this Illumination, that Light is radiant within all.

Through the Guru‟s Teachings, the Light shines forth. That which is pleasing to Him is the lamp-lit worship service. || 3 || My mind is enticed by the honey-sweet Lotus Feet of the Lord. Day and night, I thirst for them. Bestow the Water of Your Mercy upon Nanak, the thirsty song-bird, so that he may come to dwell in Your Name. || 4 || 3 ||

RAAG GAUREE POORBEE, FOURTH MEHL: The body-village is filled to overflowing with anger and sexual desire; these were broken into bits when I met with the Holy Saint. By pre-ordained destiny, I have met with the Guru. I have entered into the realm of the Lord‟s Love. || 1 || Greet the Holy Saint with your palms pressed together; this is an act of great merit. Bow down before Him; this is a virtuous action indeed. || 1 || Pause ||

The wicked shaaktas, the faithless cynics, do not know the Taste of the Lord‟s Sublime Essence. The thorn of egotism is embedded deep within them. The more they walk away, the deeper it pierces them, and the more they suffer in pain, until finally, the Messenger of Death smashes his club against their heads. || 2 ||

The humble servants of the Lord are absorbed in the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. The pain of birth and the fear of death are eradicated. They have found the Imperishable Supreme Being, the Transcendent Lord God, and they receive great honor throughout all the worlds and realms. || 3 || I am poor and meek, God, but I belong to You! Save me— please save me, O Greatest of the Great! Servant Nanak takes the Sustenance and Support of the Naam. In the Name of the Lord, he enjoys celestial peace. || 4 || 4 ||

RAAG GAUREE POORBEE, FIFTH MEHL:

Listen, my friends, I beg of you: now is the time to serve the Saints! In this world, earn the profit of the Lord‟s Name, and hereafter, you shall dwell in peace. || 1 ||

This life is diminishing, day and night. Meeting with the Guru, your affairs shall be resolved. || 1 || Pause || This world is engrossed in corruption and cynicism. Only those who know God are saved. Only those who are awakened by the Lord to drink in this Sublime Essence, come to know the Unspoken Speech of the Lord. || 2 ||

Purchase only that for which you have come into the world, and through the Guru, the Lord shall dwell within your mind. Within the home of your own inner being, you shall obtain the Mansion of the Lord‟s Presence with intuitive ease. You shall not be consigned again to the wheel of reincarnation. || 3 || O Inner-knower, Searcher of Hearts, O Primal Being, Architect of Destiny: please fulfill this yearning of my mind. Nanak, Your slave, begs for this happiness: let me be the dust of the feet of the Saints. || 4 || 5 ||

RAAG SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL, FIRST HOUSE:

If I had a palace made of pearls, inlaid with jewels, scented with musk, saffron and sandalwood, a sheer delight to behold—seeing this, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. || 1 || Without the Lord, my soul is scorched and burnt. I consulted my Guru, and now I see that there is no other place at all. || 1 || Pause ||

If the floor of this palace was a mosaic of diamonds and rubies, and if my bed was encased with rubies, and if heavenly beauties, their faces adorned with emeralds, tried to entice me with sensual gestures of love—seeing these, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. || 2 ||

If I were to become a Siddha, and work miracles, summon wealth and become invisible and visible at will, so that people would hold me in awe—seeing these, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. || 3 || If I were to become an emperor and raise a huge army, and sit on a throne, issuing commands and collecting taxes—O Nanak, all of this could pass away like a puff of wind. Seeing these, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. || 4 || 1 ||

SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL:

If I could live for millions and millions of years, and if the air was my food and drink, and if I lived in a cave and never saw either the sun or the moon, and if I never slept, even in dreams—even so, I could not estimate Your Value. How can I describe the Greatness of Your Name? || 1 ||

The True Lord, the Formless One, is Himself in His Own Place. I have heard, over and over again, and so I tell the tale; as it pleases You, Lord, please instill within me the yearning for You. || 1 || Pause || If I was slashed and cut into pieces, over and over again, and put into the mill and ground into flour, burnt by fire and mixed with ashes—even then, I could not estimate Your Value. How can I describe the Greatness of Your Name? || 2 ||

If I was a bird, soaring and flying through hundreds of heavens, and if I was invisible, neither eating nor drinking anything—even so, I could not estimate Your Value.

How can I describe the Greatness of Your Name? || 3 || O Nanak, if I had hundreds of thousands of stacks of paper, and if ink were never to fail me, and if my pen were able to move like the wind, and if I were to read and recite and embrace love for the Lord—even so, I could not estimate Your Value. How can I describe the Greatness of Your Name? || 4 || 2 ||

SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL:

As it is pre-ordained, people speak their words. As it is pre-ordained, they consume their food. As it is pre-ordained, they walk along the way. As it is pre-ordained, they see and hear. As it is pre-ordained, they draw their breath. Why should I go and ask the scholars about this? || 1 || O Baba, the splendor of Maya is deceptive. The blind man has forgotten the Name; he is in limbo, neither here nor there. || 1 || Pause ||

Life and death come to all who are born. Everything here gets devoured by Death. He sits and examines the accounts, there where no one goes along with anyone. Those who weep and wail might just as well all tie bundles of straw. || 2 || Everyone says that God is the Greatest of the Great. No one calls Him any less.

No one can estimate His Worth. By speaking of Him, His Greatness is not increased. You are the One True Lord and Master of all the other beings, of so many worlds. || 3 || Nanak seeks the company of the lowest of the low class, the very lowest of the low. Why should he try to compete with the great? In that place where the lowly are cared for—there, the Blessings of Your Glance of Grace rain down. || 4 || 3 ||

SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL:

Greed is a dog; falsehood is a filthy street-sweeper. Cheating is eating a rotting carcass. Slandering others is putting the filth of others into your own mouth. The fire of anger is the outcaste who burns dead bodies at the crematorium. I am caught in these tastes and flavors, and in selfconceited praise. These are my actions, O my Creator! || 1 ||

O Baba, speak only that which will bring you honor. They alone are good, who are judged good at the Lord‟s Door. Those with bad karma can only sit and weep. || 1 || Pause || The pleasures of gold and silver, the pleasures of women, the pleasure of the fragrance of sandalwood, the pleasure of horses, the pleasure of a soft bed in a palace, the pleasure of sweet treats and the pleasure of hearty meals—these pleasures of the human body are so numerous; how can the Naam, the Name of the Lord, find its dwelling in the heart? || 2 ||

Those words are acceptable, which, when spoken, bring honor. Harsh words bring only grief. Listen, O foolish and ignorant mind! Those who are pleasing to Him are good. What else is there to be said? || 3 || Wisdom, honor and wealth are in the laps of those whose hearts remain permeated with the Lord. What praise can be offered to them? What other adornments can be bestowed upon them? O Nanak, those who lack the Lord‟s Glance of Grace cherish neither charity nor the Lord‟s Name. || 4 || 4 || SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL: The Great Giver has given the intoxicating drug of falsehood. The people are intoxicated; they have forgotten death, and they have fun for a few days. Those who do not use intoxicants are true; they dwell in the Court of the Lord. || 1 || O Nanak, know the True Lord as True. Serving Him, peace is obtained; you shall go to His Court with honor. || 1 || Pause || The Wine of Truth is not fermented from molasses.

The True Name is contained within it. I am a sacrifice to those who hear and chant the True Name. Only one who obtains a room in the Mansion of the Lord‟s Presence is deemed to be truly intoxicated. || 2 || Bathe in the waters of Goodness and apply the scented oil of Truth to your body, and your face shall become radiant. This is the gift of 100,000 gifts. Tell your troubles to the One who is the Source of all comfort. || 3 || How can you forget the One who created your soul, and the praanaa, the breath of life? Without Him, all that we wear and eat is impure. Everything else is false. Whatever pleases Your Will is acceptable. || 4 || 5 ||

SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL:

Burn emotional attachment, and grind it into ink. Transform your intelligence into the purest of paper. Make the love of the Lord your pen, and let your consciousness be the scribe. Then, seek the Guru‟s Instructions, and record these deliberations. Write the Praises of the Naam, the Name of the Lord; write over and over again that He has no end or limitation. || 1 ||

O Baba, write such an account, that when it is asked for, it will bring the Mark of Truth. || 1 || Pause || There, where greatness, eternal peace and everlasting joy are bestowed, the faces of those whose minds are attuned to the True Name are anointed with the Mark of Grace. If one receives God‟s Grace, then such honors are received, and not by mere words. || 2 || Some come, and some arise and depart. They give themselves lofty names. Some are born beggars, and some hold vast courts. Going to the world hereafter, everyone shall realize that without the Name, it is all useless. || 3 ||

I am terrified by the Fear of You, God. Bothered and bewildered, my body is wasting away. Those who are known as sultans and emperors shall be reduced to dust in the end. O Nanak, arising and departing, all false attachments are cut away. || 4 || 6 ||

SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL:

Believing, all tastes are sweet. Hearing, the salty flavors are tasted; chanting with one‟s mouth, the spicy flavors are savored. All these spices have been made from the Sound-current of the Naad. The thirty-six flavors of ambrosial nectar are in the Love of the One Lord; they are tasted only by one who is blessed by His Glance of Grace. || 1 || O Baba, the pleasures of other foods are false. Eating them, the body is ruined, and wickedness and corruption enter into the mind. || 1 || Pause ||

My mind is imbued with the Lord‟s Love; it is dyed a deep crimson. Truth and charity are my white clothes. The blackness of sin is erased by my wearing of blue clothes, and meditation on the Lord‟s Lotus Feet is my robe of honor. Contentment is my cummerbund, Your Name is my wealth and youth. || 2 || O Baba, the pleasures of other clothes are false. Wearing them, the body is ruined, and wickedness and corruption enter into the mind. || 1 || Pause || The understanding of Your Way, Lord, is horses, saddles and bags of gold for me. The pursuit of virtue is my bow and arrow, my quiver, sword and scabbard. To be distinguished with honor is my drum and banner. Your Mercy is my social status. || 3 || O Baba, the pleasures of other rides are false. By such rides, the body is ruined, and wickedness and corruption enter into the mind. || 1 || Pause || The Naam, the Name of the Lord, is the pleasure of houses and mansions. Your Glance of Grace is my family, Lord.

The Hukam of Your Command is the pleasure of Your Will, Lord. To say anything else is far beyond anyone‟s reach. O Nanak, the True King does not seek advice from anyone else in His decisions. || 4 || O Baba, the pleasure of other sleep is false. By such sleep, the body is ruined, and wickedness and corruption enter into the mind. || 1 || Pause || 4 || 7 ||