PRAYER
It's Nature and Technique



APPENDIX

FROM SIKH SCRIPTURES

CHERISHING SALVATION
IMPLORING THE UNEQUALED BOON OF NAAM
FOR GRANTING SOLEMN CHANCE TO SERVE SAINTS AND
FOR SELF-SURRENDER TO THE LORD
FOR SHELTER FROM FIVE PASSIONS
GENERAL: PRAYERS FOR ALL

    There are many beautiful prayers in the Adi Granth Sahib, the scriptures of the Sikhs. Some examples follow:
 

We are severed from Thee through our own deeds:
  show mercy and take us unto Thee again,
Having wandered in all directions, tired and worn out we have come to Thy feet,
Just as a dry cow is of no consequence and vegetables without moisture
  go stale and become valueless,
So we, the worthless, have no peace without our Beloved.
If the Beloved reveals Himself not in the house (body), the house,
  nay the very town where one lives is like a desert,
And all the make-up and ornamentation of the body become useless.
In the absence of the Beloved, all friends and relations appear like
  angels of death (Yamaduts),
Nanak prayeth: kindly grant me the gift of Thy Holy Word.
And unite me with the Lord, who abides forever. 7
 

My mind yearns for the sight of the Lord, as doth a thirsty man
  for water,
My heart is pierced with the love's dart from my Lord
  and He alone knows my miserable state.
Whosoever narrates to me the tales of my Beloved, he alone
  is a brother unto me,
Come together ye brothers, accept the Master's Word
  and sing songs of my Beloved.
O Lord! fulfill Nanak's desire: Grant him Thy holy vision,
  the harbinger of peace.

O mother! how can I find my Beloved, the Lord of my soul?
I am not beautiful, nor wise, nor strong,
I am a stranger come from afar,
I have no riches, nor am I youthful;
Grant this helpless creature Thy shelter (Sharan ).
I have become love-stricken from endless seeking,
I am wandering about, thirsty for a vision of the Lord,
Now, O Nanak! the most merciful Lord has quenched my thirst
  through contact with the saints. 8

O Ocean of Mercy! always reside in my heart,
Grant me such wisdom that may make me love the Lord,
I ask for the dust of Thy servant's feet, that I may rub it over and over again
  on my forehead;
Fallen as I am to the lowest depths, I am sure that I will be purified
  by singing Thy praises.
Let Thy Will be sweet unto me, and whatever Thou doest be pleasant for me;
Whatever Thou givest I should accept with good grace and not wish for aught else;
Knowing Thee to be always near me, I wish to be the dust to Thy servants;
If we get the company of saints, then alone can we attain the Lord.
We are always Thy boy-servants, and Thou art our Master,
Nanak saith: I am a child and Thou art my father and mother,
And Thy Naam in my mouth is just like exhilarating nectar.  9

It is through Thee that I live, forsake me not even for a moment,
O grant me but one gift: remove my doubts and protect me, my Beloved,
Thou the Knower of all secrets;
The wealth of the Word is more than millions of earthly kingdoms,
The nectar of Thy Glance is the highest honor for me:
O Omnipotent Beloved! grant me the power to sing Thy praises all the time,
O Benefactor of all souls, I take shelter with Thee,
Nanak lovingly sacrifices himself at Thy feet. 10

Lord, make me the dust of Thy feet, most merciful Beloved,
  the Captivator of my heart,
Be Gracious enough to satisfy this craving of mine.
Thy praises are being chanted in all the ten directions,
Thine all-knowing wisdom is present everywhere;
Those who sing Thy praises, my Creator, shall have no regrets
  when quitting the world.
The contact of the saints relieves us from all bonds and pains,
Nanak knows that all pleasures, riches and delights are of no consequence,
  without the love of the Lord. 11

There is none beside Thee, Thou the Creator, and all happens as Thou desireth,
All my strength is from Thee and so the support of my mind;
Nanak always meditates on Thee alone.

O Par Brahm, Thou art the highest Benefactor, and sustaineth all,
Thou art and Thou shalt ever be: Unreachable, Unknowable,
  the Highest and the Endless.
Those who serve Thee are freed from fear and pain.
Through Guru's Grace, Nanak sings Thy praises.

Whatever we see is evolved from Thee, Thou the Ocean of Goodness,
  beautiful Lord,
O seeker, remember Him constantly: but the remembrance, O Nanak,
  cometh only through His Grace.
I am a humble servant of one who meditates on Thee,
Company of such a one liberates all the world,
Nanak saith: O Lord! I pray for the luminous dust of the saints:
  fulfill this craving of mine. 12

Thou art a most loving Lord with many disciples like me,
Thou art an Ocean of Jewels, with depths immeasurable,
Thou, O Supreme Wisdom! be merciful unto me, and
give me understanding to meditate on Thee all the time,
O my self, do not be vain and proud, but humble like dust
  for that is the way to liberation,
The Lord of Nanak is the highest of all, and many like Nanak serve His Will. 13

Be gracious, my Lord, that my eyes may behold Thy Gracious Form,
Give me millions of tongues, my Beloved,
That I may sing Thy Naam ,
Singing of Thee will save me from the path of Yama
  and drive away all pain and sorrow:
The Lord permeates the water, earth, ether and everything besides
  and I see Him everywhere.
All doubts and delusions having vanished, I see the Lord as
  the nearest of the near,
O Lord! be merciful to Nanak, that he may have Thy blessed vision.

My Beloved Lord, grant me millions of ears that I may hear Thy praises forever,
Hearing it is that purifies the mind and snaps the bondage of time,
All bondage ends by constantly meditating on the Ever-present;
And then comes in rejoicing and True Knowledge
By constantly repeating His Name (Naam ) we become concentrated
  into an effortless state of Bliss.
Remembrance of the Lord burns away all sins, and evil thoughts fly
  as by an enchanter driven,
Nanak prayeth; Lord, be kind, that men may hear the Voice
  of the Ever-present Word.

Millions of hands serve Thee, and millions of feet walk in Thy Path,
Thy Word is the boat to ferry us across the ocean of life and death,
Whoever sits in that boat crosses the Bhavsagar (the fearful sea of life and death),
  and is blessed forever, with no desire unfulfilled,
All the deadly sins vanish giving place to Bliss, and the Mystic Sound
  becomes audible,
Whatever the mind desires that comes to pass,
The Unstruck Sound of the Word is a priceless gem,
Nanak saith: Be kind and grant us the boon of treading Thy Path all the time.

This is the boon, this the honor, this the treasure of Naam,
  and fortunate is he who comes by it;
This is the greatest delight and the highest enjoyment,
  for one who meditates at His feet:
Now the mind is absorbed in the contemplation of His feet
  and has taken shelter in Him, the Creator of all,
Everything is Thine, O Lord! and Thou art mine, O Merciful One;
I am a worthless fellow and Thou an Ocean of Bliss: this realization
  comes through the company of the saints.
Nanak saith: The Lord hath been kind; my mind is now absorbed
  in the sweet contemplation of His lotus feet.

Thou art my Father and Thou art my Mother,
Thou art my relative and Thou art my brother,
Thou art my Protector everywhere,
What fear can I have?
I found Thee out through Thy Merciful Grace:
Thou art my shelter and also my honor,
There is none besides Thee,
Whatever happens is of Thy doing and nothing is of us. 14

Thou art our Lord and to Thee we pray:
The soul and the body are Thy gifts,
Thou art mother and father to us, and we are Thy children:
Through Thy kindness we get immense happiness,
Nobody knows Thy greatness,
Thou art the Highest Lord of all,
Thou art the Sustainer of all creation,
Which is created by Thee and obeys Thy Will.
Thou alone knowest Thy vastness,
Nanak is always pouring himself out in Thy love. 15

O Benefactor of this unworthy soul!  my life, body and mind are all Thine,
How can one gauge Thy greatness?
What cleverness can a purchased slave show?
All my body and soul are Thine: O most beautiful and attractive Beloved !
I shall give all that I have for a glimpse of Thee,
Thou my Benefactor, O Lord!
I am a poor beggar at thy door, and Thou art ever Gracious.
There is nothing that I can do.
O Master! Thou alone art Unreachable and Limitless!
What service can I render?
What words can I utter to please Thee?
How can I have Thy Darshan (a look at Thee)?
We cannot know Thy Greatness, nor Thine Existence Infinite:
My mind is yearning just for a glimpse of Thee,
I persist in begging of Thee without feeling any sense of shame,
The gift that I may have the luminous dust from the feet of Thy saints
  to smear on my face.
The Master showed His mercy, O Nanak!
And the Lord liberated me through His Grace. 16

Who is ours besides Thee?
O my Beloved, the Sustainer of my life breath.
You only know the inner state of my mind,
And you alone are the Good Friend:
I have derived all happiness from Thee,
O my Master! Unspeakable, Unweighable,
I cannot describe Thy various plays,
O Thou, the Ocean of all Goodness and the source of real happiness.
Thou art Unreachable, Ever-Present Lord, but becomest known
  through the Master's Grace.
Thou hast eliminated all my fears, and have liberated me
  after finishing off my egoism,
The fear of life and death is also gone in the company of the saints;
I touch the feet of the Guru and serve Him.
I sacrifice my whole being a million times for Him
  through whose Grace I have crossed the sea of fear;
Nanak saith: I have now found the Beloved. 17
 

Thou art my Protector here and hereafter,
Thou nourished me in my mother's womb:
The fire of Maya cannot affect those who are intoxicated with Thy love,
And are absorbed in Thy holy contemplation.
What qualities of Thine can I describe?
I realize Thy presence within my mind and body: Thou art my Friend and Master,
I know not anyone else besides Thee.
Whomsoever Thou takest under Thy Protection, not a breath
  of the scorching air can touch Him.
Thou art the Lord and in Thy sharan (shelter) one gets immense happiness.
Thou makest Thyself known through meditation in the company of the saints:
  Thou the Highest, the Limitless and the Priceless.
Thou art my True Master and I Thy humble slave:
Thou art Lord, Thy greatness true, Nanak sacrifices his all for Thee. 18

Thou art my boon companion and my Friend,
Thou art my Beloved and my love goes only to Thee,
Thou art my spouse, honor and adornment,
And I cannot live without Thee, even for a while.

Thou art my jewel and my very life,
Thou my Master and my Ruler too,
I shall ever abide by Thy Will
And shall do what Thou willest.
Wherever I look, I see Thee there in fullness.
I will recite with my tongue Thy Word that made me fearless,
Thou art my great Treasure and Bhandar (merchandise).
Thou art sweetly sweet and the support of my mind,
Thou art my honor and I am absorbed in Thy love.
Thou art my shelter and Thou my support,
I worship Thee in my mind and body after having got this secret from the Guru,
The Guru made me firmly established in the One,
O Nanak ! the servant of Hari is ever sustained by Hari. 19

 
CHERISHING SALVATION
Pray forget not Thy servant; if for nothing else consider my previous love of Thee
  and possess my heart.
Thou art Gracious and Uplifter of the fallen and so look not to our faults.
Thou art my soul, my very life breath, and all my riches and happiness,
Kindly burn down the veil of egoism that separates me from Thee:
How can a fish live without water?
And how an infant without milk?
Nanak is thirsty for the light of Thy lotus feet:
A glimpse of Thee brings in all the happiness that one needs. 20

Blessed is the love which pours itself out on the lotus feet of the Beloved;
When most fortunately I found the Perfect One,
I obtained the fruit of millions of austerities and meditations,
I am a poor slave of Thine and depend upon Thee alone
  with nothing else to depend upon.
The repetition of the Lord's Name has banished all my fears,
  and with the collyrium of Thy Word (All wisdom),
  I have been roused from a long drawn sleep of ignorance,
Thou art fathomless and extremely great, O Lord!
  the veritable Ocean of kindness, full of jewels.
Nanak seeks and begs for the Divine Naam: he bows at the feet of the Lord. 21

Lord be Gracious, and keep me in Thy sharan (shelter), for I know not
  how to serve Thee, low and ignorant as I am.
I have the proud privilege to have Thee as my Beloved:
We are all sinners and always commit mistakes, while
Thou art the Benefactor of the worthless.
We run after Maya with our back to the Lord for such are our deeds.
Thou givest us everything in Thy Compassion, while we
  are callously ungrateful to Thee,
Entangled in Thy gifts, we forget the Donor Divine.
There is nothing beyond Thee, O my Liberator,
Nanak saith: O I have come to seek Thy shelter,
  liberate this muddle-headed one also. 22

O Hari! save me from disgrace, as I am greatly afraid of Yama (Death).
I have come to Thy sharan, O Ocean of mercy:
I am foolish and greedy and I have run myself out in sinning and sinning;
The fear of death haunts me in and out all the time.
I am being consumed in the invisible fires within.
I have tried many remedies to obtain salvation,
And have searched in all the ten directions,
But the secrets of the Lord residing within, I could not find.
Devoid of all virtues, I have done no meditation nor undergone any austerities,
What should I do now?
O Nanak! exhausted and defeated as thou art,
Seek thou His anchorage and pray for the boon of fearlessness. 23

Do hear my prayer, O my Lord!
I am Thy disciple even if filled with millions of sins,
Thou art the Destroyer of all ills: ever kind and bewitching,
  the Dispeller of sorrows and woes,
Grant me shelter at Thy feet, and protect me, O Thou the All-Pervading Absolute.
Seated in the hearts of all, Thou art both seeing and hearing us through,
  for Thou art nearer than the nearest,
O Lord! do hear Nanak's prayer: save me, for I am Thy disciple.
Thou art ever All-Powerful, while we are poor beggars
  entangled in worldly attractions.
O, do take us out of the mire and free us from the bondage of mind and matter,
For we are every moment paying the penalty for our faults:
O my Creator, Thou art unattached and free from all limitations.
Tired as I am from wanderings into many incarnations,
O have mercy upon me,
Nanak prayeth: I am the slave of Hari:
The Lord is the support of my life breath.

Thou art All-Powerful, while I have inferior intelligence, my Lord;
Thou, however, providest even for the ungrateful,
  Perfect as Thou art in Thy Merciful Vision:
O Creator, Thou art Beyond all understanding and Limitless,
  while I am lowly and know naught:
With my back upon the pearls, I collect shells,
Brute, low and ignorant as I am,
The hard earned maya (wealth), collected through means fair and foul,
  is transitory and disappears in the twinkling of an eye.
Nanak seeks the shelter of the Omnipotent One,
Do save me from ultimate disgrace. 24

We are dirty, Thou Pure: we are so unworthy of Thee, O Benefactor,
We are fools, while thou art All Wisdom and Possessor of all powers (arts).
O Madho, what a world of difference between the two;
We the failing ones and Thou so perfect:
We the sinners, and Thou the Destroyer of all sins,
O beautiful Beloved: Thou hast created everything
  and hast provided for everyone with life, body and soul,
This worthless one is without qualities, and yet Thou givest him
  all out of Thy kindness.
Thou doest good which we do not appreciate and yet
Thou art always kind,
O Lord! protect Thy children, Thou the treasure of everything
  and an ever-abiding King.
The creation begs of Thee:
Nanak saith: Low as we are, save us for the sake of Thy saints. 25

Make me Thine own, O Merciful One, for I have taken shelter at Thy door,
Save me, O Benefactor of the poor, I have tired myself out in quest of Thee,
It is in Thy very nature to love Thy devotees and to lift up the fallen:
There is no one else save Thee to hearken to my prayer,
I  pray, take me up, O Merciful One, and get me out of the ocean of Sansara
  by holding my hand. 26

O my Beloved; hear how I wander alone in the wilderness!
How can I have patience without the Beloved? the Carefree as He is.
A wife cannot live without her spouse during the long and tortuous nights;
I do not get a wink of sleep, I only yearn for my love, O listen to me.
In the absence of the Beloved, none has any sympathy for me,
  and I cry all alone.
Nanak saith: the wife doth get her Beloved if she really feels unhappy
  and is extremely miserable without him.
The Beloved of my life has left me, who is there to unite me with Him?
There is happiness when love unites, for then the Word (Mystic Sound)
  becomes pleasant.
When the Word doth become blissful, we get the right place,
  with the inner (mystic) lamp illumining the body.
Hear, my friend, we become really beautiful by singing the praises
  of the Supreme Truth.
When Satguru united me with the Beloved, I got the pleasure of His company
And the Divine Word full of nectar made me buoyant with happiness.
Nanak says: a wife can have true happiness, when the Beloved is also fond of her;
Though forgetful of Thee, we are still Thine own, O Lord !

Even if I commit mistakes, still I have the proud privilege to belong to Thee,
He whose mind has gone elsewhere, will surely die from the very regret
  of having done so.
How can I leave the side of my Beloved, when I see that He
  is the Sustainer of my soul?

Thou art my friend and relation, and I am highly proud of Thee,
When Thou art in, I am happy and feel that my poor self is honored.
Now that Thou hast been so kind to me,
Pray let me not look anywhere else, and
Let me keep the gift of Thy remembrance ever locked in my heart.
 I will walk down leagues to have Thy Darshan  (a love glance),
I will love to hear Thy stories should it please Thee and the Satguru,
Millions of suns and moons cannot equal the glory of Thy one hair;
Thou art the greatest of the Great: the Indescribable
 and the Ineffable.
I cannot praise Thee sufficiently: Thy friends run into millions
  and all superior to me,
Just bestow one Gracious Look on me, and I will be the happiest creature.

By seeing Him, the mind gets Supreme Peace, and all mental ills leave off,
How can I forget Him Who saturates me with His Divine Presence?
With great humility I threw myself at His feet, and
He made me His own for the asking.
Nanak got Him through the help of a Saint, for it was so preordained. 28

Thou art my Father, Thou art my Mother,
Thou art my soul and life, O Bestower of Happiness:
Thou art my Master, and I am Thy slave,
And apart from Thee nothing is mine.
Grant that I may be singing Thy praises day and night:
We are Thine instruments and Thou playest on them.
We are beggars at Thy door, give us the Gift, O our Benefactor!
Through Thy Grace I may enjoy inner Bliss,
For Thou art permeating every heart.
Through Thy Grace alone one can repeat Thy sweet Naam ,
And sing Thy praises in the company of Thy beloved saints.
Through Thy Mercy, our pains are eliminated,
And through Thy Grace, the lotus of the heart opens out.
I lovingly pour myself out at the feet of the Gurdev
  (the Radiant Form of the Master),
Whose Darshan  (sight) is fruitful and whose service so purifying.
Be kind, O my Lord! that Nanak may sing Thy praises constantly. 29

My Lord, what a poor helpless fellow am I!
Thou hast raised me into a man from a very low birth,
And therein lies Thy greatness.
Thou art the Lord of all, the Giver of soul and the life-breath,
And none can describe Thy numerous attributes.
Beloved of all, Thou providest nourishment to all, Thou the Sustainer of all life,
None knows Thy mystery permeating as Thou art unto the vastness
  and the Beyond, for all this is Thy manifestation,
Nanak prayeth: Grant me the ship of the saints' company
  to cross the ocean of life and death. 30

Keep us as it pleaseth Thee, we have come unto Thy shelter.
We commit mistakes day and night, and the Lord forgives us
  and protects our honor,
We are Thy ever-erring children, and Thou art our Guru and Father,
O give us good advice: Nanak is Thy servant, save Him from disgrace. 31
 

IMPLORING THE UNEQUALED BOON OF NAAM


Satguru, I have come to Thy feet:
Give me the bliss of Naam  for Divine honor and free me from all anxieties.
I cannot think of any other place of rest, and as a last resort, I am at Thy door,
Whether I deserve it or not, O save me as Thou wilt, for merit I have none.
Thou art ever forgiving, ever kind and sustaineth all,
Nanak hath taken his refuge with the saints: kindly protect him this time. 32

I get real life from a vision of Thy Divine Face, and feel myself fortunate indeed,
Hear this prayer of mine, my Lord:
Make me Thy disciple and give me the gift of Naam ,
And keep me under Thy protection, my Benevolent Lord:
It is only the rare few who appreciate the Guru's Grace,
Hear my appeal, my Lord and Friend: Let Thy lotus feet abide in my heart,
Nanak makes but one request: Do not slip away from my remembrance,
O Thou, the Ocean Of All-Goodness. 33
 

O Lord! be kind and grant that we may sing Thy praises,
I wistfully wait for the time when the Lord will hug me to His bosom.
We are children without wisdom and are steeped in stark ignorance,
Thou our Father, make us understand.
Sons commit mistakes again and again, while the Father of us all still loves them.
Whatever, O Lord! whatever Thou givest us, we gladly accept it, for we have
  no other shelter whereto we may turn.
The Lord shall be dear to such devotees, who are dear to the Lord,
Through Thy Grace, we shall merge ourselves into Thee,
Through Thy Grace alone can we constantly remember Thee,
Nanak has come to Hari's door,
He will save me from disgrace. 34
 

FOR GRANTING SOLEMN CHANCE TO SERVE SAINTS AND
                     FOR SELF-SURRENDER TO THE LORD


O Merciful One, I ask of Thee to make me a slave of Thy servants:
When Thou speakest to me, I feel alive, and get all wealth and kingdoms.
The treasure of Naam  nectar is plentiful in the house of the Lord's devotees,
I feel elated in their company for there I hear HIS praises,
My body gets purified in their service.
I bring water for them, fan them, grind their corn and get happy
  by washing their feet,
I cannot do anything of myself.
Show me Thy Grace, O Lord!
Give me a place to live with the Divine Saints. 35

O show me Thy Gracious Face, that I may sing Thy praises at dusk
  and dawn and dust the feet of Thy servants with the long hair of my head,
That is my inner desire, O Master! for there is none besides Thee
  that I may think of.
I meditate on Thy lotus feet, and look toward Thee:
Merciful Lord! the Master of all.
With folded hands I pray, that Nanak,
Thy servant, may repeat Thy Divine Naam ,
And get into the Beyond in the twinkling of an eye. 36

O Lord! I have just one desire:
O Treasure of mercy and benevolence, make me a disciple of Thy saints;
I may make obeisance unto them at early morning hours,
And reverently look at their beaming faces day and night,
And dedicate myself, body and mind to their service;
I may ever sing praises of the Lord with my tongue, and
With each breath of my life, let me remember the Lord,
  and let me live with the saints from day to day.
My only food and wealth is Thy Divine Naam ,
Thus Nanak enjoys real bliss. 37

Do me one favor: let my forehead be at the feet of the saints,
My eyes have His Darshan (look),
My body lie in the luminous dust of His Feet,
The Word of the Guru surge in my heart,
And the Name of the Lord abide in me.
Liberate me from the five deadly sins (lust, anger, greed, attachment and egoism),
And burn all my doubts and delusions, O Master,
Whatever you do we may take it to be for our good
  without any regrets whatsoever.
You are the Benefactor of Nanak, O Lord!
Liberate me through the company of Thy saints. 38
 

FOR SHELTER FROM FIVE PASSIONS


My Father save me: I am without any virtue,
While Thou art All Virtuous; I am all alone and have to contend with five enemies.
Protect me, O my Savior! the foes play hell with me
  and make me terribly miserable,
I have come therefore to Thy sharan  (shelter).
I have tried all sadhnas to avoid them, but they do not leave me.
Having heard of the protective power of the Saints, I have come
  to them for relief,
They were kind enough to come to my rescue and I found
  great relief through them.
The Saints gave me a lesson in fearlessness and I practiced their Word:
Thus I did conquer the fearful foes through the blissful Bani  (the Mystic Sound),
Nanak says: Having seen the Light I have attained the Deep Stillness. 39

Thou makest me free from passions, falsehood, greed and speaking ill of others;
Weed all the evil propensities out of me and call me near to Thee;
And make me the knower of Thy Will.
Hari's servants sing songs of happiness;
O teach me the way whereby I may never forget Thee even for a moment.
Most fortunately, Nanak met the Perfect Guru,
And since then his mind has ceased to wander anywhere. 40

I know none other than Thee:
Thou art with me, Thou my friend and companion, O Lord !
What fear can I have with Thee as my sheet anchor and my hope?
Let me not forget Thee for a moment, even while I sit or stand
  and am in bed or out of it:
Keep me always in Thy sharan  (protection), for
This world is a dreadful ocean of fire,
O Nanak's Satguru! Thou art the giver of real happiness;
And we are Thy children, O Lord I. 41
 

GENERAL: PRAYERS FOR ALL


All the sins of the saint's devotees who serve the Lord
  are eliminated and done away with,
Be kind to us, O Lord! and keep us in the company of those dear to Thee.
My Lord! I cannot describe Thy Greatness,
With the dead weight of sins like millstones around us, we were sinking
  in midstream, when Thou so graciously lifted us out.
For many incarnations we were entangled in the obnoxious lures of the world,
  but when we came into contact with the saints, we were saved.
As gold is purified by heating in the fire, so does our dirty mind get etherealized.
Recite His Naam  day and night, and make your heart saturated
  with the love of Hari,
His Naam  is a perfect remedy in this world:
Our egoism too was finished up by the Power of His holy Word;
Hari is unique and beyond our understanding and still beyond the beyond,
O the Infinitely Conscious Personality, Be Thou kind to Thy servant;
Nanak has come to Thy shelter. 42

We are blind and blindly entangled in the stupefying enjoyments of the senses,
How can we follow the Path of the Guru?
Only through the Grace of the True Teacher can we join His fold. 43

There is none so poor as I am and none more merciful than Thou art,
What then is needed?
I have but an unsteady mind:
O lead me to a Perfect Saint.
When I pour out all my love for the Lord,
Why art Thou so silent, O Madho?
We have been separated from Sach Khand  for many an incarnation;
But this life I dedicate to Thee.
Ravidas says: I live in the hope of having Thy sacred Darshan (a meeting),
Which I have not had for such a long time. 44

What qualities of Thine can we describe?
O Master! Thou art Limitless and beyond all description.
We sing praises of Thy Naam day and night and that is our only hope.
We are ignorant and do not know how to cross over to Thee.
The lowly Nanak is His bondsman and a drawer of water,
Make us live as Thou pleaseth, for now we live under Thy shelter,
We commit mistakes at every step,
But Thou art the Forgiver and Keeper of our honor,
We are Thy ignorant children, and Thou art our Father and Master:
O Teach us the Way:
He took Nanak out of serfdom
And has accepted him as His own. 45

0 Master, have mercy upon us,
And take us to Thyself.
We are but worthless cargo,
And Thou canst pilot us to our End. 46

0 Master, come and unite me,
Who has been long separated from my Lord;
My body and mind have been emptied of attachment,
0 fill me with the Light of God. 47

Having renounced all things,
I have come to Thee, my Master;
O take me under Thy wings,
And make of me what Thou wilt. 48

The Master is the true devotee of the Lord,
And so to Him I pray;
We are but worthless creatures and seek Thy protection,
O grant us the gift of Thy Word. 49

Seeing the world in flames,
We turned to the Lord for refuge;
O Master, save us and deliver us,
For therein lies God's Glory. 50

I am purifying my heart,
To make it fit for Thy Altar,
O True Friend! I have come to seek Thy refuge,
Teach me the Way to God. 51

Thou alone knowest Thy mysteries,
For Thou art all complete;
O give refuge to a worthless orphan,
And lead him to his destined goal. 52

I Pray to my Master to unite me to my Lord,
Meeting whom I may find peace and freedom from death. 53

When I prayed for the company of the saints,
Hearing me the Lord's true devotee came unto me;
It was my good fortune that they made me their own. 54

Nanak prays to the Master that he may be united with God. 55

O my Beloved, grant me the holy Word of God.
Those that have full faith in the Master, their worries are over. 56

O Master, we have come to Thy fold,
To have the peace of the Divine Word,
And the Grace of God,
And a riddance from all our cares. 57

May I live beholding Thee, O my Master,
And may my deeds bear fruit;
This is our prayer to Thee, O Lord,
Grant us the boon of Thy Word and make us Thine own. 58

This is my only prayer to Thee,
That I, lost in Thy meditation, be dyed in Thy color. 59

Thou Giver of all gifts, grant me this boon,
That I may be freed from vanity and ego, from lust, greed and wrath. 60




Next Appendix   Contents