Daily Hukamnama from Harimandir Sahib (Amritsar)

SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: O mind, you have no faith, and you have not embraced love for the Celestial Lord. You do not enjoy the sublime taste of the Shabad — what Praises of the Lord will you stubborn-mindedly sing? O Nanak, one’s coming into the world is approved, if, as Gurmukh, he merges into the True Lord. || 1 || THIRD MEHL: The fool does not understand his own self; he annoys others with his speech. His underlying nature does not leave him; separated from the Lord, he is beaten. He has not changed and reformed himself in Fear of the True Guru, so that he might merge in the lap of God. Night and day, his doubts never stop; without the Word of the Shabad, he suffers in pain. Sexual desire, anger and greed are very powerful within; he passes his life constantly entangled in worldly affairs. His feet, hands, eyes and ears are exhausted; his days are numbered, and death is approaching. The True Name does not seem sweet to him — the Name by which the nine treasures are obtained. But if he remains dead while yet alive, then by so dying, he truly lives; thus, he attains liberation. But if he is not blessed with such pre-destined karma, then without this karma, what can he obtain? Meditate on the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, you fool; through the Shabad, you shall obtain salvation and wisdom. O Nanak, he alone finds the True Guru, who eradicates self-conceit from within. || 2 || PAUREE: One whose consciousness is filled with my Lord and Master — why should he feel anxious about anything? The Lord is the Giver of peace, the Lord of all things; why would we turn our faces away from His meditation, for a moment, even for an instant? One who meditates on the Lord obtains all pleasures and comforts; let’s go, each and every day, to sit in the Society of the Saints. All the pain, hunger and disease of the Lord’s servant are eradicated; the bonds of all the humble beings are torn away. By the Lord’s Grace, one becomes the Lord’s devotee; beholding the face of the Lord’s humble devotee, the whole world is saved and carried across. || 4 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: He acts according to pre-ordained destiny, written by the Creator Himself. Emotional attachment has drugged him, and he has forgotten the Lord, the treasure of virtue. Don’t think that he is alive in the world — he is dead, through the love of duality. Those who do not meditate on the Lord, as Gurmukh, are not permitted to sit near the Lord. They suffer the most horrible pain and suffering, and neither their sons nor their wives go along with them. Their faces are blackened among men, and they sigh in deep regret. No one places any reliance in the self-willed manmukhs; trust in them is lost. O Nanak, the Gurmukhs live in absolute peace; the Naam, the Name of the Lord, abides within them. || 1 || THIRD MEHL: They alone are relatives, and they alone are friends, who, as Gurmukh, join together in love. Night and day, they act according to the True Guru’s Will; they remain absorbed in the True Name. Those who are attached to the love of duality are not called friends; they practice egotism and corruption. The self-willed manmukhs are selfish; they cannot resolve anyone’s affairs. O Nanak, they act according to their pre-ordained destiny; no one can erase it. || 2 || PAUREE: You Yourself created the world, and You Yourself arranged the play of it. You Yourself created the three qualities, and fostered emotional attachment to Maya. He is called to account for his deeds done in egotism; he continues coming and going in reincarnation. The Guru instructs those whom the Lord Himself blesses with Grace. I am a sacrifice to my Guru; forever and ever, I am a sacrifice to Him. || 3 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: O Nanak, forsaking the Name, he loses everything, in this world and the next. Chanting, deep meditation and austere self-disciplined practices are all wasted; he is deceived by the love of duality. He is bound and gagged at the door of the Messenger of Death. He is beaten, and receives terrible punishment. || 1 || THIRD MEHL: They inflict their hatred upon the Saints, and they love the wicked sinners. They find no peace in either this world or the next; they are born only to die, again and again. Their hunger is never satisfied, and they are ruined by duality. The faces of these slanderers are blackened in the Court of the True Lord. O Nanak, without the Naam, they find no shelter on either this shore, or the one beyond. || 2 || PAUREE: Those who meditate on the Lord’s Name, are imbued with the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, in their minds. For those who worship the One Lord in their conscious minds, there is no other than the One Lord. They alone serve the Lord, upon whose foreheads such pre-ordained destiny is written. They continually sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord, and singing the Glories of the Glorious Lord, they are uplifted. Great is the greatness of the Gurmukhs, who, through the Perfect Guru, remain absorbed in the Lord’s Name. || 17 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

JAITSREE, FIFTH MEHL: After wandering through so many incarnations, I have come to Your Sanctuary. Save me — lift my body up out of the deep, dark pit of the world, and attach me to Your feet. || 1 || Pause || I do not know anything about spiritual wisdom, meditation or karma, and my way of life is not clean and pure. Please attach me to the hem of the robe of the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy; help me to cross over the terrible river. || 1 || Comforts, riches and the sweet pleasures of Maya — do not implant these within your mind. Slave Nanak is satisfied and satiated by the Blessed Vision of the Lord’s Darshan; his only ornamentation is the love of the Lord’s Name. || 2 || 8 || 12 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

DHANAASAREE, FIFTH MEHL: I am satisfied and satiated, eating the food of Truth. With my mind, body and tongue, I meditate on the Naam, the Name of the Lord. || 1 || Life, spiritual life, is in the Lord. Spiritual life consists of chanting the Lord’s Name in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy. || 1 || Pause || He is dressed in robes of all sorts, if he sings the Kirtan of the Lord’s Glorious Praises, day and night. || 2 || He rides upon elephants, chariots and horses, if he sees the Lord’s Path within his own heart. || 3 || Meditating on the Lord’s Feet, deep within his mind and body, slave Nanak has found the Lord, the treasure of peace. || 4 || 2 || 56 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

DHANAASAREE, FOURTH MEHL: The Lord, Har, Har, is the rain-drop; I am the song-bird, crying, crying out for it. O Lord God, please bless me with Your Mercy, and pour Your Name into my mouth, even if for only an instant. || 1 || Without the Lord, I cannot live for even a second. Like the addict who dies without his drug, I die without the Lord. || Pause || You, Lord, are the deepest, most unfathomable ocean; I cannot find even a trace of Your limits. You are the most remote of the remote, limitless and transcendent; O Lord Master, You alone know Your state and extent. || 2 || The Lord’s humble Saints meditate on the Lord; they are imbued with the deep crimson color of the Guru’s Love. Meditating on the Lord, they attain great glory, and the most sublime honor. || 3 || He Himself is the Lord and Master, and He Himself is the servant; He Himself creates His environments. Servant Nanak has come to Your Sanctuary, O Lord; protect and preserve the honor of Your devotee. || 4 || 5 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

DHANAASAREE, FOURTH MEHL: The Lord, Har, Har, is the rain-drop; I am the song-bird, crying, crying out for it. O Lord God, please bless me with Your Mercy, and pour Your Name into my mouth, even if for only an instant. || 1 || Without the Lord, I cannot live for even a second. Like the addict who dies without his drug, I die without the Lord. || Pause || You, Lord, are the deepest, most unfathomable ocean; I cannot find even a trace of Your limits. You are the most remote of the remote, limitless and transcendent; O Lord Master, You alone know Your state and extent. || 2 || The Lord’s humble Saints meditate on the Lord; they are imbued with the deep crimson color of the Guru’s Love. Meditating on the Lord, they attain great glory, and the most sublime honor. || 3 || He Himself is the Lord and Master, and He Himself is the servant; He Himself creates His environments. Servant Nanak has come to Your Sanctuary, O Lord; protect and preserve the honor of Your devotee. || 4 || 5 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

SORAT’H, NINTH MEHL: O dear friend, know this in your mind. The world is entangled in its own pleasures; no one is for anyone else. || 1 || Pause || In good times, many come and sit together, surrounding you on all four sides. But when hard times come, they all leave, and no one comes near you. || 1 || Your wife, whom you love so much, and who has remained ever attached to you, runs away crying, “Ghost! Ghost!”, as soon as the swan-soul leaves this body. || 2 || This is the way they act — those whom we love so much. At the very last moment, O Nanak, no one is any use at all, except the Dear Lord. || 3 || 12 || 139 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

SORAT’H, FIFTH MEHL, THIRD HOUSE, CHAU-PADAS: ONE UNIVERSAL CREATOR GOD. BY THE GRACE OF THE TRUE GURU: Meeting with the council, my doubts were not dispelled. The chiefs did not give me satisfaction. I presented my dispute to the noblemen as well. But it was only settled by meeting with the King, my Lord. || 1 || Now, I do not go searching anywhere else, because I have met the Guru, the Lord of the Universe. || Pause || When I came to God’s Darbaar, His Holy Court, then all of my cries and complaints were settled. Now that I have attained what I had sought, where should I come and where should I go? || 2 || There, true justice is administered. There, the Lord Master and His disciple are one and the same. The Inner-knower, the Searcher of hearts, knows. Without our speaking, He understands. || 3 || He is the King of all places. There, the unstruck melody of the Shabad resounds. Of what use is cleverness when dealing with Him? Meeting with Him, O Nanak, one loses his self-conceit. || 4 || 1 || 51 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

WADAHANS, THIRD MEHL: Listen, O brides of the Lord: serve your Husband Lord, and contemplate the Word of His Shabad. The worthless bride does not know her Husband Lord — she is deluded; forgetting her Husband Lord, she weeps and wails. She weeps, thinking of her Husband Lord, and she constantly cherishes His virtues; her Husband Lord does not die, or go away. As Gurmukh, she knows Him; through the Word of His Shabad, He is realized. Through True Love, she merges with Him. She who does not know her Husband Lord, the Architect of karma, is deluded by falsehood — she herself is false. Listen, O brides of the Lord: serve your Husband Lord, and contemplate the Word of His Shabad. || 1 || He Himself created the whole world; the world comes and goes. The love of Maya has ruined the world; people die, to be re-born, over and over again. People die to be re-born, over and over again, while their sins steadily increase; without spiritual wisdom, they are deluded. Without the Shabad, the Husband Lord is not found; the worthless, false bride wastes her life away, weeping and wailing. He is my Beloved Husband Lord, the Life of the World — for whom should I weep? They alone weep, who forget their Husband Lord. He Himself created the whole world; the world comes and goes. || 2 || That Husband Lord is True, forever True; He does not die or go away. The ignorant soul-bride wanders in delusion; in the love of duality, she sits like a widow. She sits like a widow, in the love of duality; infatuated with Maya, she suffers in pain. She grows old, and her body withers away. Whatever has come, shall all pass away; through the love of duality, all suffer in pain. They do not see the Messenger of Death; they long for Maya, and their consciousness is attached to greed. That Husband Lord is True, forever True; He does not die or go away. || 3 || Some weep and wail, separated from their Husband Lord; the blind ones do not know that their Husband is with them. By Guru’s Grace, they meet their True Husband, and cherish Him always deep within. She cherishes her Husband deep within herself — He is always with her, but the self-willed manmukhs think that He is far away. This body rolls in the dust, and is totally useless; it does not realize the Presence of its Lord and Master. Nanak, that soul-bride is united in Union; she cherishes her Beloved Husband forever, deep within. Some weep and wail, separated from their Husband Lord; the blind ones do not know that their Husband is with them. || 4 || 2 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

BILAAVAL: The illusion of birth and death is gone; I lovingly focus on the Lord of the Universe. In my life, I am absorbed in deep silent meditation; the Guru’s Teachings have awakened me. || 1 || Pause || The sound made from bronze, that sound goes into the bronze again. But when the bronze is broken, O Pandit, O religious scholar, where does the sound go then? || 1 || I gaze upon the world, the confluence of the three qualities; God is awake and aware in each and every heart. Such is the understanding revealed to me; within my heart, I have become a detached renunciate. || 2 || I have come to know my own self, and my light has merged in the Light. Says Kabeer, now I know the Lord of the Universe, and my mind is satisfied. || 3 || 11 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: Service to the True Guru is fruitful and rewarding, if one performs it with his mind focused on it. The fruits of the mind’s desires are obtained, and egotism departs from within. His bonds are broken, and he is liberated; he remains absorbed in the True Lord. It is so difficult to obtain the Naam in this world; it comes to dwell in the mind of the Gurmukh. O Nanak, I am a sacrifice to one who serves his True Guru. || 1 || THIRD MEHL: The mind of the self-willed manmukh is so very stubborn; it is stuck in the love of duality. He does not find peace, even in dreams; he passes his life in misery and suffering. The Pandits have grown weary of going door to door, reading and reciting their scriptures; the Siddhas have gone into their trances of Samaadhi. This mind cannot be controlled; they are tired of performing religious rituals. The impersonators have grown weary of wearing false costumes, and bathing at the sixty-eight sacred shrines. They do not know the state of their own minds; they are deluded by doubt and egotism. By Guru’s Grace, the Fear of God is obtained; by great good fortune, the Lord comes to abide in the mind. When the Fear of God comes, the mind is restrained, and through the Word of the Shabad, the ego is burnt away. Those who are imbued with Truth are immaculate; their light merges in the Light. Meeting the True Guru, one obtains the Name; O Nanak, he is absorbed in peace. || 2 || PAUREE: The pleasures of kings and emperors are pleasing, but they last for only a few days. These pleasures of Maya are like the color of the safflower, which wears off in a moment. They do not go with him when he departs; instead, he carries the load of sins upon his head. When death seizes him, and marches him away, then he looks absolutely hideous. That lost opportunity will not come into his hands again, and in the end, he regrets and repents. || 6 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

DHANAASAREE, FIFTH MEHL: I am satisfied and satiated, eating the food of Truth. With my mind, body and tongue, I meditate on the Naam, the Name of the Lord. || 1 || Life, spiritual life, is in the Lord. Spiritual life consists of chanting the Lord’s Name in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy. || 1 || Pause || He is dressed in robes of all sorts, if he sings the Kirtan of the Lord’s Glorious Praises, day and night. || 2 || He rides upon elephants, chariots and horses, if he sees the Lord’s Path within his own heart. || 3 || Meditating on the Lord’s Feet, deep within his mind and body, slave Nanak has found the Lord, the treasure of peace. || 4 || 2 || 56 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

RAAG SOOHEE, FIRST MEHL, KUCHAJEE ~ THE UNGRACEFUL BRIDE: ONE UNIVERSAL CREATOR GOD. BY THE GRACE OF THE TRUE GURU: I am ungraceful and ill-mannered, full of endless faults. How can I go to enjoy my Husband Lord? Each of His soul-brides is better than the rest — who even knows my name? Those brides who enjoy their Husband Lord are very blessed, resting in the shade of the mango tree. I do not have their virtue — who can I blame for this? Which of Your Virtues, O Lord, should I speak of? Which of Your Names should I chant? I cannot even reach one of Your Virtues. I am forever a sacrifice to You. Gold, silver, pearls and rubies are pleasing. My Husband Lord has blessed me with these things, and I have focused my thoughts on them. Palaces of brick and mud are built and decorated with stones; I have been fooled by these decorations, and I do not sit near my Husband Lord. The cranes shriek overhead in the sky, and the herons have come to rest. The bride has gone to her father-in-law’s house; in the world hereafter, what face will she show? She kept sleeping as the day dawned; she forgot all about her journey. She separated herself from her Husband Lord, and now she suffers in pain. Virtue is in You, O Lord; I am totally without virtue. This is Nanak’s only prayer: You give all Your nights to the virtuous soul-brides. I know I am unworthy, but isn’t there a night for me as well? || 1 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com

SORAT’H, FIFTH MEHL: I am a sacrifice to my Guru. He has totally preserved my honor. I have obtained the fruits of my mind’s desires. I meditate forever on my God. || 1 || O Saints, without Him, there is no other at all. He is God, the Cause of causes. || Pause || My God has given me His Blessing. He has made all creatures subject to me. Servant Nanak meditates on the Naam, the Name of the Lord, and all his sorrows depart. || 2 || 5 || 69 || Hukamnama from SikhNet.com