Shri Guru Granth Sahib Volume 2

Guru Gobind Singh

Category: Sikh

20:15 h

Shri Guru Granth Sahib, Volume II continues Sikhism’s sacred scripture, covering sections 8–13 and presenting devotional hymns organized according to traditional musical raags. These compositions explore themes of divine love, remembrance of God's Name, humility, spiritual wisdom, and liberation from ego and worldly attachments. Through poetic reflections and teachings, the text emphasizes sincere devotion, ethical living, and the importance of the Guru’s guidance in developing a deeper relationship with the Divine.

Shri Guru Granth Sahib

Name: Shri Guru Granth Sahib Volume 2
Author: Guru Gobind Singh

by
Guru Gobind Singh

Volume 2

Shri Guru Granth Sahib: Raag Aasaa

Section 08 — Raag Aasaa — Part 001

One Universal Creator God. Truth Is The Name. Creative Being Personified. No Fear. No Hatred. Image Of The Undying. Beyond Birth. Self-Existent. By Guru’s Grace:
Raag Aasaa, First Mehl, First House, So Dar ~ That Gate:
What is that Gate, and what is that Home, in which You sit and take care of all?
Countless musical instruments of so many various kinds vibrate there for You; so many are the musicians there for You.
There are so many Ragas there for You, along with their accompanying harmonies; so many minstrels sing to You.
The winds sing to You, as do water and fire; the Righteous Judge of Dharma sings at Your Door.
Chitar and Gupat, the recording angels of the conscious and the subconscious, sing to You; they know, and they write, and on the basis of what they write, the Lord of Dharma passes judgement.
Shiva and Brahma and the Goddess Parvaati, so beautiful and ever adorned by You, sing to You.
The Indras, seated upon their celestial thrones, with the deities at Your Gate, sing to You.
The Siddhas in Samaadhi sing to You, and the Holy Saints, in their contemplative meditation, sing to You.
The celibates, the truthful and the patient beings sing to You, and the mighty warriors sing to You.
The scholarly Pandits sing to You, along with the holy Rishis and the readers of the Vedas throughout the ages.
The Mohinis, the heavenly beauties who entice the heart in paradise, in this world and in the nether regions, sing to You.
The fourteen priceless jewels created by You, and the sixty-eight holy places of pilgrimage, sing to You.
The mighty warriors and the divine heroes sing to You, and the four sources of creation sing to You.
The continents, the worlds and the solar systems, created and installed by Your Hand, sing to You.
They alone sing to You, who are pleasing to Your Will, and who are imbued with the nectar of Your devotional worship.
So many others sing to You, they do not come into my mind; how can Nanak think of them?
That Lord and Master — He is True, forever True; He is True, and True is His Name.
He who created the creation is True, and He shall always be True; He shall not depart, even when the creation departs.
He created the world of Maya with its various colors and species.
Having created the creation, He Himself watches over it, as it pleases His Greatness.
Whatever pleases Him, that is what He does. No one can issue any commands to Him.

Section 08 — Raag Aasaa — Part 002

He is the King, the King of Kings, the Emperor of Kings! Nanak lives in surrender to His Will. ||1||1||
Aasaa, Fourth Mehl:
That Lord is Immaculate; the Lord God is Immaculate. The Lord is Unapproachable, Unfathomable and Incomparable.
All meditate, all meditate on You, O Dear Lord, O True Creator.
All beings are Yours; You are the Giver of all beings.
So meditate on the Lord, O Saints; He is the One who takes away all pain.
The Lord Himself is the Master, and He Himself is His own servant. O Nanak, how insignificant are mortal beings! ||1||

You are totally pervading within each and every heart; O Lord, You are the One Primal Being, All-permeating.
Some are givers, and some are beggars; all of this is Your wondrous play!
You Yourself are the Giver, and You Yourself are the Enjoyer. I know of no other than You.
You are the Supreme Lord God, Infinite and Eternal; what Glorious Praises of Yours should I speak and chant?
Unto those who serve, unto those who serve You, slave Nanak is a sacrifice. ||2||

Those who meditate on the Lord, those who meditate on You, O Dear Lord, those humble beings dwell in peace in this world.
They are liberated, they are liberated, who meditate on the Lord; the noose of Death is cut away from them.
Those who meditate on the Fearless One, on the Fearless Lord, all their fears are dispelled.
Those who have served, those who have served my Dear Lord, are absorbed into the Being of the Lord, Har, Har.
Blessed are they, blessed are they, who have meditated on the Dear Lord; slave Nanak is a sacrifice to them. ||3||

Devotion to You, devotion to You, is a treasure, overflowing, infinite and endless.
Your devotees, Your devotees praise You, O Dear Lord, in many and various ways.
For You, so many, for You, so very many, O Dear Lord, perform worship and adoration; they practice penance and endlessly chant in meditation.
For You, many — for You, so very many read the various Simritees and Shaastras; they perform religious rituals and the six ceremonies.
Those devotees, those devotees are good, O servant Nanak, who are pleasing to my Lord God. ||4||

You are the Primal Being, the Unrivalled Creator Lord; there is no other as Great as You.
You are the One, age after age; forever and ever, You are One and the same. You are the Eternal, Unchanging Creator.
Whatever pleases You comes to pass. Whatever You Yourself do, happens.
You Yourself created the entire Universe, and having done so, You Yourself shall destroy it all.
Servant Nanak sings the Glorious Praises of the Creator, the Knower of all. ||5||2||

One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
Raag Aasaa, First Mehl, Chaupaday, Second House:
Hearing, everyone calls You Great,
but only one who has seen You, knows just how Great You are.

Section 08 — Raag Aasaa — Part 003

No one can measure Your Worth, or describe You.
Those who describe You, remain absorbed in You. ||1||

O my Great Lord and Master of Unfathomable Depth, You are the Ocean of Excellence.
No one knows the greatness of Your expanse. ||1||Pause||
All the contemplators met together and practiced contemplation;
all the appraisers met together and tried to appraise You.
The theologians, the meditators and the teachers of teachers
could not express even an iota of Your Greatness. ||2||

All Truth, all austerities, all goodness,
and the greatness of the Siddhas, the beings of perfect spiritual powers
— without You, none has attained such spiritual powers.
They are obtained by Your Grace; their flow cannot be blocked. ||3||

What can the helpless speaker do?
Your bounties are overflowing with Your Praises.
And the one, unto whom You give — why should he think of any other?
O Nanak, the True Lord is the Embellisher. ||4||1||

Aasaa, First Mehl:
Chanting the Name, I live; forgetting it, I die.
It is so difficult to chant the True Name.
If someone feels hunger for the True Name,
then that hunger shall consume his pains. ||1||

So how could I ever forget Him, O my Mother?
True is the Master, and True is His Name. ||1||Pause||
People have grown weary of trying to appraise the greatness of the True Name, but they have not been able to appraise even an iota of it.
Even if they were all to meet together and recount them,
You would not be made any greater or lesser. ||2||

He does not die — there is no reason to mourn.
He continues to give, but His Provisions are never exhausted.
This Glorious Virtue is His alone — no one else is like Him;
there has never been anyone like Him, and there never shall be. ||3||

As Great as You Yourself are, so Great are Your Gifts.
It is You who created day and night as well.
Those who forget their Lord and Master are vile and despicable.
O Nanak, without the Name, people are wretched outcasts. ||4||2||

Aasaa, First Mehl:
If a beggar cries out at the door, the Master hears it in His Mansion.
Whether He receives him or pushes him away, it is the Gift of the Lord’s Greatness. ||1||

Recognize the Lord’s Light within all, and do not consider social class or status; there are no classes or castes in the world hereafter. ||1||Pause||
He Himself acts, and He Himself inspires us to act.
He Himself considers our complaints.
Since You, O Creator Lord, are the Doer,
why should I submit to the world? ||2||

You Yourself created and You Yourself give.
You Yourself eliminate evil-mindedness;
by Guru’s Grace, You come to abide in our minds,
and then, pain and darkness are dispelled from within. ||3||

He Himself infuses love for the Truth.
Unto others, the Truth is not bestowed.
If He bestows it upon someone, says Nanak, then, in the world hereafter, that person is not called to account. ||4||3||

Aasaa, First Mehl:
The urges of the heart are like cymbals and ankle-bells;
the drum of the world resounds with the beat.
Naarad dances to the tune of the Dark Age of Kali Yuga;
where can the celibates and the men of truth place their feet? ||1||

Nanak is a sacrifice to the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
The world is blind; our Lord and Master is All-seeing. ||1||Pause||
The disciple feeds on the Guru;
out of love for bread, he comes to dwell in his home.

Section 08 — Raag Aasaa — Part 004

If one were to live and eat for hundreds of years,
that day alone would be auspicious, when he recognizes his Lord and Master. ||2||

Beholding the sight of the petitioner, compassion is not aroused.
No one lives without give and take.
The king administers justice only if his palm is greased.
No one is moved by the Name of God. ||3||

O Nanak, they are human beings in form and name only;
by their deeds they are dogs — this is the Command of the Lord’s Court.
By Guru’s Grace, if one sees himself as a guest in this world,
then he gains honor in the Court of the Lord. ||4||4||

Aasaa, First Mehl:
As much as the Shabad is in the mind, so much is Your melody; as much as the form of the universe is, so much is Your body, Lord.
You Yourself are the tongue, and You Yourself are the nose. Do not speak of any other, O my mother. ||1||

My Lord and Master is One;
He is the One and Only; O Siblings of Destiny, He is the One alone. ||1||Pause||
He Himself kills, and He Himself emancipates; He Himself gives and takes.
He Himself beholds, and He Himself rejoices; He Himself bestows His Glance of Grace. ||2||

Whatever He is to do, that is what He is doing. No one else can do anything.
As He projects Himself, so do we describe Him; this is all Your Glorious Greatness, Lord. ||3||

The Dark Age of Kali Yuga is the bottle of wine; Maya is the sweet wine, and the intoxicated mind continues to drink it in.
He Himself assumes all sorts of forms; thus poor Nanak speaks. ||4||5||

Aasaa, First Mehl:
Make your intellect your instrument, and love your tambourine;
thus bliss and lasting pleasure shall be produced in your mind.
This is devotional worship, and this is the practice of penance.
So dance in this love, and keep the beat with your feet. ||1||

Know that the perfect beat is the Praise of the Lord;
other dances produce only temporary pleasure in the mind. ||1||Pause||
Play the two cymbals of truth and contentment.
Let your ankle bells be the lasting Vision of the Lord.
Let your harmony and music be the elimination of duality.
So dance in this love, and keep the beat with your feet. ||2||

Let the fear of God within your heart and mind be your spinning dance,
and keep up, whether sitting or standing.
To roll around in the dust is to know that the body is only ashes.
So dance in this love, and keep the beat with your feet. ||3||

Keep the company of the disciples, the students who love the teachings.
As Gurmukh, listen to the True Name.
O Nanak, chant it, over and over again.
So dance in this love, and keep the beat with your feet. ||4||6||

Aasaa, First Mehl:
He created the air, and He supports the whole world; he bound water and fire together.
The blind, ten-headed Raavan had his heads cut off, but what greatness was obtained by killing him? ||1||

What Glories of Yours can be chanted?
You are totally pervading everywhere; You love and cherish all. ||1||Pause||
You created all beings, and You hold the world in Your Hands; what greatness is it to put a ring in the nose of the black cobra, as Krishna did?
Whose Husband are You? Who is Your wife? You are subtly diffused and pervading in all. ||2||

Brahma, the bestower of blessings, entered the stem of the lotus, with his relatives, to find the extent of the universe.
Proceeding on, he could not find its limits; what glory was obtained by killing Kansa, the king? ||3||

The jewels were produced and brought forth by churning the ocean of milk. The other gods proclaimed “We are the ones who did this!”

Section 08 — Raag Aasaa — Part 005

Says Nanak, by hiding, how can the Lord be hidden? He has given each their share, one by one. ||4||7||

Aasaa, First Mehl:
The vine of good actions and character has spread out, and it bears the fruit of the Lord’s Name.
The Name has no form or outline; it vibrates with the unstruck Sound Current; through the Word of the Shabad, the Immaculate Lord is revealed. ||1||

One can speak on this only when he knows it.
He alone drinks in the Ambrosial Nectar. ||1||Pause||
Those who drink it in are enraptured; their bonds and shackles are cut away.
When one’s light blends into the Divine Light, then the desire for Maya is ended. ||2||

Among all lights, I behold Your Form; all the worlds are Your Maya.
Among the tumults and forms, He sits in serene detachment; He bestows His Glance of Grace upon those who are engrossed in the illusion. ||3||

The Yogi who plays on the instrument of the Shabad gains the Blessed Vision of the Infinitely Beautiful Lord.
He, the Lord, is immersed in the Unstruck Shabad of the Word, says Nanak, the humble and meek. ||4||8||

Aasaa, First Mehl:
My virtue is that I carry the load of my words upon my head.
The real words are the Words of the Creator Lord.
How useless are eating, drinking and laughing,
if the Lord is not cherished in the heart! ||1||

Why should someone care for anything else,
if throughout his life, he gathers in that which is truly worth gathering? ||1||Pause||
The intellect of the mind is like a drunken elephant.
Whatever one utters is totally false, the most false of the false.
So what face should we put on to offer our prayer,
when both virtue and vice are close at hand as witnesses? ||2||

As You make us, so we become.
Without You, there is no other at all.
As is the understanding which You bestow, so do we receive.
As it pleases Your Will, so do You lead us. ||3||

The divine crystalline harmonies, their consorts, and their celestial families
- from them, the essence of Ambrosial Nectar is produced.
O Nanak, this is the wealth and property of the Creator Lord.
If only this essential reality were understood! ||4||9||

Aasaa, First Mehl:
When by His Grace He came to my home, then my companions met together to celebrate my marriage.
Beholding this play, my mind became blissful; my Husband Lord has come to marry me. ||1||

So sing — yes, sing the songs of wisdom and reflection, O brides.
My spouse, the Life of the world, has come into my home. ||1||Pause||
When I was married within the Gurdwara, the Guru’s Gate, I met my Husband Lord, and I came to know Him.
The Word of His Shabad is pervading the three worlds; when my ego was quieted, my mind became happy. ||2||

He Himself arranges His own affairs; His affairs cannot be arranged by anyone else.
By the affair of this marriage, truth, contentment, mercy and faith are produced; but how rare is that Gurmukh who understands it! ||3||

Says Nanak, that Lord alone is the Husband of all.
She, upon whom He casts His Glance of Grace, becomes the happy soul-bride. ||4||10||

Aasaa, First Mehl:
Home and forest are the same, for one who dwells in the balance of intuitive peace and poise.
His evil-mindedness departs, and the Praises of God take its place.
To chant the True Name with one’s mouth is the true ladder.