you would know that all of these beliefs and rituals are in vain.
Says Nanak, meditate with deep faith;
without the True Guru, no one finds the Way. ||2||
Pauree:
Abandoning the world of beauty, and beautiful clothes, one must depart.
He obtains the rewards of his good and bad deeds.
He may issue whatever commands he wishes, but he shall have to take to the narrow path hereafter.
He goes to hell naked, and he looks hideous then.
He regrets the sins he committed. ||14||
You, O Lord, belong to all, and all belong to You. You created all, O Lord King.
Nothing is in anyone's hands; all walk as You cause them to walk.
They alone are united with You, O Beloved, whom You cause to be so united; they alone are pleasing to Your Mind.
Servant Nanak has met the True Guru, and through the Lord's Name, he has been carried across. ||3||
Salok, First Mehl:
Make compassion the cotton, contentment the thread, modesty the knot and truth the twist.
This is the sacred thread of the soul; if you have it, then go ahead and put it on me.
It does not break, it cannot be soiled by filth, it cannot be burnt, or lost.
Blessed are those mortal beings, O Nanak, who wear such a thread around their necks.
You buy the thread for a few shells, and seated in your enclosure, you put it on.
Whispering instructions into others' ears, the Brahmin becomes a guru.