Ik Oankar Satnaam Gurprasad||
In the following verse Guru Arjun Dev Ji makes a point to use over 100 different names for God. He praises God with so much love and humility, in using so many different names. And even having praised God so much with such a beautiful verse, Guru ji still says that he cant even describe even one thing of God:
"One may chant new names for You day and night,
but even so, O God, no one can describe even one of Your Glorious Virtues. ||16||"
Meaning, God is still far from you, even if you keep chanting so many different names of His. Then how do we realise the Lord? We have to ask someone who has already attained the Lord. So Guru ji prays for the company of the saints who know the answer. And he begs for the dust of their feet, meaning he wants to be humble before them so he will take what they say seriously and put it into practise.
All that is seen is an illusion.
I beg for this one gift, for the dust of the feet of the Saints,
O Lord of the Universe.
Applying it to my forehead, I obtain the supreme status;
he alone obtains it, unto whom You give it. ||18||
But finding a true saint is beyond our control. We only meet them if God gives that gift to us – if God is merciful to us – gives HIS GRACE. And what do we get from the true saints? They give us the wealth of the NAAM. Before we knew anything we chanted hundreds of different names of God and got nowhere. But now the Saint has given us the wealth of the NAAM and it goes deep within our mind.
Those, unto whom the Lord,
the Giver of peace, grants His Mercy,
grasp the feet of the Holy,
and weave them into their hearts.
They obtain all the wealth of the Naam, the Name of the Lord;
the unstruck sound current of the Shabad vibrates and resounds within their minds. ||19||
And what is the NAAM wealth that you get from the company of the saints? Guru ji says the NAAM is "SATNAAM". And having been blessed with the NAAM, you go beyond just chanting hundreds of praise names, your mind now fills with love for God and you are blessed with His sacred Vision (Darshan):
With my tongue I describe You with the Praise Names given to You.
But ‘Sat Naam’ – TRUTH – is Your perfect, primal Name.
Says Nanak, Your devotees have entered Your Sanctuary.
Please bestow the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan;
their minds are filled with love for You. ||20||
Having been blessed with Darshan what is your reason for living in this world? It is to be so awe inspired by the Supreme Truth, that you know deep down how great God is and how insignificant we are. And your only hope is to become a sacrifice to theTruth, to the NAAM, to the saints, to become a slave of God’s slaves…to become DASSAN DAS (SLAVE OF GOD’S SLAVES). (And that is why Sant ji signs his emails DASSAN DAS (SLAVE OF GOD’S SLAVES) – because God has made him so)
You alone know Your state and extent.
You Yourself speak, and You Yourself describe it.
Please make Nanak the slave of Your slaves, O Lord;
as it pleases Your Will, please keep him with Your slaves. ||21||2||11||
Here is the complete shabad – gurmukhi , roman and english at the end.
This Shabad is by Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Raag Maaroo on Pannaa 1082
Maaroo, Fifth Mehl:
The Supreme Lord God is imperishable,
the Transcendent Lord,
the Inner-knower,
the Searcher of hearts.
He is the Slayer of demons,
our Supreme Lord and Master.
The Supreme Rishi,
the Master of the sensory organs,
the uplifter of mountains,
the joyful Lord playing His enticing flute. ||1||
The Enticer of Hearts,
the Lord of wealth,
Krishna, the Enemy of ego.
The Lord of the Universe,
the Dear Lord,
the Destroyer of demons.
The Life of the World,
our eternal and ever-stable Lord and Master
dwells within each and every heart,
and is always with us. ||2||
The Support of the Earth,
the man-lion,
the Supreme Lord God.
The Protector who tears apart demons with His teeth,
the Upholder of the earth.
O Creator, You assumed the form of the pygmy to humble the demons;
You are the Lord God of all. ||3||
You are the Great Raam Chand,
who has no form or feature.
Adorned with flowers,
holding the chakra in Your hand,
Your form is incomparably beautiful.
You have thousands of eyes,
and thousands of forms.
You alone are the Giver,
and all are beggars of You. ||4||
You are the Lover of Your devotees,
the Master of the masterless.
The Lord and Master of the milk-maids,
You are the companion of all.
O Lord, Immacuate Great Giver,
I cannot describe even an iota of Your Glorious Virtues. ||5||
Liberator,
Enticing Lord,
Lord of Lakshmi,
Supreme Lord God.
Savior of Dropadi’s honor.
Lord of Maya,
miracle-worker,
absorbed in delightful play,
unattached. ||6||
The Blessed Vision of His Darshan is fruitful and rewarding;
He is not born,
He is self-existent.
His form is undying;
it is never destroyed.
O imperishable,
eternal,
unfathomable Lord,
everything is attached to You. ||7||
The Lover of greatness,
who dwells in heaven.
By the Pleasure of His Will,
He took incarnation as the great fish and the tortoise.
The Lord of beauteous hair,
the Worker of miraculous deeds,
whatever He wishes, comes to pass. ||8||
He is beyond need of any sustenance,
free of hate and all-pervading.
He has staged His play;
He is called the four-armed Lord.
He assumed the beautiful form of the blue-skinned Krishna;
hearing His flute, all are fascinated and enticed. ||9||
He is adorned with garlands of flowers,
with lotus eyes.
His ear-rings, crown and flute are so beautiful.
He carries the conch, the chakra and the war club;
He is the Great Charioteer, who stays with His Saints. ||10||
The Lord of yellow robes,
the Master of the three worlds.
The Lord of the Universe,
the Lord of the world;
with my mouth, I chant His Name.
The Archer who draws the bow,
the Beloved Lord God;
I cannot count all His limbs. ||11||
He is said to be free of anguish,
and absolutely immaculate.
The Lord of prosperity,
pervading the water, the land and the sky.
He is near this world and the nether regions of the underworld;
His Place is permanent, ever-stable and imperishable. ||12||
The Purifier of sinners,
the Destroyer of pain and fear.
The Eliminator of egotism,
the Eradicator of coming and going.
He is pleased with devotional worship,
and merciful to the meek;
He cannot be appeased by any other qualities. ||13||
The Formless Lord is undeceivable and unchanging.
He is the Embodiment of Light;
through Him, the whole world blossoms forth.
He alone unites with Him, whom He unites with Himself.
No one can attain the Lord by himself. ||14||
He Himself is the milk-maid,
and He Himself is Krishna.
He Himself grazes the cows in the forest.
You Yourself create, and You Yourself destroy.
Not even a particle of filth attaches to You. ||15||
Which of Your Glorious Virtues can I chant with my one tongue?
Even the thousand-headed serpent does not know Your limit.
One may chant new names for You day and night,
but even so, O God, no one can describe even one of Your Glorious Virtues. ||16||
I have grasped the Support,
and entered the Sanctuary of the Lord,
the Father of the world.
The Messenger of Death is terrifying and horrendous,
and sea of Maya is impassable.
Please be merciful, Lord, and save me,
if it is Your Will; please lead me to join with the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy. ||17||
All that is seen is an illusion.
I beg for this one gift, for the dust of the feet of the Saints,
O Lord of the Universe.
Applying it to my forehead, I obtain the supreme status;
he alone obtains it, unto whom You give it. ||18||
Those, unto whom the Lord,
the Giver of peace, grants His Mercy,
grasp the feet of the Holy,
and weave them into their hearts.
They obtain all the wealth of the Naam, the Name of the Lord;
the unstruck sound current of the Shabad vibrates and resounds within their minds. ||19||
With my tongue I describe You with the Praise Names given to You.
But ‘Sat’ – TRUTH is Your perfect, primal Name.
Says Nanak, Your devotees have entered Your Sanctuary.
Please bestow the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan;
their minds are filled with love for You. ||20||
You alone know Your state and extent.
You Yourself speak, and You Yourself describe it.
Please make Nanak the slave of Your slaves, O Lord;
as it pleases Your Will, please keep him with Your slaves. ||21||2||11||
dust of your feet