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1Shalok, First Mehla:

2Living beings are formed of air, water and fire. They are subject to pleasure and pain.

3In this world, in the nether regions of the underworld, and in the Akaashic ethers of the heavens, some remain ministers in the Court of the Lord.

4Some live long lives, while others suffer and die.

5Some give and consume, and still their wealth is not exhausted, while others remain poor forever.

6In His Will He creates, and in His Will He destroys thousands in an instant.

7He has harnessed everyone with His harness; when He forgives, he breaks the harness.

8He has no color or features; He is invisible and beyond calculation.

9How can He be described? He is known as the Truest of the True.

10All the actions which are done and described, O Nanak, are done by the Indescribable Lord Himself.

11Whoever hears the description of the indescribable,

12is blessed with wealth, intelligence, perfection, spiritual wisdom and eternal peace. ||1||

13First Mehla:

14One who bears the unbearable, controls the nine holes of the body.

15One who worships and adores the Lord with his breath of life, gains stability in his body-wall.

16Where has he come from, and where will he go?

17Remaining dead while yet alive, he is accepted and approved.

18Whoever understands the Hukam of the Lord's Command, realizes the essence of reality.

19This is known by Guru's Grace.

20O Nanak, know this: egotism leads to bondage.

21Only those who have no ego and no self-conceit, are not consigned to reincarnation. ||2||

22Pauree:

23Read the Praise of the Lord's Name; other intellectual pursuits are false.

24Without dealing in Truth, life is worthless.

25No one has ever found the Lord's end or limitation.

26All the world is enveloped by the darkness of egotistical pride. It does not like the Truth.

27Those who depart from this world, forgetting the Naam, shall be roasted in the frying pan.

28They pour the oil of duality within, and burn.

29They come into the world and wander around aimlessly; they depart when the play is finished.

30O Nanak, imbued with Truth, the mortals merge in Truth. ||24||

31Shalok, First Mehla:

32First, the mortal is conceived in the flesh, and then he dwells in the flesh.

33When he comes alive, his mouth takes flesh; his bones, skin and body are flesh.

34He comes out of the womb of flesh, and takes a mouthful of flesh at the breast.

35His mouth is flesh, his tongue is flesh; his breath is in the flesh.

36He grows up and is married, and brings his wife of flesh into his home.

37Flesh is produced from flesh; all relatives are made of flesh.

38When the mortal meets the True Guru, and realizes the Hukam of the Lord's Command, then he comes to be reformed.

39Releasing himself, the mortal does not find release; O Nanak, through empty words, one is ruined. ||1||

40First Mehla:

41The fools argue about flesh and meat, but they know nothing about meditation and spiritual wisdom.

42What is called meat, and what is called green vegetables? What leads to sin?

43It was the habit of the gods to kill the rhinoceros, and make a feast of the burnt offering.

44Those who renounce meat, and hold their noses when sitting near it, devour men at night.

45They practice hypocrisy, and make a show before other people, but they do not understand anything about meditation or spiritual wisdom.

46O Nanak, what can be said to the blind people? They cannot answer, or even understand what is said.

47They alone are blind, who act blindly. They have no eyes in their hearts.

48They are produced from the blood of their mothers and fathers, but they do not eat fish or meat.