Jivan Mukti: To Die While Still Alive

marau ve jogī marau maraṇ hai mīṭhā |
tis maraṇīṁ marau jis maraṇīṁ goraṣ mari dīṭhā || Shabdi||26 ||

Shabdi 26. Die yogi, die, the death is sweet, die by that death through which Goraksh Nath has passed.

GGS-876-
RAAMKALEE, FIRST MEHL, FIRST HOUSE, CHAU-PADAS:
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:

Some read the Sanskrit scriptures, and some read the Puraanas. Some meditate on the Naam, the Name of the Lord, and chant it on their malas, focusing on it in meditation. I know nothing, now or ever; I recognize only Your One Name, Lord. || 1 || I do not know, Lord, what my condition shall be. I am foolish and ignorant; I seek Your Sanctuary, God. Please, save my honor and my self-respect. || 1 || Pause || Sometimes, the soul soars high in the heavens, and sometimes it falls to the depths of the nether regions. The greedy soul does not remain stable; it searches in the four directions. || 2 || With death pre-ordained, the soul comes into the world, gathering the riches of life. I see that some have already gone, O my Lord and Master; the burning fire is coming closer! || 3 || No one has any friend, and no one has any brother; no one has any father or mother. Prays Nanak, if You bless me with Your Name, it shall be my help and support in the end. || 4 || 1  ||

RAAMKALEE, FIRST MEHL: Your Light is prevailing everywhere. Wherever I look, there I see the Lord. || 1 || Please rid me of the desire to live, O my Lord and Master. My mind is entangled in the deep dark pit of Maya. How can I cross over, O Lord and Master? || 1 || Pause || He dwells deep within, inside the heart; how can He not be outside as well? Our Lord and Master always takes care of us, and keeps us in His thoughts. || 2 || He Himself is near at hand, and He is far away. He Himself is all-pervading, permeating everywhere. Meeting the True Guru, the darkness is dispelled. Wherever I look, there I see Him pervading. || 3 || There is doubt within me, and Maya is outside; it hits me in the eyes like an arrow. Prays Nanak, the slave of the Lord’s slaves: such a mortal suffers terribly. || 4 || 2  ||



RAAMKALEE, FIRST MEHL: Where is that door, where You live, O Lord? What is that door called? Among all doors, who can find that door? For the sake of that door, I wander around sadly, detached from the world; if only someone would come and tell me about that door. || 1 ||How can I cross over the world-ocean? While I am living, I cannot be dead. || 1 || Pause || Pain is the door, and anger is the guard; hope and anxiety are the two shutters. Maya is the water in the moat; in the middle of this moat, he has built his home. The Primal Lord sits in the Seat of Truth. || 2 || You have so many Names, Lord, I do not know their limit. There is no other equal to You. Do not speak out loud, remain in your mind. The Lord Himself knows, and He Himself acts. || 3 || As long as there is hope, there is anxiety, so how can anyone speak of the One Lord? In the midst of hope, remain untouched by hope; then, O Nanak, you shall meet the One Lord. || 4 || In this way, you shall cross over the world-ocean. This is the way to remain dead while yet alive. || 1  ||

RAAMKALEE, FIRST MEHL: Awareness of the Shabad and the Teachings is my horn; the people hear the sound of its vibrations. Honor is my begging-bowl, and the Naam, the Name of the Lord, is the charity I receive. || 1 || O Baba, Gorakh is the Lord of the Universe; He is always awake and aware. He alone is Gorakh, who sustains the earth; He created it in an instant. || 1 || Pause || Binding together water and air, He infused the breath of life into the body, and made the lamps of the sun and the moon. To die and to live, He gave us the earth, but we have forgotten these blessings. || 2 || There are so many Siddhas, seekers, Yogis, wandering pilgrims, spiritual teachers and good people. If I meet them, I chant the Lord’s Praises, and then, my mind serves Him. || 3 || Paper and salt, protected by ghee, remain untouched by water, as the lotus remains unaffected in water. Those who meet with such devotees, O servant Nanak — what can death do to them? || 4 || 4 ||

RAAMKALEE, FIRST MEHL: Listen, Machhindra, to what Nanak says. One who subdues the five passions does not waver. One who practices Yoga in such a way, saves himself, and saves all his generations. || 1 || He alone is a hermit, who attains such understanding. Day and night, he remains absorbed in deepest Samaadhi. || 1 ||
Pause || He begs for loving devotion to the Lord, and lives in the Fear of God. He is satisfied, with the priceless gift of contentment. Becoming the embodiment of meditation, he attains the true Yogic posture. He focuses his consciousness in the deep trance of the True Name. || 2 || Nanak chants the Ambrosial Bani. Listen, O Machhindra: this is the insignia of the true hermit. One who, in the midst of hope, remains untouched by hope, shall truly find the Creator Lord. || 3 || Prays Nanak, I share the mysterious secrets of God. The Guru and His disciple are joined together! One who eats this food, this medicine of the Teachings, has the wisdom of the six Shaastras.

FIRST MEHL: One who bears the unbearable, controls the nine openings of the body. One who worships and adores the Lord with his breath of life, gains stability in his body-wall. Where has he come from, and where will he go? Remaining dead while yet alive, he is accepted and approved. Whoever understands the Hukam (Adesha) of the Lord’s Command, realizes the Essence of Reality. This is known by Guru’s Grace. O Nanak, know this: egotism leads to bondage. Only those who have no ego and no self-conceit, are not consigned to be born again. || 2  ||

GGS 1102 SHALOK, FIFTH MEHL: First, accept death, and give up any hope of life. Become the dust of the feet of all, and then, you may come to me. || 1 || FIFTH MEHL: See, that only one who has died, truly lives; one who is alive, consider him dead. Those who are in love with the One Lord, are the supreme people. || 2 || FIFTH MEHL: Pain does not even approach that person, within whose mind God abides. Hunger and thirst do not affect him, and the Messenger of Death does not approach him. || 3  ||

GGS 1104
RAAG MARU, THE WORD OF KABEER JEE:
ONE UNIVERSAL CREATOR GOD. BY THE GRACE OF THE TRUE GURU:
No one has seen the Fearless Lord, O renunciate. Without the Fear of God, how can the Fearless Lord be obtained? || 1 || If one sees the Presence of his Husband Lord near at hand, then he feels the Fear of God, O renunciate. If he realizes the Hukam (Adesh) of the Lord’s Command, then he becomes fearless. || 2 || Don’t practice hypocrisy with the Lord, O renunciate! The whole world is filled with hypocrisy. || 3 || Thirst and desire do not go away at once, O renunciate. The body is burning in the fire of worldly love and attachment. || 4 || Anxiety is burned, and the body is burned, O renunciate, only if one lets his mind become dead. || 5 || Without the True Guru, there can be no renunciation, even though all the people may wish for it. || 6 || When God grants His Grace, one meets the True Guru, O renunciate, and automatically, intuitively finds that Lord. || 7 || Says Kabeer, I offer this one prayer, O renunciate. Carry me across the terrifying world-ocean.

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RAAG GAUREE GWAARAYREE, FIRST MEHL, CHAU-PADAS & DU-PADAS:
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:
The Fear of God is overpowering, and so very heavy, while the intellect is lightweight, as is the speech one speaks. So place the Fear of God upon your head, and bear that weight; by the Grace of the Merciful Lord, contemplate the Guru. || 1 || Without the Fear of God, no one crosses over the world-ocean. This Fear of God adorns the Love of the Lord. || 1 || Pause  ||
The fire of fear within the body is burnt away by the Fear of God. Through this Fear of God, we are adorned with the Word of the Shabad. Without the Fear of God, all that is fashioned is false. Useless is the mold, and useless are the hammer-strokes on the mold. || 2 || The desire for the worldly drama arises in the intellect, but even with thousands of clever mental tricks, the heat of the Fear of God does not come into play. O Nanak, the speech of the self-willed manmukh is just wind. His words are worthless and empty, like the wind. || 3 || 1 ||

GAUREE, FIRST MEHL: Place the Fear of God within the home of your heart; with this Fear of God in your heart, all other fears shall be frightened away. What sort of fear is that, which frightens other fears? Without You, I have not other place of rest at all. Whatever happens is all according to Your Will. || 1 || Be afraid, if you have any fear, other than the Fear of God. Afraid of fear, and living in fear, the mind is held in tumult. || 1 || Pause || The soul does not die; it does not drown, and it does not swim across. The One who created everything does everything. By the Hukam (Adesha) of His Command we come, and by the Hukam of His Command we go. Before and after, His Command is pervading. || 2 || Cruelty, attachment, desire and egotism — there is great hunger in these, like the raging torrent of a wild stream. Let the Fear of God be your food, drink and support. Without doing this, the fools simply die. || 3 || If anyone really has anyone else how rare is that person! All are Yours — You are the Lord of all. All beings and creatures, wealth and property belong to Him. O Nanak, it is so difficult to describe and contemplate Him. || 4 || 2  ||

GAUREE, FIRST MEHL, DAKHANEE: I am forever a sacrifice to the one who listens and hears, who understands and believes in the Name. When the Lord Himself leads us astray, there is no other place of rest for us to find. You impart understanding, and You unite us in Your Union. || 1 || I obtain the Naam, which shall go along with me in the end. Without the Name, all are held in the grip of Death. || 1 || Pause || My farming and my trading are by the Support of the Name. The seeds of sin and virtue are bound together. Sexual desire (kama) and anger (kroda) are the wounds of the soul. The evil-minded ones forget the Naam, and then depart. || 2 || True are the Teachings of the True Guru. The body and mind are cooled and soothed, by the touchstone of Truth. This is the true mark of wisdom: that one remains detached, like the water-lily, or the lotus upon the water. Attuned to the Word of the Shabad, one becomes sweet, like the juice of the sugar cane. || 3 || By the Hukam of the Lord’s Command, the castle of the body has ten gates. The five passions dwell there, together with the Divine Light of the Infinite. The Lord Himself is the merchandise, and He Himself is the trader. O Nanak, through the Naam, the Name of the Lord, we are adorned and rejuvenated. || 4 || 5  ||

GAUREE, FIRST MEHL: The conscious mind is engrossed in sexual desire, anger and Maya. The conscious mind is awake only to falsehood, corruption and attachment. It gathers in the assets of sin and greed. So swim across the river of life, O my mind, with the Sacred Naam, the Name of the Lord. || 1 || Waaho! Waaho! — Great! Great is my True Lord! I seek Your All-powerful Support. I am a sinner — You alone are pure. || 1 || Pause || Fire and water join together, and the breath roars in its fury! The tongue and the sex organs each seek to taste. The eyes which look upon corruption do not know the Love and the Fear of God. Conquering self-conceit, one obtains the Name. || 2 || One who dies in the Word of the Shabad, shall never again have to die. Without such a death, how can one attain perfection? The mind is engrossed in deception, treachery and duality. Whatever the Immortal Lord does, comes to pass. || 3 || So get aboard that boat when your turn comes. Those who fail to embark upon that boat shall be beaten in the Court of the Lord. Blessed is that Gurdwara, the Guru’s Gate, where the Praises of the True Lord are sung. O Nanak, the One Creator Lord is pervading hearth
and home. || 4 || 7  ||

GAUREE, FIRST MEHL: The inverted heart-lotus has been turned upright, through reflective meditation on God. From the Sky of the Tenth Gate, the Ambrosial Nectar trickles down. The Lord Himself is pervading the three worlds. || 1 || O my mind, do not give in to doubt. When the mind surrenders to the Name, it drinks in the essence of Ambrosial Nectar. || 1 || Pause || So win the game of life; let your mind surrender and accept death. When the self dies, the individual mind comes to know the Supreme Mind. As the inner vision is awakened, one comes to know one’s own home, deep within the self. || 2 || The Naam, the Name of the Lord, is austerity, chastity and cleansing baths at sacred shrines of pilgrimage. What good are ostentatious displays? The All-pervading Lord is the Inner-knower, the Searcher of hearts. || 3 || If I had faith in someone else, then I would go to that one’s house. But where should I go, to beg? There is no other place for me. O Nanak, through the Guru’s Teachings, I am intuitively absorbed in the Lord. || 4 || 8 ||

GAUREE, FIRST MEHL: Meeting the True Guru, we are shown the Way to Die. Remaining alive in this death brings joy deep within. Overcoming egotistical pride, the Tenth Gate is found. || 1 || Death is pre-ordained, no one who comes can remain here. So chant and meditate on the Lord, and remain in the Sanctuary of the Lord. || 1 || Pause || Meeting the True Guru, duality is dispelled. The heart-lotus blossoms forth, and the mind is attached to the Lord God. One who remains dead while yet alive, obtains the greatest happiness hereafter. || 2 || Meeting the True Guru, one becomes truthful, chaste and pure. Climbing up the steps of the Guru’s Path (sanatanas), one becomes the Highest of the High. When the Lord grants His Mercy, the fear of death is conquered. || 3 || Uniting in Guru’s Union, we are absorbed in His Loving Embrace. Granting His Grace, He reveals the Mansion of His Presence, within the home of the self. O Nanak, conquering egotism, we are absorbed into the Lord. || 4 || 9  ||

I. Ragu Bhairau.
O Siddha, wander not to other places; the Essence of Truth resides within your body. Seek the One who speaks; die while still alive, by reversing the process; rise into the Heaven by natural ease; thereby you will not have to suffer at the hands of Death and you will go across. When I got news of the Home, the Palace, I succeeded in purifying and controlling the vital air; I acquired the vision; I realized, and my wanderings are ceased. Without the medium of an idol, I saw the Unseeable, the Unknowable, the Unmeasurable as the Formless One. Inside the Most High, the music sounds; age, death and disease have vanished; the cord of music has became linked with the Void; the Truth, the Reality, the Essence is now revealed as the sounding of the Divine music. The man of the world lies low engrossed in the objects of senses, while the Sannyasi resides high in the unknowable fortress; Gorakh says, listen, O ascetic, I have-attained the Consciousness of the Formles One! (reference Mohan Singh)

GAUREE BAIRAAGAN, TI-PADAS: I turned my breath inwards, and pierced through the six chakras of the body, and my awareness was centered on the Primal Void of the Absolute Lord. Search for the One who does not come or go, who does not die and is not born, O renunciate. || 1 || My mind has turned away from the world, and is absorbed in the Mind of God. By Guru’s Grace, my understanding has been changed; otherwise, I was totally ignorant. || 1 || Pause || That which was near has become distant, and again, that which was distant is near, for those who realize the Lord as He is. It is like the sugar water made from the candy; only one who drinks it knows its taste. || 2 || Unto whom should I speak Your speech, O Lord; it is beyond the three qualities (guna). Is there anyone with such discerning wisdom? Says Kabeer, as is the fuse which you apply, so is the flash you will see. || 3 || 3 || 47  ||

Psalm

“I poured out praise to the Lord, for I am His, and I will speak His Holy Song, for my heart is with Him, for His harp is in my hands, and the Odes of His Rest shall not be silent. I will cry unto him from my whole heart, I will praise and exalt Him with all my members. For from the east and even to the west is His praise, and from the south and even to the north is the acknowledgment of Him, and from the top of the hills to their utmost bound is His perfection.

Who can write the Psalms of the Lord, or who read them? Or who can train his soul for Life, so that his soul may be saved, or who can rest on the Most High, so that with His mouth he may speak? Who is able to interpret the wonders of the Lord? For he who could interpret would be dissolved and would become that which is interpreted. For it suffices to know and to rest, for in rest the singers stand, like a river which has an abundant fountain, and flows to the help of them that seek it. Hallelujah!”

GGS 332-333 GAUREE: One who remains dead while yet alive, will live even after death; thus he merges into the Primal Void of the Absolute Lord. Remaining pure in the midst of impurity, he will never again fall into the terrifying world-ocean. || 1 || O my Lord, this is the milk to be churned. Through the Guru’s Teachings, hold your mind steady and stable, and in this way, drink in the Ambrosial Nectar. || 1 || Pause || The Guru’s arrow has pierced the hard core of this Dark Age of Kali Yuga, and the state of enlightenment has dawned. In the darkness of Maya, I mistook the rope for the snake, but that is over, and now I dwell in the Eternal Home of the Lord. || 2 || Maya has drawn her bow without an arrow, and has pierced this world, O Siblings of Destiny. The drowning person is blown around in the ten directions by the wind, but I hold tight to the string of the Lord’s Love. || 3 || The disturbed mind has been absorbed in the Lord; duality and evil-mindedness have run away. Says Kabeer, I have seen the One Lord, the Fearless One; I am attuned to the Name of the Lord. || 4 || 2 || 46 ||

RAAMKALEE, FIRST MEHL: Above the six chakras of the body dwells the detached mind. Awareness of the vibration of the Word of the Shabad has been awakened deep within. The unstruck melody of the sound current resonates and resounds within; my mind is attuned to it. Through the Guru’s Teachings, my faith is confirmed in the True Name. || 1 || O mortal, through devotion to the Lord, peace is obtained. -904- The Lord, Har, Har, seems sweet to the Gurmukh, who merges in the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. || 1 || Pause || Eradicating attachment to Maya, one merges into the Lord. Meeting with the True Guru, we unite in His Union. The Naam, the Name of the Lord, is a priceless jewel, a diamond. Attuned to it, the mind is comforted and encouraged. || 2 || The diseases of egotism and possessiveness do not afflict one who worships the Lord. Fear of the Messenger of Death runs away. The Messenger of Death, the enemy of the soul, does not touch me at all. The Immaculate Name of the Lord illuminates my heart. || 3 || Contemplating the Shabad, we become Nirankaari (formless)— we come to belong to the Formless Lord God. Awakening to the Guru’s Teachings, evil-mindedness is taken away. Remaining awake and aware night and day, lovingly focused on the Lord, one becomes Jivan Mukta — liberated while yet alive. He finds this state deep within himself. || 4 || In the secluded cave, I remain unattached. With the Word of the Shabad, I have killed the five thieves (sences). My mind does not waver or go to the home of any other. I remain intuitively absorbed deep within. || 5 || As Gurmukh, I remain awake and aware, unattached. Forever detached, I am woven into the essence of reality. The world is asleep; it dies, and comes and goes in reincarnation. Without the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, it does not understand. || 6 || The unstruck sound current of the Shabad vibrates day and night. The Gurmukh knows the state of the eternal, unchanging Lord God. When someone realizes the Shabad, then he truly knows. The One Lord is permeating and pervading everywhere in Nirvaanaa. || 7 || My mind is intuitively absorbed in the state of deepest Samaadhi; renouncing egotism and greed, I have come to know the One Lord. When the disciple’s mind accepts the Guru, O Nanak, duality is eradicated, and he merges in the Lord. || 8 || 3  ||