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-471He 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 || SHALOK, 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. But he dies, and the sacred thread falls away, and the soul departs without it. || 1 || FIRST MEHL: He commits thousands of robberies, thousands of acts of adultery, thousands of falsehoods and thousands of abuses. He practices thousands of deceptions and secret deeds, night and day, against his fellow beings. The thread is spun from cotton, and the Brahmin comes and twists it. The goat is killed, cooked and eaten, and everyone then says, "Put on the sacred thread." When it wears out, it is thrown away, and another one is put on. O Nanak, the thread would not break, if it had any real strength. || 2 || FIRST MEHL: Believing in the Name, honor is obtained. The Lord's Praise is the true sacred thread. Such a sacred thread is worn in the Court of the Lord; it shall never break. || 3 | FIRST MEHL: There is no sacred thread for the sexual organ, and no thread for woman. The man's beard is spat upon daily. There is no sacred thread for the feet, and no thread for the hands; no thread for the tongue, and no thread for the eyes. The Brahmin himself goes to the world hereafter without a sacred thread. Twisting the threads, he puts them on others. He takes payment for performing marriages; reading their horoscopes, he shows them the way. Hear, and see, O people, this wondrous thing. He is mentally blind, and yet his name is wisdom. II 4 || PAUREE: One, upon whom the Merciful Lord bestows His Grace, performs His service. That servant, whom the Lord causes to obey the Order of His Will, serves Him. Obeying the Order of His Will, he becomes acceptable, and then, he obtains the Mansion of the Lord's Presence. One who acts to please His Lord and Master, obtains the fruits of his mind's desires. Then, he goes to the Court of the Lord, wearing robes of honor. || 15 || SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: They tax the cows and the Brahmins, but the cow-dung they apply to their kitchen will not save them. They wear their loin cloths, apply ritual frontal marks to their foreheads, and carry their rosaries, but they eat food with the Muslims. O Siblings of Destiny, you perform devotional worship indoors, but read the Islamic sacred texts, and adopt the Muslim way of life. Renounce your hypocrisy! Taking the Naam, the Name of the Lord, you shall swim across. || 1 || FIRST MEHL: The man-eaters say their prayers. Those who wield the knife wear the sacred thread around their necks. In their homes, the Brahmins sound the conch. They too have the same taste. False is their capital, and false is their trade. Speaking falsehood, they take their food. The home of modesty and Dharma is far from them. O Nanak, they are totally permeated with falsehood. The sacred marks are on their foreheads, and the saffron loin-cloths are around their waists; in their hands they hold the knives — they are the butchers of the world!
