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Salok, First Mehl:

There is a famine of Truth; falsehood prevails, and the blackness of the Dark Age of Kali Yuga has turned men into demons.

Those who planted their seed have departed with honor; now, how can the shattered seed sprout?

If the seed is whole, and it is the proper season, then the seed will sprout.

O Nanak, without treatment, the raw fabric cannot be dyed.

In the Fear of God it is bleached white, if the treatment of modesty is applied to the cloth of the body.

O Nanak, if one is imbued with devotional worship, his reputation is not false. ||1||

First Mehl:

Greed and sin are the king and prime minister; falsehood is the treasurer.

Sexual desire, the chief advisor, is summoned and consulted; they all sit together and contemplate their plans.

Their subjects are blind, and without wisdom, they try to please the will of the dead.

The spiritually wise dance and play their musical instruments, adorning themselves with beautiful decorations.

They shout out loud, and sing epic poems and heroic stories.

The fools call themselves spiritual scholars, and by their clever tricks, they love to gather wealth.

The righteous waste their righteousness, by asking for the door of salvation.

They call themselves celibate, and abandon their homes, but they do not know the true way of life.

Everyone calls himself perfect; none call themselves imperfect.

If the weight of honor is placed on the scale, then, O Nanak, one sees his true weight. ||2||

First Mehl:

Evil actions become publicly known; O Nanak, the True Lord sees everything.

Everyone makes the attempt, but that alone happens which the Creator Lord does.

In the world hereafter, social status and power mean nothing; hereafter, the soul is new.

Those few, whose honor is confirmed, are good. ||3||

Pauree:

Only those whose karma You have pre-ordained from the very beginning, O Lord, meditate on You.

Nothing is in the power of these beings; You created the various worlds.

Some, You unite with Yourself, and some, You lead astray.

By Guru's Grace You are known; through Him, You reveal Yourself.

We are easily absorbed in You. ||11||