Ritualism

1. Burnt be thos rituals and formalities,

Whereby I forget my Beloved Lord.
Man practices rituals in order to control his body,
Yet his mind wanders in all directions.
(Guru III, Vadhans Rag)

2. What are all these rituals worth, If the heart is not sincere?
(Namdevj i, Asa Rag)

3. By mere talk of Him, We are saved not; Nor by reading a load of books;
Without love-worship, one's body is cleansed not.
Guru I, Sri Rag

4. The Pandits read and recite the Vedas, But all for the love of Maya.
(Guru III, Shlokas)

5. If he cleanseth his body from outside, The dirt of the mind goeth not.
(Guru III, Shlokas)

6. The egocentrics repeat the Name of the Lord endlessly,

7. But their dirt sticks-unto their minds

(Guru III, Sri Rag)

8. If mercy be the cotton, contentment the thread,

Continence the knot and truth the twist,
If this be the sacred thread of the soul,
Then O Pandit, put it on me.
This sacred thread neither breaks,
Nor becomes dirty.
Nor it is burnt nor lost;
Blessed are they who put it around their neck and depart.
(Guru I, Asa Rag)

9. When a person died,

The sacred thread fell off,
And he went without the thread.
(Guru I, Asa Rag)

10. A Hindu priest comes to the house of a Hindu,

By reciting Mantras he puts the sacred thread around his neck,
After wearing the sacred thread, If one commits sin,
His purifications go in vain.

(Guru I Ramkali Raga)

11. If one becomes Turk by circumsision,

What can we say about woman?
(Kabirji, Asa Rag)

12. Let gentleness and right restraint, Be thy circumcision.

Guru V, Maru Rag
13. The Lord is not realized, By practising Havana, Yoga, meditation,
austerity,And pilgamage to holy places.
Guru V, Bhairo Rag

14. Those are not pure,

Who sit down after taking a bath;
Only those are pure,
In whose heart He dwells.
(Guru I, Asa Rag)

15. He wanders at sixty-eight holy places

Without any gain,
How can he be cleansed of the dirt of sins?
(Guru I, Maru Rag)

16. Let good conduct,

Be thy fasting.
(Guru I, Majh Rag)

17. Those who practice fasts on lunar dates,

Practice them in vain.
(Guru V, Maru Rag)

18. Whosoever controls the mind,

He is a Haji.
(Guru V, Maru Rag)

19. Hear O Pandit, the performer of rites!

The action that brings joy,

Is the concentration on Spiritual Essence.
Guru I, Sorath Rag)
20. Let kindness be thy mosque,
Faith be thy prayer-carpet,
The honest earnings be thy Quran,
Effort be thy circumcision,
And good conduct be thy fast.
(Guru I, MajhRag)

21. Mechanical utterings of mantras, penances,

And all leanings and fixing of the mind on any object,

The discourses on the six Shastras and the Simrities,
The practice of Yoga, the religious rites and rituals,
Renunciation of the world and wandering about in the woods,
And all kinds of efforts made;
Giving jewels in charity and oblations to the sacred fires,
And getting the body cut into bits,
And offering each bit as sacrifice to the deities,
And observance of fasts and vows and other deeds,

With all these, the dirt of ego will not depart.

(Guru V, Gauri Rag)