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Asa Ki Var

Guru Nanak Sahib

Asa Ki Var
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This pauri (stanza), revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib, is accompanied by five saloks. The first salok comprises two lines, followed by two separate lines of ‘rahau,’ while the second salok comprises three. The first and second saloks describe the Sikh perspective on pain (dukh) and comfort (sukh). The third salok, which contains four lines, explains that devotion to IkOankar (the Divine) ought to be important to everyone. The fourth salok comprises three lines and designates IkOankar as the only source of illumination, the supreme, and the original source of all consciousness. The fifth salok, which contains two lines, highlights the importance of the Guru as the source of all wisdom essential for mental equipoise. This pauri reveals that in contrast to institutional education, truthful conduct is the only measure of significance in the court of IkOankar.
paüṛī.
paṛiā hovai gunahgāru tā omī sādhu na mārīai.
jehā ghāle ghālaṇā   teveho nāu pacārīai.
aisī kalā na kheḍīai jitu dargah gaïā hārīai.
paṛiā atai omīā vīcāru agai vīcārīai.
muhi calai su agai mārīai. 12.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
Guru Nanak focuses the ballad on the hierarchies we create between the educated and the uneducated. If an educated person is guilty, then that individual is punished in IkOankar’s court. An innocent uneducated saint cannot be punished in place of that educated individual. It is best not to play any games of deception or self-deception, indulging in acts that lead us to lose in the Court later. In the end, both the uneducated and educated, the privileged and the unprivileged, will be considered based on their actions — not on how much they knew, but on how they lived. There are some who are able to spend their lives on earth outsmarting everyone with their sharp wit, their punishment will still catch up to them in the end.
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