This
pauri (stanza), revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib, is accompanied by two
saloks. The first salok comprises fourteen lines and communicates that there is no creation beyond fear. The entire phenomenon of creation is operating in reverence of the Command of IkOankar (the Divine), the formless One. Only the formless One is beyond fear. By seeking the shelter of the One, seekers may obtain blessings from the One and be liberated from all fear. The second salok, comprising ten lines, illustrates the theatrical representation of the mythological (puranic) characters (through Ramlila, Raslila, etc.) on stage. This pauri suggests how the wisdom of the formless One can be attained.
salok m: 1.
bhai vici pavaṇu vahai sadvāu. bhai vici calahi lakh darīāu.
bhai vici agani kaḍhai vegāri. bhai vici dhartī dabī bhāri.
bhai vici indu phirai sir bhāri. bhai vici rājā dharamu duāru.
bhai vici sūraju bhai vici candu. koh karoṛī calat na antu.
bhai vici sidh budh sur nāth. bhai vici āḍāṇe ākās.
bhai vici jodh mahābal sūr. bhai vici āvahi jāvahi pūr.
sagliā bhaü likhiā siri lekhu. nānak nirbhaü niraṅkāru sacu eku.1.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
Guru Nanak describes all of the things in nature and their place in the Order of existence. Everything that exists is existing under something else, and all of these things in nature, these human beings and other living creatures, are existing under the Command. There is no hierarchy with various levels of divinity or various levels of access to the One (One Universal Integrative Force, also referred to as 1Force or 1-Ness). There is only the One and all of the manifestations of the One, only the fully divine (the Creator) and those learning to become divine-like (all of creation). Even then, there is no separation or difference between the One and 1-Ness.
In other conceptions of cosmic law, there are ideas about layers of existence and divinity, levels of heaven and hell, complicated hierarchies and rules that govern existence. The gods of various traditions, incarnations and avatars of the One, might exist directly under the Command of the One, but they, in turn, govern those beneath them. In some frameworks, there are people governed by other people — those who are more learned might have command over those who are not as learned, for example. Even in our day-to-day lives, we other ourselves, place ourselves above certain people and below certain people, play into hierarchies and ideas about who has and deserves power and authority, who we should listen to and who we should not.
Here, Guru Nanak is challenging those practices and simplifying popular frameworks of both cosmic law and social norms in our lived day-to-day experiences by saying that the hierarchy really only has two levels: there are all of these things that exist (including deities and holy people) and then there is the 1Force. There is nothing that is not under this Command.
Guru Nanak invokes all of the various parts of creation — not by name but by their role in the universe — playing more into the idea of a sort of Plan with a capital “P,” in which all of these different kinds of "positions" or "roles" operate under the Command.
Guru Nanak also invokes a widely-used trope, the idea of your destiny being “written on your forehead.” But instead of destiny, Guru Nanak writes, the Command, or the Writ of 1Force, is inscribed on each forehead. Everything is written, and the only one who is beyond this writing is the One — 1Force — who is both Eternal and Formless.
The distinction between destiny and Command is an important one, because destiny is centered around the individual. It could be seen as a command with a lowercase “c” — the kind of thing that can distract from the ultimate Command, the kind of thing that feeds on our egos and causes us to be lethargic and passive, operating in the world with the constant thought of “it’s out of my hands.” Destiny is about your individual fate over anything else, your individual journey through life, while The Command is about the Law which governs all things. Everyone and everything that exists is operating in its role, playing its part day-to-day — within this Command.
