ātamrāmu sansārā. sācā khelu tum̖ārā.
sacu khelu tum̖ārā agam apārā tudhu binu kaüṇu bujhāe.
sidh sādhik siāṇe kete tujh binu kavaṇu kahāe.
kālu bikālu bhae devāne manu rākhiā guri ṭhāe.
nānak avgaṇ sabadi jalāe guṇ saṅgami prabhu pāe.4.1.2.
-Guru Granth Sahib 764
During Sikh weddings, the first pauri (stanza) of this Sabad is often recited at the arrival of the groom’s wedding procession. The entire Sabad equates the joy experienced on the arrival of the wedding procession with the bliss arising from joining the company of virtuous beings. Through the grace of IkOankar (the Divine), the being has received their company and love for IkOankar. Now, the mind sings joyous praises of IkOankar and is drenched in the Nam of IkOankar. The cycle of birth and death has also ceased.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the fourth stanza, Guru Arjan addresses IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One), and says, O Beautiful One who exists within all! O spirit of the world! This world is Your true play. IkOankar is the Beautiful One who can be Identified in the beauty that surrounds, but also within, pervading every being, present in all beings. This is the One whose play we experience in the world. It is not that the world is not real or that what we experience is not genuine. All that has been described is very real. These are not abstract ideas; they are lived experiences! The One’s play is real and eternal. The Guru says You are unreachable, boundless. Who can cause us to understand except You? In this play, in the pursuit of a relationship with IkOankar, in pursuing an experience of IkOankar, ultimately, we need the help of the One we seek. IkOankar is beyond the reach of the mind and senses. The world is both real and a play created by IkOankar. Without the One, we cannot understand any of this. We cannot have the experience of any of this.
The Guru says there are many Sidhs and seekers and wise beings, but who can claim to be called anything without You? So many have engaged in disciplines, logic, philosophies, and schools of thought with great effort, which we recognize as accomplished. They earn these titles that denote their accomplishments. But none of them can be called anything without IkOankar. It is the One who gives them this level of understanding — that is the Grace!
The Guru continues the ones who are outside of death and birth have become mad in love. The Wisdom has held the mind in place. It has steadied the minds of those outside the game of life and death. Those outside this game are carefree in love, fearless in love. Their non-virtues have been burnt away through the Word of Wisdom, and they have found the One through connection with the virtues. We can burn away our non-virtues, we can experience a confluence of the virtues, we can steady our minds through the Wisdom, and we can be in love with the One, fearless and carefree. Will we feel the Grace?
In this composition, Guru Arjan shows us that a particular company brings us to the Divine-like qualities that help us experience and understand them. This company helps us become excited about the eventual union with the One, helps us celebrate that experience of the One, and prepares our heart-homes for the presence of the One to be felt. Through this company, through the Wisdom, through the Grace, our non-virtues can leave us, we can cultivate virtues within, and our bodies and minds can become drenched in deep crimson love. We can Identify with the One. We can experience wisdom lining our eyes — we can see the 1-Light in all three worlds, in all three realms, ever-present, all-pervading. All of these experiences are laced with deep excitement and bliss and blooming within, an ever-expanding love that ceaselessly transforms us. Will we seek out the noble beings who can guide us? Will we hear the unstruck melodies resounding? Will we sing the joyful songs? Will our heart-homes become beautiful? Will we beg for the essence? Will we feel the Grace?
The Guru says there are many Sidhs and seekers and wise beings, but who can claim to be called anything without You? So many have engaged in disciplines, logic, philosophies, and schools of thought with great effort, which we recognize as accomplished. They earn these titles that denote their accomplishments. But none of them can be called anything without IkOankar. It is the One who gives them this level of understanding — that is the Grace!
The Guru continues the ones who are outside of death and birth have become mad in love. The Wisdom has held the mind in place. It has steadied the minds of those outside the game of life and death. Those outside this game are carefree in love, fearless in love. Their non-virtues have been burnt away through the Word of Wisdom, and they have found the One through connection with the virtues. We can burn away our non-virtues, we can experience a confluence of the virtues, we can steady our minds through the Wisdom, and we can be in love with the One, fearless and carefree. Will we feel the Grace?
In this composition, Guru Arjan shows us that a particular company brings us to the Divine-like qualities that help us experience and understand them. This company helps us become excited about the eventual union with the One, helps us celebrate that experience of the One, and prepares our heart-homes for the presence of the One to be felt. Through this company, through the Wisdom, through the Grace, our non-virtues can leave us, we can cultivate virtues within, and our bodies and minds can become drenched in deep crimson love. We can Identify with the One. We can experience wisdom lining our eyes — we can see the 1-Light in all three worlds, in all three realms, ever-present, all-pervading. All of these experiences are laced with deep excitement and bliss and blooming within, an ever-expanding love that ceaselessly transforms us. Will we seek out the noble beings who can guide us? Will we hear the unstruck melodies resounding? Will we sing the joyful songs? Will our heart-homes become beautiful? Will we beg for the essence? Will we feel the Grace?
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