jo tisu bhāvai sammrath so thīai hīlaṛā ehu sansāro.
jali thali mahīali ravi rahiā sācaṛā sirjaṇhāro.
sācā sirjaṇhāro alakh apāro tā kā antu na pāiā.
āiā tin kā saphalu bhaïā hai ik mani jinī dhiāiā.
ḍhāhe ḍhāhi usāre āpe hukami savāraṇhāro.
jo tisu bhāvai sammrath so thīai hīlaṛā ehu sansāro.3.
-Guru Granth Sahib 579
This composition is based on the Panjabi folk poetic form Alahania related to death. In the first stanza, the message of worldly destructibility is conveyed while glorifying IkOankar, the Creator. In the second stanza, the being is advised to give up pride and remember IkOankar. In the third stanza, the life of those beings is considered fruitful, who single-mindedly remember the eternal IkOankar. Everything happens according to the will of IkOankar; human effort is only a means to that end. In the last stanza it is conveyed that crying for worldly things is useless. Crying in longing and love of IkOankar is meaningful.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the third stanza, Guru Nanak says, whatever pleases That capable Creator, that happens. This world is only a means. The word used is hilra, which has the connotation of a place or a space that provides an opportunity for something. This world is only a means, but we can use it as an opportunity to earn that which pleases IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) to do what brings us closer to IkOankar. And that One to whom we wish to become close is all-pervasive. That eternal Creator permeates every space in the water, land, and air. That eternal Creator is vast and unfathomable, boundless and without limit. But those beings who contemplate this eternal Creator, this pervasive and vast and limitless One, are those who have made their lives fruitful. These are the beings who are truly ‘successful’ in this world, not successful in the ways that we might imagine in the material sense. The Guru ends the stanza by saying that the One demolishes and establishes and demolishes. That One adorns and refines each of us according to the One’s Own Command.
While the first and second stanzas largely acknowledge the pain of those mourning, the third stanza provides more tangible guidance. If this world has been created, and we are all given particular tasks and businesses to do, and if we are caught up in Maya (the allure of material things and relationships) or pride, how do we get to a place of remembrance? In this world’s expanse, it is understood that we will become entangled in various businesses, tasks, and indulgences. All these things look different from person to person, but regardless of how they manifest, we are consumed by them. The question is whether we will also take the steps to extricate ourselves from those entanglements. It is through the remembrance of the One who has created this expanse that this can happen. It is through remembrance that we can be taken toward feeling the presence of the One.
We know this world is a strange place, that it is only a means or a pretense. We need not worry about what is being created or destroyed—this is the movement of existence, of the One’s expanse. What are we using this space for? What are we using this time for? Are we using it to pursue wealth, fame, power, and indulgence—all the things that lead us to experience great pains? Even if we do, will we allow our pains to inspire us to introspect so that we may develop a longing for connection with the One whose remembrance we have not practiced? And once we do, once we begin to long for connection, will we pursue it through remembrance?
While the first and second stanzas largely acknowledge the pain of those mourning, the third stanza provides more tangible guidance. If this world has been created, and we are all given particular tasks and businesses to do, and if we are caught up in Maya (the allure of material things and relationships) or pride, how do we get to a place of remembrance? In this world’s expanse, it is understood that we will become entangled in various businesses, tasks, and indulgences. All these things look different from person to person, but regardless of how they manifest, we are consumed by them. The question is whether we will also take the steps to extricate ourselves from those entanglements. It is through the remembrance of the One who has created this expanse that this can happen. It is through remembrance that we can be taken toward feeling the presence of the One.
We know this world is a strange place, that it is only a means or a pretense. We need not worry about what is being created or destroyed—this is the movement of existence, of the One’s expanse. What are we using this space for? What are we using this time for? Are we using it to pursue wealth, fame, power, and indulgence—all the things that lead us to experience great pains? Even if we do, will we allow our pains to inspire us to introspect so that we may develop a longing for connection with the One whose remembrance we have not practiced? And once we do, once we begin to long for connection, will we pursue it through remembrance?
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