sacṛai āpi jagatu upāiā gur binu ghor andhāro.
āpi milāe āpi milai āpe dei piāro.
āpe dei piāro sahaji vāpāro gurmukhi janamu savāre.
dhanu jag mahi āiā āpu gavāiā dari sācai saciāro.
giāni ratani ghaṭi cānaṇu hoā nānak nām piāro.
sacṛai āpi jagatu upāiā gur binu ghor andhāro.4.3.
-Guru Granth Sahib 584
The first stanza of this Alahani states that the seeker who considers death a reality enshrines the Wisdom (Guru) in their heart, contemplates the Nam of IkOankar (the Divine), and feels the presence of IkOankar in every moment. The second stanza describes the way to union with IkOankar. The third stanza states that the seeker, who, through the Wisdom, is imbued with the love of IkOankar, attains union with IkOankar. In the fourth stanza, it is conveyed that IkOankar, by Own-Self, does and causes everything. IkOankar by Own-Self bestows the seeker with the union.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the fourth stanza, Guru Amardas says the eternal Sovereign by Own-Self has created the world, but without the Wisdom, there is extreme darkness or ignorance. The Sovereign by Own-Self causes us to meet with Own-Self and bestows us with love. The Sovereign by Own-Self gives us love and causes us to trade in sahaj. The word sahaj refers to a state of Divine love and awareness that is beyond the influence of worldly attachment. What does it mean to trade in sahaj? We exist in a state of inner-wisdom, reflection, and contemplation. We Identify with IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One), and through the guidance of the Wisdom, IkOankar Own-Self sets our lives in order.
The Guru continues, great is the one who came into this world and lost their ego! That seeker who recognizes the Sovereign as the Doer and the Cause is true at the true Court! At the door of the Eternal, that seeker is considered truthful. Through the jewel-like wisdom of Nam (Identification with IkOankar), there is illumination in the heart. This Nam is filled with love, producing a jewel of Wisdom, insights, and deeper knowledge, illuminating the whole of the seeker. This love can transform our entire being. Our way of thinking, our way of speaking, and our entire way of acting can transform through this love. This whole stanza is about a different ap; this time it is IkOankar Own-Self. The Guru emphasizes the ultimate sovereignty and power of the Sovereign as an urging toward faith in that One who is the Doer and the Cause. If we can understand that Sovereign and the vastness of the Sovereign, love for Nam will well up within us. We will cultivate faith in the One. We will diminish our egos about where we are in our journeys and why. We will understand that everything happens because the Sovereign has willed it. We are not doing anything! IkOankar Own-Self places us in that state of inner-wisdom, Own-Self causes us to reflect, Own-Self causes us to contemplate Nam.
This stanza is simple and straightforward, but it is one of the hardest ideas to grasp. We struggle to navigate a world that gives us the illusion of selfhood, individuality, and power. We struggle to contextualize our small selves in the larger Self, the Sovereign IkOankar. We struggle to navigate even being here! This is why we seek the Nam and the guidance of the Wisdom — in this world, everything is created by the One Own-Self, but it is a hard place to navigate, and there is darkness in our minds. It is through Nam, Identifying with the One, that we come to understand the movement of the world, and through the light of the Wisdom that we navigate this darkness. Will we seek that guidance? Will we remember the vastness of the Sovereign? Will we lose our egos?
SUMMARY
In the first stanza of this composition, Guru Amardas deals with the interplay of the feminine-being who is connected and the feminine-being who is separated, as well as that feminine-being who is separated but who has had a glimpse of the Spouse. In the second stanza onward, there is a sense of faith being developed: I know the Spouse is with me, but how do I see the formless One? The Guru shows us how to develop faith, how to trust the things we know logically, and how to cultivate the experience of these things we know to be true through Nam, or Identification with IkOankar, and love and Sabad, as well as the Wisdom that gives us Nam and understanding. The ones who experience these learnings can see that in love, they can take their thinking and behaviors to the next level, donning the eternal robe rather than the robe of Maya or attachment to the material and relationships. In the third stanza, the Guru personally witnesses that the Spouse is present, and the experience and coloring in devotion begins. This is where everything happens in sahaj, or Divine love and awareness because we are filled with it! This love becomes intoxicating; this feeling of presence is experienced naturally and habitually, and this bliss is experienced naturally and habitually. In the final stanza, the Guru emphasizes that nothing happens without the Creator Own-Self willing it. The experience of union or connection with IkOankar does not happen because of us. We can try to become Wisdom-oriented and beautify our lives that way, but ultimately, the drenching of love from within, the connection with the Sovereign, happens through the grace of the Sovereign.
The Guru continues, great is the one who came into this world and lost their ego! That seeker who recognizes the Sovereign as the Doer and the Cause is true at the true Court! At the door of the Eternal, that seeker is considered truthful. Through the jewel-like wisdom of Nam (Identification with IkOankar), there is illumination in the heart. This Nam is filled with love, producing a jewel of Wisdom, insights, and deeper knowledge, illuminating the whole of the seeker. This love can transform our entire being. Our way of thinking, our way of speaking, and our entire way of acting can transform through this love. This whole stanza is about a different ap; this time it is IkOankar Own-Self. The Guru emphasizes the ultimate sovereignty and power of the Sovereign as an urging toward faith in that One who is the Doer and the Cause. If we can understand that Sovereign and the vastness of the Sovereign, love for Nam will well up within us. We will cultivate faith in the One. We will diminish our egos about where we are in our journeys and why. We will understand that everything happens because the Sovereign has willed it. We are not doing anything! IkOankar Own-Self places us in that state of inner-wisdom, Own-Self causes us to reflect, Own-Self causes us to contemplate Nam.
This stanza is simple and straightforward, but it is one of the hardest ideas to grasp. We struggle to navigate a world that gives us the illusion of selfhood, individuality, and power. We struggle to contextualize our small selves in the larger Self, the Sovereign IkOankar. We struggle to navigate even being here! This is why we seek the Nam and the guidance of the Wisdom — in this world, everything is created by the One Own-Self, but it is a hard place to navigate, and there is darkness in our minds. It is through Nam, Identifying with the One, that we come to understand the movement of the world, and through the light of the Wisdom that we navigate this darkness. Will we seek that guidance? Will we remember the vastness of the Sovereign? Will we lose our egos?
SUMMARY
In the first stanza of this composition, Guru Amardas deals with the interplay of the feminine-being who is connected and the feminine-being who is separated, as well as that feminine-being who is separated but who has had a glimpse of the Spouse. In the second stanza onward, there is a sense of faith being developed: I know the Spouse is with me, but how do I see the formless One? The Guru shows us how to develop faith, how to trust the things we know logically, and how to cultivate the experience of these things we know to be true through Nam, or Identification with IkOankar, and love and Sabad, as well as the Wisdom that gives us Nam and understanding. The ones who experience these learnings can see that in love, they can take their thinking and behaviors to the next level, donning the eternal robe rather than the robe of Maya or attachment to the material and relationships. In the third stanza, the Guru personally witnesses that the Spouse is present, and the experience and coloring in devotion begins. This is where everything happens in sahaj, or Divine love and awareness because we are filled with it! This love becomes intoxicating; this feeling of presence is experienced naturally and habitually, and this bliss is experienced naturally and habitually. In the final stanza, the Guru emphasizes that nothing happens without the Creator Own-Self willing it. The experience of union or connection with IkOankar does not happen because of us. We can try to become Wisdom-oriented and beautify our lives that way, but ultimately, the drenching of love from within, the connection with the Sovereign, happens through the grace of the Sovereign.
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