Din Raini

Guru Arjan Sahib

The first stanza came to a close with a heartfelt plea from Guru Arjan that he would come to see the all-pervasive One, Hari, through his own eyes. Guru Arjan invokes Hari again in this stanza, continuing to emphasize the all-pervasiveness of IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). Guru Arjan continues to guide us towards union, further familiarizing us with IkOankar, the One whom we also long to see with our own eyes. IkOankar is vast, too vast to grasp easily; Guru Arjan paints a picture so that we seekers may begin to see that One. He says the all-pervasive One listens to the conditions of our heart and knows our longing and pain. IkOankar is all-capable, the support of all, and is the sole One we ought to remember throughout our entire lives. In the next line, building on the metaphor of the seeker-bride and the Divine-Husband, Guru Arjan invokes the culturally significant symbols of the parents’ home and the in-laws’ home. In South Asian culture, these places hold immense meaning, particularly for women, as a major shift in identity and life occurs as a woman leaves her parents’ home to live with her in-laws. Rooted in this rich South Asian cultural narrative, a commonly understood religious analogy holds that the in-laws’ house represents the hereafter, where beings go after ‘wedding’ the Divine-Husband. Guru Arjan incorporates this analogy, yet challenges it, to portray that no matter where one is, whether in the home of one’s earthly parents or the home of one’s in-laws, they are always in the home of IkOankar. In wedding the true Husband, IkOankar, one becomes connected with the most expansive lineage that there is: the lineage of IkOankar, as all of creation is of IkOankar. Moreover, living in the in-law’s house, really IkOankar’s house, means to live in the bliss of union with the One while alive. Rather than reducing the idea of spiritual ascendance, freedom, or liberation to something that occurs only after the death of the physical body, Guru Arjan reminds us that the house of IkOankar is inclusive of both the here and ‘hereafter’. Guru Arjan further highlights the vastness of the Husband, describing IkOankar as the highest, unreachable—there is no end, no shore to the knowledge of the Unfathomable.

In the first stanza, Guru Arjan expressed that a lover wishes to always serve the eternal Wisdom. Bringing us further into the depths of this service, Guru Arjan says, the service pleasing to Hari is that which is performed having become the dust of the feet of the saintly beings. In Indic culture, bowing to someone’s feet or touching someone’s feet, poetically expressed as becoming the dust of someone’s feet, symbolizes deep humility. It expresses appreciation for that person’s mentorship and recognition of the power of their wisdom and experience. Guru Arjan tells us that the service which pleases IkOankar is that service which is learned from saintly beings, meaning those who exemplify the Wisdom-Guru, who exemplify Truth. Bringing us further into seeing the vastness of IkOankar, Guru Arjan says that from the beginning of time, IkOankar has been the Master of the masterless and the Honor of the honorless. IkOankar saves beings from fallen states where they become caught up in the throes of separation, attached to anger, greed, lust, attachment, or ego rather than to the Husband. This immense support is experienced through Nam (Identification with IkOankar), wherein beings feel the steadiness of IkOankar, the Eternal Creator. While many try to assess IkOankar’s value, Guru Arjan tells us that the value of the One cannot be described; Identification is priceless.

Having captured the vastness of IkOankar, the vastness is made personal again, reminding us that the One hears our internal world and the condition of our hearts. Invoking Guru Nanak, Guru Arjan reminds us that the One who dwells within our very minds and bodies is expansive, having no end. Invoking IkOankar as Prabhu, the Sovereign, Guru Arjan emphasizes the virtue of remembrance, saying that he devotes himself to those who enshrine the Sovereign in their consciousness day and night, throughout their lives. Here, Guru Arjan reveals that it’s this service and remembrance that lead sister-seekers into union with IkOankar, thereby making them honorable, virtuous, and Truth-oriented.

When we want to introduce somebody to someone, we describe that person to them. We paint a picture of their virtues and charming qualities so that an impression of that person may be felt before the meeting. Guru Arjan, through his union with IkOankar, paints a picture of the One for us. We come to understand that IkOankar is, in fact, very near, despite our not being aware of the One’s immanence. Seeing something this vast can be difficult, much like grasping an emotion you’ve always felt, yet have never acknowledged or named. Here, Guru Arjan’s love for IkOankar serves as a compass, guiding us towards recognition of the One. We learn that IkOankar is the sole One who is worthy of worship in this life. We ought to channel our love into no celebrity, place, friend, partner, or material item as much as we ought to channel our love into the One—it is only from that love we can come to truly love others. We come to love the One through recognizing that the One supports all life, is inherent within our very bones, keeps our blood flowing through our veins, and brings us to wake each morning. This near and dear One is with us always, providing us true solace. While we can liken IkOankar to a Husband, the Husband-like quality of IkOankar is far beyond that of an earthly spouse. Wedding IkOankar, our earthly identifications are transcended—we no longer see ourselves as merely products of our birth or our partner’s lineage; we come to identify with and feel the inherent, intimate connection we have with all of creation. We realize how deeply intertwined all of existence is with the Husband. This true family, which includes our birth family but is not defined by it, becomes the lineage with which we identify. Meeting the Husband in this way, we come to recognize we are always in the home of the beloved One, of the in-laws, no matter where we are.

Reminded of IkOankar’s limitlessness, we are humbled—we are guided to reflect on how little we know of the One, and how there is no technical knowledge or system that can lead us to fully know or understand IkOankar. Our knowledge and our knowing of the One will never be complete. The ways in which Guru Arjan articulates the vastness of the One help us to begin enshrining IkOankar in our mind, so that we, too, may come to praise, develop love for, and long for that One. This longing comes to fulfillment through service, where we are reminded that we ought not seek personal gain or recognition from service. Rather, the real service we can do is that which we do with a relinquished sense of self, that which is learned from those having realized union in their lives. This humility and selflessness are not something we can manufacture within ourselves; they are the effect of Grace. When we invite that Grace into our lives through loving devotion, through praise of IkOankar, through cherishing the dust of the feet of Truth-oriented beings, only then can virtues like humility and selflessness be instilled within us. We begin to have less regard for preserving ourselves and start to care more about being in the service of the One. When we serve the One, meaning when we serve others, when we serve the Earth, when we inculcate the Wisdom-Guru within, without selfish motivation, without attachment to outcomes, then IkOankar is pleased.

IkOankar is recognized as the Master of the masterless and the Honor of the honorless. What does it mean to be the poor, or the honorless, whom IkOankar is the Master of and the Honor of? This means we recognize the shortcomings of our mind, of our capacities, of our intellect. This means we vulnerably acknowledge our weaknesses and challenges in becoming devotees of IkOankar—that is, the ways we wrestle with our ego, act in fearful self-preservation, and struggle to place our faith fully in the One. We may wrestle with jealousy, self-loathing, apathy, or whatever else it may be that manifests for us. In this acknowledgment, in which we recognize our powerlessness and limitations, IkOankar becomes our Master and our Honor. It is through Identification with IkOankar that we come to inner steadiness, finding freedom from fear through our faith in the One. We are Graced with a true sense of purpose, leading us to act with honor and guidance in all that we do. This has been the nature of the relationship between IkOankar and human beings from the beginning of time. When we devote ourselves to the One, give ourselves to the One, meaning we let go of our personal desires and accept the Will of IkOankar, we become beautifully transformed. We come to dwell in a state of acceptance through the experience of Identification.

Invoking Guru Nanak’s signature, reminding us that all Guru embodiments are of the same light, Guru Arjan concludes the stanza by reminding us of the foundational principle of Oneness. Guru Arjan says that IkOankar, the One without end or limit, dwells inherently in the mind and body of each and every being. IkOankar is not more present in some people and less in others. There is nobody who is more “holy” or less “holy”. This is a declaration of love and solidarity with all people, in a world where spirituality and religion are constantly used to divide, conquer, and justify violence and oppression. Rather than ascribing value to people based on their caste, race, gender, religion, socioeconomic class, or sexuality, Guru Arjan clarifies who it is that deserves admiration and praise in this world. Guru Arjan guides us to adore only those who, day and night, serve IkOankar in thought, deed, and intention. Those who dwell upon and remember IkOankar with love and devotion continuously, which is a way of living we all equally have access to, are the ones worth any regard.

Can we come to enshrine IkOankar within our mind a little more through Guru Arjan’s sharing of his beloved One? Are we inspired to recognize our true family through wedding the True Husband? Will we invite the One into our minds through selfless, loving service? Will we become beings full of remembrance, whom Guru Arjan would adore?