dhanāsarī mahalā 9.
ab mai kaünu upāu karaü.
jih bidhi man ko sansā cūkai bhaü nidhi pāri paraü.1. rahāu.
janamu pāi kachu bhalo na kīno tā te adhik ḍaraü.
man bac kram hari gun nahī gāe yah jīa soc dharaü.1.
gurmati suni kachu giānu na upjio pasu jiu udaru bharaü.
kahu nānak prabh biradu pachānaü tab haü patit taraü.2.4.9.9.13.58.4.93.
-Guru Granth Sahib 685
Guru Teghbahadar Sahib describes, from the first-person perspective, how to implore before IkOankar (the Divine). This Sabad describes an individual who strayed from righteous practices and that only IkOankar can liberate them and lead them across the world-ocean.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the fourth composition, Guru Teghbahadar says, which effort do I make now? What is the way through which the doubt of my mind may be removed, and I may cross the world-ocean? We are now at the point where we have understood what ails us, we have thought about it, we have reflected, and we know that we ought to do something about it. So, which system or method will eliminate the mind’s doubts so that we can swim across the world-ocean? Which is the method that will make this life fruitful? We have spent our time keeping score and worrying that we are losing. We have understood that only one among millions can even get to the point of becoming Wisdom-centered. Depending on where we are in this world-ocean, depending on the horizon within our view, it can look like an impossible journey. We are like kids swimming in the deep end of a pool, asking for help.
Which effort do I make now? The Guru, identifying with the seekers, says that even after we were given the gift of these human lives, we have not done much good with them. It is because of this waste of opportunity so far that we are afraid. The Guru utters this from a first-person perspective, giving us guidance on how to begin to introspect and address what we might regret. Neither through our minds nor our mouths nor through our deeds have we sung praises of the 1-Light. We have not reflected on the virtues of the One; we have not inculcated them, we have not allowed for our behaviors to change. We have not sung the praises of the All-pervasive through our actions, and now it is all we are thinking about. It is making us worry and fear what will happen to us in the end.
Which effort do I make now? We heard the instructions of the Wisdom, we heard the teachings, and even after all of that, this wisdom did not take birth within us. Not even a bit of knowledge has been produced. We still run around like animals and fill our bellies. We have not changed what we consume or how we consume it, though we know what we ought to be consuming and allowing it to change us from within. If this is our condition, the only thing we can do now is to ask for help. All we can say now is, O Dearest, can You recognize your intrinsic nature so that I may swim across, despite being a fallen one? We are shown how to admit that we have not learned despite knowing better, despite being guided and hearing the Wisdom. We, the flawed and fallen, are shown how to ask for help from the One who is without flaws, whose nature is full of grace and compassion. This asking is for us or our realization; it is not what the One needs or demands. The Guru invokes Prabhu when addressing IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One). Prabhu is a name that invokes the royal and godlike nature of someone whose job is to fulfill a particular role. This is someone who has to help us, who we are asking to intercede on our behalf because we know the One is capable and that the One can help us even when no one else can. This is not about an obligation that IkOankar has to us. It is about the intrinsic goodness that is present in IkOankar that the Guru is invoking.
The Guru shows us how to be honest with ourselves about the ways in which we have fallen, how to reflect on these things, and ask the One to fulfill the One’s nature when we have been unable to fulfill ours. It is not that we are inherently flawed, but that we have fallen to the various entanglements of the human condition, and it has caused us to stray from our nature, which is to be in constant Remembrance and connection with the 1-Light. Even with our worry, fear, and anxiety about what will happen to us, the Guru shows us how to ask for help from the only One who can help us in our conditions. Will we make the hard journey toward honesty with ourselves about what we have and have not been able to learn? Will we be able to bravely and vulnerably ask the One to fulfill the One’s constant and eternal nature?
Which effort do I make now? The Guru, identifying with the seekers, says that even after we were given the gift of these human lives, we have not done much good with them. It is because of this waste of opportunity so far that we are afraid. The Guru utters this from a first-person perspective, giving us guidance on how to begin to introspect and address what we might regret. Neither through our minds nor our mouths nor through our deeds have we sung praises of the 1-Light. We have not reflected on the virtues of the One; we have not inculcated them, we have not allowed for our behaviors to change. We have not sung the praises of the All-pervasive through our actions, and now it is all we are thinking about. It is making us worry and fear what will happen to us in the end.
Which effort do I make now? We heard the instructions of the Wisdom, we heard the teachings, and even after all of that, this wisdom did not take birth within us. Not even a bit of knowledge has been produced. We still run around like animals and fill our bellies. We have not changed what we consume or how we consume it, though we know what we ought to be consuming and allowing it to change us from within. If this is our condition, the only thing we can do now is to ask for help. All we can say now is, O Dearest, can You recognize your intrinsic nature so that I may swim across, despite being a fallen one? We are shown how to admit that we have not learned despite knowing better, despite being guided and hearing the Wisdom. We, the flawed and fallen, are shown how to ask for help from the One who is without flaws, whose nature is full of grace and compassion. This asking is for us or our realization; it is not what the One needs or demands. The Guru invokes Prabhu when addressing IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One). Prabhu is a name that invokes the royal and godlike nature of someone whose job is to fulfill a particular role. This is someone who has to help us, who we are asking to intercede on our behalf because we know the One is capable and that the One can help us even when no one else can. This is not about an obligation that IkOankar has to us. It is about the intrinsic goodness that is present in IkOankar that the Guru is invoking.
The Guru shows us how to be honest with ourselves about the ways in which we have fallen, how to reflect on these things, and ask the One to fulfill the One’s nature when we have been unable to fulfill ours. It is not that we are inherently flawed, but that we have fallen to the various entanglements of the human condition, and it has caused us to stray from our nature, which is to be in constant Remembrance and connection with the 1-Light. Even with our worry, fear, and anxiety about what will happen to us, the Guru shows us how to ask for help from the only One who can help us in our conditions. Will we make the hard journey toward honesty with ourselves about what we have and have not been able to learn? Will we be able to bravely and vulnerably ask the One to fulfill the One’s constant and eternal nature?
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