bacan sādh sukh panthā lahanthā baḍ karmaṇah.
rahantā janam marṇen ramṇaṅ nānak hari kīrtanah.7.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1360
Guru Arjan Sahib describes a flaw-riddled body and the futile nature of pride in material attachment to the physical world. The seeker is encouraged to connect with the eternal IkOankar (the Divine), who removes diseases, sorrows, and sufferings, making way for a fruitful life. The precious gift of Nam is received in the company of virtuous beings and makes the seekers’ lives fruitful. This saloks encourages seekers to welcome the company of virtuous beings to unite with the all-pervasive IkOankar and find eternal comfort and happiness.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the seventh salok, Guru Arjan says that the utterances of the Sage-Guru are the path of joy or comfort. This can be interpreted to mean that practicing the teachings of the Wisdom (Guru) is the joyful path. The joy that this path offers is a joy that is unchanging and continuous. It is a joy that comes from singing the praises of the 1-Light, IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One), through the Wisdom. And it is this singing of praises that ends the cycle of birth and death for us.
But the reality is that we all have our own trajectories and individual paths we have chosen to walk, and often, these paths cause us pain. Our deeds may be of happiness or sorrow; we might get many mixed signals. So the Guru is urging us to change our trajectories and reminding us that this change, this walking of the path of joy, is something that happens through great fortune. The great fortune is figuring out how to change our behaviors and walk a new path, and then doing it is the grace of the One that we get to experience. This is not to say that it happens without any effort. Instead, part of what makes finding the path of joy a thing that happens with great fortune is the immense effort required to make this change. It is in the company of the virtuous ones and through the Wisdom that we gain the capacity to earn that effort, and that earning and development and mental training takes us beyond life and death. This is what the praise of the 1-Light does. It changes our path and our fortune and develops us to perceive and receive grace. Which path will we choose to take? Which effort will we make?
But the reality is that we all have our own trajectories and individual paths we have chosen to walk, and often, these paths cause us pain. Our deeds may be of happiness or sorrow; we might get many mixed signals. So the Guru is urging us to change our trajectories and reminding us that this change, this walking of the path of joy, is something that happens through great fortune. The great fortune is figuring out how to change our behaviors and walk a new path, and then doing it is the grace of the One that we get to experience. This is not to say that it happens without any effort. Instead, part of what makes finding the path of joy a thing that happens with great fortune is the immense effort required to make this change. It is in the company of the virtuous ones and through the Wisdom that we gain the capacity to earn that effort, and that earning and development and mental training takes us beyond life and death. This is what the praise of the 1-Light does. It changes our path and our fortune and develops us to perceive and receive grace. Which path will we choose to take? Which effort will we make?
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