ek krisnaṅ ta sarab devā dev devā ta ātmah.
ātmaṅ srī bāsvadevasya je koī jānasi bhev.
nānak tā ko dāsu hai soī niranjan dev.4.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1353
Guru Nanak Sahib explains that the IkOankar (the Divine), referred to here as Creator, alone is the supreme deity and the primal source of consciousness. Those who realize this become the embodiment of IkOankar.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the fourth salok, Guru Nanak reminds us that the all-attractive IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One) is the source of light in all things. The One is the Deity of deities and the source of all consciousness. The Deity of all deities disrupts all the conceptions of smaller gods and demons and avatars and prophets and gurus by emphasizing that the essence of all these beings is the One, the all-pervading Divine. Whatever “god” we have been ascribed to, there is a “god” above that, and it is the One. The one who lives in remembrance of that One, IkOankar, is the one who becomes like the One. If everyone’s “duty” is the same “duty,” if everyone’s way is the same way and everything in the world has the same source in it, from the smallest to the biggest thing, we must come to realize that the One pervades everything and everyone and That One is the only One. And if we understand that, we understand that the Wisdom is the same. This is the mystery if someone would just discover it!
The scholarly ones, the intellectuals, the Brahmins, and the Pandits are not interested in this discovery because they are not interested in getting rid of their own behaviors. To discover this mystery and accept it would require them to acknowledge that their power derived from their hierarchical frameworks and notions of superiority and purity is now null and void. They would need to become truly filth-free instead of just filth-free by association. They would need to engage in service. They would need to rid themselves of pride. They would need to dissolve divisions because the One is in everything and everyone, and insisting on continuing to uphold divisions and hierarchies means we have not understood this mystery. The ones who do understand it, who live in remembrance regardless of their status through birth, are the ones who are exalted.
Guru Nanak is speaking to the scholars and intellectuals of Benares and encouraging them to shift their paradigms. The Guru is showing them that it is okay to discover the mystery and pursue something beyond intellect without expecting to solve or figure anything out. Discovering the mystery is necessary. The goal is to become the one who engages in devotion and service to the One after discovering this mystery. The Guru offers us questions. What have we been reflecting on? What have we been contemplating? Despite whatever smaller deities we engage with, are we contemplating the larger divine? What has entered our minds? What are we pursuing? What are we looking to discover?
The scholarly ones, the intellectuals, the Brahmins, and the Pandits are not interested in this discovery because they are not interested in getting rid of their own behaviors. To discover this mystery and accept it would require them to acknowledge that their power derived from their hierarchical frameworks and notions of superiority and purity is now null and void. They would need to become truly filth-free instead of just filth-free by association. They would need to engage in service. They would need to rid themselves of pride. They would need to dissolve divisions because the One is in everything and everyone, and insisting on continuing to uphold divisions and hierarchies means we have not understood this mystery. The ones who do understand it, who live in remembrance regardless of their status through birth, are the ones who are exalted.
Guru Nanak is speaking to the scholars and intellectuals of Benares and encouraging them to shift their paradigms. The Guru is showing them that it is okay to discover the mystery and pursue something beyond intellect without expecting to solve or figure anything out. Discovering the mystery is necessary. The goal is to become the one who engages in devotion and service to the One after discovering this mystery. The Guru offers us questions. What have we been reflecting on? What have we been contemplating? Despite whatever smaller deities we engage with, are we contemplating the larger divine? What has entered our minds? What are we pursuing? What are we looking to discover?
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