In the fourth stanza (
savaiya), Guru Arjan spoke of the limitless virtues of
IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) and our inability to fully grasp the expansiveness of the One. Here, Guru Arjan continues to recount the vastness of IkOankar and speaks to the supreme grace of the One. At the beginning of the stanza, Guru Arjan addresses a common dichotomy, wherein people get caught up in trying to determine whether the divine is with or without form. We learn that IkOankar is both with form and without form. IkOankar’s form, as described previously, is of all spaces, in all realms, in every one and every being. There is also the aspect of IkOankar that is beyond creation, formless, and eternal. IkOankar is also described as without deception here. This means IkOankar is free of the deceptive influence of
Maya—IkOankar is never deceived by or allured by transient things and relationships, and therefore never imparts such deception to devotees. Those who devote experience IkOankar as containing infinite joy, immaculate, filth-free, and forever blooming with these virtues. Echoing the vastness of the One, Guru Arjan says:
Countless beings sing Your virtues; yet one cannot find even a bit of Your end. Not even a sesame seed’s worth of IkOankar’s vastness can be grasped, even by those who devote, praise, and love! Rather, those in devotion go beyond this longing to grasp.
Shifting to the supreme importance of Grace, Guru Arjan invokes
Prabhu, the Sovereign, as an epithet for IkOankar. He says that the being toward whom the Supreme is gracious comes to meet the Supreme, IkOankar. Invoking yet another epithet for IkOankar, those beings are immensely blessed upon whom
Hari, the all-pervasive, fear-eliminating One, has been gracious. In the last line of the stanza, Guru Arjan says that those beings touched by Guru Nanak are freed from the cycle of birth and death. Being touched here means engaging with the legacy of Guru Nanak: reading and internalizing the revealed wisdom and embodying the virtues.
When we connect with the One, we can experience the nature of the One as Guru Arjan describes. The beauty of a sunset, the sublime sound of flowing water, and the trees blossoming with vigor year after year all reflect the blissful, immaculate, blooming nature of the One who pervades all existence. IkOankar, who flows with endless virtues and the power to manifest such beauty, is never concerned with the fleeting spectacles of status, wealth, appearances, and relationships that often capture our attention. Through devotion, praise, and love toward IkOankar, these virtues of the One can grow within us. Over time, we become more resilient, eventually becoming freed of the deceit of transient things and relationships through our devotion. Connecting with IkOankar in this way, we experience just a small portion of the limitless ocean of virtues of the One.
Guru Arjan distinguishes what it means to truly be fortunate, blessed, or graced from common connotations. A high-paying job, a fancy house, or an expensive car is not what being blessed means from this ultimate vantage point, nor can blessings be produced through ceremony or ritual. Being blessed is much more simple. It is also more expansive, as the grace of IkOankar is not limited to a select group of people, unlike these achievements or cultural practices. The true blessing is available to anyone who seeks it. This true blessing is to receive the gift of connection with IkOankar. Through connecting with the wisdom, we become blessed and experience the grace of IkOankar. Thus, we become among those blessed and fortunate ones. We meet with the all-pervasive, fear-eliminating One, and the bondages that keep us tied to the incarnate world are broken, freeing us from the cycle of rebirth.
Who do we view as blessed? Will we challenge ourselves to view blessing through wisdom? Will we invite IkOankar’s blessing into our lives through wisdom?
