In the fifth stanza (
savaiya), Guru Arjan expounded upon both the immanent and transcendent qualities of
IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One), foregrounding the grace of the One. Invoking IkOankar through the name
Hari, which highlights the all-pervasiveness of IkOankar, Guru Arjan begins the next stanza by emphasizing the eternality of the all-pervasive One. This eternality is what makes IkOankar ultimately true. There is no second or other, as the Primal Being, the all-pervasive One, the One who exists forever outside the concepts of time, is IkOankar alone. This One alone is whom we ought to devote to, praise, and love.
In the third and fourth lines of the stanza, the
Nam of the all-pervasive One is invoked, described in the second stanza as an immortalizing treasure that flows abundantly from IkOankar. This is the pervasive essence that brings a seeker to connect with and Identify with IkOankar. Here, too, Nam is described as an immortalizing, transcendently sweet nectar. By dwelling upon this Nam and coming to Identify with IkOankar, a seeker experiences genuine contentment. To dwell upon this nectar is to meditate on it, reflect on it, remember it. This essence enters through the tongue and into the being. One’s entire being becomes immersed entirely in its very essence—not just the mind. Those who truly taste this essence with their tongue, those who truly experience Identification with the One, become truly satiated.
Nearing the end of the stanza, Guru Arjan says:
Upon whom the Master has become completely happy, their love develops with truth-oriented beings. When IkOankar is pleased with us, meaning when we align ourselves with the virtues of the One, only then are we blessed with the company of truth-oriented beings. In that company, a deep sense of love forms, and that love draws seekers to that company again and again, where Identification, devotion, praise, and love grow stronger within them. Guru Arjan then speaks of Guru Nanak, who lived in embodied unison with IkOankar and IkOankar’s virtues, as seekers strive to. The seekers who embody and assimilate the wisdom revealed by Guru Nanak, who live by the teachings and path illuminated by Guru Nanak, become free and their lineages become free. Lineage here refers not to biological lineage, but to the lineage of Truth, meaning all of those who live within the Truth live on and are embodied, and those to whom they pass this Truth too become
liberated.
This stanza brings our minds to realize the impermanence of everything other than the all-pervasive One. To recognize anything else as eternally true besides IkOankar, even for a moment, is to lose sight of this Truth and fall under illusion. It is through the Nam of the eternal One that we ought to seek fulfillment and satiation. To seek satiation elsewhere is to endlessly seek—all other sweetness is transient. We might relate this satiation of Identification to a moment when we taste something so flavorful and nourishing that we are fully satisfied after only a few bites, yet this satiation is far beyond the temporality of all material fulfillment. When we cultivate divine virtues within us, we come to experience the graciousness of IkOankar—in this sense, IkOankar is
pleased with us. Upon experiencing that grace, we become further drawn towards the Truth, and we meet truth-oriented beings who play a crucial role in our becoming. There, true love blooms within us. All those experiencing this love, the love experienced through Truth, become free.
What are we giving ultimate importance to in our lives other than the timeless truth of IkOankar? Will we recognize the limitations of these things and move towards the lasting satiation of Identification? Will we shift our thoughts and behaviors towards devotion, love, and praise, so that we may feel the grace of the One?
