Guru Teghbahadar Sahib reminds beings of the purpose of life, which is to remember and reflect on the virtues of IkOankar (the Divine). The
saloks describe how life is wasted in the entanglements of familial and material attachments distracting from the purpose of life. They inspire seekers to search for deeper meaning beyond the attachment to family and temporary material things and develop a relationship with IkOankar. These
saloks gently nudge seekers to live in awareness of IkOankar and see the entire world from that place of realization.
jaü sukh kaü cāhahi sadā sarani rām kī leh.
kahu nānak suni re manā durlabh mānukh deh.27.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1427
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the twenty-seventh stanza, Guru Teghbahadar says, If you want eternal happiness, take shelter in the beautiful One. This human body is very rare.
The Guru tells us that if we do not want to be constantly pulled in different directions by our intoxication with entanglement, we ought to take refuge in the beautiful One, the charming One. These human bodies are so rare! These human lives are so rare! This is a great gift that has been given to us, so let us make the most of it, with the understanding that this opportunity is hard to come by, that it was difficult to earn this body and this life. So let us not remain intoxicated to otherness, instead to 1Ness. If we want comfort in this rare opportunity, let us take refuge in the beautiful One.
All of us want comfort. We seek it in the world. We say we are doing something so that we can have a comfortable life, so that our children or our spouses or our families can have comfortable lives. But do we know what real comfort is? When we listen to the devotees and seekers and the lovers we understand what real comfort is. And if we want that comfort, we must think of the beautiful One. Can we transcend being worldly individuals who know and connect with temporary worldly comforts? Can we do the work to become people who are enjoying the eternal, the One who remains forever, the beautiful and charming One?
