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.
In the twenty-ninth stanza, Guru Teghbahadar says,
the being who praises the beautiful One day and night is the embodiment of Ram. There is no difference between the beings of Hari and Hari. Consider this to be the eternal truth.
In previous stanzas, Guru Teghbahadar shows us what we have been running after, despite being people with very little time. Guru Teghbahadar lovingly has this difficult conversation with us by reasserting that we have the
potential and the
capability to
become Ram, the beautiful One, and
become Hari, the all-pervasive One. Ram and Hari are both serving as epithets for
IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). This transformation happens when we stop running after entanglement every day, and instead run after remembrance. This is what transforms us into the embodiment of the beautiful charming One. We can look for the beautiful One by looking for the person who is living in remembrance, day and night. There is no difference between that person and IkOankar.
This is a sort of light at the end of the tunnel for all seekers. It is not just that we have the potential to
remember, it is that we have the potential to
embody, to
become IkOankar, because our state of existence is that of IkOankar. This is a potential that is open to anyone and everyone and it all depends on what we do daily in our own minds. This is empowerment! This is Guru Teghbahadar saying to us, I know what being a human does to you, how it can be distracting, how it can cause pain, how hard it is, and what comes out of you when “I”-ness takes over. But it is okay, keep your focus, keep your mind clean and work on your behaviors, make remembrance your habit, and you will rightfully claim to be the Divine Self. Guru Teghbahadar has called us clever and wise, Guru Teghbahadar has called us ‘friend,’ Guru Teghbahadar has gently reminded us of our potential. We have been shown all of the ways we can develop, and now we are being reminded that if we simply practice this remembrance daily, if we make a habit of it, we will understand that we do not need to look for IkOankar externally. We can find IkOankar within our own selves.
