jo upjio so binasi hai paro āju kai kāli.
nānak hari gun gāi le chāḍi sagal janjāl.52.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1428-1429
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.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
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In the fifty-second stanza, Guru Teghbahadar says, O mind! Whatever is born will perish. It will collapse today or tomorrow. So give up useless worldly entanglements and sing the praises of the 1-Light.
The Guru says that whatever has been born will die; it is only a matter of time. So what do we do instead of worrying about it? We can sing the virtues of the 1-Light and get rid of all other entanglements. Some people do not worry about dying, but they worry about living forever. This is a reminder to them, too, that it is only a matter of time. Even if our life spans are getting longer, even if scientists are busy trying to figure out how to stretch our lifetimes, even if we figure out how to prolong all of this living, death will still come. And if we are so busy and caught up in trying to prolong life, it is because we have not confronted death. We are driven by the desire to live forever; we are driven by the desire to achieve economic, social, spiritual, and educational success. But are these real successes, or are they entanglements? Long life is seen as a success, but what did it take for us to stretch out our lives? Did it consume us? What is real contentment, then? It is not prolonging our lives. It is accepting the reality that whatever is born will perish.
So let us sing! Singing brings the Wisdom into the consciousness. This is what people have done before us. Singing is what rids us from being entangled in this life and our obsession with living forever or avoiding death. In our worldly lives and in our efforts to live more, live better, live longer, live comfortably, we are creating more entanglements and more worries. Singing songs of 1Ness helps us to eliminate our entanglements. Singing songs of 1Ness helps rid us of worry. Are we singing?
The Guru says that whatever has been born will die; it is only a matter of time. So what do we do instead of worrying about it? We can sing the virtues of the 1-Light and get rid of all other entanglements. Some people do not worry about dying, but they worry about living forever. This is a reminder to them, too, that it is only a matter of time. Even if our life spans are getting longer, even if scientists are busy trying to figure out how to stretch our lifetimes, even if we figure out how to prolong all of this living, death will still come. And if we are so busy and caught up in trying to prolong life, it is because we have not confronted death. We are driven by the desire to live forever; we are driven by the desire to achieve economic, social, spiritual, and educational success. But are these real successes, or are they entanglements? Long life is seen as a success, but what did it take for us to stretch out our lives? Did it consume us? What is real contentment, then? It is not prolonging our lives. It is accepting the reality that whatever is born will perish.
So let us sing! Singing brings the Wisdom into the consciousness. This is what people have done before us. Singing is what rids us from being entangled in this life and our obsession with living forever or avoiding death. In our worldly lives and in our efforts to live more, live better, live longer, live comfortably, we are creating more entanglements and more worries. Singing songs of 1Ness helps us to eliminate our entanglements. Singing songs of 1Ness helps rid us of worry. Are we singing?
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