rām nāmu ur mai gahio jā kai sam nahī koi.
jih simrat saṅkaṭ miṭai darasu tuhāro hoi.57.1.
-Guru Granth Sahib 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
Calligraphy
In the fifty-seventh stanza, Guru Teghbahadar says, I have enshrined the Identification (Nam) of beautiful, charming One in the heart; there is nothing greater than this in the world. Engaging in the Identification (Nam), all troubles are removed, and the presence of the One is experienced.
Whoever has brought the Beautiful’s Identification within them knows that is unparalleled. In that Identification, in the Remembrance of that Identification, all pains leave us. All troubles are removed. We get to “see” the One. This is the connection we are after. Some believe this is a physical vision that eliminates pain and trouble. Others believe it is a connection that eliminates pain and trouble. Either way, there is nothing that compares. The real seeing that happens is when we see our pain leave, when we see our troubles eliminated.
And we can all experience this. The Guru took us through the journey towards this experience throughout. We do not need to be in a particular place or time or status or guise. We just need to have Identification. All the water goes to the ocean. All the sources of Identification — the way we think and see and conceive — are in our hearts. They are within us already! When we inculcate that Identification, there is no difference between the Identification and that being Identified with. When we do this, we see the One. We see our pains leaving us, and we see a physical distance shrinking between us and the One. This is no longer a glimpse but an incessant vision. We no longer ask where IkOankar is. We feel IkOankar is with us, always. How badly do you want to see the One?
Summary:
Guru Teghbahadar takes us through a journey that gently shakes us out of our forgetfulness and distraction and urges us to practice Remembrance, Identification, and praise of the 1-Light. We are reminded again and again of the limited time we have in our human lives and in our bodies — both of these things profound gifts. We are reminded of the temporariness of the world and thus the urgency of inculcating Remembrance. As the Guru points out the nature of the human condition, we are treated with gentleness and understanding — that we accumulate things that entangle us and paralyze us, cause us to fear loss, cause us to establish relationships with the temporary. We are reassured that it is not too late to begin walking the path of remembrance. We are reassured that to begin walking this path is simple: begin to utter Remembrance at the tongue and listen to Identification with the ears. We are reassured that the 1-Light is the Emancipator of the fallen; the Dispeller of fears; the Helper of the helpless. We are taught a way to conceive of renunciation that does not reject being a human being in the world. We are shown a kind of renunciation that allows us to exist in the world, loving people, seeking comforts, tasting the flavors of the senses, without being driven by the temporary. We are shown a way to root our love and our relationships in the Eternal. We are shown ways to transform our behaviors and rid ourselves of fear, ego, and attachment to become steady on the ever-changing, ever-wavering waters of this life. We are shown ways to become like the 1-Light, to become free and carefree. We are inspired to begin on the path of Remembrance, to praise and Identify with the 1-Light day and night, until we feel our troubles being removed, and we experience the incessant presence of the One.
Whoever has brought the Beautiful’s Identification within them knows that is unparalleled. In that Identification, in the Remembrance of that Identification, all pains leave us. All troubles are removed. We get to “see” the One. This is the connection we are after. Some believe this is a physical vision that eliminates pain and trouble. Others believe it is a connection that eliminates pain and trouble. Either way, there is nothing that compares. The real seeing that happens is when we see our pain leave, when we see our troubles eliminated.
And we can all experience this. The Guru took us through the journey towards this experience throughout. We do not need to be in a particular place or time or status or guise. We just need to have Identification. All the water goes to the ocean. All the sources of Identification — the way we think and see and conceive — are in our hearts. They are within us already! When we inculcate that Identification, there is no difference between the Identification and that being Identified with. When we do this, we see the One. We see our pains leaving us, and we see a physical distance shrinking between us and the One. This is no longer a glimpse but an incessant vision. We no longer ask where IkOankar is. We feel IkOankar is with us, always. How badly do you want to see the One?
Summary:
Guru Teghbahadar takes us through a journey that gently shakes us out of our forgetfulness and distraction and urges us to practice Remembrance, Identification, and praise of the 1-Light. We are reminded again and again of the limited time we have in our human lives and in our bodies — both of these things profound gifts. We are reminded of the temporariness of the world and thus the urgency of inculcating Remembrance. As the Guru points out the nature of the human condition, we are treated with gentleness and understanding — that we accumulate things that entangle us and paralyze us, cause us to fear loss, cause us to establish relationships with the temporary. We are reassured that it is not too late to begin walking the path of remembrance. We are reassured that to begin walking this path is simple: begin to utter Remembrance at the tongue and listen to Identification with the ears. We are reassured that the 1-Light is the Emancipator of the fallen; the Dispeller of fears; the Helper of the helpless. We are taught a way to conceive of renunciation that does not reject being a human being in the world. We are shown a kind of renunciation that allows us to exist in the world, loving people, seeking comforts, tasting the flavors of the senses, without being driven by the temporary. We are shown a way to root our love and our relationships in the Eternal. We are shown ways to transform our behaviors and rid ourselves of fear, ego, and attachment to become steady on the ever-changing, ever-wavering waters of this life. We are shown ways to become like the 1-Light, to become free and carefree. We are inspired to begin on the path of Remembrance, to praise and Identify with the 1-Light day and night, until we feel our troubles being removed, and we experience the incessant presence of the One.
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