paüṛī.
traüdasī tīni tāp sansār.
āvat jāt narak avtār.
hari hari bhajanu na man mahi āio.
sukh sāgar prabhu nimakh na gāio.
harakh sog kā deh kari bādhio.
dīragh rogu māiā āsādhio.
dinahi bikār karat sramu pāio.
nainī nīd supan barṛāio.
hari bisrat hovat eh hāl.
sarani nānak prabh purakh daïāl.13.
-Guru Granth Sahib 299
Guru Arjan Sahib states that only Nam (Identification with IkOankar) can resolve the affairs of the being by freeing them from the influence of Maya (attachment to the material and to relationships). Corresponding to the fifteen-day lunar calendar and each pauri (stanza) correlates to each day formed by the waxing and waning of the moon. The thirteenth pauri states that the being under the influence of Maya forgets Nam and continues to wander and suffer. Entering the refuge of IkOankar (the Divine) is the only remedy to escape suffering and pain.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the thirteenth pauri (stanza), the Guru describes our conditions. The whole world is afflicted with three fevers: mental, bodily, and psychological. This web of suffering creates a constant fever, a heat always on us. These flavors and enjoyments create a feverish condition of intoxication, and our engrossment in them means we never come out — because we are too busy enjoying it. We waver, we drown in our attachments, we drown in our illusions, and we dwell in great hells. In these conditions, connecting with IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One) for even a second is difficult. The recitation or remembrance of the 1-Light, the Fear-Eliminator, the Remover of Suffering, does not even come into our minds. We do not sing of Prabhu, the Compassionate, the Ocean of comforts, for even a moment. Our minds are hardened. We are not in praise. We are not in devotion. Instead, these bodies are built up as if they have been made of joy and sorrow, unstable, wavering between the two.
These bodies have contracted the great and incurable disease of Maya. We are caught up in its symptoms. We find only fatigue, indulging in vices all day, making efforts to engage in this indulgence. We are exhausted. Our eyes are foggy, there are dreams and nightmares, and it is like we are walking through the world half asleep. This is what happens when we live in a state of forgetfulness. It can all feel too difficult to get out of, too hopeless even to begin trying to remedy. We are so tired. But the Guru offers hope with this simple last statement: enter the shelter of the compassionate Prabhu, the One who is capable of helping us when no one else can. We can come to the sanctuary of that One to ask for refuge and to help us get out of our current conditions. We do not have to do this on our own.
The Guru shows us how these existing paradigms and systems of three — three qualities and three fevers — produce a multiplicity of complications and entanglements and conditions. When caught up in these systems, they create illness and a chronic condition that feeds on itself. It becomes too difficult to get out of and does not have a quick remedy. We are shown that the remedy is to enter the sanctuary of the One. To ask for help, no matter how much we may think we are past the point of no return. Will we be brave enough to ask? Will we be vulnerable enough to ask?
These bodies have contracted the great and incurable disease of Maya. We are caught up in its symptoms. We find only fatigue, indulging in vices all day, making efforts to engage in this indulgence. We are exhausted. Our eyes are foggy, there are dreams and nightmares, and it is like we are walking through the world half asleep. This is what happens when we live in a state of forgetfulness. It can all feel too difficult to get out of, too hopeless even to begin trying to remedy. We are so tired. But the Guru offers hope with this simple last statement: enter the shelter of the compassionate Prabhu, the One who is capable of helping us when no one else can. We can come to the sanctuary of that One to ask for refuge and to help us get out of our current conditions. We do not have to do this on our own.
The Guru shows us how these existing paradigms and systems of three — three qualities and three fevers — produce a multiplicity of complications and entanglements and conditions. When caught up in these systems, they create illness and a chronic condition that feeds on itself. It becomes too difficult to get out of and does not have a quick remedy. We are shown that the remedy is to enter the sanctuary of the One. To ask for help, no matter how much we may think we are past the point of no return. Will we be brave enough to ask? Will we be vulnerable enough to ask?
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