In the fifth
pauri (stanza), the Guru, refers to the paradigm in which people are operating, that involves
parpanch, or the drama that gets played out in this world, the show, play, or appearance that comes from Hindu astrological systems and has connotations of artfulness, intrigue, duplicity, and illusion. The Guru says that those who have
understood this parpanch, the play of the phenomenal world, are supreme and distinguished. They understand that this world is like flowers that are incredibly fragrant and dense in color. The world’s deception works briefly; it might seem lasting and deep, but it is all
mithya. Mithya often gets translated as false, which can be interpreted to mean temporary. It is not that the world is not real; it is just not absolutely Real. When we root ourselves only in the temporary, when we fool ourselves into thinking that the plays of the world are Real, we stray further away from IkOankar, the Eternal. All the things we see, as decorated as they are, as beautiful as they may be, are not real with a capital ‘R.’ When we cannot understand that, we more easily become consumed by the realities of the phenomenal world we can see. We can easily get caught up in the systems and paradigms rooted in this smaller and incomplete understanding, unable to situate ourselves in a vaster understanding.
The Guru says that those in this mithya, engrossed in the temporariness and deception of the world, cannot understand anything. We cannot reflect on anything or comprehend anything or contemplate anything. We live in ignorance, drenched in it, enjoying its flavors. We are pierced by this enjoyment, this attachment, these pleasures. And it is due to this that we wander in our ignorance, continuing through many cycles of birth and death, both in the classical sense and in the sense that we live many lives in a day. We continue to wander and suffer despite having performed the rituals we were told could help us. We performed rituals and did not change our behaviors; we did not remember the Creator, IkOankar, and we did not engage in reflection of discernment. But those who have been able to connect with the Adorable One, the One who ought to be adored, who have engaged in loving devotion, do not engross in
Maya even a bit. These are the ones who are rare, who do not become consumed with the phenomenal world and its plays. When we are in love and devotion with the fortunate and divine One, when we are in this company, Maya cannot engulf or constrict us. We understand the games of the world and the dramas we have created, and we have clarity. This is the world to move from the company of Maya to the company of the virtuous beings, who are fragrant and aware and devoted and filth-free.
This does not happen through ritual bathing on a particular day. This happens through remembrance. This happens through devotion. This happens through the company of the virtuous ones. What game are we playing? What is our drama? Whose company are we in? What color do we seek to be dyed in?
