paüṛī.
naümī nave chidra apvīt.
hari nāmu na japahi karat biprīti.
par tria ramahi bakahi sādh nind.
karan na sunhī hari jasu bind.
hirahi par darabu udar kai tāī.
agani na nivrai trisnā na bujhāī.
hari sevā binu eh phal lāge.
nānak prabh bisrat mari jamahi abhāge.9.
-Guru Granth Sahib 298
Guru Arjan Sahib depicts vices and materialistic pleasures binding the being who forgets Nam (Identification with IkOankar). They continue to suffer worldly pains and comforts. 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 ninth pauri states that such beings continue being engrossed in vices. They make every effort to fulfill their desires, and still, their cravings do not end. They continue to wander, unsatisfied.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the ninth pauri (stanza), the Guru refers to the nine openings of the body and states that all are impure due to their behavior, beginning with the classically religious paradigm of purity and pollution being regulated through ritual. But these openings are not impure due to some kind of external bodily state. They are impure because they do not recite the Nam (Identification) of the 1-Light, and instead do the opposite. They enjoy others’ spouses and engage in slander of virtuous beings. The ears do not listen to the praise of the 1-Light for even one moment. They take another’s wealth for the sake of filling their own belly. All of these body parts are doing the opposite of what they are meant to do. We have made these openings impure through our own behavior.
When we do not engage in recitation and remembrance of the 1-Light, the Remover of Suffering, we suffer. When we use our voices to commit slander to those who are virtuous, we suffer. When we cannot even listen to the glory of the creative 1-Light, we suffer. When we steal to fill our empty stomachs, and our thefts continue because we are still not satisfied and still full of desire, we suffer. This fire and this thirst within us continue, and sometimes it feels like the more we feed it, the more it grows. These are the fruits we will continue to bear if we do not engage in the service of the 1-Light. If we continue to live in forgetfulness of Prabhu, whose nature is to fulfill a particular role of goodness and compassion, who is capable of helping us when no one else can. In that case, we will continue experiencing these cycles and oscillations of birth and death within a day, year, or numerous lifetimes. We will continue to be the unfortunate beings who cannot find steadiness in this life.
The Guru is urging us to practice remembrance, to make an effort toward being in a relationship with IkOankar, the Steady One, the One who is compassionate, the One who removes our suffering. Why haven’t we done this? Why do we continue to taste the flavors we are used to? Don’t we know that the way we are living is in forgetfulness of Nam, that we will continue wandering without it? We have made ourselves into unfortunate beings through our actions and forgetfulness. We have continued to be caught up in vices that cause fear, which only further entangles us. If we do not figure out how to deal with these nine openings, these nine parts of our bodies that have been given to us as tools to engage in remembrance, we have made these bodies impure or inauspicious. This is the hope, though – these openings are available to us still, even if we have misused them all this time. We can change our behaviors, change the way we engage, and seek steadiness by aligning with the Steady One, seek fearlessness by aligning with the Fear-Eliminator, and seek relief from our suffering from the Compassionate One. Will we make that effort to enter into a new territory of behaviors, to taste new and unfamiliar flavors?
When we do not engage in recitation and remembrance of the 1-Light, the Remover of Suffering, we suffer. When we use our voices to commit slander to those who are virtuous, we suffer. When we cannot even listen to the glory of the creative 1-Light, we suffer. When we steal to fill our empty stomachs, and our thefts continue because we are still not satisfied and still full of desire, we suffer. This fire and this thirst within us continue, and sometimes it feels like the more we feed it, the more it grows. These are the fruits we will continue to bear if we do not engage in the service of the 1-Light. If we continue to live in forgetfulness of Prabhu, whose nature is to fulfill a particular role of goodness and compassion, who is capable of helping us when no one else can. In that case, we will continue experiencing these cycles and oscillations of birth and death within a day, year, or numerous lifetimes. We will continue to be the unfortunate beings who cannot find steadiness in this life.
The Guru is urging us to practice remembrance, to make an effort toward being in a relationship with IkOankar, the Steady One, the One who is compassionate, the One who removes our suffering. Why haven’t we done this? Why do we continue to taste the flavors we are used to? Don’t we know that the way we are living is in forgetfulness of Nam, that we will continue wandering without it? We have made ourselves into unfortunate beings through our actions and forgetfulness. We have continued to be caught up in vices that cause fear, which only further entangles us. If we do not figure out how to deal with these nine openings, these nine parts of our bodies that have been given to us as tools to engage in remembrance, we have made these bodies impure or inauspicious. This is the hope, though – these openings are available to us still, even if we have misused them all this time. We can change our behaviors, change the way we engage, and seek steadiness by aligning with the Steady One, seek fearlessness by aligning with the Fear-Eliminator, and seek relief from our suffering from the Compassionate One. Will we make that effort to enter into a new territory of behaviors, to taste new and unfamiliar flavors?
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