terasi tarvar samud kanārai.
ammritu mūlu sikhari liv tārai.
ḍar ḍari marai na būḍai koi.
niḍaru būḍi marai pati khoi.
ḍar mahi gharu ghar mahi ḍaru jāṇai.
takhati nivāsu sacu mani bhāṇai.17.
-Guru Granth Sahib 840
This composition is based on fifteen lunar dates. Through the first lunar day, IkOankar (the Divine) is praised as unique, emphasizing the importance of Wisdom (Guru). Through the second, the plight of a being engrossed in the material world and relationships is described. Through the third and fourth, the creative power of IkOankar is highlighted. Through the fifth, while describing the destructive influence of attachment to the material world and relationships, the significance of Wisdom in life is explained. Through the sixth, the eternal Nam of IkOankar is elucidated in the context of the six Indic religious orders. Through the seventh and eighth, the importance of Wisdom and the contemplation of Nam are stressed. Through the ninth, IkOankar is praised. Through the tenth, again, the contemplation of Nam is encouraged. Through the eleventh, the being is advised to observe a fast of abstinence from vices. Through the twelfth, the way of life of a seeker is eulogized. Through the thirteenth, while highlighting the transient nature of life, the being is inspired to live in reverence of IkOankar and attain an exalted state. Through the fourteenth, the way to achieve the fourth state, which is beyond the influence of attachment to the material world and relationships and union with IkOankar, is described. Through the fifteenth lunar day, the all-pervading IkOankar is praised.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
What recitation might I recite other than the Nam of Jagdish? In the seventeenth stanza, through the thirteenth lunar day, Guru Nanak compares our lives to that of a tree growing by the seashore that might fall at any moment. Guru Nanak says the tree is on the shore of the sea. These bodies are located on the ‘shore’ of the world! This is a delicate place to be, but Guru Nanak says that if the body is rooted in amrit, and if the crown of the body is tied with continuous loving connection with IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) and deep reverence for IkOankar, that body will never drown. What is amrit? Importantly, in the Sikh tradition, the Guru Granth Sahib describes amrit, the immortal nectar, as Nam, or Identification with IkOankar. This Identification is received through the Wisdom-Guru. Those for whom this Identification becomes their roots and whose minds remain immersed in a loving connection with IkOankar do not drown in fear of worldly fears or in waves of vices. However, the being without reverence for IkOankar within their heart drowns in these waves of vices and desires in the world-ocean and loses dignity and honor.
At the end of the stanza, Guru Nanak reminds us that the being who knows their heart in reverence and who knows reverence in their heart, who feels that constant reverence for IkOankar permeating within them, and to whose mind the eternal IkOankar is endearing, dwells in an exalted state. If we can cultivate a deep kind of reverence for the One within ourselves through the Identification and find steadiness by rooting ourselves in that Nam, we can withstand the various things in the world-ocean that might have caused us to waver. Will we find that rootedness? Will we hold ourselves up with loving connection? Will we dwell in an exalted state?
At the end of the stanza, Guru Nanak reminds us that the being who knows their heart in reverence and who knows reverence in their heart, who feels that constant reverence for IkOankar permeating within them, and to whose mind the eternal IkOankar is endearing, dwells in an exalted state. If we can cultivate a deep kind of reverence for the One within ourselves through the Identification and find steadiness by rooting ourselves in that Nam, we can withstand the various things in the world-ocean that might have caused us to waver. Will we find that rootedness? Will we hold ourselves up with loving connection? Will we dwell in an exalted state?
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