gharu daru thāpi thiru thāni suhāvai.
āpu pachāṇai jā satiguru pāvai.
jah āsā tah binasi bināsā.
phūṭai khaparu dubidhā mansā.
mamtā jāl te rahai udāsā.
praṇvati nānak ham tā ke dāsā.20.1.
-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 twentieth stanza, Guru Nanak says that the seeker, having established a stable home and door, looks beautiful in that stable place. The seeker who has found the eternal Wisdom-Guru and cultivated a relationship with the Wisdom, who has understood the mystery of the One’s ever-present Presence, who recognizes their inner-self as an embodiment of IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One), that seeker experiences this eternal abode of IkOankar within. They no longer need to look elsewhere, engage in other rituals or practices or deeds, or work within particular systems or paradigms in pursuit of spiritual ‘reward.’ In this state, the being finds honor and steadiness.
There is nothing in this state where there was once expectation, craving, and desire. These things that entangle us in games of ego, pretense, and hypocrisy, in expectation of reward, and transactional understandings of our relationship with the One vanish from the body. The heart, which was full of thirst and hunger for the material, becomes free of these desires. The duality and cravings of the mind vanish. We no longer struggle with otherness and instead experience the deep unicity of all of creation.
In this state, the seeker remains detached from the trap of possessiveness. We become free from attachment to the material and to our relationships. We no longer think of anything as belonging to us—our fear of loss is destroyed. In this state, this is the seeker who Guru Nanak humbly states that he is a servant of. This is a radical and paradigm-shifting statement! Guru Nanak is telling us who is truly worthy of salutation, honor, and devotion—it is not those learned Yogis or Sadhus or holy people who perform piety and intellect and spiritual knowledge or even those who have exhibited spiritual accomplishment. It is those who have recognized the presence of the One in all beings and all things, who have found steadiness through this understanding, and who have transcended things that entangle us in this world—hunger, greed, thirst and cravings, desire, expectation, and hypocrisy. Will we work to become like those seekers? Will we find honor and steadiness in this world, here and now?
SUMMARY
In this composition, Guru Nanak uses the paradigm of moon-based calendars and the culturally pervasive practice of seeking guidance from astrologers and fortune tellers and others using that calendar to dictate auspiciousness or inauspiciousness in pursuit of a kind of ‘spiritual currency.’ Guru Nanak disrupts localized understandings of religious deeds, rituals, paradigms, complexes, categories, systems, pilgrimages, philosophies, and various schools of thought. We are shown that external displays of religiosity or going through particular motions of religiosity can feed a more transactional understanding of one’s spiritual journey and an expectation of reward. When we are too entangled in these things, we become myopic and tend to engage in pretense and hypocrisy, favoring engagement in the external over more internal work and introspection. Guru Nanak simplifies the complex, asking what recitation might I recite other than the Nam of Jagdish? We are snapped out of our entanglement in complex systems of spiritual reward. We are asked to reflect on what else could really be worth our time other than engaging in the Nam, or Identification, with IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). We are reminded of the Divine name Jagdish, the Owner of the world. What can we recite or remember other than the Owner of the world? Who do we Identify with other than the Owner of the world? We are shown throughout this composition that it is through the Sabad (hymn-like stanza that exemplifies the word-sound of the Infinite Wisdom), through the Wisdom-Guru, and through grace that we come to experience the presence of the One and truly reach the exalted state that we seek, free of fear and suffering and attachment. Will we walk this path free from our own falsehood and pretense? Will we come to realize the all-pervading presence of the One? Will we begin to recite the Identification of Jagdish?
There is nothing in this state where there was once expectation, craving, and desire. These things that entangle us in games of ego, pretense, and hypocrisy, in expectation of reward, and transactional understandings of our relationship with the One vanish from the body. The heart, which was full of thirst and hunger for the material, becomes free of these desires. The duality and cravings of the mind vanish. We no longer struggle with otherness and instead experience the deep unicity of all of creation.
In this state, the seeker remains detached from the trap of possessiveness. We become free from attachment to the material and to our relationships. We no longer think of anything as belonging to us—our fear of loss is destroyed. In this state, this is the seeker who Guru Nanak humbly states that he is a servant of. This is a radical and paradigm-shifting statement! Guru Nanak is telling us who is truly worthy of salutation, honor, and devotion—it is not those learned Yogis or Sadhus or holy people who perform piety and intellect and spiritual knowledge or even those who have exhibited spiritual accomplishment. It is those who have recognized the presence of the One in all beings and all things, who have found steadiness through this understanding, and who have transcended things that entangle us in this world—hunger, greed, thirst and cravings, desire, expectation, and hypocrisy. Will we work to become like those seekers? Will we find honor and steadiness in this world, here and now?
SUMMARY
In this composition, Guru Nanak uses the paradigm of moon-based calendars and the culturally pervasive practice of seeking guidance from astrologers and fortune tellers and others using that calendar to dictate auspiciousness or inauspiciousness in pursuit of a kind of ‘spiritual currency.’ Guru Nanak disrupts localized understandings of religious deeds, rituals, paradigms, complexes, categories, systems, pilgrimages, philosophies, and various schools of thought. We are shown that external displays of religiosity or going through particular motions of religiosity can feed a more transactional understanding of one’s spiritual journey and an expectation of reward. When we are too entangled in these things, we become myopic and tend to engage in pretense and hypocrisy, favoring engagement in the external over more internal work and introspection. Guru Nanak simplifies the complex, asking what recitation might I recite other than the Nam of Jagdish? We are snapped out of our entanglement in complex systems of spiritual reward. We are asked to reflect on what else could really be worth our time other than engaging in the Nam, or Identification, with IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). We are reminded of the Divine name Jagdish, the Owner of the world. What can we recite or remember other than the Owner of the world? Who do we Identify with other than the Owner of the world? We are shown throughout this composition that it is through the Sabad (hymn-like stanza that exemplifies the word-sound of the Infinite Wisdom), through the Wisdom-Guru, and through grace that we come to experience the presence of the One and truly reach the exalted state that we seek, free of fear and suffering and attachment. Will we walk this path free from our own falsehood and pretense? Will we come to realize the all-pervading presence of the One? Will we begin to recite the Identification of Jagdish?
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