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.
What recitation might I recite other than the Nam of Jagdish? In the third stanza, Guru Nanak references existing genesis stories and says, the Creator Own-Self is eternal; by joining the egg with the hands, the Creator created the universe, broke the egg, united and separated. There is a Puranic belief that before the creation of the universe, the One created a cosmic egg from which all of creation unfolded. Guru Nanak uses this paradigm to emphasize that regardless of what we believe about how creation came to be, the
deed or
act of creation is of the One, and the
connection and separation is of the One. We can interpret this uniting as uniting the life force and the body; we can interpret it as uniting beings with
IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One); we can interpret this separating as separating the life force from the body, or as separating some beings from IkOankar through entangling them in
Maya (the attachment to transient things and relationships), or separating the sky and the earth. Regardless of the act or the deed, this is all the Creator’s doing!
Guru Nanak continues that the Creator made places like the earth and space to sit and dwell, night and day, fear and love. The emphasis here is on all phenomena of the Creator. There is nothing separable from that Creator. Guru Nanak uses things we might see as opposites or as being in different spheres of existence, like space and earth, night and day, fear and love, and destroys these binaries by saying that
all of these phenomena are of the One.
This same Creator who made all these things is also the One who takes care of all creation. In the first stanza, Guru Nanak emphasizes the uniqueness of the One. In Indic systems, different roles are understood to be the responsibility of different gods in different forms. Here, the same Creator
is the Sustainer and the Destroyer. Various systems, ideas, and philosophies separate these roles, often in systems of threes. Guru Nanak brings them all back together so that we may understand the unicity of the One. In our efforts to understand and connect with the One, we create complicated systems and other entities or gods. If we are going to entertain the idea of duality or anything
other than the One with a distinct and unique form, we will never figure out or understand how to have a relationship with the eternal One, the Owner of the world. There is no other, no second creator. Will we work to understand that emotionally and not just logically? Will we make an effort to have a relationship with the One who creates and sustains all of creation?
