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 fifth stanza, through the fourth lunar day, Guru Nanak again refers to Indic schools of thought and texts and says, The Creator created the four Vedas, created the four sources of life, and the forms of speech. Guru Nanak disrupts questions about which texts, which categories, or which forms by emphasizing the fundamental unity of all things. All these things exist! But they come from IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) or Jagdish, the Owner of the world.
Guru Nanak continues, the One created the eighteen Puranas, the six Shastras, and the three qualities of Maya (the attachment to transient things and relationships). This is important because the three qualities of Maya (rajas, tamas, satva) create a system of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, purity, and impurity, and categorize creation into various attributes. These are the three qualities that Guru Nanak invokes refer to a paradigm in which the whole world is engrossed in
rajo (energy, activity, passion, or ambition; its nature is pain and restlessness),
tamo (darkness, ignorance, negativity, or inactivity; its nature is indifference or resistance to action), and
sato (knowledge, consciousness, purity, and goodness; its nature is pleasure and happiness). These are all examples of explanations in writing or in paradigms that people have come up with about creation, life forms, speeches, and qualities. These are all examples of how we have historically attempted to make sense of the world. It is not that Guru Nanak is condemning these systems, paradigms, or writings. Knowledges, experiences, and articulations are constantly evolving! Instead, Guru Nanak acknowledges them and emphasizes that
true understanding comes only to those whom the Creator Own-Self causes to understand. What does this mean then for us seekers?
Guru Nanak tells us that the being who
absorbs those three qualities of Maya, who overcomes and transcends them, for whom they become irrelevant,
that is the being who dwells in the fourth state.
That is the being of whom Guru Nanak says he is a devoted servant. What is the fourth state? This is the ultimate state of life, in which all worldly systems of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, purity and impurity, all categorizations become moot. We can develop articulations, explanations, and textual documentation of these, and they produce some kind of result, but what is it that we are really interested in? Let us return to the line in the
first stanza where we were asked to pause and reflect and really try to cultivate a relationship with the One through Identification, Remembrance, and Praise. What else can we do other than Identify with
Jagdish, the Owner of the world? What else can we do other than try to, through that Identification, overcome and transcend all these paradigms, systems, and explanations of various sciences, religions, philosophies, and schools of thought?
