khasṭī khaṭu darsan prabh sāje.
anhad sabadu nirālā vāje.
je prabh bhāvai tā mahali bulāvai.
sabde bhede taü pati pāvai.
kari kari ves khapahi jali jāvahi.
sācai sāce sāci samāvahi.8.
-Guru Granth Sahib 839
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 eighth stanza, through the sixth lunar day, Guru Nanak discusses the six orders or schools of Indic philosophy and says that the six orders have been created by Prabhu. Guru Nanak invokes Prabhu as one of the many names of IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). Prabhu is a name that invokes the royal and benevolent nature of the One, whose nature is to fulfill a particular role of goodness and compassion. This is the One who is capable of helping us when no one else can. Prabhu here can also be understood as the Sovereign. IkOankar has created all these systems of religious practice and types of practitioners. Guru Nanak says the unstruck melody of the One resounds distinctly. Can we understand that creation is multifaceted and full of multiplicity and also understand that all things are of the One? Can we hear the sound of the One, or is our fixation on these systems, paradigms, practices, and categories keeping us from being able to listen to it?
Guru Nanak continues that if it is pleasing to the Sovereign, it is only then that the Sovereign calls the being into the mansion. This is similar to the idea in the fifth stanza, which reminds us that the being only comes to understand when the One causes them to understand. In the existing systems, our fixation is on honor and the abode of the One—will we receive honor in this world and in the next? Will we have a place in that mansion? In that heaven? In whatever place we are told comes after this one? Guru Nanak tells us that we are only called into the mansion of the One; we only experience the presence of the One pervading everywhere when the One graces us with that feeling. That mansion is here on earth now. The abode of the One is everywhere. We are in it! It is just that we have not yet felt the presence of the One. What about this question of honor? Guru Nanak says that If our minds are pierced by the Sabad (hymn-like stanza that exemplifies the word-sound of the Infinite Wisdom), that is when we find true honor. There is no honor for those of us still steeped in falsehood and pretense. Honor comes when we are pierced by the Sabad: when the stubbornness and hypocrisy of the mind, which causes us to be brutal and cruel, is tenderized or softened, and we become delicate, devoted, and loving.
Guru Nanak says that those who put on guises, who are full of pretense and hypocrisy and considered false beings, are exhausted and burned. But those seekers who, through the eternal Sabad, became true in their thoughts, words, and actions are immersed in the eternal Sovereign. Guru Nanak is not condemning the existing systems of understanding or schools of thought or practices. However, he points out that those who created even these systems had so much knowledge that they could not hear the unstruck melody of the One. What is the use of these systems if they do not bring us true honor? If they do not help us feel the presence of the One? Will we reorient ourselves so that the things we pursue are not outward guises but internal connections? Will we move from frustrations, exhaustion, and burning toward deep immersion in the One?
Guru Nanak continues that if it is pleasing to the Sovereign, it is only then that the Sovereign calls the being into the mansion. This is similar to the idea in the fifth stanza, which reminds us that the being only comes to understand when the One causes them to understand. In the existing systems, our fixation is on honor and the abode of the One—will we receive honor in this world and in the next? Will we have a place in that mansion? In that heaven? In whatever place we are told comes after this one? Guru Nanak tells us that we are only called into the mansion of the One; we only experience the presence of the One pervading everywhere when the One graces us with that feeling. That mansion is here on earth now. The abode of the One is everywhere. We are in it! It is just that we have not yet felt the presence of the One. What about this question of honor? Guru Nanak says that If our minds are pierced by the Sabad (hymn-like stanza that exemplifies the word-sound of the Infinite Wisdom), that is when we find true honor. There is no honor for those of us still steeped in falsehood and pretense. Honor comes when we are pierced by the Sabad: when the stubbornness and hypocrisy of the mind, which causes us to be brutal and cruel, is tenderized or softened, and we become delicate, devoted, and loving.
Guru Nanak says that those who put on guises, who are full of pretense and hypocrisy and considered false beings, are exhausted and burned. But those seekers who, through the eternal Sabad, became true in their thoughts, words, and actions are immersed in the eternal Sovereign. Guru Nanak is not condemning the existing systems of understanding or schools of thought or practices. However, he points out that those who created even these systems had so much knowledge that they could not hear the unstruck melody of the One. What is the use of these systems if they do not bring us true honor? If they do not help us feel the presence of the One? Will we reorient ourselves so that the things we pursue are not outward guises but internal connections? Will we move from frustrations, exhaustion, and burning toward deep immersion in the One?
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