jin kaü pūrabi likhiā se āi mile gur pāsi.
sevak bhāi vaṇjāriā mitrā guru hari hari nāmu pragāsi.
dhanu dhanu vaṇaju vāpārīā jin vakharu ladiaṛā hari rāsi.
gurmukhā dari mukh ujle se āi mile hari pāsi.
jan nānak guru tin pāiā jinā āpi tuṭhā guṇtāsi.6.
hari dhiāvahu sāsi girāsi.
mani prīti lagī tinā gurmukhā hari nāmu jinā rahrāsi.1. rahāu.1.
-Guru Granth Sahib 82
In this stanza, Wisdom (Guru) and Wisdom-oriented beings have been praised. The stanza instructs the being to recite the Nam of IkOankar (the Divine) in every moment. It is also conveyed that only those beings attain Wisdom for whom it is written in their fortune from the court of IkOankar and upon whom IkOankar Own-Self is pleased.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the sixth stanza, Guru Ramdas says, meditate upon Hari with each breath, with each morsel. Love for Hari has developed in the minds of those Wisdom-centered beings for whom the Nam of Hari has become the way of life. Hari is synonymous with IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) and can be translated as the 1-Light, the all-Pervasive, the Remover of Suffering, and the Fear-Eliminator. Nam is the Identification with IkOankar. The Guru urges us to contemplate IkOankar with every breath — to practice remembrance, praise, and Identification with the One in every moment. We may put this off because it does not feel urgent, or perhaps we think this is the work of those who are closer to the ends of their lives. The Guru shows us that there is no right time — or, more explicitly, the right time is now and always. The word ‘morsel’ is also important, as a morsel is a tiny bite of food. We are being urged to remember the One with every bite and every breath. When we are hungry, we usually do not need an external reminder that it is time to feed ourselves. Can that same internal process happen to remind us to remember the One? Can we make this a habit? The Guru shows us that this remembrance ought to be happening internally and externally — involuntarily and voluntarily. When this happens to us, a continuous connection with IkOankar develops in our minds. We become Wisdom-oriented, and the contemplation of the Nam becomes our path, our method, our way of life — the thing that nourishes and sustains us.
Meditate upon Hari with each breath, with each morsel. The Guru addresses us and says, O trader friend! Those in whose fortunes it has been written from the court of IkOankar enter the company of the virtuous beings, embrace the Wisdom, and become Wisdom-oriented. Those who come to meet the Wisdom (Guru) and be in relationship with the Wisdom, guided by the Wisdom, are those for whom it has been written. What can we do as roving traders, as wandering seekers? The Guru offers guidance and hope: we can cultivate the devotion of a devotee that exists within each of us. We need not resign to some incomplete understanding of what is or is not in our fortune. Instead, we instead act in service and humility. If we do this, we will find that the Wisdom instills Identification with IkOankar within us. This is what causes us to become illuminated from within. The Guru continues by saying that trade and those traders who trade in Identification are praiseworthy. Those beings who contemplate Nam and enshrine it within are praiseworthy. We can become traders who trade in, pursue, and accumulate the capital of IkOankar’s Nam. This is the only trade and the only capital that matters. Those Wisdom-centered beings who trade in Identification are radiant in the court of IkOankar. The court of IkOankar is, of course, everywhere in all of creation. These beings are radiant because they feel the presence of IkOankar in every moment, have engaged in service, are in a state of devotion and humility, and are in constant remembrance. The Guru ends the stanza by saying that only those beings join the company of the virtuous beings, who are guided by the Wisdom, with whom IkOankar becomes pleased. It is those beings who IkOankar connects with the Identification. The emphasis here is on the relationship between IkOankar and the Wisdom. When we cultivate a relationship with the Wisdom, we cultivate a relationship with the One.
We are roving traders. We are wandering people who engage in transactions. We are not doomed to eternally trade in the material, in attachment, in entanglement, and in vices. We are shown that it is a rare being who can trade in Identification, but that we can trade in Nam — that we have the potential to do this! If we can practice remembrance, praise, and Identification with IkOankar in every breath and every bite, and if we can make an effort to cultivate a relationship with the Wisdom and with the One, we will start to change. Our thoughts, words, and actions will shift. We are shown that this happens when we tap into the potential of devotion that we all have to act as devotees of the One. If we can bring this element of serving, dedication, and devotion, we will find that the Nam of the One becomes illuminated within us. This is a hopeful thing! We are being invited to do this by the Guru. Will we?
SUMMARY
In these stanzas, Guru Ramdas addresses us as roving traders, as people who wander and wonder what it is we ought to be trading in. In the first through the third stanzas, the Guru shares questions about what that transaction is, what we are selling, what we are dealing in, and what we ought to be trading in instead. The Guru also establishes that whatever has been done in the past is what is received in our fortune, while also urging us to understand that we can change what will come to be written for us if we cultivate a relationship with the Wisdom and with IkOankar through Identification. We come to understand Identification as a practice, not as something abstract. We come to understand how we can stop trading in attachments and start trading in Identification. We are urged to develop love for that One within. In the fourth through sixth stanzas, the Guru reminds us that the play of the One is full of seeming paradoxes or impossibilities — that we too can transcend what feels impossible, that the lotus within us can bloom even in the most murky environments. We are shown that Identification with IkOankar alone is the commodity worth trading in. We are shown that it is through Identification that we can experience the Sovereign pervading every being, that love for the One can develop in our minds if we become Wisdom-centered, and that Identification with IkOankar becomes our way of life. We are reminded that all of us have this potential, can become devoted and dedicated devotees of the One, and can develop the love for the One within such that it reaches our consciousness. We are the roving traders, trading in all sorts of things on this earth and in these lives. What will we trade in now? What will we accumulate? What will we take with us when we go?
Meditate upon Hari with each breath, with each morsel. The Guru addresses us and says, O trader friend! Those in whose fortunes it has been written from the court of IkOankar enter the company of the virtuous beings, embrace the Wisdom, and become Wisdom-oriented. Those who come to meet the Wisdom (Guru) and be in relationship with the Wisdom, guided by the Wisdom, are those for whom it has been written. What can we do as roving traders, as wandering seekers? The Guru offers guidance and hope: we can cultivate the devotion of a devotee that exists within each of us. We need not resign to some incomplete understanding of what is or is not in our fortune. Instead, we instead act in service and humility. If we do this, we will find that the Wisdom instills Identification with IkOankar within us. This is what causes us to become illuminated from within. The Guru continues by saying that trade and those traders who trade in Identification are praiseworthy. Those beings who contemplate Nam and enshrine it within are praiseworthy. We can become traders who trade in, pursue, and accumulate the capital of IkOankar’s Nam. This is the only trade and the only capital that matters. Those Wisdom-centered beings who trade in Identification are radiant in the court of IkOankar. The court of IkOankar is, of course, everywhere in all of creation. These beings are radiant because they feel the presence of IkOankar in every moment, have engaged in service, are in a state of devotion and humility, and are in constant remembrance. The Guru ends the stanza by saying that only those beings join the company of the virtuous beings, who are guided by the Wisdom, with whom IkOankar becomes pleased. It is those beings who IkOankar connects with the Identification. The emphasis here is on the relationship between IkOankar and the Wisdom. When we cultivate a relationship with the Wisdom, we cultivate a relationship with the One.
We are roving traders. We are wandering people who engage in transactions. We are not doomed to eternally trade in the material, in attachment, in entanglement, and in vices. We are shown that it is a rare being who can trade in Identification, but that we can trade in Nam — that we have the potential to do this! If we can practice remembrance, praise, and Identification with IkOankar in every breath and every bite, and if we can make an effort to cultivate a relationship with the Wisdom and with the One, we will start to change. Our thoughts, words, and actions will shift. We are shown that this happens when we tap into the potential of devotion that we all have to act as devotees of the One. If we can bring this element of serving, dedication, and devotion, we will find that the Nam of the One becomes illuminated within us. This is a hopeful thing! We are being invited to do this by the Guru. Will we?
SUMMARY
In these stanzas, Guru Ramdas addresses us as roving traders, as people who wander and wonder what it is we ought to be trading in. In the first through the third stanzas, the Guru shares questions about what that transaction is, what we are selling, what we are dealing in, and what we ought to be trading in instead. The Guru also establishes that whatever has been done in the past is what is received in our fortune, while also urging us to understand that we can change what will come to be written for us if we cultivate a relationship with the Wisdom and with IkOankar through Identification. We come to understand Identification as a practice, not as something abstract. We come to understand how we can stop trading in attachments and start trading in Identification. We are urged to develop love for that One within. In the fourth through sixth stanzas, the Guru reminds us that the play of the One is full of seeming paradoxes or impossibilities — that we too can transcend what feels impossible, that the lotus within us can bloom even in the most murky environments. We are shown that Identification with IkOankar alone is the commodity worth trading in. We are shown that it is through Identification that we can experience the Sovereign pervading every being, that love for the One can develop in our minds if we become Wisdom-centered, and that Identification with IkOankar becomes our way of life. We are reminded that all of us have this potential, can become devoted and dedicated devotees of the One, and can develop the love for the One within such that it reaches our consciousness. We are the roving traders, trading in all sorts of things on this earth and in these lives. What will we trade in now? What will we accumulate? What will we take with us when we go?
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