satigur kai janme gavanu miṭāiā.
anhati rāte ihu manu lāiā.
mansā āsā sabadi jalāī.
gurmukhi joti nirantari pāī.
trai guṇ meṭe khāīai sāru.
nānak tāre tāraṇhāru.20.
-Guru Granth Sahib 940
In this pauri (stanza) answers the questions posed by the Sidhs. The essence of the Guru’s response is that the ceaselessly pervading light of IkOankar (the Divine) is experienced when the mind stops wandering. This is possible through the Wisdom (Guru).
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
Ramkali is a rag (musical mode) used to evoke feelings of triumph regardless of circumstance. In the larger Indic musical tradition, it is about two moods — madhur (sweet) and chakat (startled). There is a level of sweetness and a level of startling that is expressed in these compositions. The way it is explained in many traditions is that Ramkali is usually used to communicate a disciplined and wise teacher explaining something to a disciplined and wise student. They are both very aware that there is pain, but they know that this is what is best. The struggle makes the triumph that much sweeter. This composition is from Sidh Gosti, Guru Nanak’s dialogue with the Sidhs, in which he responds to five questions from the Sidhs who seek his true opinion: By which method have you transformed your life? With whom have you attached your mind? By which method have you removed hope and desire? By which method have you found ceaseless light? How can one chew iron without teeth? The responses from Guru Nanak are measured and direct.
The Sidhs ask, by which method have you transformed your life? Certain schools of thought, disciplines, denominations, and other groups have particular dress codes and external garbs. The yogis are no different. They have their own external markers of identity and philosophy. When they meet Guru Nanak, he follows none of these disciplines or dress codes, has no particular garb, and is a householder. This differs from what is accepted as a spiritual path of dedication and discipline. How can it be that he is in the world with a family of his own and is still on a spiritual journey to which he is dedicated? How has he figured out how to transform his life? The Guru answers: having been born in the house of the eternal Wisdom, I have been able to erase all wandering. Several things are worth noting here. The yogis wander around as renunciates, looking to rid themselves of their own thoughts. The Guru is using the vocabulary of the Sidhs to communicate something vaster than what their paradigm gives them. There is a reference to what is understood as ‘second birth’ in the Indic system, where it is believed that our first birth is our worldly birth in the house of our parents, and our second birth is spiritual, when we are born in the house of our faith or school of thought. This is also common in other traditions, for example, when one says they are a ‘born again Christian.’ The Guru says he has been born in the house of the eternal Wisdom. This is the ‘second’ birth he has chosen. What does it mean to be born in the house of the eternal Wisdom? The Guru has changed his previous nature and lifestyle through that relationship with the eternal Wisdom. Through this change, he has been able to cease his wandering and transform his life.
The Sidhs ask, with whom have you attached your mind? Guru Nanak responds, connecting my consciousness with the unstruck Word-Sound, the Wisdom; I have attached this mind to the all-pervading IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One). The Guru explains that he immersed himself in the unstruck Word-Sound, the Sabad, and through this immersion, he was able to connect his mind to the One. The Yogis attempt to empty themselves to foster silence and space within. They use one instrument and one sound, a single note that is struck and continually produced with great effort. The Guru subverts that practice when he speaks of drenching himself, drenching his mind in this unstruck Word rather than emptying the mind. The music of the spiritual sphere plays without being struck, without effort. It is a musical manifestation of spiritual bliss that cannot be heard by the ears. It can only be experienced.
The Sidhs ask, by which method have you removed hope and desire? The Guru responds, I have burnt hope and desire through the Word-Sound, Sabad. The Sidhs pursue great discipline and renunciation in hopes of ridding themselves of worldly hopes and desires. Still, they struggle. How did Guru Nanak, one in the world whose only ‘house’ or school of thought is that of the eternal Wisdom, remove these things? The Guru uses the word ‘burnt’ to describe this process. It is not that worldly hopes and desires are destroyed in an instant. They are part of a slow extinguishing, a burning away that takes great time and effort. But this is possible through the Word of Wisdom.
The Sidhs ask, by which method have you found ceaseless light? The Guru says, through the Wisdom, I have found the ceaseless light. By becoming Wisdom-oriented, Guru Nanak has been able to experience the ceaselessly pervading light of IkOankar. This is an experience of constant presence. How does this experience happen? Through the Wisdom. The literal word used by Guru Nanak is ‘Guru,’ but this is a different kind of Guru from those that the Sidhs are familiar with. They all have Gurus too, but their Gurus are people they train under. Guru Nanak’s Guru is the eternal Wisdom as communicated through the Sabad, the Word of Wisdom. He does not have a particular pranayam, asan, or yogic practice. What does it mean to become Wisdom-oriented? It means that one’s words, thoughts, and actions are guided by and chiseled by the Wisdom.
The Sidhs ask, how can one chew iron without teeth? This is a way of asking, how can one do such difficult things? How has Guru Nanak been able to accomplish such difficult tasks? Guru Nanak responds, having wiped out the three qualities of Maya, or attachment to the material and to relationships, one is able to eat iron. As per Indic philosophy, the phenomenal world is a manifestation of Maya. This paradigm is further complicated by the belief that Maya has three qualities or attributes: 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 qualities regulate what people do and what they eat, classify people and food and drink into different categories, and entangle us in a fear-based system that dictates the everyday. The whole world is engrossed in some version of this, whether in the Indic context or other contexts that also classify and regulate our lives. The Guru says he no longer acts within that paradigm but has risen above it. Those who are Wisdom-oriented are able to release themselves from the bounds of this paradigm, driven by the Word of Wisdom, imbued in the Wisdom. This is how we can become capable of ridding ourselves of worldly hopes and desires and feel the constant presence of the One. This is how we can make an effort to do such difficult things – things that even the Sidhs, the proven ones, have not been able to do.
The Guru ends by saying, the One who causes us to swim across is the One who takes us across the world-ocean. Through the Wisdom, IkOankar, the Liberator, liberates the devotee from the bondages of worldly desires and cravings. This last statement emphasizes that all of this happens through the grace of the One – all of this happens because the One wants it to happen. It is not just our effort, not just the discipline we begin to cultivate; it is, most importantly, the grace of the One who knows how to free us, the One who helps us swim across these lives, helping us make our time here fruitful. There is no credit here to the self or some other Guru, teacher, or school of thought. It is all due to the grace of IkOankar that this happens. The grace is for all to receive and experience!
The Guru addresses the Sidhs’ questions about methods with five direct answers. These statements by the Guru are also a part of the initiation ceremony for Sikhs and answer the questions we might have as we think about whether we are ready to commit physically to taking amrit. Importantly, in the Sikh tradition, the Guru Granth Sahib describes amrit, the immortal nectar, as Nam, or Identification with IkOankar. This Nam is received through the Wisdom. History tells us that from the time of Guru Nanak to the time of Guru Gobind Singh, amrit was given by the Guru personality. In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh institutionalized the initiation ceremony, Khande-ki-Pahul (literally impactful-water of double-edged sword). Taking Khande-ki-Pahul is to be initiated into a particular lifestyle where new learnings begin. Those who want immortality must identify with the Immortal — Nam. Here, Guru Nanak elaborates on this kind of initiation through Nam that predates the amrit or Khande-ki-Pahul initiation ceremony. Everything begins by making the conscious decision to take this second birth — not in the biological way, but in the way of entering the house of the eternal Wisdom. We do not have the capacity to figure all of this out on our own — we need some eternal-oriented training, some training from the Wisdom. We are able to do this when we stop listening to the single notes being struck with our physical ears and instead begin to listen to other unstruck melodies that cannot be heard through anything but consciousness. This is the sound that colors us in the love of the One. Our earlier hopes and desires are of the world — this is how the world has trained us to be. But when we are born in the house of the eternal Wisdom we are also figuring out what we want to be listening to. The Word of Wisdom helps us figure out how to live, and it helps us understand that Creation is pervaded by the light of the One. We stop looking for that Divine light in particular places or rituals or methods or teachers. We are no longer subservient to any particular ideology. We start to feel the light everywhere. This is how we can become free in the world — through experiencing the grace of the One, through the realization of the One’s light within. Through initiation, through amrit, we change our previous natures and lifestyles through our relationship with the eternal Wisdom. Through amrit, our words, thoughts, and actions are guided by and chiseled by the Wisdom. Through amrit, we are no longer bound by the existing fear-based paradigms of the world. Through amrit, we become free. This amrit, this Identification, is received by the grace of IkOankar through the Wisdom. The question is whether we will allow the Guru’s message to speak to the ‘Sidhs’ within us, the ‘yogis’ within us — the parts of ourselves that are still caught up in our paradigms, our desires, our disciplines. Will we allow our existing habits, methods, and paradigms to be disrupted? Will we make an effort to hear the unstruck melodies? Will we drench ourselves in the love of the graceful One who frees us? Are we ready to be initiated?
The Sidhs ask, by which method have you transformed your life? Certain schools of thought, disciplines, denominations, and other groups have particular dress codes and external garbs. The yogis are no different. They have their own external markers of identity and philosophy. When they meet Guru Nanak, he follows none of these disciplines or dress codes, has no particular garb, and is a householder. This differs from what is accepted as a spiritual path of dedication and discipline. How can it be that he is in the world with a family of his own and is still on a spiritual journey to which he is dedicated? How has he figured out how to transform his life? The Guru answers: having been born in the house of the eternal Wisdom, I have been able to erase all wandering. Several things are worth noting here. The yogis wander around as renunciates, looking to rid themselves of their own thoughts. The Guru is using the vocabulary of the Sidhs to communicate something vaster than what their paradigm gives them. There is a reference to what is understood as ‘second birth’ in the Indic system, where it is believed that our first birth is our worldly birth in the house of our parents, and our second birth is spiritual, when we are born in the house of our faith or school of thought. This is also common in other traditions, for example, when one says they are a ‘born again Christian.’ The Guru says he has been born in the house of the eternal Wisdom. This is the ‘second’ birth he has chosen. What does it mean to be born in the house of the eternal Wisdom? The Guru has changed his previous nature and lifestyle through that relationship with the eternal Wisdom. Through this change, he has been able to cease his wandering and transform his life.
The Sidhs ask, with whom have you attached your mind? Guru Nanak responds, connecting my consciousness with the unstruck Word-Sound, the Wisdom; I have attached this mind to the all-pervading IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One). The Guru explains that he immersed himself in the unstruck Word-Sound, the Sabad, and through this immersion, he was able to connect his mind to the One. The Yogis attempt to empty themselves to foster silence and space within. They use one instrument and one sound, a single note that is struck and continually produced with great effort. The Guru subverts that practice when he speaks of drenching himself, drenching his mind in this unstruck Word rather than emptying the mind. The music of the spiritual sphere plays without being struck, without effort. It is a musical manifestation of spiritual bliss that cannot be heard by the ears. It can only be experienced.
The Sidhs ask, by which method have you removed hope and desire? The Guru responds, I have burnt hope and desire through the Word-Sound, Sabad. The Sidhs pursue great discipline and renunciation in hopes of ridding themselves of worldly hopes and desires. Still, they struggle. How did Guru Nanak, one in the world whose only ‘house’ or school of thought is that of the eternal Wisdom, remove these things? The Guru uses the word ‘burnt’ to describe this process. It is not that worldly hopes and desires are destroyed in an instant. They are part of a slow extinguishing, a burning away that takes great time and effort. But this is possible through the Word of Wisdom.
The Sidhs ask, by which method have you found ceaseless light? The Guru says, through the Wisdom, I have found the ceaseless light. By becoming Wisdom-oriented, Guru Nanak has been able to experience the ceaselessly pervading light of IkOankar. This is an experience of constant presence. How does this experience happen? Through the Wisdom. The literal word used by Guru Nanak is ‘Guru,’ but this is a different kind of Guru from those that the Sidhs are familiar with. They all have Gurus too, but their Gurus are people they train under. Guru Nanak’s Guru is the eternal Wisdom as communicated through the Sabad, the Word of Wisdom. He does not have a particular pranayam, asan, or yogic practice. What does it mean to become Wisdom-oriented? It means that one’s words, thoughts, and actions are guided by and chiseled by the Wisdom.
The Sidhs ask, how can one chew iron without teeth? This is a way of asking, how can one do such difficult things? How has Guru Nanak been able to accomplish such difficult tasks? Guru Nanak responds, having wiped out the three qualities of Maya, or attachment to the material and to relationships, one is able to eat iron. As per Indic philosophy, the phenomenal world is a manifestation of Maya. This paradigm is further complicated by the belief that Maya has three qualities or attributes: 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 qualities regulate what people do and what they eat, classify people and food and drink into different categories, and entangle us in a fear-based system that dictates the everyday. The whole world is engrossed in some version of this, whether in the Indic context or other contexts that also classify and regulate our lives. The Guru says he no longer acts within that paradigm but has risen above it. Those who are Wisdom-oriented are able to release themselves from the bounds of this paradigm, driven by the Word of Wisdom, imbued in the Wisdom. This is how we can become capable of ridding ourselves of worldly hopes and desires and feel the constant presence of the One. This is how we can make an effort to do such difficult things – things that even the Sidhs, the proven ones, have not been able to do.
The Guru ends by saying, the One who causes us to swim across is the One who takes us across the world-ocean. Through the Wisdom, IkOankar, the Liberator, liberates the devotee from the bondages of worldly desires and cravings. This last statement emphasizes that all of this happens through the grace of the One – all of this happens because the One wants it to happen. It is not just our effort, not just the discipline we begin to cultivate; it is, most importantly, the grace of the One who knows how to free us, the One who helps us swim across these lives, helping us make our time here fruitful. There is no credit here to the self or some other Guru, teacher, or school of thought. It is all due to the grace of IkOankar that this happens. The grace is for all to receive and experience!
The Guru addresses the Sidhs’ questions about methods with five direct answers. These statements by the Guru are also a part of the initiation ceremony for Sikhs and answer the questions we might have as we think about whether we are ready to commit physically to taking amrit. Importantly, in the Sikh tradition, the Guru Granth Sahib describes amrit, the immortal nectar, as Nam, or Identification with IkOankar. This Nam is received through the Wisdom. History tells us that from the time of Guru Nanak to the time of Guru Gobind Singh, amrit was given by the Guru personality. In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh institutionalized the initiation ceremony, Khande-ki-Pahul (literally impactful-water of double-edged sword). Taking Khande-ki-Pahul is to be initiated into a particular lifestyle where new learnings begin. Those who want immortality must identify with the Immortal — Nam. Here, Guru Nanak elaborates on this kind of initiation through Nam that predates the amrit or Khande-ki-Pahul initiation ceremony. Everything begins by making the conscious decision to take this second birth — not in the biological way, but in the way of entering the house of the eternal Wisdom. We do not have the capacity to figure all of this out on our own — we need some eternal-oriented training, some training from the Wisdom. We are able to do this when we stop listening to the single notes being struck with our physical ears and instead begin to listen to other unstruck melodies that cannot be heard through anything but consciousness. This is the sound that colors us in the love of the One. Our earlier hopes and desires are of the world — this is how the world has trained us to be. But when we are born in the house of the eternal Wisdom we are also figuring out what we want to be listening to. The Word of Wisdom helps us figure out how to live, and it helps us understand that Creation is pervaded by the light of the One. We stop looking for that Divine light in particular places or rituals or methods or teachers. We are no longer subservient to any particular ideology. We start to feel the light everywhere. This is how we can become free in the world — through experiencing the grace of the One, through the realization of the One’s light within. Through initiation, through amrit, we change our previous natures and lifestyles through our relationship with the eternal Wisdom. Through amrit, our words, thoughts, and actions are guided by and chiseled by the Wisdom. Through amrit, we are no longer bound by the existing fear-based paradigms of the world. Through amrit, we become free. This amrit, this Identification, is received by the grace of IkOankar through the Wisdom. The question is whether we will allow the Guru’s message to speak to the ‘Sidhs’ within us, the ‘yogis’ within us — the parts of ourselves that are still caught up in our paradigms, our desires, our disciplines. Will we allow our existing habits, methods, and paradigms to be disrupted? Will we make an effort to hear the unstruck melodies? Will we drench ourselves in the love of the graceful One who frees us? Are we ready to be initiated?
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