saloku.
catur siāṇā sughaṛu soi jini tajiā abhimānu.
cāri padārath asṭ sidhi bhaju nānak hari nāmu.4.
-Guru Granth Sahib 297
Guru Arjan Sahib describes a being becoming wise and adept through Nam (Identification with IkOankar). All comforts and mind-desired fruits are received by dispelling pride and enshrining Nam in the consciousness. Corresponding to the fifteen-day lunar calendar and each pauri (stanza) correlates to each day formed by the waxing and waning of the moon. The fourth pauri describes how all sorrows and conflicts are destroyed through Nam and the company of virtuous beings; they realize the presence of IkOankar (the Divine).
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
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In the fourth salok (couplet), Guru Arjan says, the one who has renounced pride is clever, wise, and adept. The four substances, the eight siddhis, are in the Nam (Identification with the One). Sing praises of the Nam of the 1-Light. Those who have been able to renounce their ego, the I-ness, have been carved beautifully into insightful beings. This is the goal that matters more than the goal of scoring spiritual points within a convoluted system in hopes that it will reward us in the end. The Guru invokes the four substances and the eight siddhis. The four substances or elements of Indic philosophy are dharma (being firm in religious discipline), artha (attainment of worldly needs), kama (success), and moksha (liberation). The eight siddhis are supernatural powers attained through ascetic discipline with their own divisions and different means and methods of gaining them. The point is that these elements all play into a larger system of transaction, discipline, and asceticism that people partake in, hoping that it will rid them of their pride. But the implication is that there is a difference between becoming a renunciant and renouncing one’s pride. We can be renunciants and still live firmly in our pride. The question is whether we have established what matters most — have we understood that these things are all received through singing praises of the 1-Light, the All-Pervasive? Have we brought this praise within?
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