m: 1.
kumbhe badhā jalu rahai jal binu kumbhu na hoi.
giān kā badhā manu rahai gur binu giānu na hoi.5.
kumbhe badhā jalu rahai jal binu kumbhu na hoi.
giān kā badhā manu rahai gur binu giānu na hoi.5.
m: 1. |
kumbhe badhā jalu rahai jal binu kumbhu na hoi. |
giān kā badhā manu rahai gur binu giānu na hoi.5. |
Guru Nanak focuses this verse on the mind, the greatest of the senses, using an example from worldly life. The Guru uses the metaphor of the pitcher that, by definition and function, stores water. This is an essential part of its pitcher-ness, dependent on storing water. The Guru says that just as without the water in it, the pitcher is not really a pitcher (because it is not fulfilling its central essential role) and the pitcher is necessary to keep the water still, similarly, the mind (the greatest of all senses) of a person can only remain stable when it is confined in the pitcher of the Wisdom’s (the Guru, the one who brings enlightenment-light by dispelling ignorance-darkness) knowledge; knowledge cannot be received without the Wisdom, and without the knowledge, the mind is not even worth calling the mind. We can become the best pitcher we can be, or the best mind we can be, but without the water or the knowledge, we might as well be nothing.
Just as water remains stable in a pitcher, but the pitcher cannot be made without water, similarly, the mind can remain stable only when it is confined to the Guru’s wisdom; but wisdom cannot be received without the Guru.
(Just like) the water remains stable bound in a pitcher, but without water, pitcher cannot exist.
(Similarly), bound by wisdom, mind remains stable; (but) without the Guru, there can be no wisdom.
(Similarly), bound by wisdom, mind remains stable; (but) without the Guru, there can be no wisdom.
With the subtle use of illustration in this salok, the addressee has been explained that just like water cannot remain stable at one place if it is not in the pitcher, similarly, the human mind cannot stay steady in a state of blissful contentment without the wisdom obtained from the Guru. The composition of meter of this salok is 13+11. Consequently, it can be categorized under a two line verse/couplet with 13+11 characters each (doharā chand).