m: 1.
vāini cele nacani gur. pair halāini pheran̖i sir.
uḍi uḍi rāvā jhāṭai pāi. vekhai loku hasai ghari jāi.
roṭīā kāraṇi pūrahi tāl. āpu pachāṛahi dhartī nāli.
gāvani gopīā gāvani kān̖. gāvani sītā rāje rām.
nirbhaü niraṅkāru sacu nāmu. jā kā kīā sagal jahānu.
sevak sevahi karami caṛāu. bhinnī raiṇi jin̖ā mani cāu.
sikhī sikhiā gur vīcāri. nadarī karami laghāe pāri.
kolū carkhā cakī caku. thal vārole bahutu anantu.
lāṭū mādhāṇīā angāh. paṁkhī bhaüdīā laini na sāh.
sūai cāṛi bhavāīahi jant. nānak bhaüdiā gaṇat na ant.
bandhan bandhi bhavae soi. paiai kirti nacai sabhu koi.
naci naci hasahi calahi se roi. uḍi na jāhī sidh na hohi.
nacaṇu kudaṇu man ka cāu. nānak jin̖ mani bhaü tin̖ā mani bhāu. 2.
vāini cele nacani gur. pair halāini pheran̖i sir.
uḍi uḍi rāvā jhāṭai pāi. vekhai loku hasai ghari jāi.
roṭīā kāraṇi pūrahi tāl. āpu pachāṛahi dhartī nāli.
gāvani gopīā gāvani kān̖. gāvani sītā rāje rām.
nirbhaü niraṅkāru sacu nāmu. jā kā kīā sagal jahānu.
sevak sevahi karami caṛāu. bhinnī raiṇi jin̖ā mani cāu.
sikhī sikhiā gur vīcāri. nadarī karami laghāe pāri.
kolū carkhā cakī caku. thal vārole bahutu anantu.
lāṭū mādhāṇīā angāh. paṁkhī bhaüdīā laini na sāh.
sūai cāṛi bhavāīahi jant. nānak bhaüdiā gaṇat na ant.
bandhan bandhi bhavae soi. paiai kirti nacai sabhu koi.
naci naci hasahi calahi se roi. uḍi na jāhī sidh na hohi.
nacaṇu kudaṇu man ka cāu. nānak jin̖ mani bhaü tin̖ā mani bhāu. 2.
m: 1. |
vāini cele nacani gur. pair halāini pheran̖i sir. |
uḍi uḍi rāvā jhāṭai pāi. vekhai loku hasai ghari jāi. |
roṭīā kāraṇi pūrahi tāl. āpu pachāṛahi dhartī nāli. |
gāvani gopīā gāvani kān̖. gāvani sītā rāje rām. |
nirbhaü niraṅkāru sacu nāmu. jā kā kīā sagal jahānu. |
sevak sevahi karami caṛāu. bhinnī raiṇi jin̖ā mani cāu. |
sikhī sikhiā gur vīcāri. nadarī karami laghāe pāri. |
kolū carkhā cakī caku. thal vārole bahutu anantu. |
lāṭū mādhāṇīā angāh. paṁkhī bhaüdīā laini na sāh. |
sūai cāṛi bhavāīahi jant. nānak bhaüdiā gaṇat na ant. |
bandhan bandhi bhavae soi. paiai kirti nacai sabhu koi. |
naci naci hasahi calahi se roi. uḍi na jāhī sidh na hohi. |
nacaṇu kudaṇu man ka cāu. nānak jin̖ mani bhaü tin̖ā mani bhāu. 2. |
Guru Nanak takes us through four parts. First, there is a continuation of the satirical narrative of a theatrical performance being carried out by actors, performers or street-artists. Guru Nanak shifts the subject of discussion, focusing on the performers now, not the audience. Instead of enjoying the Divine play being staged in the cosmic theater by the formless One, the performers spend their time putting on artificial earthly plays about the incarnations for the entertainment of the crowd. Guru Nanak describes the dust in their tangled hair, emphasizing that they do all of this for the sake of earning a living, so willing to do anything for the entertainment of others that they fall up and down the stage with their hair everywhere. When they have finished, those in the audience return home, entertained, and the performers prepare to do it all again the next day, empty inside.
In the second part, Guru Nanak praises 1Force (IkOankar, One Universal Integrative Force, also referred to as 1-Ness) as the Creator of the entire universe and focuses on 1Force’s attributes: formless, fearless, and eternal. The Guru reminds us that what really matters is the formless One, fearless and eternal — that this is what the whole world is really made of.
In the third part, Guru Nanak contrasts the narrative of the performers who do anything to earn money with that of those doing real service, out of love for the 1Force. Those who serve the 1Force in excitement and grace are the real devotees. Their lives become saturated with spiritual ecstasy. Those serving the formless One are not doing so in order to earn anything — they are doing so because their mind is excited. The performers go home exhausted from falling over themselves all day in order to earn money. Those who serve the One go to sleep each night excited for the day to end so that they may get up in the morning and serve the One again. These are the devotees who understand and reflect on the Wisdom’s instructions. These are the ones who, in grace, cross the world-ocean successfully (their lives are successful).
In the fourth part, Guru Nanak lists out various things which spin in circles to compare them to the dance-rotations of the street-artists: potter’s wheels, hand mills, spinning tops, churning sticks, grain threshers, and birds flying in circles. Those people who are in the physical theater performing for the audience day after day are like these mechanical motions, going in circles, just doing the job and going through the motions. There is no end to it — they keep revolving in their small circles. Guru Nanak is speaking about what we might call the rat race today, or corporate slavery, or any of the other countless ways we go through the motions of everyday life like machines, fulfilling our roles in our small circles. This all plays back into the previous discussion on the Command versus earthly commands — we distract ourselves from the Command and trick ourselves into thinking we are following the command by fulfilling our roles in the world, as we go through the motions, as we infinitely churn and churn and churn until we cannot churn anymore.
We do this every day, and, Guru Nanak says, there is no eventual fruitfulness that will come from it. We can keep counting how many times we have circled or churned or spun around, but no matter how many times we have done so, there is no end, no destination in sight. Those dancers keep dancing in circles, and though they make the public laugh for a moment, they return home crying and feeling empty. They will not get anywhere, achieve any sort of real-life successes, or prove anything because they are too busy going through the motions. Dancing and jumping around are done to excite and entertain the mind, but what about those who slave away doing those things for our entertainment? Put yourself in their shoes. We may be entertained, but what about them?
We are all so caught up and dizzied by our infinite circling, we earn our livings and we go home feeling empty inside, just as the performers do. Forgetting 1Force, we dance in circles, we experience momentary emotions, but we leave the world in despair. All of the ways we entertain and distract ourselves do not affect us in a meaningful way. These things are not rooted in love for 1Force. It is only those minds which have reverence, that have love for 1Force. It is this reverence and love for 1Force that stops us from going in circles and fills our emptiness.
In the second part, Guru Nanak praises 1Force (IkOankar, One Universal Integrative Force, also referred to as 1-Ness) as the Creator of the entire universe and focuses on 1Force’s attributes: formless, fearless, and eternal. The Guru reminds us that what really matters is the formless One, fearless and eternal — that this is what the whole world is really made of.
In the third part, Guru Nanak contrasts the narrative of the performers who do anything to earn money with that of those doing real service, out of love for the 1Force. Those who serve the 1Force in excitement and grace are the real devotees. Their lives become saturated with spiritual ecstasy. Those serving the formless One are not doing so in order to earn anything — they are doing so because their mind is excited. The performers go home exhausted from falling over themselves all day in order to earn money. Those who serve the One go to sleep each night excited for the day to end so that they may get up in the morning and serve the One again. These are the devotees who understand and reflect on the Wisdom’s instructions. These are the ones who, in grace, cross the world-ocean successfully (their lives are successful).
In the fourth part, Guru Nanak lists out various things which spin in circles to compare them to the dance-rotations of the street-artists: potter’s wheels, hand mills, spinning tops, churning sticks, grain threshers, and birds flying in circles. Those people who are in the physical theater performing for the audience day after day are like these mechanical motions, going in circles, just doing the job and going through the motions. There is no end to it — they keep revolving in their small circles. Guru Nanak is speaking about what we might call the rat race today, or corporate slavery, or any of the other countless ways we go through the motions of everyday life like machines, fulfilling our roles in our small circles. This all plays back into the previous discussion on the Command versus earthly commands — we distract ourselves from the Command and trick ourselves into thinking we are following the command by fulfilling our roles in the world, as we go through the motions, as we infinitely churn and churn and churn until we cannot churn anymore.
We do this every day, and, Guru Nanak says, there is no eventual fruitfulness that will come from it. We can keep counting how many times we have circled or churned or spun around, but no matter how many times we have done so, there is no end, no destination in sight. Those dancers keep dancing in circles, and though they make the public laugh for a moment, they return home crying and feeling empty. They will not get anywhere, achieve any sort of real-life successes, or prove anything because they are too busy going through the motions. Dancing and jumping around are done to excite and entertain the mind, but what about those who slave away doing those things for our entertainment? Put yourself in their shoes. We may be entertained, but what about them?
We are all so caught up and dizzied by our infinite circling, we earn our livings and we go home feeling empty inside, just as the performers do. Forgetting 1Force, we dance in circles, we experience momentary emotions, but we leave the world in despair. All of the ways we entertain and distract ourselves do not affect us in a meaningful way. These things are not rooted in love for 1Force. It is only those minds which have reverence, that have love for 1Force. It is this reverence and love for 1Force that stops us from going in circles and fills our emptiness.
Instead of enjoying the natural play staged by the formless One, people perform plays of god-incarnates, the disciples play musical instruments and their mentors (gurus) dance, shaking bell anklets tied to their feet and swaying their heads.
The dust rises continuously with the movement of the dancers’ feet and settles in their tangled hair. The crowd watches, and after returning home, thinks about them and laughs.
These performers dance to the beat and throw themselves on the ground merely for the sake of money and bread.
Instead of singing praises of the formless One, these performers mimic and sing the praises of the god-incarnates (Krishan and Ram Chandra) and their companions (cow-maidens, Sita).
Only the formless One, who has created the entire world, is beyond any Command; Identification (Nam) of the formless One is eternal.
The devotees who have a yearning for the formless One, remember (serve) only the formless One. Through the grace of the formless One, their mind is dyed in the love of the formless One, their consciousness rises, and their lives (day and night) are drenched in spiritual ecstasy.
Those devotees who have learned the teaching of the formless One through Guru’s thought, the gracious formless One takes them across the world-ocean.
Oil-press, spinning wheel, hand mill, potter’s wheel, and the countless unending whirlwinds of the deserts.
Spinning tops, churning sticks, grain threshers, and flocks of birds tirelessly circling in the sky.
Besides these, many other devices are mounted on the spike and rotated. Nanak! The number of these rotating devices and wandering beings can neither be counted, nor their limits known.
But, nothing is in the hands of these worldly beings. The formless One’s will alone binds people in material entanglements and makes them wander; everyone dances according to the Writ.
Those who, having forgotten the formless One, dance for the sake of money in the plays they enact and laugh, depart from the world in despair (crying) in the end. Such means of entertainment can neither help them in elevating their spiritual state (flying away), nor in attaining spiritual wisdom (becoming siddhas).
Such dancing and hopping is merely a pleasure of the mind; it is not love for the formless One. Nanak! In whose mind there is reverence for the formless One, in their mind (alone) is Love.
Note: In this cosmic expanse, just like the natural worship (ārtī) being performed by nature, there is a natural phenomenon occurring in creation, in which units of day and night; air, water, fire; the moon, the sun, etc. are playing roles of different characters. But the pretentious gurus forget this cosmic play staged by the Creator and mimic the deities and their companions (cow-maidens) and dance along with their disciples. The dust rising from their feet settles in their hair and they become the laughing stock of the world. This salok also highlights the economic distress of these performers and explains that their performance is only limited to entertaining people for the sake of putting food on the table.
Oil-press, spinning wheel, grindstones of a mill, spinning top, churning stick, etc. are continuously spinning and revolving. Being inanimate, all these things do not share any emotional bond with their actions (rotation). Similarly, human beings undertake religious practices in a detached manner, while being in the throes of material entanglements. Therefore, religious practices devoid of love for the formless One are useless.
The dust rises continuously with the movement of the dancers’ feet and settles in their tangled hair. The crowd watches, and after returning home, thinks about them and laughs.
These performers dance to the beat and throw themselves on the ground merely for the sake of money and bread.
Instead of singing praises of the formless One, these performers mimic and sing the praises of the god-incarnates (Krishan and Ram Chandra) and their companions (cow-maidens, Sita).
Only the formless One, who has created the entire world, is beyond any Command; Identification (Nam) of the formless One is eternal.
The devotees who have a yearning for the formless One, remember (serve) only the formless One. Through the grace of the formless One, their mind is dyed in the love of the formless One, their consciousness rises, and their lives (day and night) are drenched in spiritual ecstasy.
Those devotees who have learned the teaching of the formless One through Guru’s thought, the gracious formless One takes them across the world-ocean.
Oil-press, spinning wheel, hand mill, potter’s wheel, and the countless unending whirlwinds of the deserts.
Spinning tops, churning sticks, grain threshers, and flocks of birds tirelessly circling in the sky.
Besides these, many other devices are mounted on the spike and rotated. Nanak! The number of these rotating devices and wandering beings can neither be counted, nor their limits known.
But, nothing is in the hands of these worldly beings. The formless One’s will alone binds people in material entanglements and makes them wander; everyone dances according to the Writ.
Those who, having forgotten the formless One, dance for the sake of money in the plays they enact and laugh, depart from the world in despair (crying) in the end. Such means of entertainment can neither help them in elevating their spiritual state (flying away), nor in attaining spiritual wisdom (becoming siddhas).
Such dancing and hopping is merely a pleasure of the mind; it is not love for the formless One. Nanak! In whose mind there is reverence for the formless One, in their mind (alone) is Love.
Note: In this cosmic expanse, just like the natural worship (ārtī) being performed by nature, there is a natural phenomenon occurring in creation, in which units of day and night; air, water, fire; the moon, the sun, etc. are playing roles of different characters. But the pretentious gurus forget this cosmic play staged by the Creator and mimic the deities and their companions (cow-maidens) and dance along with their disciples. The dust rising from their feet settles in their hair and they become the laughing stock of the world. This salok also highlights the economic distress of these performers and explains that their performance is only limited to entertaining people for the sake of putting food on the table.
Oil-press, spinning wheel, grindstones of a mill, spinning top, churning stick, etc. are continuously spinning and revolving. Being inanimate, all these things do not share any emotional bond with their actions (rotation). Similarly, human beings undertake religious practices in a detached manner, while being in the throes of material entanglements. Therefore, religious practices devoid of love for the formless One are useless.
The disciples play (musical instruments); the gurus dance, shake their feet, sway their heads.
Rising continuously, the dust falls into (their) tangled hair. Crowd watches, and having returned home laughs.
For the sake of bread, (these performers) keep time with the musical beat. They throw themselves on the ground.
(They) sing of the cow-maidens, (they) sing of Krishan. (They) sing of Sita (and) the king Ram.
Fearless is (only) the formless (One), only the Nam (of the formless One) is true; who has created the entire world.
The servants (of the formless One) serve (the formless One); through the grace of (the formless One) there is a rise (of love for the formless One).
Their night is drenched (in love), in whose mind (there) is joy.
(Those devotees who have) learned the teaching through the Guru’s thought, the gracious formless One takes (them) across.
Oil-press, spinning wheel, hand mill, potter’s wheel (and) many endless whirlwinds of the deserts. Spinning tops, churning sticks, grain threshers (and) the (flocks of) wandering birds, do not take a breath.
Having been mounted on the spike, (many more) devices are rotated. Nanak! There are neither countings nor ends to the rotating (devices and beings).
Having tied in the bonds, that (formless One alone) makes (the beings) wander. In accordance with the inscribed writ, everyone dances.
(Those who) laugh, having danced, they depart crying. (They) cannot fly away, (they) cannot become siddhas.
Dancing, hopping is a pleasure of mind. Nanak! In whose mind there is reverence (for the formless One), in their mind (alone) is love.
Rising continuously, the dust falls into (their) tangled hair. Crowd watches, and having returned home laughs.
For the sake of bread, (these performers) keep time with the musical beat. They throw themselves on the ground.
(They) sing of the cow-maidens, (they) sing of Krishan. (They) sing of Sita (and) the king Ram.
Fearless is (only) the formless (One), only the Nam (of the formless One) is true; who has created the entire world.
The servants (of the formless One) serve (the formless One); through the grace of (the formless One) there is a rise (of love for the formless One).
Their night is drenched (in love), in whose mind (there) is joy.
(Those devotees who have) learned the teaching through the Guru’s thought, the gracious formless One takes (them) across.
Oil-press, spinning wheel, hand mill, potter’s wheel (and) many endless whirlwinds of the deserts. Spinning tops, churning sticks, grain threshers (and) the (flocks of) wandering birds, do not take a breath.
Having been mounted on the spike, (many more) devices are rotated. Nanak! There are neither countings nor ends to the rotating (devices and beings).
Having tied in the bonds, that (formless One alone) makes (the beings) wander. In accordance with the inscribed writ, everyone dances.
(Those who) laugh, having danced, they depart crying. (They) cannot fly away, (they) cannot become siddhas.
Dancing, hopping is a pleasure of mind. Nanak! In whose mind there is reverence (for the formless One), in their mind (alone) is love.
This salok can be divided into four main parts. The first part consists of the first eight lines. In these lines, an allusion to the enactment of the play in the name of religious tradition (rās līlā) has been depicted. In the ninth and tenth line, IkOankar has been praised and depicted as the Creator of the entire universe. Thus, these lines make way for the second part of the salok.
The third part consists of lines eleven to fourteen. Contrary to the situation in the first part, those who followed the Guru's instruction and received blessings from the formless One, have been depicted in these lines.
The fourth part consists of lines from fifteen to twenty-four. These lines explain that worldly beings caught in material attachments are repeatedly taking rounds (while dancing during rās līlā) just like the rotating devices, such as the oil-press, spinning wheel, flail, potter’s wheel, whirlwinds, spinning toys, churning sticks, birds, objects mounted on spikes, etc. Many examples have been used here to explain the figurative expressions. In addition, satire and humor are also visible here as these lines satirize the worldly beings dancing in the plays.
There is an alliteration in the salok because of the presence of words like ‘vāini’ (they play), ‘nacani’ (they dance), ‘halāini’ (they move/shake), ‘pheran̖i’ (they turn/rotate/sway) in the first-second line, ‘uḍi uḍi’ (rising continuously) in the third line, ‘gāvani gopīā gāvani… rāje rām’ (they sing of the cow-maidens… king Ram) in the seventh-eighth line, ‘nirbhaü niraṅkāru’ (fearless formless) in the ninth line, ‘sevak sevahi’ (servants serve) in the eleventh line, ‘sikhī sikhiā’ (learned the teaching) in the thirteenth line, ‘carkhā cakī caku’ (spinning wheel, hand mill, potter’s wheel) in the fifteenth line, ‘bandhan bandhi’ (tied in the bonds) in the twenty-first line, ‘naci naci’ (having danced), ‘hasahi calahi’ (they laugh and depart) in the twenty-third line, and ‘nacaṇu kudaṇu’ (dancing, hopping) in the twenty-fifth line, etc. These words also introduce a special aural rhythm in this salok.
Twenty-fifth line ‘nacaṇu kudaṇu man ka cāu’ (dancing, hopping is a pleasure of the mind) expresses the central idea of the entire salok; accordingly, we have syntactic rareness here. In the twenty-sixth line (last), ‘jin̖ mani bhaü tin̖ā mani bhāu’ (in whose mind there is reverence, in their mind is love), similar structural form has been repeated. Through this morphological parallelism it has been stressed that only those individuals who have reverence of the formless One in mind can attain love of the formless One within them.
In the entire salok, clear and simple language has been used. This is a proficient use of simple linguistic expression.
The third part consists of lines eleven to fourteen. Contrary to the situation in the first part, those who followed the Guru's instruction and received blessings from the formless One, have been depicted in these lines.
The fourth part consists of lines from fifteen to twenty-four. These lines explain that worldly beings caught in material attachments are repeatedly taking rounds (while dancing during rās līlā) just like the rotating devices, such as the oil-press, spinning wheel, flail, potter’s wheel, whirlwinds, spinning toys, churning sticks, birds, objects mounted on spikes, etc. Many examples have been used here to explain the figurative expressions. In addition, satire and humor are also visible here as these lines satirize the worldly beings dancing in the plays.
There is an alliteration in the salok because of the presence of words like ‘vāini’ (they play), ‘nacani’ (they dance), ‘halāini’ (they move/shake), ‘pheran̖i’ (they turn/rotate/sway) in the first-second line, ‘uḍi uḍi’ (rising continuously) in the third line, ‘gāvani gopīā gāvani… rāje rām’ (they sing of the cow-maidens… king Ram) in the seventh-eighth line, ‘nirbhaü niraṅkāru’ (fearless formless) in the ninth line, ‘sevak sevahi’ (servants serve) in the eleventh line, ‘sikhī sikhiā’ (learned the teaching) in the thirteenth line, ‘carkhā cakī caku’ (spinning wheel, hand mill, potter’s wheel) in the fifteenth line, ‘bandhan bandhi’ (tied in the bonds) in the twenty-first line, ‘naci naci’ (having danced), ‘hasahi calahi’ (they laugh and depart) in the twenty-third line, and ‘nacaṇu kudaṇu’ (dancing, hopping) in the twenty-fifth line, etc. These words also introduce a special aural rhythm in this salok.
Twenty-fifth line ‘nacaṇu kudaṇu man ka cāu’ (dancing, hopping is a pleasure of the mind) expresses the central idea of the entire salok; accordingly, we have syntactic rareness here. In the twenty-sixth line (last), ‘jin̖ mani bhaü tin̖ā mani bhāu’ (in whose mind there is reverence, in their mind is love), similar structural form has been repeated. Through this morphological parallelism it has been stressed that only those individuals who have reverence of the formless One in mind can attain love of the formless One within them.
In the entire salok, clear and simple language has been used. This is a proficient use of simple linguistic expression.