jaise jal te budbudā upjai binsai nīt.
jag racnā taise racī kahu nānak suni mīt.25.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1427
Guru Teghbahadar Sahib reminds beings of the purpose of life, which is to remember and reflect on the virtues of IkOankar (the Divine). The saloks describe how life is wasted in the entanglements of familial and material attachments distracting from the purpose of life. They inspire seekers to search for deeper meaning beyond the attachment to family and temporary material things and develop a relationship with IkOankar. These saloks gently nudge seekers to live in awareness of IkOankar and see the entire world from that place of realization.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
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In the twenty-fifth stanza, Guru Teghbahadar says, just as a bubble in water arises and collapses every day, O friend, the creation of the world is created in the same way.
The Guru speaks to all of us. The conversation with the self has stopped in this stanza and moved into an address to the people. Because the steady One has entered our consciousness, we are able to see that life lasts as long as a bubble lasts in the water. This is how long this dream-like world lasts. This is not to say that life is not real, it is! We have things to do in this world, lessons to learn, relationships to have. But it is very temporary, and we can only understand that with the steady One in our consciousness. Do we understand who we are, really? We are here in our identities, yes, with our human experiences, but we will go back into the larger Identity just as the bubble returns to the water. We will return to the Source.
If we understand that, why are we caught up in our temporary perishable identities and our temporary perishable things and our temporary perishable relationships? Why are we caught up in the expanses of the body? If we spend more time understanding these insights on what is in creation and what its place is and what our places are, how temporary and finite it all is, how limited our time time is, then we will know how to do something worthwhile with our momentary time here.
The Guru speaks to all of us. The conversation with the self has stopped in this stanza and moved into an address to the people. Because the steady One has entered our consciousness, we are able to see that life lasts as long as a bubble lasts in the water. This is how long this dream-like world lasts. This is not to say that life is not real, it is! We have things to do in this world, lessons to learn, relationships to have. But it is very temporary, and we can only understand that with the steady One in our consciousness. Do we understand who we are, really? We are here in our identities, yes, with our human experiences, but we will go back into the larger Identity just as the bubble returns to the water. We will return to the Source.
If we understand that, why are we caught up in our temporary perishable identities and our temporary perishable things and our temporary perishable relationships? Why are we caught up in the expanses of the body? If we spend more time understanding these insights on what is in creation and what its place is and what our places are, how temporary and finite it all is, how limited our time time is, then we will know how to do something worthwhile with our momentary time here.
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