āsā mahalā 1.
khurāsān khasmānā kīā hindustānu ḍarāiā.
āpai dosu na deī kartā jamu kari mugalu caṛāiā.
etī mār paī karlāṇe taiṁ kī daradu na āiā.1.
kartā tūṁ sabhnā kā soī.
je saktā sakte kaü māre tā mani rosu na hoī.1. rahāu.
saktā sīhu māre pai vagai khasmai sā pursāī.
ratan vigāṛi vigoe kutīṁ muiā sār na kāī.
āpe joṛi vichoṛe āpe vekhu terī vaḍiāī.2.
je ko nāu dharāe vaḍā sād kare mani bhāṇe.
khasmai nadarī kīṛā āvai jete cugai dāṇe.
mari mari jīvai tā kichu pāe nānak nāmu vakhāṇe.3.5.39.
-Guru Granth Sahib 360
Guru Nanak Sahib depicts the absolute authority of IkOankar (the Divine) by describing Emperor Babur and the Lodhi Sultans as instruments of Divine will. This Sabad also invokes the aesthetics of compassion. The painfully moving Sabads uttered by Guru Nanak Sahib about the human lives lost during the invasion evoke a deep feeling of compassion in the heart. This Sabad encourages seekers to be graced to learn to accept the will of IkOankar at all times.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
Asa is a rag (musical mode) that traditionally evokes a feeling of hopefulness. It infuses this composition, which reflects on a moment of great violence and upheaval, with a sense of the unshakeable poise that Guru Nanak exhibits — and invites us to experience it.
The four compositions by Guru Nanak, conventionally referred to as Babarvani (Utterances on Babar), describe Babar’s (popular spelling is Babur) invasion of South Asia and overthrow of Lodhi’s regime, which founded the Mughal Empire. In these compositions, Guru Nanak documents the human suffering caused by the invasion and places it into the context of IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force).
In the first Babarvani composition, Guru Nanak says, O Creator! You are the caretaker of all! If the powerful strikes the powerful, then no anger is felt in the mind. Guru Nanak begins by describing Babar’s destructive invasion of South Asia as the doing of the Creator who is the cause of everything. This essential truth can be difficult for many of us to understand or accept. Guru Nanak acknowledges this difficulty by giving voice to the spiritual confusion felt by regular people caught in the middle of Babar’s atrocities: Is IkOankar indifferent to human suffering? As the composition soon makes obvious, this question does not reflect any doubts or despair from Guru Nanak. Rather, Guru Nanak is addressing the doubts and despair of regular people.
O Creator! You are the caretaker of all! If the powerful strikes the powerful, then no anger is felt in the mind. It’s understandable that in moments of grief, people call out directly to the Creator. After all, these ruthless military and political leaders who order terrible acts of horrific violence are themselves utterly subservient to the Creator. But Guru Nanak offers us a profound and challenging insight: The destruction, suffering, and dramatic shifts of political power are an expression of the greatness of the Creator, who unites, separates, creates, and destroys. In the middle of turmoil, Guru Nanak continues to feel the awe of IkOankar. Can we imagine ourselves reacting in such a way? What is that level of awareness and existence?
O Creator! You are the caretaker of all! If the powerful strikes the powerful, then no anger is felt in the mind. Even the most powerful, famous, and wealthy among us — even those who seem to hold others’ lives in their hands — are nothing compared to the Creator. In their attempts to amass influence and wealth, they are as insignificant as insects pecking at grains. The path to true wealth is to surrender to the Creator. In fact, Guru Nanak reveals to us that we must live having died. It’s a paradox — a statement that appears to contradict itself — forcing us to linger and reflect on the idea. We are invited to imagine living as if we were dead — without greed or any of the self-centered urges that often dictate our actions. It may sound to us like a painful sacrifice, but, it’s the path of attainment. Guru Nanak even reveals how to do it: by reciting Nam, the intuitive wisdom of the 1Force to feel the 1Ness. To live having died means to trade the emptiness of self-centeredness for the fullness of Nam, which is both our connection to the Creator and the Creator’s all-pervasive reality.
During political turmoil and violence, can we still see the 1Ness of IkOankar, the singular perfection in everything? Can we avoid despair and respond productively? Can we dwell in Nam to maintain our poise amid suffering?
The four compositions by Guru Nanak, conventionally referred to as Babarvani (Utterances on Babar), describe Babar’s (popular spelling is Babur) invasion of South Asia and overthrow of Lodhi’s regime, which founded the Mughal Empire. In these compositions, Guru Nanak documents the human suffering caused by the invasion and places it into the context of IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force).
In the first Babarvani composition, Guru Nanak says, O Creator! You are the caretaker of all! If the powerful strikes the powerful, then no anger is felt in the mind. Guru Nanak begins by describing Babar’s destructive invasion of South Asia as the doing of the Creator who is the cause of everything. This essential truth can be difficult for many of us to understand or accept. Guru Nanak acknowledges this difficulty by giving voice to the spiritual confusion felt by regular people caught in the middle of Babar’s atrocities: Is IkOankar indifferent to human suffering? As the composition soon makes obvious, this question does not reflect any doubts or despair from Guru Nanak. Rather, Guru Nanak is addressing the doubts and despair of regular people.
O Creator! You are the caretaker of all! If the powerful strikes the powerful, then no anger is felt in the mind. It’s understandable that in moments of grief, people call out directly to the Creator. After all, these ruthless military and political leaders who order terrible acts of horrific violence are themselves utterly subservient to the Creator. But Guru Nanak offers us a profound and challenging insight: The destruction, suffering, and dramatic shifts of political power are an expression of the greatness of the Creator, who unites, separates, creates, and destroys. In the middle of turmoil, Guru Nanak continues to feel the awe of IkOankar. Can we imagine ourselves reacting in such a way? What is that level of awareness and existence?
O Creator! You are the caretaker of all! If the powerful strikes the powerful, then no anger is felt in the mind. Even the most powerful, famous, and wealthy among us — even those who seem to hold others’ lives in their hands — are nothing compared to the Creator. In their attempts to amass influence and wealth, they are as insignificant as insects pecking at grains. The path to true wealth is to surrender to the Creator. In fact, Guru Nanak reveals to us that we must live having died. It’s a paradox — a statement that appears to contradict itself — forcing us to linger and reflect on the idea. We are invited to imagine living as if we were dead — without greed or any of the self-centered urges that often dictate our actions. It may sound to us like a painful sacrifice, but, it’s the path of attainment. Guru Nanak even reveals how to do it: by reciting Nam, the intuitive wisdom of the 1Force to feel the 1Ness. To live having died means to trade the emptiness of self-centeredness for the fullness of Nam, which is both our connection to the Creator and the Creator’s all-pervasive reality.
During political turmoil and violence, can we still see the 1Ness of IkOankar, the singular perfection in everything? Can we avoid despair and respond productively? Can we dwell in Nam to maintain our poise amid suffering?
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