marṇaṅ bisraṇaṅ gobindah. jīvaṇaṅ hari nām dhyāvaṇah.
labhṇaṅ sādh saṅgeṇ. nānak hari pūrabi likhṇah.15.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1361
Guru Arjan Sahib describes a flaw-riddled body and the futile nature of pride in material attachment to the physical world. The seeker is encouraged to connect with the eternal IkOankar (the Divine), who removes diseases, sorrows, and sufferings, making way for a fruitful life. The precious gift of Nam is received in the company of virtuous beings and makes the seekers’ lives fruitful. This saloks encourages seekers to welcome the company of virtuous beings to unite with the all-pervasive IkOankar and find eternal comfort and happiness.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the fifteenth salok, Guru Arjan says that to forget the Earth-Knower is to be dead, unconscious, asleep, and to remember the Identification with the 1-Light is to be alive, conscious, and awake. We constantly forget the One who knows the earth in its vastness and knows it intimately. Living in remembrance of the Earth-Knower is how we live in the world fully awake and aware, and it makes the mortal immortal. We cannot be immortal in our forgetfulness; we can only continue to remain in a cycle of life and death, whether through living multiple lives in one lifetime or multiple lifetimes. Real life is where death and fear of death are not dominant. The moment the One is forgotten, that moment is like a separation equivalent to the death between the lover and the Beloved. It is the remembrance that keeps us in a union. That union provides us with a powerful capacity in that love. In forgetfulness, Maya, or attachment to the material and to our relationships, takes over, and we are unable to live to our full capacity. We become dependent, entangled, vice-filled, and full of fear. When we are forgetful, the world seems true, so we fear loss. When we are connected, we know the world is not True with a capital ‘T,’ so we do not fear the loss of that which is not ours.
The Guru then says that Identification with the 1-Light is found through the Wisdom, in the company of the virtuous beings, in accordance with the will of IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One). So then, is the ability to live in remembrance due to grace or previous deeds in our control? The writ of the 1-Light always creates good deeds. The role of the Wisdom and the virtuous beings is to wake us up to the Identification with IkOankar. Without that Identification, we are unable to understand that Writ, that Command, that Order of things. And when we do not understand that Writ, we do not know how to align our behaviors with good deeds. We do not know how even to clarify what that would look like in our behaviors. We are too forgetful, too caught up in the things that make us forget. And so the question then becomes, are we seeking out those who can help us practice remembrance, who can help us understand the writ of the 1-Light? Are we really seeking out the companionship of the Wisdom and the virtuous ones?
The Guru then says that Identification with the 1-Light is found through the Wisdom, in the company of the virtuous beings, in accordance with the will of IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One). So then, is the ability to live in remembrance due to grace or previous deeds in our control? The writ of the 1-Light always creates good deeds. The role of the Wisdom and the virtuous beings is to wake us up to the Identification with IkOankar. Without that Identification, we are unable to understand that Writ, that Command, that Order of things. And when we do not understand that Writ, we do not know how to align our behaviors with good deeds. We do not know how even to clarify what that would look like in our behaviors. We are too forgetful, too caught up in the things that make us forget. And so the question then becomes, are we seeking out those who can help us practice remembrance, who can help us understand the writ of the 1-Light? Are we really seeking out the companionship of the Wisdom and the virtuous ones?
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