gaüṛī mahalā 9.
sādho racnā rām banāī.
iki binsai ik asthiru mānai acraju lakhio na jāī.1. rahāu.
kām krodh moh basi prānī hari mūrati bisrāī.
jhūṭhā tanu sācā kari mānio jiu supnā raināī.1.
jo dīsai so sagal bināsai jiu bādar kī chāī.
jan nānak jagu jānio mithiā rahio rām sarnāī.2.2.
-Guru Granth Sahib 219
Guru Teghbahadar Sahib reminds seekers that the world is a wonderfully complicated play created by IkOankar (the Divine). Despite the near-constant reminders of their finiteness, many remain trapped in the illusion of perceived immortality; this illusion drives people to forget IkOankar. Those liberated from the transient world’s fallacy remain connected to IkOankar.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
GAURI 2
In the second composition, Guru Teghbahadar says, O Wise ones! This creation is created by the Beautiful One! Many perish; many consider themselves permanent. This strange play cannot be understood. Even this creation we are so immersed in is created by the Beautiful, IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One). Many die within this creation, and still, many consider themselves permanent. We know that all things must perish, and we see it happen in our everyday lives. But somehow, we tell ourselves that we are the exception to this rule — we believe we will live forever, or that we are invincible, or that somehow we have escaped the reality of this coming and going, and we behave accordingly. This is that strange play that cannot be understood.
O Wise ones! This creation is created by the Beautiful One! This belief that we are beyond the realities of temporariness is due to our forgetting of the 1-Light, the Beautiful, the All-Pervasive Creator of creation. What causes us to forget the existence of the All-Pervasive? We forget the existence of One who pervades all things when we exist under the control of lust, anger, and attachment. When these things drive us, we forget that the only permanent thing in existence is the all-pervasive One and that our bodies are not Real with a capital ‘r,’ that they will perish as all things must. We believe the body to be eternal as if we believe a dream to be true. When we are controlled by our emotions and our attachment to the material world and material relationships around us, we can’t see beyond them. We forget that they are not all there is. We forget even the Creator of those things. This is how the world begins to appear Real and true and eternal despite its being false and temporary.
O Wise ones! This creation is created by the Beautiful One! So then, what is the reality of this existence? The Guru says that whatever is visible is perishable and temporary, just like the shadow of a cloud. The shadow of a cloud might seem large and looming and powerful when we see it, but clouds move so quickly. There is never a moment when the clouds are not in the process of disappearing or in the process of perishing. We watch this happen when we look up at the sky, the way a cloud can exist in a moment and be separated and dissipated in the next, taking with it whatever large and looming shadows we have seen it cast. This is how all things are. There is never a moment when what we see around us is not in the process of perishing. Those who understand this temporariness remain in the sanctuary of the Beautiful One, who created creation.
We tend to look at the beautiful creation all around us and disregard its temporariness, or, if we understand the world to be temporary, we still think that somehow, we are the exception to this. We remain under the constant influence of lust, wrath, and attachment, and it is because of this we forget the larger embodiment of all-pervasiveness, IkOankar. Because of this forgetting, we consider the temporary world to be real and our bodies to be permanent despite knowing logically that all things must go. Those who are able to come out of that which controls them, to come out of a lifestyle rooted in temporariness, and to have the insight to continue on the path towards that which is Eternal, are the ones who enter and remain in the sanctuary of the Beautiful One, who created creation. Will we have that reflection and acknowledgment that leads us into the sanctuary of the Beautiful One?
In the second composition, Guru Teghbahadar says, O Wise ones! This creation is created by the Beautiful One! Many perish; many consider themselves permanent. This strange play cannot be understood. Even this creation we are so immersed in is created by the Beautiful, IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One). Many die within this creation, and still, many consider themselves permanent. We know that all things must perish, and we see it happen in our everyday lives. But somehow, we tell ourselves that we are the exception to this rule — we believe we will live forever, or that we are invincible, or that somehow we have escaped the reality of this coming and going, and we behave accordingly. This is that strange play that cannot be understood.
O Wise ones! This creation is created by the Beautiful One! This belief that we are beyond the realities of temporariness is due to our forgetting of the 1-Light, the Beautiful, the All-Pervasive Creator of creation. What causes us to forget the existence of the All-Pervasive? We forget the existence of One who pervades all things when we exist under the control of lust, anger, and attachment. When these things drive us, we forget that the only permanent thing in existence is the all-pervasive One and that our bodies are not Real with a capital ‘r,’ that they will perish as all things must. We believe the body to be eternal as if we believe a dream to be true. When we are controlled by our emotions and our attachment to the material world and material relationships around us, we can’t see beyond them. We forget that they are not all there is. We forget even the Creator of those things. This is how the world begins to appear Real and true and eternal despite its being false and temporary.
O Wise ones! This creation is created by the Beautiful One! So then, what is the reality of this existence? The Guru says that whatever is visible is perishable and temporary, just like the shadow of a cloud. The shadow of a cloud might seem large and looming and powerful when we see it, but clouds move so quickly. There is never a moment when the clouds are not in the process of disappearing or in the process of perishing. We watch this happen when we look up at the sky, the way a cloud can exist in a moment and be separated and dissipated in the next, taking with it whatever large and looming shadows we have seen it cast. This is how all things are. There is never a moment when what we see around us is not in the process of perishing. Those who understand this temporariness remain in the sanctuary of the Beautiful One, who created creation.
We tend to look at the beautiful creation all around us and disregard its temporariness, or, if we understand the world to be temporary, we still think that somehow, we are the exception to this. We remain under the constant influence of lust, wrath, and attachment, and it is because of this we forget the larger embodiment of all-pervasiveness, IkOankar. Because of this forgetting, we consider the temporary world to be real and our bodies to be permanent despite knowing logically that all things must go. Those who are able to come out of that which controls them, to come out of a lifestyle rooted in temporariness, and to have the insight to continue on the path towards that which is Eternal, are the ones who enter and remain in the sanctuary of the Beautiful One, who created creation. Will we have that reflection and acknowledgment that leads us into the sanctuary of the Beautiful One?
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