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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.
ikoaṅkār satigur prasādi.
salok mahalā 9.
gun gobind gāio nahī   janamu akārath kīnu.
kahu nānak hari bhaju manā   jih bidhi jal kaü mīnu.1.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1426
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
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In the first stanza, Guru Teghbahadar, the ninth Nanak, uses the first-person voice (an introspective way to speak to the people) and begins with a gentle warning. The Guru says, O my mind; you have been given this life to live in remembrance and sing the praise. But you have not done that, and you have wasted this life away. Then comes the urging: Remember IkOankar, the 1-Light, just as a fish yearns for the water, its life source, the thing that helps it survive.

The Guru begins with a reminder that life is happening, time is passing, and now is the time to sing praises of the 1-Light. The metaphor of the fish is important — the fish is surrounded by water, immersed in it, sustained by it. As soon as the fish is without water, it is no longer able to live. And yet, a fish that is in the water can also forget that the water is there. A fish surrounded by the very thing that keeps it alive can forget how important it is to its survival. In the same way, we are always surrounded by the presence of the 1-Light. But if we do not consciously remember this, it is as if we are without that presence. Can we take the inspiration of the fish and make our praise of the 1-Light the same? A constant remembering? Can we get our minds to focus on that presence? If we are without our Source, without our Root, without our Origin, we are dying. And so our purpose is remembrance. We do not need anything external for remembrance.

We have all of these physical things gifted to us with the body: a tongue to taste, a throat to sing, ears to listen. Who can stop us from singing? Only ourselves and all of the other things we bring within that distract us. That singing is within us, not external to us. Remembrance cannot be stopped by anyone else. We carry that innate song within us; always, it is a natural thing, it is the thing we are meant to do, the thing we are here for. It is just a matter of whether or not we choose to open our mouths and sing, whether or not we make an effort to remember until it becomes second nature.
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