jiu supnā aru pekhanā aise jag kaü jāni.
in mai kachu sāco nahī nānak binu bhagvān.23.
-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
Calligraphy
In the twenty-third stanza, Guru Teghbahadar says, this world is a dream, a play! Without the presence of the adorable One, the One who is to be adored, none of this is eternal.
We think that all of this is what matters -- the things we can see in front of us, the lives we live in this world-play. But we forget that this world is like a dream, and within it, nothing is eternal or true. Until the consciousness moves toward the inner self, we do not develop insights, and because we do not take that inner journey toward insightfulness, we remain caught up in this dreamlike idea of the world. In this dream, it is our material relationships which become the focus. Even when we know that these things are temporary, even when we know that the world is dreamlike, our attachment still consumes us. Our sense of the world in our small frames of reference still consumes us. Accumulating and accumulating things is still a goal that consumes us. We still work towards it. We still convince ourselves that this dreamlike world is the ultimate truth, and it keeps us from being able to gain insights that will help us come out of our sense of self. Instead, we continue to fall prey to i-iness or me-mineness, hunted by it in this dream. We get caught up in the things that result from this — negativities in our thinking and behavior, and a life without feeling the presence of IkOankar, the adorable One.
The Guru is gently shaking us awake as if to say, come out of your dream! You are adoring and getting adored by so many things and people but the One who is to be adored will help you get out of this.
We think that all of this is what matters -- the things we can see in front of us, the lives we live in this world-play. But we forget that this world is like a dream, and within it, nothing is eternal or true. Until the consciousness moves toward the inner self, we do not develop insights, and because we do not take that inner journey toward insightfulness, we remain caught up in this dreamlike idea of the world. In this dream, it is our material relationships which become the focus. Even when we know that these things are temporary, even when we know that the world is dreamlike, our attachment still consumes us. Our sense of the world in our small frames of reference still consumes us. Accumulating and accumulating things is still a goal that consumes us. We still work towards it. We still convince ourselves that this dreamlike world is the ultimate truth, and it keeps us from being able to gain insights that will help us come out of our sense of self. Instead, we continue to fall prey to i-iness or me-mineness, hunted by it in this dream. We get caught up in the things that result from this — negativities in our thinking and behavior, and a life without feeling the presence of IkOankar, the adorable One.
The Guru is gently shaking us awake as if to say, come out of your dream! You are adoring and getting adored by so many things and people but the One who is to be adored will help you get out of this.
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