tīrath barat aru dān kari man mai dharai gumānu.
nānak nihphal jāt tih jiu kuncar isnānu.46.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1428
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 forty-sixth stanza, Guru Teghbahadar says, having bathed at pilgrimage sites, observing fasts, and giving alms, if someone takes pride in these deeds, their deeds go in vain like an elephant's bath; because after bathing, the elephant blows dirt back onto its body and becomes soiled again.
In our attempts to practice Remembrance and feel the presence of the One, we do all sorts of things. We go to all the pilgrimages; we do all the fasts; we make gestures of charity. But if we do these things and take pride in them, it is as if we did not do them at all. If we go to a pilgrimage site and take pictures and post them online, if we come back and tell stories about our visits that center us and our piety, then those pilgrimages were made in vain. If we engage in fasts to publicly perform piety, then those fasts were done in vain. If we donate to charity and need everyone to know it, then those donations were made in vain. If our takeaway from doing these things makes us think we are better than other people, then all of it is useless. It is like when an elephant takes a bath and then immediately pours dirt on itself.
The Guru seems to be imploring us to ask ourselves why we are doing these deeds and what they are doing to us. We can travel all over the world in the name of religious or spiritual tourism. We can do galas and events in the name of service and devotion. But is there devotion? Is there love? Is there Remembrance? Those are the things that help us get rid of pride. When we tell people about our deeds, is what we are telling them helpful? Are we sharing things that transformed our lives? Are we hoping to inspire that same transformation in others? Or are we just sharing the gestures we did?
In our attempts to practice Remembrance and feel the presence of the One, we do all sorts of things. We go to all the pilgrimages; we do all the fasts; we make gestures of charity. But if we do these things and take pride in them, it is as if we did not do them at all. If we go to a pilgrimage site and take pictures and post them online, if we come back and tell stories about our visits that center us and our piety, then those pilgrimages were made in vain. If we engage in fasts to publicly perform piety, then those fasts were done in vain. If we donate to charity and need everyone to know it, then those donations were made in vain. If our takeaway from doing these things makes us think we are better than other people, then all of it is useless. It is like when an elephant takes a bath and then immediately pours dirt on itself.
The Guru seems to be imploring us to ask ourselves why we are doing these deeds and what they are doing to us. We can travel all over the world in the name of religious or spiritual tourism. We can do galas and events in the name of service and devotion. But is there devotion? Is there love? Is there Remembrance? Those are the things that help us get rid of pride. When we tell people about our deeds, is what we are telling them helpful? Are we sharing things that transformed our lives? Are we hoping to inspire that same transformation in others? Or are we just sharing the gestures we did?
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