nāmu rahio sādhū rahio rahio guru gobindu.
kahu nānak ih jagat mai kin japio gur mantu.56.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1429
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 fifty-sixth stanza, Guru Teghbahadar says, in this unstable world, the Identification (Nam) of IkOankar, the IkOankar-like Wisdom (Guru), and the virtuous being (sadhu) who has lived by the Identification of IkOankar, that is, the Wisdom (mantra of the Guru), are stable and eternal.
The virtuous is the being who is steeped in the discipline of Identification. There are ‘sadhus’ of all kinds, but the sadhu or virtuous one here is the one whose discipline is of Identifying with IkOankar. In this world, forever, there is IkOankar’s Identification. There is the Identity of the one who is in Identification, and there is the Wisdom which is of Identification. If these three things remain: Identification of IkOankar, the virtuous (sadhu), and the IkOankar-like Wisdom (Guru), then who else can remain? The virtuous ones can remain. The virtuous are the ones who follow the Wisdom, who live the teaching of the Wisdom. This is how we can remain stable and eternal, through living successfully. We do not remember millionaires or people who were successful in their jobs or in accumulating power. We remember those who did extraordinary things by living with these three things that remain.
What is more permanent than us is our living legacy, not our created legacy. There is a line of Identification and virtue and IkOankar-like Wisdom, and that is the legacy we ought to get into. That is the legacy that we ought to strive to be a part of. Identification with the One was always there. Virtuousness was always there. The Wisdom (Guru) was brought to a level of massive transformation through the culture of Identification. The Wisdom was, because of Identification, the embodiment of Identification. We can be a part of that legacy by living in the Wisdom, in the Identification, in the virtuousness. We earn that living through practicing Wisdom, by Identifying with IkOankar, by cultivating virtues. Are we bringing Identification and virtuousness within us through the Wisdom? Are we preparing to be part of this legacy? Do we want to remain?
The virtuous is the being who is steeped in the discipline of Identification. There are ‘sadhus’ of all kinds, but the sadhu or virtuous one here is the one whose discipline is of Identifying with IkOankar. In this world, forever, there is IkOankar’s Identification. There is the Identity of the one who is in Identification, and there is the Wisdom which is of Identification. If these three things remain: Identification of IkOankar, the virtuous (sadhu), and the IkOankar-like Wisdom (Guru), then who else can remain? The virtuous ones can remain. The virtuous are the ones who follow the Wisdom, who live the teaching of the Wisdom. This is how we can remain stable and eternal, through living successfully. We do not remember millionaires or people who were successful in their jobs or in accumulating power. We remember those who did extraordinary things by living with these three things that remain.
What is more permanent than us is our living legacy, not our created legacy. There is a line of Identification and virtue and IkOankar-like Wisdom, and that is the legacy we ought to get into. That is the legacy that we ought to strive to be a part of. Identification with the One was always there. Virtuousness was always there. The Wisdom (Guru) was brought to a level of massive transformation through the culture of Identification. The Wisdom was, because of Identification, the embodiment of Identification. We can be a part of that legacy by living in the Wisdom, in the Identification, in the virtuousness. We earn that living through practicing Wisdom, by Identifying with IkOankar, by cultivating virtues. Are we bringing Identification and virtuousness within us through the Wisdom? Are we preparing to be part of this legacy? Do we want to remain?
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