paüṛī.
pūrnamā pūran prabh eku karaṇ kāraṇ samrathu.
jīa jant daïāl purakhu sabh ūpari jā kā hathu.
guṇ nidhān gobind gur kīā jā kā hoi.
antarjāmī prabhu sujānu alakh niranjan soi.
pārbrahamu parmesaro sabh bidhi jānaṇhār.
sant sahāī sarani jogu āṭh pahar namaskār.
akath kathā nah būjhīai simrahu hari ke caran.
patit udhāran anāth nāth nānak prabh kī saran.16.
-Guru Granth Sahib 300
Guru Arjan Sahib states that the being who has adopted the virtues of IkOankar (the Divine) never wavers; their bliss never diminishes. Corresponding to the fifteen-day lunar calendar and each pauri (stanza) correlates to each day formed by the waxing and waning of the moon. The sixteenth pauri states that IkOankar is full of virtues and capable of doing everything. IkOankar is the Knower of all hearts, the Emancipator and support of all.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the sixteenth pauri (stanza), the Guru further emphasizes that the only complete One is Prabhu, the compassionate One who is capable of doing and causing. There is an implicit reference here to the day of the full moon, which is deemed auspicious because the moon is ‘complete.’ But the only complete and perfect Being is IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One), who is compassionate toward all beings and creatures and protects all of creation. IkOankar is the Treasure of Virtues, the Knower of Creation, and the Greatest. It is by IkOankar’s doing that all things happen.
IkOankar is also the inner-knower, all-knowing, imperceivable, and without the blemish of Maya or attachment to the material and our worldly relationships. That One owns, that One gives, that One knows, that One is beyond entanglement, that One is not fully graspable. IkOankar is the Transcendent Being, the Supreme Being, the Knower of the entire process. This praise of IkOankar emphasizes IkOankar’s vastness and unfathomable qualities. But this does not mean that IkOankar is not accessible for us to be in a relationship with.
The Guru ends this stanza by saying that IkOankar is the help of the truth-exemplars, who is capable of giving us refuge. This is the One to whom we ought to salute day and night. The tale of the indescribable, the unnarratable narrative, cannot be understood. So what can we do? If we cannot figure these things out, how can we describe the One with whom we seek connection? The Guru says, remember the feet of Hari, the 1-Light. There is no way to figure this out. Instead of making that our goal, or being tempted to ‘solve’ the mystery of the One, why don’t we instead remember the sanctuary of the One? Why don’t we come to that sanctuary in humility and take refuge instead? Prabhu is the Emancipator of the fallen, the Support of the destitute. Even those of us who feel we have no one still have the One. Will we understand that Prabhu is the only Complete One? Will we cast away all other “moons,” gods, demigods, and mythological heroes to live out this understanding? Will we seek the sanctuary of the One who can free us?
IkOankar is also the inner-knower, all-knowing, imperceivable, and without the blemish of Maya or attachment to the material and our worldly relationships. That One owns, that One gives, that One knows, that One is beyond entanglement, that One is not fully graspable. IkOankar is the Transcendent Being, the Supreme Being, the Knower of the entire process. This praise of IkOankar emphasizes IkOankar’s vastness and unfathomable qualities. But this does not mean that IkOankar is not accessible for us to be in a relationship with.
The Guru ends this stanza by saying that IkOankar is the help of the truth-exemplars, who is capable of giving us refuge. This is the One to whom we ought to salute day and night. The tale of the indescribable, the unnarratable narrative, cannot be understood. So what can we do? If we cannot figure these things out, how can we describe the One with whom we seek connection? The Guru says, remember the feet of Hari, the 1-Light. There is no way to figure this out. Instead of making that our goal, or being tempted to ‘solve’ the mystery of the One, why don’t we instead remember the sanctuary of the One? Why don’t we come to that sanctuary in humility and take refuge instead? Prabhu is the Emancipator of the fallen, the Support of the destitute. Even those of us who feel we have no one still have the One. Will we understand that Prabhu is the only Complete One? Will we cast away all other “moons,” gods, demigods, and mythological heroes to live out this understanding? Will we seek the sanctuary of the One who can free us?
Tags
