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This pauri (stanza), revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib, is accompanied by three saloks; the first two contain two lines each. After an invocation to the Guru, the first two saloks emphasize the importance of the Guru. The third salok, comprising four lines, clarifies that while individuals may appear wise, intelligent, and thriving from a worldly perspective, they are valueless without the Wisdom (Guru). Without the wisdom of the Guru, human life remains unilluminated and without worth. The pauri explains that the formless One, IkOankar (the Divine), first created Ownself and Nam (Identification with IkOankar), then created the creation, and is pervading within it.
paüṛī.
āpīn̖ai āpu sājio   āpīn̖ai racio nāu.
duyī kudrati sājīai   kari āsaṇu ḍiṭho cāu.
dātā kartā āpi tūṁ   tusi devahi karahi pasāu.
tūṁ   jāṇoī sabhsai   de laisahi jindu kavāu.
kari āsaṇu ḍiṭho cāu.1.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
Guru Nanak commences the ballad in a self-reflexive theme, where the ideas we may have about any separation between ourselves and the One are challenged. The Self created the self. The One created the 1-Ness. The One created the 1-Identification, or Nam — the ways in which we identify with, connect to, and experience the One. The One pervades through all of creation, and there is no other. The ideas that we may have about this separate Creator above us and presiding over all that happens on Earth are challenged. This is not about humans as small and insignificant beings versus the One as the separate big and important ruler over all things. The One is fond of creation and is excited to be in the creation. With the Wisdom, we can begin to understand that the One is among me, among you, among all of us. This is Oneness, 1-Ness.
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