sūhī mahalā 5 guṇvantī.
jo dīsai gursikhṛā tisu nivi nivi lāgaü pāi jīu.
ākhā birthā jīa kī guru sajaṇu dehi milāi jīu.
soī dasi updesṛā merā manu anat na kāhū jāi jīu.
ihu manu tai kūṁ ḍevasā mai māragu dehu batāi jīu.
haü āiā dūrahu cali kai mai takī taü sarṇāi jīu.
mai āsā rakhī citi mahi merā sabho dukhu gavāi jīu.
itu māragi cale bhāīaṛe guru kahai su kār kamāi jīu.
tiāgeṁ man kī mataṛī visāreṁ dūjā bhāu jīu.
iu pāvahi hari darsāvaṛā nah lagai tatī vāu jīu.
haü āpahu boli na jāṇdā mai kahiā sabhu hukmāu jīu.
hari bhagti khajānā bakhsiā guri nānaki kīā pasāu jīu.
mai bahuṛi na trisnā bhukhaṛī haü rajā tripati aghāi jīu.
jo gur dīsai sikhṛā tisu nivi nivi lāgaü pāi jīu.3.
-Guru Granth Sahib 763
Guru Arjan Sahib describes a seeker longing to meet a Gursikh who has experienced IkOankar (the Divine) to receive guidance on their anguish over their separation from IkOankar. This longing and pain are expressed in the first half of the Sabad. The seeker asks the Sikh of the Guru to remove their suffering by showing them the way. In the second half of this Sabad, the Sikh of the Guru advises seekers to experience the presence of IkOankar. This is how the seeker becomes ‘Gunvanti,’ or full of virtues. This Sabad encourages seekers to center their lives on IkOankar.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
Guru Arjan sets Gunvanti in the context of the preceding compositions, Kuchaji and Suchaji. Both Kuchaji and Suchaji are rooted in a personal and emotional seeking, and a more abstract engagement with the personal relationship with IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force). They are revealed in the first and third person, expressing seeking, yearning, and abstract questions and acknowledgments.
Guru Arjan takes that emotional seeking and moves into the more practical, giving the seeker ways to address that longing, walk the path, and experience union with IkOankar. In the earlier compositions, the seeker asked the Guru. In this composition, the seeker asks the Gursikh, or the Sikh who follows the path of the Guru, the one who has learned or is learning and continues to learn the Guru’s way. The word Gursikh is modified with a ‘-ra’ suffix, a linguistic feature that elongates the word to emphasize a tone of love and endearment. One could interpret Gursikhra as “the loving Sikh of the Guru.” This composition is written in the form of a dialogue, therefore, the commentary is being presented as a dialogue:
It is important to emphasize that the seeker does not look for a Sikh of the Guru based on physical appearance. Today, we have made the requirements for this designation about visual appearance, about religious garbs that we think denote internal virtues and behaviors. But the Sikh of the Guru is the one who is full of virtues, who follows the way of the Wisdom, who is on the path, who understands that their guidance to the seeker is not to be of their own opinions and thoughts, but from the command of the Wisdom, and emulates the Guru in looks and behavior, for they are in love with the Guru. The Sikh of the Guru does not instruct others based on their own opinions and thoughts.
There is no expectation on the seeker for instant gratification, but instead, there is a hope in their consciousness that the pain of separation will depart. This is not about big classically religious ideas of “salvation” or doing well at the Divine Court when the accounts are taken. Instead, it is about eliminating that pain of separation in all of its dimensions and manifestations here and now.
The loving Sikh of the Guru explains that part of following the way of Wisdom is shifting from the self-centered mind or the mind-centeredness that we all struggle with into a Wisdom-centeredness. This is not about intellect or rationalizing or neatly understanding all things. This is about quieting that element of the mind so that Wisdom becomes the center of our consciousness. When we do that, we are given the grace of IkOankar’s devotion, no longer restlessly seeking. Guru Nanak, as the embodiment of 1-Light, is invoked, the Wisdom of Nanak is invoked to show that the eternal ideas of Nanak have graced Guru Arjan. Guru Arjan says that the Wisdom of Nanak graced him with this treasure of IkOankar’s devotion. The word used here is Hari, 1-Light, the Remover of Suffering. When we receive the Remover of Suffering’s devotion, our pain is taken away. We are satiated. We have received the Light in our consciousness.
This seeking for a loving Sikh of the Guru is about a way to conceive of sangat or divine company. Sangat is not just about surrounding ourselves with anyone who appears a certain way or thinks a certain way. It is about finding those who follow the command of the Wisdom. It is about coming together to move towards living 1Ness. In a contemporary sense, sangat can be confusing. This is one way to think about who to surround ourselves with — those who work for the betterment of the community, those who follow the command of Wisdom, those who are centered in Wisdom and not in intellect and self.
This is all about how we as individuals foster our relationships with IkOankar, how we center ourselves and our behaviors, how the ecosystem of our bodies' and our existences can become devoid of that pain of separation we all experience, how we can become beings of love. This is not about how we may study religion. This is about lived religiosity and experiences of divinity. This is about the lived manifestations of our pain, and how to live out an experience where that pain may be taken from us by the Remover of Suffering, IkOankar, with the guidance of the loving Sikhs of the Guru, who lead us down the path.
Guru Arjan takes that emotional seeking and moves into the more practical, giving the seeker ways to address that longing, walk the path, and experience union with IkOankar. In the earlier compositions, the seeker asked the Guru. In this composition, the seeker asks the Gursikh, or the Sikh who follows the path of the Guru, the one who has learned or is learning and continues to learn the Guru’s way. The word Gursikh is modified with a ‘-ra’ suffix, a linguistic feature that elongates the word to emphasize a tone of love and endearment. One could interpret Gursikhra as “the loving Sikh of the Guru.” This composition is written in the form of a dialogue, therefore, the commentary is being presented as a dialogue:
Seeker:
The one I am looking for is the loving Sikh of the Guru! I am not looking for a physical garb, I am looking for the loving Sikh who follows the Guru’s way, that loving Sikh of the Guru who is full of virtues, dearest. Whichever Sikh of the Guru I see, may I bow again and again at their feet, dearest.
May I meet them, the friends, and state the anguish of my heart so that they may connect me with the Wisdom (Guru), dearest. May I ask that Sikh of the Guru to share with me that teaching, by which my mind does not drift anywhere else, dearest.
Loving Sikh of the Guru! I will give my mind to you; tell me the way of union with IkOankar, dearest. I have walked from afar, and have come to your sanctuary, dearest. I have kept this hope in my mind, that all my suffering may be removed, dearest. I am looking, I am asking, I am learning, dearest.
Gursikh:
O dearest sibling! It is quite simple. If you follow this path, do what the Wisdom (Guru) says. Forsake the intellect of your mind, and rise above duality, dearest. This is how you will experience the presence of IkOankar, and no pain will touch you, dearest.
These words are not my own. What I have said is according to the command of Wisdom (Guru). Guru Nanak has bestowed grace on me and blessed me with the treasure of the 1-Light, Remover of Suffering’s (IkOankar’s) devotion, dearest. I no longer hunger or thirst for material things. I am satiated, completely satisfied, dearest.
Whichever Sikh of the Guru I see, may I bow again and again at their feet, dearest.
It is important to emphasize that the seeker does not look for a Sikh of the Guru based on physical appearance. Today, we have made the requirements for this designation about visual appearance, about religious garbs that we think denote internal virtues and behaviors. But the Sikh of the Guru is the one who is full of virtues, who follows the way of the Wisdom, who is on the path, who understands that their guidance to the seeker is not to be of their own opinions and thoughts, but from the command of the Wisdom, and emulates the Guru in looks and behavior, for they are in love with the Guru. The Sikh of the Guru does not instruct others based on their own opinions and thoughts.
There is no expectation on the seeker for instant gratification, but instead, there is a hope in their consciousness that the pain of separation will depart. This is not about big classically religious ideas of “salvation” or doing well at the Divine Court when the accounts are taken. Instead, it is about eliminating that pain of separation in all of its dimensions and manifestations here and now.
The loving Sikh of the Guru explains that part of following the way of Wisdom is shifting from the self-centered mind or the mind-centeredness that we all struggle with into a Wisdom-centeredness. This is not about intellect or rationalizing or neatly understanding all things. This is about quieting that element of the mind so that Wisdom becomes the center of our consciousness. When we do that, we are given the grace of IkOankar’s devotion, no longer restlessly seeking. Guru Nanak, as the embodiment of 1-Light, is invoked, the Wisdom of Nanak is invoked to show that the eternal ideas of Nanak have graced Guru Arjan. Guru Arjan says that the Wisdom of Nanak graced him with this treasure of IkOankar’s devotion. The word used here is Hari, 1-Light, the Remover of Suffering. When we receive the Remover of Suffering’s devotion, our pain is taken away. We are satiated. We have received the Light in our consciousness.
This seeking for a loving Sikh of the Guru is about a way to conceive of sangat or divine company. Sangat is not just about surrounding ourselves with anyone who appears a certain way or thinks a certain way. It is about finding those who follow the command of the Wisdom. It is about coming together to move towards living 1Ness. In a contemporary sense, sangat can be confusing. This is one way to think about who to surround ourselves with — those who work for the betterment of the community, those who follow the command of Wisdom, those who are centered in Wisdom and not in intellect and self.
This is all about how we as individuals foster our relationships with IkOankar, how we center ourselves and our behaviors, how the ecosystem of our bodies' and our existences can become devoid of that pain of separation we all experience, how we can become beings of love. This is not about how we may study religion. This is about lived religiosity and experiences of divinity. This is about the lived manifestations of our pain, and how to live out an experience where that pain may be taken from us by the Remover of Suffering, IkOankar, with the guidance of the loving Sikhs of the Guru, who lead us down the path.
Tags
