paüṛī.
sacā sāhibu eku tūṁ jini saco sacu vartāiā.
jisu tūṁ dehi tisu milai sacu tā tin̖ī sacu kamāiā.
satiguri miliai sacu pāiā jin̖ kai hirdai sacu vasāiā.
mūrakh sacu na jāṇan̖ī manmukhī janamu gavāiā.
vici dunīā kāhe āiā. 8.
This pauri (stanza), revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib, is accompanied by two saloks. The first salok consists of nine lines and explains that the Creator, IkOankar, knows the entire visible and invisible creation; IkOankar creates all beings and takes care of them. The second salok, comprising six lines, conveys that mere rituals cannot improve a person’s condition without the grace of the Creator, IkOankar, who has made the entire creation. This pauri stresses that to receive the grace of the IkOankar, it is essential to accept and practice Nam from the true Guru.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
Guru Nanak differentiates between the two kinds of truths that exist: moral truths that are informed by the outward marks and mystical or inner truths that must be discovered individually. Moral truth is told to us, given to us as information to learn and digest, straightforward and clear. Inner truth takes hard work.
This is not to say that the moral truths we glean from outward marks are not of value. We can all gain a philosophical or intellectual understanding of the truth, and those things are important in helping us create laws. But the truth which needs to be discovered at an emotional level is fundamental, because, without it, we cannot understand. Guru Nanak says, if we remain self-centered or mind-centered, we will remain ignorant, despite whatever outward behaviors we have adopted in an attempt to understand and connect. If all we are doing is sticking to the outward markers, checklists of what is right and wrong, what behaviors are good and bad, what things will get us to connect with the One, then we have missed the point.
It is important to feel connected to all of those outward markers that were listed in the first verse, to appreciate and recognize unity in diversity, to see all of the things around us and salute them as being part of the infinite facets of the One. It is important to understand all of these things as marks of that One without creating otherness, to avoid creating distinctions, to avoid creating exclusivism. This is not to say that our outward marks don’t help us — a person who prescribes to a particular school of thought or religion can use their outward marks to help them, but if all we are doing is focusing on our outward marks and behavior, holding our lives up to a checklist, we will end up getting stuck.
Guru Nanak is taking it a step further from the first verse — it is not just about saluting. It is about feeling, moving from the intellectual and external to the more personalized and internal, creating intimacy with 1-Identification on a very personal level.
The second verse was about how different religions or schools of thought tell us how we must create that intimacy. This section is about how the real way to personally connect is to find that internal truth, that emotional and mystical thing inside of the middle of our hearts, the thing that will help us discover the grace.
This is not to say that the moral truths we glean from outward marks are not of value. We can all gain a philosophical or intellectual understanding of the truth, and those things are important in helping us create laws. But the truth which needs to be discovered at an emotional level is fundamental, because, without it, we cannot understand. Guru Nanak says, if we remain self-centered or mind-centered, we will remain ignorant, despite whatever outward behaviors we have adopted in an attempt to understand and connect. If all we are doing is sticking to the outward markers, checklists of what is right and wrong, what behaviors are good and bad, what things will get us to connect with the One, then we have missed the point.
It is important to feel connected to all of those outward markers that were listed in the first verse, to appreciate and recognize unity in diversity, to see all of the things around us and salute them as being part of the infinite facets of the One. It is important to understand all of these things as marks of that One without creating otherness, to avoid creating distinctions, to avoid creating exclusivism. This is not to say that our outward marks don’t help us — a person who prescribes to a particular school of thought or religion can use their outward marks to help them, but if all we are doing is focusing on our outward marks and behavior, holding our lives up to a checklist, we will end up getting stuck.
Guru Nanak is taking it a step further from the first verse — it is not just about saluting. It is about feeling, moving from the intellectual and external to the more personalized and internal, creating intimacy with 1-Identification on a very personal level.
The second verse was about how different religions or schools of thought tell us how we must create that intimacy. This section is about how the real way to personally connect is to find that internal truth, that emotional and mystical thing inside of the middle of our hearts, the thing that will help us discover the grace.
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