m: 1.
likhi likhi paṛiā. tetā kaṛiā.
bahu tīrath bhaviā. teto laviā.
bahu bhekh kīā dehī dukhu dīā.
sahu ve jīā apaṇā kīā.
annu na khāiā sādu gavāiā.
bahu dukhu pāiā dūjā bhāiā.
bastra na pahirai. ahinisi kaharai.
moni vigūtā. kiu jāgai gur binu sūtā.
pag upetāṇā. apaṇā kīā kamāṇā.
alu malu khāī siri chāī pāī. mūrakhi andhai pati gavāī. viṇu nāvai kichu thāi na pāī.
rahai bebāṇī maṛī masāṇī. andhu na jāṇai phiri pachutāṇī.
satiguru bheṭe so sukhu pāe. hari kā nāmu manni vasāe.
nānak nadari kare so pāe. ās andese te nihkevalu haümai sabadi jalāe.2.
This pauri (stanza), revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib, is accompanied by two saloks. The first salok consists of five lines and describes the futility of worldly education that results in egoism. The second salok, composed of twenty-three lines, states that the rituals practiced by people have been rendered worthless. This pauri, while addressing IkOankar (the Divine), advises seeking the company of individuals who are in remembrance IkOankar.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
Guru Nanak then addresses the other less “conventional” ways in which we attempt to figure out that one thing. This verse is focused mostly on the things we do because we think that they are getting at the inner knowledge we so desperately seek. These are the methods we think exist in great contrast to the bookish pursuit of knowledge described in the first verse. These are the things that we think get at the very heart of it all — that will open our minds or uncover the truth, that will leave us enlightened and at peace, having discovered ultimate meaning. Guru Nanak says, we can wander naked, exposing ourselves to extreme temperatures, we can bathe at every pilgrimage site, we can dress a certain way, we can eat very little, we can become silent, we can move to the forest and out of society, we can do all of these things to varying degrees. And we do, all the time, in our own contexts, whether prescribed by a religion or not. We attempt to contort ourselves in certain ways, often pushing ourselves to extremes, whether it is through cryogenic chambers, sauna sessions, cold showers, fasting, extreme diets, silent retreats, transcendental meditation, or yoga. We do all of these things because we are looking for that one thing, but we are only lead to frustration.
If we haven’t figured out that one thing, we are only making ourselves go through hardships in hopes that it will lead us to the answers we are looking for. But we are walking through life asleep, and Guru Nanak tells us that waking up requires the Wisdom (the Guru, the one who brings enlightenment-light by dispelling ignorance-darkness). When we are devoted to the Wisdom, that 1-Identification, or Nam (the ways in which we identify with, connect to, and experience the One) is in our minds, we can walk through the world understanding the 1-Ness (One Universal Integrative Force, or 1Force) all around us, and it is that understanding, living with the memory of that Identification, that allows us to feel Grace. It is that Identification that releases us from our expectations, desires, and worries, and burns away our egos.
If we haven’t figured out that one thing, we are only making ourselves go through hardships in hopes that it will lead us to the answers we are looking for. But we are walking through life asleep, and Guru Nanak tells us that waking up requires the Wisdom (the Guru, the one who brings enlightenment-light by dispelling ignorance-darkness). When we are devoted to the Wisdom, that 1-Identification, or Nam (the ways in which we identify with, connect to, and experience the One) is in our minds, we can walk through the world understanding the 1-Ness (One Universal Integrative Force, or 1Force) all around us, and it is that understanding, living with the memory of that Identification, that allows us to feel Grace. It is that Identification that releases us from our expectations, desires, and worries, and burns away our egos.
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