GURBANI
Jap Ji Sahib
It was in Kartarpur that the practice of reciting Jap Ji Sahib, the first Sikh morning prayer, was established. This was a distillation of all Guru Nanak had observed and taught over his panoramic journeys, dialoguing with so many different people along the way.
In some early scriptural collections, this bāni or composition is entitled ‘Jap Nishān’. Nishān means a mark, seal or insignia – so Jap Ji Sahib can be seen as the hallmark of Sikh teaching. It also suggests a stamp or passport, which enables one to step onto the Guru’s path. As the first composition of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Jap Ji Sahib is the only one not set to a rāg or musical framework. All that follows afterwards is a rich and melodious elaboration of its teachings.
Learn about Jap Ji Sahib
The awakening to life’s calling
The title of this bāni appears simply as the noun ‘Jap’, indicating it is a body of wisdom to be chanted and contemplated upon, until its repetition shapes our daily awareness and life’s direction. Over time, Sikhs referred to this composition as ‘Jap Ji Sahib’, where the words Ji and Sahib accord it deep respect. For some Sikhs, Ji echoes the word jīa, from jīv, which means a living being. Jap Ji is then a Song of Life, awakening us each morning to imagine life’s rich potential, to work to realise its true worth and to leave a meaningful legacy when we eventually depart.
The 38 stanzas which make up the Jap Ji Sahib are known as paurīs or steps. Steps were a common feature of pilgrimage sites in India, so the paurīs can be seen as stepping-stones to the shrine within. They map out Guru Nanak’s essential teachings and stimulate inward change through their very practical slant. Recited each morning in Sikh households around the world, the original words are often known by heart. Today, a wide range of written and spoken commentaries can be accessed, reflecting different approaches to interpret the meanings held in their poetic form. By lifting out lines that will be familiar to Sikh readers, we will now journey through the paurīs and consider how they link together, as landmarks and signposts along the path that Jap Ji Sahib invites us to follow.
Stepping through the archway: the infinite context
As the introduction to Jap Ji Sahib, the Mool Mantar – up to ‘gurprasād’ – is considered a manglācharan. In India, this was a devotional invocation sung to open a composition, to evoke a deity or create a frame for the verses that followed. In Jap Ji Sahib, the Mool Mantar establishes the distinctive view of God as an all-pervading Oneness, which all the paurīs refer back to. After ‘gurprasād’ comes the title of the composition, ‘Jap’, followed by an opening couplet – ‘Ād sach, jugād sach, hai bhī sach, Nānak hosī bhī sach’. Here we glimpse the spectrum of past, present and future time – from before time’s birth and far into infinity. Throughout, the One Creator remains ‘sach’ – the Constant Truth or Unchanging Reality.
This preamble to Jap Ji Sahib forms an archway to inspire an opening of the mind as we step on to the path of its 38 stanzas. In our daily life, everything we think or do has a limited frame or a context. We might live as if we will stay the same age forever, but this reality is bound to change. And so, this short opening to Jap Ji Sahib is both poignant and humbling. It expands our perspective to see a vast and infinite context of our existence and invites us to align constantly with Divine Truth, even as life keeps changing.
Paurī 1 – Starting with a question: how to personify Divine Truth?
ਕਿਵ ਸਚਿਆਰਾ ਹੋਈਐ ਕਿਵ ਕੂੜੈ ਤੁਟੈ ਪਾਲਿ ॥
How can we personify Divine Truth in practice,
and become authentic instead of fake?
How can we tear away the veil of deception
and let the glow of Truth shine through?
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 1
In Guru Nanak’s time, as still today, people pursued different religious practices, searching for greater purity, tranquillity and contentment. As we step on to Guru Nanak’s path, he makes us think twice about conventional expectations of what it may involve. Neither ritual cleansing nor mental contemplation, he explains, can purify or enlighten the mind (‘sochai soch na hoveī…’), nor silent meditation still it (‘chupai chup na hoveī…’); neither ritual fasting nor feeding desires can dispel inward hunger (‘bhukhiā bhukh na utarī…’) nor can endless clever ploys (‘sahas sianpā’) get you closer to the Divine. In the search for true fulfilment, Guru Nanak asks an essential question: ‘Kiv sachiārā hoiai?’. How can one become sachiārā, a person who personifies Divine Truth in his or her life practice? How can one learn to live authentically and to flow with integrity, virtue and wisdom in a way that is genuine instead of contrived?
Often, our lives are shaped by questions which silently play in our mind, such as ‘How can I be popular?’ or, for religious people, ‘How can I get to heaven, or get saved?’. By asking instead how to become sachiārā, Guru Nanak fixes our aim, not at acquiring something for oneself, but about connecting with something greater to change the inner quality of one’s being. Just as a coin can be genuine or counterfeit, to be authentically human means to resonate with Divine Truth and detach from the pull of the ‘false’ self which drives deceitful traits like hypocrisy, arrogance and greed. Hence the second part to his question is: ‘Kiv kurhai tutai pāl?’ – How can one break through the screen of deceit that shrouds the mind? Then comes the simple answer: ‘Hukam rajāi chalnā, Nānak likhiā nāl’. One must learn to live in harmony with the ‘hukam’ – the Divine will, which is continuously inscribed within all – and described in the paurī that follows.
Paurī 2 – Understanding the quest: harmonising with the hukam
ਹੁਕਮੈ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਹੁਕਮ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਹੁਕਮੈ ਜੇ ਬੁਝੈ ਤ ਹਉਮੈ ਕਹੈ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥
Everything happens in the sphere of the hukam,
Nothing happens outside of the Divine will’s flow
Says Nanak, the one who really grasps this,
No longer speaks out of haumai, the self-centred ego
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 1
In the courtly culture of Islamic rule in India, hukam meant a royal order or command. Guru Nanak used it to express, not a top-down decree, but a Divine will or law running intrinsically through everything to govern the way or flow of reality. It is forever shaping, ordering, and directing all there is, from the exquisite geometric and artistic configurations (ākār) in the natural world, to the processes of birth, growth and death and the experiences of sorrow and joy (dukh sukh).
Close to the idea of dharam, hukam is then a flow of Divine intention and agency which is indescribable (‘Hukam na kehā jāi’). Everything is in its sphere (‘Hukame andar sabh ko’), yet this indescribable hukam is not a fixed, pre-written ‘destiny’ for us to passively succumb to; our very own actions, across lifetimes, also inscribe what is written for us. For Guru Nanak, embracing the hukam meant activating the unlimited divine potential within us. This involves freeing ourselves from the grip of haumai, the self-absorbed ego which clouds our minds from perceiving the hukam. The quest then is to harmonise with the hukam, by quietening the internal mutterings of haumai – ‘Nānak hukame je bhujai, ta haumai kehai na koi’.
Paurī 3 – The view from the path: endless praise, endless bounty
ਗਾਵੈ ਕੋ ਜਾਪੈ ਦਿਸੈ ਦੂਰਿ ॥ ਗਾਵੈ ਕੋ ਵੇਖੈ ਹਾਦਰਾ ਹਦੂਰਿ ॥
Some sing that the Divine seems utterly far,
Some sing that the Divine must be closer than close.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 1
Meeting an incredible diversity of people on his travels, Guru Nanak was keenly aware of the many ways the Divine was perceived. As a teacher, he always acknowledged different perspectives to build a picture of the whole. Even here at the start of Jap Ji Sahib, we see his inclusive approach. Repeating the phrase ‘Gāvai ko…’ (‘Some people sing about….’), he describes the many ways in which people praise God as the Source of the hukam. Some sing that the Divine Will is an awesome power (tān) that can give and take life; some sing that the everyday gifts of life (dāt) are the signs (nishān) of God’s existence. Some praise God as the source of all virtuous qualities (gunn – in this spelling, the ‘u’ sounds like ‘oo’ in ‘good’) and source of all knowledge (vidyā). For some, God is transcendent and utterly far; for others, God is immanent and nearer than near. The praise is endless and so too is the Creator’s giving, even if we were to ever tire of consuming.
In the midst of this, the path (rāh) of the hukam keeps unfolding. Perhaps it is also our own path, to align with the hukam. Walking forwards, we learn that the ‘God’ we seek is not abstract and austere, but a vibrant Being, in a carefree state of continuous blossoming (‘Nānak vigsai vehparvāh’) – a state which we too can embody. In this paurī, then, we learn that our outward and inward worlds have been created to be bountiful. By tending to our spiritual growth and not being stifled by haumai, we can water this bountifulness rather than deplete it.
Paurī 4 – Meeting the Divine Sovereign: love as the offering
ਫੇਰਿ ਕਿ ਅਗੈ ਰਖੀਐ ਜਿਤੁ ਦਿਸੈ ਦਰਬਾਰੁ ॥ ਮੁਹੌ ਕਿ ਬੋਲਣੁ ਬੋਲੀਐ ਜਿਤੁ ਸੁਣਿ ਧਰੇ ਪਿਆਰੁ ॥
In the realm of the infinitely benevolent Giver,
What offering could we possibly make to glimpse the Divine Court?
If nothing is ours to give, what words could we utter
To evoke the Divine Sovereign’s love?
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 2
In the olden days, if you entered a kingdom seeking an audience with the king or queen, you would approach the royal court, bearing gifts. You might also be graced with some form of recognition in return. In many spiritual traditions, one would make a physical offering – or even a physical sacrifice – to be recognised and blessed by a deity. In this paurī, Guru Nanak uses these analogies to picture an Eternal Sovereign (Sācha Sāhib) and Giver (Dātār) who governs a wondrous creation with a language of boundless love (‘bhākhia bhāou apār’). To glimpse the Darbar, or Divine Court, and evoke the love of such a Sovereign, what could we then possibly offer (‘phir ki agai rakhiai…’) and what endearing words could we possibly say (‘muhau ki bolan boliai… ’)?
For Guru Nanak the answer is simple. In our habits of consuming, we must never forget the Giver behind the gifts. Yet, if nothing is really ours to give, then all we have to offer is loving attention. We must turn time – and indeed our lifetime – into an amrit velā – a ‘sacred time’ of sublime communion with the Immortal Creator. In practice, this begins with meditation in the still hours before dawn, which Sikhs refer to as the ‘amrit velā’. ‘Amrit’ suggests sacredness because it means ‘beyond death’. It is imagined as a ‘nectar of immortality’, or ambrosia, which we start to taste as we prayerfully nourish the eternal self, or soul, before we step into the familiar roles and identities of our daily lives.
By humbly dedicating this loving attention, we may be graced with a ‘robe of honour’ – ‘karamī āvai kaprā’. Kaprā means a cloth. Whilst, in Sanskrit, karam means actions which produce consequences, in Persian it means grace. Some read this line to mean that it is through our virtuous actions that the soul becomes ‘clothed’ in a human body; when our love for the Divine is embellished with the pearls of good deeds, it brings us close to glimpsing the Divine Court. Others see the ‘cloth’ as a robe of honour bestowed on us by the Divine Sovereign, in recognition of our sincere spiritual endeavour.
Guru Nanak teaches that, in the end, it is not our efforts alone, but the Divine glance of grace, that brings us to liberation’s door (‘nadarī mokh duār’). In Sikh thought, liberation – known as moksha in India, and muktī in Punjabi – is not only freedom from the cycle of birth and death. It is the state of being a jīvan mukat – one who flourishes, liberated from haumai and aligned to Divine Truth, in the very midst of this world. With this, Guru Nanak ends the paurī with a twist, for just as we seek to have audience with God, we realise the Divine Truth is not housed in a special place; its realm is in fact all around and everywhere (‘sabh āpe sachiār’).
Paurī 5 – Three keys to surmount suffering
ਜਿਨਿ ਸੇਵਿਆ ਤਿਨਿ ਪਾਇਆ ਮਾਨੁ ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਗਾਵੀਐ ਗੁਣੀ ਨਿਧਾਨੁ ॥
ਗਾਵੀਐ ਸੁਣੀਐ ਮਨਿ ਰਖੀਐ ਭਾਉ ॥
ਦੁਖੁ ਪਰਹਰਿ ਸੁਖੁ ਘਰਿ ਲੈ ਜਾਇ ॥
Where our life is an expression of service to the Creator, we find true honour as human beings.
Let us live then in praise of the Divine, who is the Treasure of Virtue.
Sing Divine praises, cultivate deep listening and embed love in your mind.
Embrace these to overcome all pain and sorrow, and you will bring peace back home to your heart.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 2
Now, Guru Nanak reiterates: God cannot be visualised or installed in a shrine, like a deity, for the Divine is niranjan – pure, spotless, unattached to materialism and that which cannot be objectified. To venerate God as an object will not transform us. To find true honour, we should rather serve the Creator (‘jin seviā tin pāiā mān’), praising God as the ‘Treasure of Virtue’ (‘gunī nidhān’). By serving and singing, we start to personify Divine virtues. As people search for methods to transcend suffering (‘dukh par har’), Guru Nanak prescribes three simple practices to bring peace, by their power to subtly transform our inner condition: ‘Gavīai, sunīai, man rakhīai bhāou’ – to sing Divine praises, to listen deeply and cultivate a loving mind. The Guru’s teachings then become our source of sacred sound and knowledge (‘gurmukh nadang, gurmukh vedang…’); like permeating waves, they can transform us as we absorb them (‘…gurmukh rehiā samāi’); beyond all the much worshipped deities (‘gur īsar gur gorak brahma gur… ’), the Guru’s wisdom becomes the focus of our reverence.
Paurī 6 – Unearthing the inner jewels
ਮਤਿ ਵਿਚਿ ਰਤਨ ਜਵਾਹਰ ਮਾਣਿਕ ਜੇ ਇਕ ਗੁਰ ਕੀ ਸਿਖ ਸੁਣੀ ॥
By listening, even to a single teaching of the Guru,
We unearth jewels and rubies.
We discover the precious stones of Divine wisdom,
Buried all along in the mind.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 2
If we seek to bathe at pilgrimage sites, or even immerse ourselves in prayer, we must desire only to be washed in the waters of God’s loving acceptance (‘tīrath nāvā, je tis bhāvā’). Without the endeavour to attune ourselves to God’s qualities, our rituals are just a matter of custom, show or self-centred interest. By listening, even to a single message of the Guru’s sikhyā or teachings, one begins to unearth the jewels, rubies and precious stones of Divine wisdom buried all along in one’s mind (‘Mat vich ratan javāhar mānik, je ik Gur kī sikh sunī’). Through listening, then, the path of self-realisation unfolds. Guru Nanak concludes paurīs 5 and 6 with the same emphasis. Where people’s attention was scattered and sense of purpose lost, he asks them to refocus and realise one thing (‘Gurā ik de bujāei’); all creation has One Giver (‘sabhnā jīa kā ik Dātā’). Guru Nanak’s earnest prayer is that we never forget this (‘so mai visar na jāī’).
Paurī 7 – The measure of true success
ਨਾਨਕ ਨਿਰਗੁਣਿ ਗੁਣੁ ਕਰੇ ਗੁਣਵੰਤਿਆ ਗੁਣੁ ਦੇ ॥
ਤੇਹਾ ਕੋਇ ਨ ਸੁਝਈ ਜਿ ਤਿਸੁ ਗੁਣੁ ਕੋਇ ਕਰੇ ॥
Says Nanak, it is always possible to grow in virtue –
God bestows virtue on the virtue-less,
And more virtue on the virtuous.
The only thing that remains impossible
Is for anyone to bestow more virtue on God,
As virtue’s Divine Source.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 2
We all have a drive to achieve things in life that might bring us recognition. In India, yogis would use techniques to live incredibly long lives (‘Je jug chāre ārjā…’); other people would seek widespread fame, praise, and popularity in the world (‘Changā nāou rakhei kai jas kīrat jag lei…’). For Guru Nanak, on its own, this was hollow success. Without the glance (nadar) of God’s endorsement, measured on our practice of virtue, a human being, no matter how materially or socially successful, would be no better than a worm. Humbly, we must always seek grace, for the Divine glance has the power to instil more virtue on the virtue-less (‘nirgun gunn kare’) and bless the virtuous with even greater virtue (‘gunvantiā gunn de’).
Paurīs 8 to 1 1 – Blossoming from a place of deep listening
ਸੁਣਿਐ ਸਰਾ ਗੁਣਾ ਕੇ ਗਾਹ ॥ ਸੁਣਿਐ ਸੇਖ ਪੀਰ ਪਾਤਿਸਾਹ ॥ ਸੁਣਿਐ ਅੰਧੇ ਪਾਵਹਿ ਰਾਹੁ ॥
ਸੁਣਿਐ ਹਾਥ ਹੋਵੈ ਅਸਗਾਹੁ ॥ ਨਾਨਕ ਭਗਤਾ ਸਦਾ ਵਿਗਾਸੁ ॥ ਸੁਣਿਐ ਦੂਖ ਪਾਪ ਕਾ ਨਾਸੁ ॥
Through deep listening, our mind comes to dwell in the ocean of virtue.
Through deep listening, we gain the wisdom and majesty of sover eigns and saints.
Through deep listening, we emerge from the darkness and the path becomes visible.
Through deep listening, what was once unfathomable comes within our reach.
Says Nanak, the enlightened ones are ever-fresh and ever-blossoming;
Through deep listening, the pains of suffering and wrongdoing are dispelled.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 3
In the third paurī of Jap Ji Sahib, Guru Nanak had described God in an eternal state of ‘carefree blossoming’ (‘Nānak, vigsai vehparvāh’) – not as a static entity or concept, but as an abundant, alive, and blissful Life Force. Similarly, the Mool Mantar described the serene and carefree state of being without fear or hate (nirbhau, nirvair). Now, Guru Nanak devotes four paurīs to describe those enlightened human beings who embody this state. They are the bhagats, the saintly souls, who are ‘sadā vigās’ – ever in bloom. They water this blossoming through the art of deep listening.
Repeated throughout these four verses is the word ‘sunniai’, which means ‘having listened’ or ‘through listening’. To ‘hear’ is to pick up and register sounds in our environment. To ‘listen’, however, is to make these sounds meaningful. Listening, then, is almost like consciousness, for by listening we become aware, attentive, reflective, and receptive. The second paurī of Jap Ji Sahib reminded us of the voice of haumai, our own self-importance, which often takes centre stage in our minds, even as we listen to others. As the mutterings of haumai genuinely quieten (and are not just suppressed) we find an ability to listen in fresh and life-changing ways.
What is it, then, that Guru Nanak is beckoning us to listen to? Already, we know the concepts of nām, dharam, and hukam involve ideas of tuning in to the resonance of the infinite Divine presence. Other scriptural words, like shabad, banī and kīrtan, refer to the written, spoken and sung words of the sacred teachings. Guru Nanak now encourages us to absorb these teachings and attune to the Great Harmony by describing the spiritual fruits of such listening.
ਸੁਣਿਐ ਸਿਧ ਪੀਰ ਸੁਰਿ ਨਾਥ ॥ ਸੁਣਿਐ ਧਰਤਿ ਧਵਲ ਆਕਾਸ ॥
ਸੁਣਿਐ ਦੀਪ ਲੋਅ ਪਾਤਾਲ ॥ ਸੁਣਿਐ ਪੋਹਿ ਨ ਸਕੈ ਕਾਲੁ ॥
Through deep listening, we awaken to the wisdom known by masters of all faiths,
We perceive how the cosmos is held in balance –
From the earth and the skies to the seen and unseen realms of creation.
Through deep listening, we remain serenely untouched by the fear of death .
ਸੁਣਿਐ ਈਸਰੁ ਬਰਮਾ ਇੰਦੁ ॥ ਸੁਣਿਐ ਮੁਖਿ ਸਾਲਾਹਣ ਮੰਦੁ ॥
ਸੁਣਿਐ ਜੋਗ ਜੁਗਤਿ ਤਨਿ ਭੇਦ ॥ ਸੁਣਿਐ ਸਾਸਤ ਸਿਮ੍ਰਿਤਿ ਵੇਦ ॥
Through deep listening, we embody the divinity of renowned deities
And the speech of even the worst among us is transformed into divine praise.
Through deep listening we acquire the art of true yoga, to unite the self with the Spirit
And we gain knowledge that resides in sacred texts.
ਸੁਣਿਐ ਸਤੁ ਸੰਤੋਖੁ ਗਿਆਨੁ ॥ ਸੁਣਿਐ ਅਠਸਠਿ ਕਾ ਇਸਨਾਨੁ ॥
ਸੁਣਿਐ ਪੜਿ ਪੜਿ ਪਾਵਹਿ ਮਾਨੁ ॥ ਸੁਣਿਐ ਲਾਗੈ ਸਹਜਿ ਧਿਆਨੁ ॥
Through deep listening, we grow in benevolence, contentment and wisdom;
We activate the inner cleansing symbolised by all the pilgrimage sites for ritual bathing;
We qualify for the honours earnt through endless study
And we enter a state of effortless intuitive awareness.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 2-3
With further repetitions of ‘sunniai’ in the final fourth paurī, Guru Nanak presents listening as a continuous practice, which is alive and active rather than inert and passive. Such listening generates an intuitive wisdom, which lies beyond intellectual reasoning and learning. It brings greater clarity and subtle perception and is cleansing and healing, for it neutralises the troubling and painful vibrations produced by suffering and wrongdoing (‘sunniai dūkh pāp kā nās’).
At the same time, Guru Nanak takes us past preoccupations about purifying one’s own self and saving one’s own soul, for as our whole being comes into resonance with the Great Harmony, it discovers the depths of its capacity to generate goodness and serve others. And so, through each description in these paurīs, Guru Nanak presents glimmers of the potential in every person to be wise, virtuous, majestic, fearless and serene. These glimmers hint at the future shaping of the Sikh faith, since these very qualities became physically expressed in its distinctive outward identity.
ਨਾਨਕ ਭਗਤਾ ਸਦਾ ਵਿਗਾਸੁ ॥
ਸੁਣਿਐ ਦੂਖ ਪਾਪ ਕਾ ਨਾਸੁ ॥
Says Nanak,
The enlightened ones are
Ever-fresh and ever-blossoming
Through deep listening,
The pains of suffering and
Wrongdoing are dispelled.
Paurīs 12 to 15 – Journeying past obstacles: the grace of deep faith
ਮੰਨੈ ਮਾਰਗਿ ਠਾਕ ਨ ਪਾਇ ॥
ਮੰਨੈ ਪਤਿ ਸਿਉ ਪਰਗਟੁ ਜਾਇ ॥
For those who deeply know and hold faith,
Their path becomes free of internal or external obstacles.
With such undisturbed acceptance,
They leave this life with dignity and honou r.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 3
Through listening, we reach a state of deep knowing. In Punjabi we would say our ‘man’ (rhyming with the English ‘sun’), or mind, has accepted it. The intellect enables us to reason, but the ‘man’ is the part which drives how we think, feel and act. It steers our decisions and eventual actions, based on the moods, desires, impulses and insights which influence it. The ‘man’ can be undisciplined and changeable or refined and steady. It can be enslaved to haumai or detached from it. It can listen to the heart and soul or neglect them. Rather than appealing to the intellect alone, Sikh teachings then involve a heartfelt exchange with the ‘man’, to form, reform and transform it. In Punjabi, we say ‘mann lo’ when we ask someone to accept something as true. The verb form mann implies inner knowing or realisation, as well as wise obedience, faith and acceptance.
Having introduced nām, Guru Nanak now marvels at what it is like to deeply know the Pure Reality of nām within one’s mind – ‘Aisa nām niranjan hoi, je ko mann jānai man koi.’ Niranjan, as we saw in the fifth paurī, means beyond all form and untarnished by things of the world. Just as this Immaculate Reality is breath-taking, so too is the state of one who truly knows it, for it cannot be described (‘manne ki gat kahi na jāe…’), nor penned by any writer on paper (‘kāgad kalam na likhanhār…’). Anyone would regret such an attempt, as much as one could sit to contemplate. There is simply an intriguing mystery about those who are connected to the Pure Reality, for they walk among us in a way that is itself niranjan, unblemished by the tests and trials of the ordinary world.
Whilst their inner state is indescribable, Guru Nanak now describes its outcomes. This profound state of ‘having accepted’ (mannai) deepens our inward awareness and intelligence (‘mannai surat hovai man budh’) and expands our understanding of the world (‘sagal bhavan ki sudh’). One lives in and leaves the world, unscarred by worldly tribulations and not terrorised by death (‘mannai muh chotā na khāi, mannai jamm ke sāth na jāi’). Unaffected by the negativities that arise within oneself or in others, one’s inner journey is free of obstacles (‘mannai mārag tthāk na pāi’). Going forth, one starts to radiate true honour (‘mannai pat sio pargat jāi’), along with a quiet sense of purpose that cannot be side-tracked (‘mannai mag na chalai panth’). Instead of just displaying religiosity, one genuinely binds oneself to the goodness of dharam (‘mannai dharam seti sanbandh’). In this steady state of devotion, one is blessed to find liberation’s door (mokh duār), to uplift fellow human beings (‘mannai paravārai sadhār’) and to cross life’s ocean as disciples who take the Guru’s guiding hand (‘mannai tare tārai Gur sikh’). When prayer becomes a constant expression of pure connection and Divine praise, there is nothing in the end to beg for (‘mannai, Nānak, bhavai na bikh’).
Paurī 16 (a) – The distinguished Panch: enlightened inner leadership
ਪੰਚਾ ਕਾ ਗੁਰੁ ਏਕੁ ਧਿਆਨੁ ॥
Those distinguished
As the panch,
They embody enlightened
Inner mastery
And leadership;
They make their awareness
Of the One
Their constant
Guru and guide.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji,
Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 3
Jap Ji Sahib began by envisioning a person becoming sachiāra, awakened and aligned to Divine Truth. In the early paurīs, Guru Nanak illuminates five characteristics which pave the way to this state. Those who live in an enlightened way remain attuned to the indescribable hukam (‘hukam rajāi chalnā…’); they make time sacred, by meditating on the greatness of nām (‘amrit velā sach nāo vadiāī vīchār…’); they live to serve the One who resides in all (‘jin seviā tin paīā mān’); they radiate gratitude through divine praise and listen with deep perception (‘gavīai, sunīai’), and they keep faith with a loving mind (‘man rakhīai bhāou’).
The sixteenth paurī opens with a vision of such awakened human beings. Known as the panch, they have a place of honour in the Divine Court. The term panch evokes various meanings to suggest this noble and elevated state. In India, the panchayat was an ancient system of local self-governance, where every village was overseen by a council (‘ayat’) of five chosen and approved, wise and respected people (‘panch’). Now, in Jap Ji Sahib, the panch of the Divine Court are described as parvān (approved ones), pardhān (leaders) who are held in esteem (mān). With their awareness resting constantly on the One, they are described as radiant and majestic. Such people become leaders because they encourage each of us to upgrade our mindsets, actions and interactions with others, and to rule our own selves wisely.
In Sikh tradition, the number five (panch, or panj) is also linked to creation (five elements, five senses, five fingers), to human traits (five virtues, five vices) and to Sikh religious practice (five prayers, five beloved first initiates, five markers of faith identity, five seats of religious authority). Hence for Sikhs, the concept of five is like a complete hand: it suggests a collective readiness for action, whether it involves – as we shall soon discover – harnessing the senses, subduing the vices, activating the virtues, or establishing symbols and bases of leadership to guide forward the legacy of the Gurus.
Paurī 16 (b) – Compassion and contentment
ਧੌਲੁ ਧਰਮੁ ਦਇਆ ਕਾ ਪੂਤੁ ॥
ਸੰਤੋਖੁ ਥਾਪਿ ਰਖਿਆ ਜਿਨਿ ਸੂਤਿ ॥
The power that
Holds up the world,
You may visualise it
As a mythical white bull;
But this power is dharam,
The cosmic order.
And dharam is the child
Of compassion,
Tethered subtly in balance
By the thread
Of contentment.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji,
Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 3
Through the awakened eyes of the distinguished panch, creation takes on a mesmerising and graceful underlying quality. As in many cultures, people had pictured that the earth was held in place by a mythical animal – in this case a dazzling white bull (daul or daval) A physical bull would need endless tiers of support underneath it, so how then, Guru Nanak quizzes, could the world be supported by something physical? We now learn that this bull, or power, is in fact dharam itself – the divine order, by which myriad wonders of creation are held in balance.
Dharam, Guru Nanak tells us, is the child of compassion (dayā). It is tethered or kept in balance by the quality of patient contentment (santokh). All of creation, then, is the expression of a loving Divine consciousness, from whose One Word, ‘eko kavāo’, millions of rivers (lakh dariāou) sprang, like the waves and frequencies that underlie the universe. Within this vision, creation happens neither mythically nor just mechanically. Its vastness and complexity rest on compassion and contentment as two essential, yet subtle, qualities – without which, nothing could exist. Guru Nanak guides us to rediscover compassion and contentment as qualities which are innate to our humanity and form the essential bedrock to any dharam (which in Punjabi also means an established religion).
Paurīs 17 to 19 – The endless co-existence of good and bad
The next three paurīs transport us around the world. As if gazing down from a flying carpet, we are shown the entire spectrum of good and bad amongst diverse human beings. We notice people’s countless efforts to be good, devoted and holy (‘Asankh jap, asankh bhāou..’), alongside people’s countless foolish, short-sighted deeds and baser actions (‘Asankh mūrakh andh ghor…’). We see countless forms of language, knowledge and culture, with endless words and places established to praise the Divine (‘Asankh nāv, asankh thāv…..’). Marvelling at this endless diversity, Guru Nanak refrains from judging it, at one point describing himself even as ‘lowly’ (nīch) amidst it all. With this, he directs us to accept all – including dūkh and būkh, or great suffering and want – as part of the Divine play of the Formless One (‘Jo tudh bhāvai sai bhali kār, tu sadā salāmat nirankār’). This interplay of acceptance and one’s own human initiative is explored further in the paurī which follows.
Paurī 20 – Cleansing the mind, cultivating the self
ਭਰੀਐ ਹਥੁ ਪੈਰੁ ਤਨੁ ਦੇਹ ॥ ਪਾਣੀ ਧੋਤੈ ਉਤਰਸੁ ਖੇਹ ॥ ਮੂਤ ਪਲੀਤੀ ਕਪੜੁ ਹੋਇ ॥
ਦੇ ਸਾਬੂਣੁ ਲਈਐ ਓਹੁ ਧੋਇ ॥ ਭਰੀਐ ਮਤਿ ਪਾਪਾ ਕੈ ਸੰਗਿ ॥ ਓਹੁ ਧੋਪੈ ਨਾਵੈ ਕੈ ਰੰਗਿ ॥
When hands, feet and body gather dirt, water washes it away.
When clothes get soiled with excretions, soap makes them clean again.
When the mind becomes stained with tainted thoughts,
The loving awareness of nām can infuse and rinse it clean.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 4
ਪੁੰਨੀ ਪਾਪੀ ਆਖਣੁ ਨਾਹਿ ॥ ਕਰਿ ਕਰਿ ਕਰਣਾ ਲਿਖਿ ਲੈ ਜਾਹੁ ॥
No one becomes a saint or sinner just through words or labels;
The person we become gets inscribed in us, through our recurring actions.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 4
In the last few paurīs, as if recalling scenes from his many travels, Guru Nanak showed us countless possibilities of being good or bad in a diverse humanity. Before we jump to put these labels on others or ourselves, our gaze is now turned to this same spectrum of good and bad right inside us. We sometimes talk about people having a selfish, greedy, or nasty ‘streak’, which tarnishes our view of them. We also glimpse these streaks in our own minds, as one-off impulses, or stubborn tracks of thinking. As we wonder how to deal with these, Guru Nanak now expands on the first line of the first paurī – ‘Sochai soch na hovai…’ – that neither mental contemplation nor physical cleansing (a dual interpretation of ‘sochai’) can lead, by themselves, to inner cleansing.
This time, paurī 20 begins: ‘Bhariai hath pair tan deh…’ To wash physical dirt from our hands, feet and body, we use water. To wash the stench from soiled clothes, we take soap. What then can we use to cleanse the mind, where thoughts leave their stains and odours? In calculated efforts to cancel out any ‘bad’ by doing ‘good’, people resort to acts of ritual cleansing, performing prayers and charitable deeds. Yet these cannot simply bypass haumai, the ego-centred self, which produces these internal impurities whenever it overpowers us. Instead of neutralising haumai, pious acts may even only satisfy and bolster it. Guru Nanak then advises: ‘Bharīai mat pāpā ke sang, oh dhopai nāvai kai rang’. Where our ‘mat’ or way of thinking becomes sullied, we are to wash, infuse and colour it with a loving awareness of nām.
Given this focus on enabling deep change in the core of the self, Guru Nanak now points out that surface labels (like punnī and pāpī – saint and sinner), like surface rituals, have little impact on shaping our inner nature and can even mask it. Rather, our mind is ‘set’ or conditioned through what we habitually see and do, angled on the direction of our intentions (‘Kar, kar, karnai likh leh jāhu’). Eventually, what is engraved in our minds leaves impressions on our soul as it continues its journey beyond this life.
To close this paurī, Guru Nanak directs us to take initiative and responsibility, with the next phrase ‘Āpe bīj, āpe hī khāou’:
ਆਪੇ ਬੀਜਿ ਆਪੇ ਹੀ ਖਾਹੁ ॥
Whatever we sow (or ‘bīj’),
that is what we will harvest.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 4
This includes the seeds of thinking we plant in the soil of the self, which grow over time into our character, as well as the seeds of actions which shape us. Despite what lies beyond our control, we each play our part in writing the story of our lives and cultivating the qualities which define us, as everyday creators ourselves, who carry the spark of Karta Purakh, the Creative Doer. To consciously do this inner writing and self-cultivation, whilst accepting the flow of hukam, keeps us humble, pro-active and accountable.
Paurī 21 – Bathing in the inner shrine
ਸੁਣਿਆ ਮੰਨਿਆ ਮਨਿ ਕੀਤਾ ਭਾਉ ॥
ਅੰਤਰਗਤਿ ਤੀਰਥਿ ਮਲਿ ਨਾਉ ॥
Through deep listening, deep acceptance
And a loving mindset,
Let the self be thoroughly washed
And cleansed in the inner shrine.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 4
After homing in on the cleansing of the mind, Guru Nanak gets us to look again at a host of related customary practices people flock to engage in: ‘tīrath tap dayā dat dān, je ko pāvai til kā mān’. We may busy ourselves religiously by heading to a pilgrimage site (tīrath), undertaking an austere discipline (tap), or showing compassion through acts of charitable giving (‘dayā dat dān’), but we obtain no more than a sesame seed’s worth of honour (‘til kā mān’) for this. To become truly cleansed, like a cloth which is thoroughly scrubbed and rinsed (‘mal nāou’), we need to have visited the ‘antargat tīrath’, the inner shrine, and engaged in deep listening, deep acceptance and cultivating a loving mind: ‘suniā, manniā, man kītā bhāou’. For, without the softening quality of love, religious conviction remains self-righteous, hard-edged, and arrogant.
In a gentle yet firm way, Guru Nanak also steers us on a path towards humility. Even if our lives were to shine with spiritual virtues, we can take no credit for owning them, since their source is the Creator who has gifted them to us: ‘Sabh gunn tere, mai nāhī koi’. No one can claim to be devout or religious either, if they cannot activate and apply these virtues: ‘vin gunn kīte bhagat na hoi’. True saintliness, then, is a supremely practical path. It is also, Guru Nanak adds, beyond the pursuit of knowledge – for no scholars, saints or texts of any religion know the precise moment of the universe’s creation, even if one school of thought regards itself as more knowledgeable than another (‘ikdū ik siānā’). In these ways, Guru Nanak stresses, on the path of inner cleansing and self-cultivation, we can claim no ownership on any virtues we may nurture or display; adding, we must serenely accept God’s mystery, without seeking to compete in any truth claims.
Paurī 22 – Accepting the vastness, seeing the Oneness
ਪਾਤਾਲਾ ਪਾਤਾਲ ਲਖ ਆਗਾਸਾ ਆਗਾਸ ॥
ਓੜਕ ਓੜਕ ਭਾਲਿ ਥਕੇ ਵੇਦ ਕਹਨਿ ਇਕ ਵਾਤ ॥
Below and beyond our known world
Are countless realms and skies;
As the ancient Vedas say,
You will only grow weary searching their limits.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 5
After asking us to look deep within ourselves, Guru Nanak transports our attention to the countless realms and skies below and beyond the world that we know: ‘Pātālā pātāl lakh āgāsā āgās’. In India, even the ancient texts known as the Vedas, describe how weary one would become by searching their limits – ‘orhak orhak bhāl thake’. Try as we might to dissect and analyse the universe, ultimately, we are told, it has One Essence, ‘asalū ik dhāt’. Being the expression of the Divine, only God alone can know it (āpe jāne āp).
Paurī 23 – The quiet richness of Divine remembrance
ਸਾਲਾਹੀ ਸਾਲਾਹਿ ਏਤੀ ਸੁਰਤਿ ਨ ਪਾਈਆ ॥ ਨਦੀਆ ਅਤੈ ਵਾਹ ਪਵਹਿ ਸਮੁੰਦਿ ਨ ਜਾਣੀਅਹਿ ॥
ਸਮੁੰਦ ਸਾਹ ਸੁਲਤਾਨ ਗਿਰਹਾ ਸੇਤੀ ਮਾਲੁ ਧਨੁ ॥ ਕੀੜੀ ਤੁਲਿ ਨ ਹੋਵਨੀ ਜੇ ਤਿਸੁ ਮਨਹੁ ਨ ਵੀਸਰਹਿ ॥
Those praising God have much to say, but they lack deep and subtle awareness;
Their words flow like streams and rivers, knowing not the extent of the Ocean.
Even the wealthiest rulers, with sea-loads and mountain-loads of riches
Do not compare in value to the small ant, in whose heart God is never forgotten.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 5
Now Guru Nanak stops to pinpoint the sheer preciousness of a spiritually awakened mind. People praise God endlessly, but their words flow out like rivers, without deep or subtle knowledge of the Great Ocean. Rulers amass endless wealth, not realising its value does not even compare to an ant, whose heart is rich with remembering the Divine. As humans, we create economies of material wealth, economies of religious point scoring and economies of things that please the self-important ego. For ourselves and the world to truly flourish and prosper, the awakened mind is our most precious and powerful wealth.
Paurī 24 – Seeing past our confines: limitless Divinity
ਅੰਤੁ ਨ ਵੇਖਣਿ ਸੁਣਣਿ ਨ ਅੰਤੁ ॥
ਅੰਤੁ ਨ ਜਾਪੈ ਕਿਆ ਮਨਿ ਮੰਤੁ ॥
In limitless ways, the Divine is all-seeing and all-hear ing;
Holding limitless intentions that cannot be perceived.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 5
Now, we start to see the world through the eyes of an awakened consciousness, like a river which has glimpsed the depths of the Great Ocean. In awe, this consciousness realises there is no limit to any praises, descriptions, gifts, and actions of the Divine (‘Ant na siftī, kahan na ant…’). Infused in everything, the One Reality both creates and experiences creation, seeing and hearing all. Only this Infinite Greatness is truly capable of perceiving itself. We may picture God as the Great Master – Vadā Sāhib – yet still, beyond our images of God’s supremacy, the ‘highest of the high’ is the infinite presence of nām – ‘Uche upar uchā nāou’. Humans may worship God through different representations, but it is by tuning into nām that we log on to the limitless expanse of the Divine.
Paurī 25 – Abundant giving, abundant grace
ਬਹੁਤਾ ਕਰਮੁ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਨਾ ਜਾਇ ॥
ਵਡਾ ਦਾਤਾ ਤਿਲੁ ਨ ਤਮਾਇ ॥
So abundant is God’s grace,
It cannot be quantified or recorded.
So unconditional is the Great Giver’s giving,
With no speck of self-interest at all.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 5
When the veil of haumai lifts, we start to see the world abounding with untold grace (‘bahutā karam, likhiā na jāe’). When it dawns on us just how much we freely receive and take for granted, from air to sunlight and even our capacity to move and think, we can only feel gratitude to the Giver’s unconditional giving. It is a giving, Guru Nanak recounts, which never ceases, even as countless people still beg, facing their daily battles like warriors (‘kete mangeh jodh apār’) or wasting their lives in corruption and complaint (‘kete khap tutai vekār’) and even as people take but deny ever receiving, or just foolishly over-consume (‘kete lai lai mukar pāhi, kete mūrakh khāhī khahi’).
Some receive the toughest blows that life could offer (‘ketīā dūkh bhūkh sad mār’). Yet they accept them as gifts or recall how these blows became catalysts for deep inner growth (‘eh bhī dāt terī dātār’). Some seekers search only for liberation from bondage, be it release from haumai or from the cycles of birth. Even this, Guru Nanak stresses, is gifted through the Divine will (‘band khalāsī bhāne hoi’). And so, whether we seek liberation, whether we beg or squander, ignore or deny everything we receive, the Great Giver remains the quiet source of everything. Whoever is blessed to live each day in constant gratitude and praise, that person, says Guru Nanak, becomes the most honourable and majestic of human beings (‘jis no bakhse sifat sālāh, Nānak pātsāhī pātsāh’).
Paurī 26 – Trading in the merchandise of immeasurable virtues
ਅਮੁਲ ਗੁਣ ਅਮੁਲ ਵਾਪਾਰ ॥
ਅਮੁਲ ਵਾਪਾਰੀਏ ਅਮੁਲ ਭੰਡਾਰ ॥
Priceless are the Divine virtues,
Priceless is their Divine trade.
Priceless are the traders
And priceless is the storehouse.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 5
Often, we feel an automatic lack in life, together with the weight of our struggles and the costs of trying to overcome them. When we see the universe as a vibrant expression of the One, we start to notice blessings we cannot put a price on. In the olden days, traders would use weighing scales to measure the worth of something. In this paurī, all signs of Divinity are ‘amul’ – priceless beyond measure, beginning with the Divine virtues (‘amul gunn’) such as compassion, benevolence, contentment, integrity, and courage. Once activated, these virtues lift us out of the self-interest and pessimism which inwardly impoverish us.
We pay nothing for this merchandise of virtues, but their transformational power is priceless. So too is any trade in them (‘amul vāpār’) and so too are the people who trade in them (‘amul vāpāriai’). Priceless are the storehouses where they are stocked (‘amul bhandār’) and priceless is the state of being lovingly absorbed in them (‘amul bhāi, amula samāhi’). Priceless too is the Divine order and Divine court, priceless are all Divine blessings and their signs. It is impossible to speak of this pricelessness, even though so many sages, scholars and deities have tried. Yet, by doing so, Guru Nanak adds, our mind stays connected to God (‘ākh, ākh, rehai liv lāi’). Just as we are compelled to speak, we are also foolish to try, for, in the end, this pricelessness can only leave us speechless.
Paurī 27 – Hearing creation’s celestial song
ਸੋ ਦਰੁ ਕੇਹਾ ਸੋ ਘਰੁ ਕੇਹਾ ਜਿਤੁ ਬਹਿ ਸਰਬ ਸਮਾਲੇ ॥
ਵਾਜੇ ਨਾਦ ਅਨੇਕ ਅਸੰਖਾ ਕੇਤੇ ਵਾਵਣਹਾਰੇ ॥
ਕੇਤੇ ਰਾਗ ਪਰੀ ਸਿਉ ਕਹੀਅਨਿ ਕੇਤੇ ਗਾਵਣਹਾਰੇ ॥
How can one describe the gateway to that abode,
To that dimension where You sit, watching over all?
It is there that the Divine sound current vibrates,
To the instruments of countless musicians.
So many angelic melodies ring out there,
so many singers sing…
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 6
Where the mind’s analytic speech ends, the song of the heart begins. This paurī expands on a point Guru Nanak has conveyed all along – that how we live depends on our feeling for life as much as our grasp of its meaning and purpose. Throughout Jap Ji Sahib, we learn of the art of listening, singing, and expressing Divine praise. A spiritually awakened state is more than one of intellectual knowing; it is like a spontaneous melody or song, stirred by the ineffable vibration of nām, and by a feeling of ceaseless gratitude towards the One who sits behind it.
As we awaken spiritually, we sense all of creation vibrating with this praise. Ordinarily, we are far from hearing it, but this paurī takes us right to the door (dar) of the celestial abode (ghar), to that threshold where the Creator’s Sovereign presence is perceived. Repeated here are the verb forms for singing – ‘gāvai’ and ‘gavan’. These reveal all facets of creation in an orchestra of Divine praise, from the elements of wind, water, fire (‘paun, pānī, baisantar’), to the celestial judge (‘Dharam Rāj’) and the unseen recorders of our life deeds (‘Chitar and Gupat’) – be they conceived as part of an ethereal reality or our inward conscience. Praise emanates too from deities, spiritual masters, devotees; from the heroic, the wise and the beautiful; from sacred sites and from endless planets, solar systems and galaxies. Far from serving as a musical interlude to a train of philosophical thought, this paurī defines a state of being which only the language of music can come close to expressing.
Paurī 28 – Making inward qualities the real markers of who we are
ਮੁੰਦਾ ਸੰਤੋਖੁ ਸਰਮੁ ਪਤੁ ਝੋਲੀ ਧਿਆਨ ਕੀ ਕਰਹਿ ਬਿਭੂਤਿ ॥ ਖਿੰਥਾ ਕਾਲੁ ਕੁਆਰੀ ਕਾਇਆ ਜੁਗਤਿ ਡੰਡਾ ਪਰਤੀਤਿ ॥
ਆਈ ਪੰਥੀ ਸਗਲ ਜਮਾਤੀ ਮਨਿ ਜੀਤੈ ਜਗੁ ਜੀਤੁ ॥ ਆਦੇਸੁ ਤਿਸੈ ਆਦੇਸੁ ॥ ਆਦਿ ਅਨੀਲੁ ਅਨਾਦਿ ਅਨਾਹਤਿ ਜੁਗੁ ਜੁਗੁ ਏਕੋ ਵੇਸੁ ॥
Make contentment the earrings that identify you as a yogi,
And sincere effort the begging bowl that sustains you.
Let meditative awareness be the ash you apply on your forehead and body.
Drape your mind with the cloak of consciousness about your own mortality.
Let your strict celibacy be the pure intentions you commit to live by
And make faith and trust your steady walking staff, at life’s every step.
See all human beings as fellow travellers on the path.
Let the oneness of humanity be your highest religious order.
If we learn to conquer the challenges in the mind,
We overcome the challenges in world around us.
I bow again and again in hu mble reverence,
To the primal and utterly pure Oneness, without beginning or end,
Whose ultimate form stays One and the same throughout the ages.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 6
After infusing our minds with the melodies of a celestial gateway, Guru Nanak now shifts the focus right back to ourselves – as everyday people who belong to different groups and traditions. In the next cycle of four paurīs, he invites us to think, what lies at the core of our identities, our pursuits, our view of the world and our view of life’s possibilities. Often, we form these ideas in a limited and taken-for-granted way, based on the horizons of thinking we have become accustomed to. To illustrate this, Guru Nanak shares four short verses which, from their details, suggest a dialogue with the Nāth order of yogis. Each of these verses ends with reverence for the Unchanging Oneness which Guru Nanak inspires us to constantly keep in mind, to guide how we envision and shape our lives.
The Nāth yogis were followers of Gorakhnath, the great founder of their order. They could be identified from the large earrings they wore upon initiation, when a special split was made in their ears. They would smear their skin with ashes and travel with a patched cloak, a begging bowl, and a walking staff. When they stopped to eat, they would blow conch shells to evoke the sacred vibration of ‘aum’ and a special attendant would prepare and serve their food. Their community or ‘panth’ favoured a life of asceticism and strict celibacy. Whilst others pursued wealth or political power, these yogis sought occult powers (ridhī sidhī) as a way of conquering limitations and towering above others in the world. This is how they interpreted the path of ‘yoga’ (similarly pronounced as ‘jog’ in Punjabi), as a means to ‘yoke’ or ‘join’ the human self with the Supreme Self, God.
Firstly, Guru Nanak asks the yogis to reflect on their identify and to imagine what it would be like if it was founded on exemplary qualities, like contentment, personal effort and responsibility, genuine consciousness of the Divine, valuing life to make it worthy, having pure intent and keeping steady faith. In this way, Guru Nanak prompts us all to imagine how life could be, if we become more conscious of the qualities which define us. Because these qualities are latent in all people, he asks the yogis to see humanity itself as their acclaimed sect (‘āī panthī sagal jamātī’), for we are all fellow learners. The yogis, like us, had their own ideas of what counts as success in life. Guru Nanak indicates that to empower the mind with spiritual virtues is the route to true success in the world (‘man jītai, jag jīt’ – conquer the mind and you conquer the world).
Paurī 29 – Sharing wisdom as food and hearing the inner melody
ਭੁਗਤਿ ਗਿਆਨੁ ਦਇਆ ਭੰਡਾਰਣਿ ਘਟਿ ਘਟਿ ਵਾਜਹਿ ਨਾਦ ॥
Let wisdom be your nourishing food,
Served with hands of compassion.
Listen for the melody of the divine sound-current
In the heart of every being.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 6
Next, Guru Nanak asks the yogis to seek out ‘bhugat giān’ – the food of wisdom – to nourish and sustain the inner self. It must be served with hands of compassion (‘dayā bhandāran’), for when knowledge only strengthens self-importance, it becomes destructive. Where the yogis would blow their conch shell to evoke the divine nād or sound current, Guru Nanak asks them (and us) to feel this divine resonance in the depths of their own self and underlying everything all around (‘ghat ghat vāje nād’).
Knowing that the yogis had a taste for ‘ridh sidh’, or supernatural powers, Guru Nanak invites them to have instead a taste for that wisdom which enables our spiritual blossoming, and to see the One Reality as their supreme master (or Nāth). He reminds them too that life is a constant interplay between processes of connection and separation (‘sanjog vijog’), so to find the ‘jog’ or union they seek as yogis is beyond their personal control. Rather it is the fruit of what is ‘written’ for us (‘lekhe āvai bhāg’), through the pen of the hukam and the inscriptions of our accumulated thoughts and actions.
Paurī 30 – Seeing a hidden wholeness behind the parts
ਓਹੁ ਵੇਖੈ ਓਨਾ ਨਦਰਿ ਨ ਆਵੈ ਬਹੁਤਾ ਏਹੁ ਵਿਡਾਣੁ ॥
Whilst the god-like forces of creation do their work
Through cycles of creating, sustaining and destroying,
How wondrous that God, the All-encompassing Oneness, remains invisible to them,
With a Transcendent Gaze over all that exists.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 7
In the third paurī of this cycle, we are prompted to see an All-Encompassing Divinity which lies beyond whatever we may admire and worship day-to-day. In India, different deities represented different forces operating in creation. In particular, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were worshipped for their power to create, sustain and destroy. In the ancient legends of the Nāth yogis, these deities were the first disciples of their founder Gorakhnath, when he existed in a mystical state. Acknowledging their power, Guru Nanak explains how these forces emerged, rather, through the very birthing of the world.
These forces, then, are the ‘three disciples’ (‘tin chele’) of ‘One Mother’ (‘Ekā Māī’), the cosmic base or womb through which the universe became manifest. Known also as ‘māyā’ – that which deludes us to remain attached only to life’s temporary phenomena – this is the maternal, life-manifesting power through which the Formless Creator generated creation. Wondrously, then, the three cosmic forces remain at play, unable themselves to see God’s All-seeing Gaze. Seeing them as different ‘ves’ or guises of Divine power, Guru Nanak lifts our focus to God’s Infinity which is ‘jug jug eko ves’ – One Form through all ages.
Paurī 31 – Sensing life’s possibilities in a generous universe
ਆਸਣੁ ਲੋਇ ਲੋਇ ਭੰਡਾਰ ॥ ਜੋ ਕਿਛੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਸੁ ਏਕਾ ਵਾਰ ॥
Imagining God as the Universal Sovereign, you may picture a Celestial Palace,
But the seats of sacred power and storehouses of Divine treasures
Span countless worlds and realms, not just one heavenly location.
Whatever richness exists in the universe, it was put there in one go –
There is nothing to add to it, and nor can it be depleted.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 7
In the last of the four verses, Guru Nanak prompts us to expand our view of life’s possibilities. The yogis would carefully manage their storehouses (bhandār) of provisions, and we too must be mindful of the resources we use and consume. It is one thing to be wisely frugal, but to slip into a mindset based on scarcity can also hinder life’s flourishing: we see only limitations instead of opportunities; we notice what we don’t have instead of what we are blessed with; we become more wary to share and less grateful; we think for every winner there must be a loser instead of envisioning a win-win context for all. Guru Nanak had observed how this thinking affected religious and social life in his time, so he asks people to see a world of grace, abundance and possibility.
Within and beyond us, Guru Nanak recounts, there are seats of wisdom and storehouses of virtues to generate good for ourselves and others. Because everything was put in the universe ‘in one go’ (‘ekā vār’), nothing can really run out. Today, science would describe this as energy and matter which is simply transferred but never lost. For Guru Nanak, as we have seen, this includes storehouses of priceless virtues, the immeasurable, invisible resources for our existence to be harnessed through our hearts and minds. Whilst the yogis may have looked at the word with some disdain, Guru Nanak reminds them to see Truth all around them: ‘Nānak sache kī sāchī kār’ – ‘Says Nanak, True is the creation of the True Creator’. To see creation as an expression of the One, instead of dismissing it as a mere illusion, also reflects the abundant mindset we are invited to embrace.
Paurī 32 – The magnification of praise on the path to union
ਇਕ ਦੂ ਜੀਭੌ ਲਖ ਹੋਹਿ ਲਖ ਹੋਵਹਿ ਲਖ ਵੀਸ ॥
ਲਖੁ ਲਖੁ ਗੇੜਾ ਆਖੀਅਹਿ ਏਕੁ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਗਦੀਸ ॥
In awe of the Master of the World,
What if my praise became so intense?
As if my one tongue had be come a 100,000 tongues,
Each multiplied twenty times again
To keep naming the Oneness endlessly…
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 7
After expanding our horizons, Guru Nanak zooms in to imagine a person, whose entire being reverberates constantly in praise. This time, instead of the celestial orchestra of creation, we hear an endless choir song of the inner self, as if the tongue and its chants of the Divine Name have been multiplied endless times. For Sikhs, this vision also portrays every pore and hair on one’s body reverberating in continuous reverence. For Guru Nanak, it is this precise state, beyond the religious identities we project or rituals we conduct, which indicates one is on the final stages of a pathway to union with God.
Since marriage and romantic love are metaphors for approaching union, the human soul is portrayed as a bride. In wonder and trepidation, she now takes the final steps (pavarhīā – the long form of the word paurī) towards her Divine Bridegroom (‘et rāh pat pavarhīā’). Guru Nanak ends here on a note of caution, for there are many who hear about this heavenly state and simply imitate the spiritually elevated (‘sun galā ākās ki, kītā aeī rīs’). They may display deep devotion, with a falsehood that is far less apparent. And so, this becomes a delicate path to tread, where success comes only, in the end, through the gaze of Divine Grace (‘Nānak, nadarī pāīai, kūrhī kūrhai tthīs’).
Paurī 33 – The point of complete surrender
ਆਖਣਿ ਜੋਰੁ ਚੁਪੈ ਨਹ ਜੋਰੁ ॥
ਜੋਰੁ ਨ ਮੰਗਣਿ ਦੇਣਿ ਨ ਜੋਰੁ ॥
On our own, we have no power
To speak or to remain silent.
On our own, we have no power
Not even to beg nor to give.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 7
The higher we rise, the greater our sense of achievement. This feeling is natural, but on the spiritual path, it creates obstacles, if it feeds traits of self-importance and superiority. Perhaps this is why Guru Nanak places this paurī in the very final stages of Jap Ji Sahib, to underline our ultimate powerlessness and lack of ‘jor’ or strength. On our own, we have no power to speak or stay silent, nor to beg or to give. We hold no power to live or die, nor to obtain the status or wealth our mind presses us to find.
Even ordinarily, no one has sole control over their words, thoughts and even choices, nor over the genes that made them, for these emerge from the complex web of life and people we are biologically and socially connected to. Spiritually, we may sense our breaths and heartbeats lie in the hands of a higher power, or that there are moments of creativity or insight we cannot take sole credit for. Just as we progress on the spiritual path, Guru Nanak irons out of us the slightest hints of self-centredness. Without eliminating this invisible block of haumai, we can only get so far in our discipleship, but not move further forwards.
The five realms of spiritual growth and selfless flourishing
The final cycle of four paurīs depicts five spiritual stages. Each is known as a khand, meaning a realm, region, or domain. A ‘domain’ can mean a land which someone governs over, an area of knowledge and – in today’s digital world, of course – it can mean a virtual location. Similarly, in the Jap Ji Sahib, the poetic descriptions in each khand seem to evoke a physical realm. On reflection, we realise they outline a spiritual domain, governed by a certain focus or awareness.
And so, we are introduced to dharam khand, the realm of enlightened, accountable living; giān khand, the realm of spiritual insight and wisdom; saram khand, the realm of transformative humble effort; karam khand, the realm of Divine grace and; sach khand, the realm of Ultimate Truth. To ascend through these inter-related khands – as these penultimate paurīs suggest – is to experience gear changes in our spiritual growth and selfless flourishing.
Paurī 34 – Dharam Khand: the realm of enlightened, accountable living
ਰਾਤੀ ਰੁਤੀ ਥਿਤੀ ਵਾਰ ॥
ਪਵਣ ਪਾਣੀ ਅਗਨੀ ਪਾਤਾਲ ॥
ਤਿਸੁ ਵਿਚਿ ਧਰਤੀ ਥਾਪਿ ਰਖੀ ਧਰਮ ਸਾਲ ॥
Orbiting through space, through cycles
Of seasons, nights and days,
Activated by air, water, fire,
With realms that are also unseen –
Here, in the midst of the cosmos,
The earth was stationed as a dharamsāl.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 7
It is easy to think that our birth, life, and death may just be random events, on a floating planet with no purpose. For Guru Nanak, life on earth brims with purpose, for it was established as a dharamsāl, as a home, school, or temple for the practice of dharam – a spiritually enlightened and accountable way of living, inspired by a loving duty towards the Creator and creation. As a dharamsāl, the earth is also a temporary stopover for us as spiritual travellers. It is a place we visit as spiritual traders as well, in order to use, invest and multiply the wealth of Divine virtues, to leave a worthy legacy and depart with our souls enriched.
In dharam khand, then, one’s way of life governed by this sense of purpose. With its diversity of life forms, the earth is where the actions of every being are both formed and assessed (‘karmī karmī hovai vichār’). With Truth as the measure, they are evaluated in the Divine court or darbār, where the elevated souls – the panch parvān of paurī 16 – are resplendent. It is here that all are measured, according to the spiritually fruitless or fruitful nature of their lives (‘kach pakāei othe pāi’). In some ways, the body itself can be seen as a dharamsāl, with our higher conscience being the court which records and evaluates our actions. As the first stage of spiritual awareness, dharam khand relates to our acceptance and pursuit of a dharmic way of life and to walking the path of daily faith practice.
Paurī 35 – Giān Khand: the realm of spiritual insight and wisdom
ਕੇਤੇ ਪਵਣ ਪਾਣੀ ਵੈਸੰਤਰ ਕੇਤੇ ਕਾਨ ਮਹੇਸ ॥
ਕੇਤੇ ਬਰਮੇ ਘਾੜਤਿ ਘੜੀਅਹਿ ਰੂਪ ਰੰਗ ਕੇ ਵੇਸ ॥
So many winds, waters and fires,
So many Krishnas and Shivas,
So many Brahmas shaping, colouring
And adorning creations of great beauty.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 7
Whilst giān means knowledge or wisdom, it is also a state of spiritual awareness, insight, and experience. Now describing giān khand, instead of outlining forms of knowledge, Guru Nanak simply evokes the wonder that comes with realising there is an infinite expanse of things to know. People may have a fixed picture of natural elements and mystical deities at work in this world, but the diverse forces they represent are multiplied across countless worlds and realms. How we see the world depends on where we stand within it, but in the state of giān khand, we remain aware of the mesmerising diversity around us – of planets, of divine figures and saintly teachers, of languages and cultures and lands governed in different ways.
At the start of the next paurī, Guru Nanak also summarises ‘giān khand meh giān parchand’ – in giān khand, everything is illuminated with spiritual wisdom. It is a playful, joyous, and blissful realm that resounds with the divine sound current – ‘Tithai nād binod kod anand’. Whilst dharam khand represents a commitment to follow the activities set out in life’s dharmic classroom, giān khand represents the next stage of learning, where wonder and curiosity are ignited, and horizons are expanded.
Paurī 36 – Saram Khand: the realm of humble, transformative effort
ਤਿਥੈ ਘੜੀਐ ਸੁਰਤਿ ਮਤਿ ਮਨਿ ਬੁਧਿ ॥
ਤਿਥੈ ਘੜੀਐ ਸੁਰਾ ਸਿਧਾ ਕੀ ਸੁਧਿ ॥
In saram khand, all the faculties of the mind
Are meticulously fashioned –
From our awareness, to our thinking,
Inclinations and intelligence.
Through this inner shaping, one grasps the level of awareness
That great warriors and spiritual masters hold.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 8
The realm of saram khand is very significant in Sikh teaching. In Sanskrit, saram can mean effort or bliss. Through Persian influence, it also denotes humility, respect, and modesty or, at times, shame. These meanings overlap to suggest saram khand is a realm of humble yet blissful effort. The formation of saram khand, we learn, is marked by beauty (‘saram khand ki bāni rūp’) and repetitions of the verb form ‘gharhī-ai’ suggest the work of skilful craftsmanship. Saram khand is then an exquisitely wondrous realm where processes of inner shaping, transformation and refining occur.
In any learning endeavour, we can stick to following the required activities or being enthused by new knowledge. Yet for the learning to get embedded and embodied in us, we must embrace change through dedicated practice. Across Jap Ji Sahib, Guru Nanak guides us to engage in practical transformation, by rehearsing and repeating new ways of being to re-write the qualities that define us. In paurī 28, he asks the yogis to make saram, or effort, the begging bowl that sustains them. Saram khand then feeds into Sikh ideals of self-sufficiency and the dignity of work. It is the zone of dedicated endeavour where the surat or awareness gets refined. For Guru Nanak, as we know, if the Divine word or shabad is seen as Guru, then this awareness or surat is the ultimate disciple.
Paurī 37 – Karam Khand and Sach Khand: the realms of grace and truth
ਕਰਮ ਖੰਡ ਕੀ ਬਾਣੀ ਜੋਰੁ ॥ ਤਿਥੈ ਹੋਰੁ ਨ ਕੋਈ ਹੋਰੁ ॥
The realm of grace flows with strength ;
There reside the rare souls who qualify to be there.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 8
In the final paurī of this cycle, Guru Nanak shifts our attention to the realms of grace and truth. Whilst karam in Sanskrit means action, the Persian meaning, grace, seems intended here, for Guru Nanak opens by describing ‘jor’ or strength as the underlying quality of this khand (echoing the teachings of ‘akhan jor’ in paurī 33). Rare are those who reach this stage, Guru Nanak explains. Here dwell those who overflow with divinity, absorbed in God’s All-pervading Presence (‘tin meh Rām rehiā bharpūr’). Victorious in their inner battles, they have proved to be resilient warriors (‘jodh māhā bal sūr’). Instead of self-praise, they have Divine praise (mehima) woven into their hearts. Aligned to the Immortal Creator, they are no longer vulnerable to deception (‘na tthāge jāe’), having fulfilled the quest of the first paurī – to become sachiāra – and steadily embody Truth at every moment.
ਸਚ ਖੰਡਿ ਵਸੈ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰੁ ॥ ਕਰਿ ਕਰਿ ਵੇਖੈ ਨਦਰਿ ਨਿਹਾਲ ॥
Sach khand is the abode of the Formless One –
The ever-present Creator who also transcends creation –
Observing and making it flourish
Through the Divine Glance of Grace.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 8
Karam khand leads naturally, then, into sach khand, the realm of ultimate, eternal Truth. This is where the presence of Nirankār, the Formless One, is profoundly experienced and envisioned. Amidst countless planets, solar systems and universes, the Creator watches over all, ever-blossoming and contemplating (‘vekhai vigsai kar vichār’). So infinitely vast is this cosmic landscape, that to describe it is utterly impossible. At the stages of karam khand and sach khand, the ego-centric pull of haumai has long dissolved. The self can only experience grace and wonder.
Paurī 38 – Applying the tools of inner virtue: inside the goldsmith’s workshop
ਜਤੁ ਪਾਹਾਰਾ ਧੀਰਜੁ ਸੁਨਿਆਰੁ ॥ ਅਹਰਣਿ ਮਤਿ ਵੇਦੁ ਹਥੀਆਰੁ ॥…
Make a space in your mind, a workshop of pure focus and self-control.
Then set to your task, embracing the steady patience of a goldsmith.
Let your thinking be the anvil on which to forge your understanding.
Take the hammer of enduring wisdom to mould and shape it.
Let the furnace be the discipline you maintain within you,
Fuelled by the bellows of your awe-struck reverence for the Divine.
In the flames of your concentration, become a crucible of enduring love,
Melt within it the sublime amrit-nectar, to refine the ore into pure liquid gold.
This is how the shabad, the sacred word, is cast in life’s Truest mint.
Those who are so blessed, can undertake this rare labour of love.
Says Nanak, through the glance of Grace, they flourish in serene exhilaration.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 8
To conclude Jap Ji Sahib, Guru Nanak does not finish with a view into infinity. Rather, he brings us back to ground level, to the scene of a goldsmith’s workshop. The work of a goldsmith was an ancient profession, requiring the utmost skill and dedicated attention. Guru Nanak now compares this attentive work to spiritual growth which requires the steady application of inward qualities.
The workshop is referred to here as a taksāl, a mint where coins are made. Entering such a mint, you would notice an anvil and a hammer on the workbench to beat and shape the metal, along with a furnace and a crucible to melt and refine the gold. Blasts of air would come from the bellows, to maintain the required intensity of heat. Whilst bellows can be pumped by the hands or feet, traditionally a blow-pipe would also be used, to pump air with care and precision from the lungs. From the purified metal, objects like coins could then be cast.
In the vivid scene of this final paurī, every detail that is described carries a teaching. The workshop (pahārā) is the space you create in your life, to give pure and focussed attention (jat – self-restraint and fidelity) to your spiritual growth. The goldsmith is dhīraj or steady patience – the attitude of effort and perseverance that you bring to the task. The anvil is the thinking (mat) on which your understanding rests. To shape it, you take hold of and apply the hammer (hathiār) of enduring spiritual wisdom (ved). Through this image, Guru Nanak also reminds us how futile it is to simply accumulate or display wisdom. It becomes a redundant tool if there is no real impact on our mindset.
Our mind is like ore before the pure gold content has been separated from other elements. To rise to the best inside us, the inner self can similarly be worked on and refined, but it must be softened and melted first. The heat for this comes from the furnace (agan) of one’s spiritual discipline and effort (tap tāo), energised by a selfless feeling of reverence for God. This feeling is bhāu, a fear born out of deep love; when felt with each breath, becomes the bellows (khalā) that maintain the heat.
The idea of intense discipline can sound austere, but Guru Nanak adds that in this process one’s being must become a crucible (bhandā) of love (bhāou), with the purifying nectar of amrit melted into it. Amrit can be seen as that which generates a sublime awareness of the Divine presence, such as the singing of sacred teachings, service to others and keeping the company of the spiritually enlightened. Through practices such as these, the inner self becomes purified like liquid gold. From this a renewed self can be cast, like a precious coin that is stamped as distinct currency – whose value is derived from the shabad or Divine word.
Contemplating this paurī, we realise that this taksāl, or mint, serves as a dharamsāl – a space to consciously cultivate dharam, so as to manifest the latent value, potential and worth of one’s human birth. The ability to engage in this dedicated endeavour, Guru Nanak underlines, comes through the glance of grace (‘jin ko nadar karam tin kār’). When effort is graced with blessings, the state can only be described as nihāl – a sublime experience of serene exhilaration – ‘Nanak, nadarī nadar nihāl’.
Epilogue – The radiant faces; generously succeeding in life’s game
ਪਵਣੁ ਗੁਰੂ ਪਾਣੀ ਪਿਤਾ ਮਾਤਾ ਧਰਤਿ ਮਹਤੁ ॥
ਦਿਵਸੁ ਰਾਤਿ ਦੁਇ ਦਾਈ ਦਾਇਆ ਖੇਲੈ ਸਗਲ ਜਗਤੁ ॥
In the midst of creation, Air is the Guru’s word and presence –
Giving breath to our existence and oxygen to the soul.
Water is Father and the Great Earth is Mother –
Fusing to enable life, so selflessly do they sustain us.
Day and Night are the two care-givers, taking turns
To watch over the entire planet, like a child at play,
As it rotates through space along its orbit.
ਚੰਗਿਆਈਆ ਬੁਰਿਆਈਆ ਵਾਚੈ ਧਰਮੁ ਹਦੂਰਿ ॥
ਕਰਮੀ ਆਪੋ ਆਪਣੀ ਕੇ ਨੇੜੈ ਕੇ ਦੂਰਿ ॥
In the game of life, each of us ar e players and each move counts.
From the good and bad we do, in thought and action,
The account of our earthly life is composed and given;
Some come closer to the Divine Source, others remain far.
ਜਿਨੀ ਨਾਮੁ ਧਿਆਇਆ ਗਏ ਮਸਕਤਿ ਘਾਲਿ ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਤੇ ਮੁਖ ਉਜਲੇ ਕੇਤੀ ਛੁਟੀ ਨਾਲਿ ॥1॥
Those who live fully attuned to the Divine Name,
They depart after toiling earnestly
To fulfil life’s bigger purpose.
Oh Nanak, such uplifted souls
Leave the world with radiant faces,
Generously liberating many others along with them.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 8
Jap Ji Sahib ends with a verse entitled ‘Salok’. This is a classic short verse form made up of rhyming couplets. This particular salok, with three rhyming couplets, is probably the most memorable for Sikhs, who grow up hearing its words sung to conclude religious services. As an epilogue to Jap Ji Sahib, it views the entire earth almost as if from space, picturing life here as a game which is waiting to be won, for the good of ourselves and many others. By reminding us of childhood, when we ourselves were newly arrived on the planet, it awakens a fresh sense of possibility to seize and fulfil the opportunity of human life, taking the teachings of Jap Ji Sahib as our preliminary guide.
The first couplet of the Salok opens with the simplicity of a nursery rhyme. It sings of the Air as Guru (‘Pavan Gurū’), Water as Father (‘Pāni Pitā’) and the Great Earth as Mother (‘Mātā Dharat Mahat’). These are nature’s essential life-giving elements; first air gave rise to water, which then enabled life on earth. Without their constant, selfless giving, we could not exist. To see them as caring personalities, and not simply as commodities, inspires a sense of reverence and changes how we relate to them. These elements also spark our biological existence, for there is a meeting of water as father and earth as mother when life is conceived in the soil of the womb.
Even as we grow and age after birth, without the substance of air – plus the breath of the soul which is our life-force – our body system would cease to operate. So, as an element, air is supreme – air is the Guru. In Sikh teaching, the Guru is understood as life’s unseen sacred force as well as a communicator of spiritual wisdom to human beings. To inspire our spiritual growth, the Guru is like oxygen to our otherwise neglected soul. Air is also the medium through which the Guru’s words are transmitted, heard and absorbed. In both respects, the element of air reminds us of the Guru’s sustaining and uplifting presence.
ਦਿਵਸੁ ਰਾਤਿ ਦੁਇ ਦਾਈ ਦਾਇਆ ਖੇਲੈ ਸਗਲ ਜਗਤੁ ॥
Day and night are the female and male care-givers; revolving between them, the entire world is at play.
– Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 8
Next, Day and Night are depicted as the two care-givers. Turn-by-turn, they watch over the entire earth as it revolves through space, like a child at play (‘khelay sagal jagat’). Living on the planet, we are all involved in some form of play, like an extension of a childhood nursery. Even as adults, we take on different roles, put on different costumes and use different objects for some purpose, as we once did in our play corners with our toys. We grow up to play our parts in different worlds – the world of home, school or work, the world of our cultural or religious communities or the world of politics or of our favourite hobbies. Each world is like a game, with different expectations and rules, signs and symbols, points and rewards.
For some people, the game of life is about pursuing material or social success. For others, we are caught in the play of life’s forces in a game we can never win. In Jap Ji Sahib, Guru Nanak places the flourishing of the spiritual self at the heart of any vision of success in human life, to harness the best in us to become life’s active players. Day and Night in this line could also then suggest the world can play in darkness or in light – asleep or awake to life’s greater purpose.
The second couplet reminds us that, however we choose or are influenced to play the game of life, we will all be accountable for our good and bad deeds (‘changi-āī-ā buri-āī-ā’) in the end. These include the unseen thoughts and intentions, as well as the outward actions, which are recorded deep in our conscience. In Indian tradition, the record-keepers were visualised as the angels, Chitar and Gupat (or as one deity, Chitragupta), and the assessor as the figure of Dharam Raj, who hears and judges our account. These can be seen as metaphors for our mind’s in-built process of surveillance, which helps us better ourselves through enhancing our self-awareness.
In this Salok, the hearing in his court (‘vāchai Dharam hadūr’) is evoked to underline the need to live with greater self-awareness, integrity and responsibility, for on life’s game board, it is our deeds which take us nearer to or further from a state of harmony with the Divine (‘karmī āpo āpani, ke nere ke dūr’). This second couplet reminds us also of the five khands of Jap Ji Sahib, where dutiful action, awareness and effort lead us towards experiencing Divine Grace and Divine Truth.
The third and final couplet of the Salok is joyful and generous in its tone. It portrays those rare people who have lived their lives focussing their awareness on the Divine Name and who depart from the world after toiling earnestly to fulfil life’s opportunity (‘jinni nām dhiāi-ā, ge masakat ghāl’). The faces of such enlightened and dedicated people are radiant for, by finding liberation, they liberate many others along with them (‘Nanak, te mukh ūjale, keti chhutī nāl’).