My greatest challenge by far has been to reveal fully the aesthetic dimension of Sikh literature. In the final verse of the Guru Granth (Mundavani), Guru Arjan underscores the artistic efficacy of the holy volume:
In the platter three things lie:
truth, contentment, contemplation.
They contain the ambrosial Name,
by which we are all sustained.
They who eat, they who savour,
they are liberated.7
The sacred scripture is therefore seen as a sumptuous platter (thal) full of delicacies, namely truth, contentment and contemplation, containing the ambrosial Name. According to Guru Arjan, then, the sacred verse offers the food which sustains us. It is the food of knowledge: the fundamental essence of the universe is perceived through it. It offers the food of contentment: the dissatisfied appetite, the hunger for more and more is fulfilled by it. It offers the food of contemplation: the flickering psyche, the ever-fluctuating thoughts are harmoniously anchored by hearing and reflecting upon its verses. But the ‘food’ is not merely to be eaten; rather, as Guru Arjan says, it should also be savoured. Not through elaborate conceptualizing, but through a full and rich relishing of the sacred poetry, the individual obtains liberation from all finite confinements and from the ever-continuing cycle of birth and death. The poetry of love and devotion is to be approached with reverent wonder; it cannot be pried into with mere intellect. The verses of the Sikh Gurus come with their own speedy metre and cadence. As the Gurus said, they had no control over the flow of their utterances. From the very outset, they regarded their communication as divinely inspired. Full and sensuous, the words were further energized by the musical measures. The poetic dynamism of the Sikh sacred literature comes from the presence of alliteration, assonance, consonance, the constant repetition, symmetry and rhythm which creates a momentum so that the readers, hearers, singers go beyond themselves and are launched on a journey towards the Absolute One. In keeping with the message of the Sikh Gurus, their poetry has to be savoured. Taste is a difficult sense to transmit from one tongue to another. The fulfilment of such an obligation makes the task of translation exacting.
The Selections in This Book
Selections for translation have been chosen from both the Guru Granth and the Dasam Granth. They begin with the morning prayers from the Guru Granth, first and foremost the Jap (respectfully called Japji) by Guru Nanak which also begins the Guru Granth. Next, the Shabad Hazare which includes poetry by both Guru Nanak and Guru Arjan, the Fifth Guru. Although there is no rigid timing, these prayers, along with Jaap and Savayye from the Dasam Granth of Guru Gobind Singh, are traditionally said around sunrise.
After these come Rahiras and Kirtan Sohila which are recited in the evening. Rahiras combines poetry in the Guru Granth from four different Gurus as well as from the Dasam Granth of the Tenth Guru. Kirtan Sohila, said last thing before going to bed, is also a combination of different Gurus’ verses from the Guru Granth.
HYMNS OF THE SIKH GURUS
Portrait of Guru Nanak holding a book.
Faizabad or Lucknow, circa 1770. Kapany Collection.
MORNING
Jap
JAP, respectfully known as Japji, was composed by Guru Nanak. It is the first prayer in the Guru Granth, and encapsulates the fundamental philosophical and ethical beliefs of the Sikhs. It is recited at the break of dawn when the mind is fresh and the atmosphere is serene. Described as the ambrosial hour in the Jap, dawn is considered most conducive to grasping the divine Word. Reading or reciting or hearing the Jap enables Sikhs to conceive the Formless Reality and instils in them an urge to unite with the Infinite One.
There is One Being
Truth by Name
Primal Creator
Without fear
Without enmity
Timeless in form
Unborn
Self-existent
The grace of the Guru.
MEDITATE
Truth before time
Truth throughout time
Truth here and now
Says Nanak, Truth is evermore.
1 Thought cannot think,
nor can a million thoughts.
Silence cannot silence,
nor can seamless contemplation.
Greed is not made greedless,
not by the wealth of all the world.
Though a thousand mental feats become a million,
not one can go with us.
How then to be true?
How then to break the wall of lies?
By following the Will.
Says Nanak, this is written for us.
2 By the divine Will, all forms were created;
what that Will is, no one can say.
By that Will, all life is formed
and, by that Will, all are exalted.
The Will determines what is high and what is low;
the Will grants all joy and suffering.
Some are blessed by the Will,
others migrate from birth to birth.
All are within the Will, none stands apart.
Says Nanak, by recognizing the Will,
we silence our ego.
3 Filled with might, they sing praise of the Might,
Seeing the signs, they sing praise of the Bounty,
Perceiving the virtues, they sing praise of the Glory.
Some sing praise through high philosophy,
Some sing praise of the power that creates and destroys,
Some sing in awe of the giving and taking of life.
Some sing of the thereness, the utter transcendence,
Some sing of the hereness, the close watch over all.
Stories and stories add one to another,
Preaching and preaching lead nowhere.
The Giver gives, the receivers tire of receiving;
Age upon age they eat and eat the gifts.
All are directed by that Will;
Says Nanak, the Carefree is ever in bliss.
4 The True Sovereign, Truth by Name,
infinite love the language.
Seekers forever seek gifts
and the Giver gives more and more.
What can we offer for a glimpse of the Court?
What can we say to win divine love?
In the ambrosial hour, exalt and reflect upon the True Name.
Through actions each is dressed in a body,
but liberation comes only from the Gaze of grace.
Says Nanak, know the Absolute thus.
5 That One cannot be moulded or made,
Alone immaculate and self-existent.
Those who serve receive honours.
Nanak says, sing of the Treasure of virtues,
Sing, listen, and hold love in the heart
So sorrow is banished, joy ushered in.
Through the Guru comes the sacred Word,
through the Guru comes the scripture,
through the Guru, That One is experienced in all.
The Guru is Shiva, the Guru is Vishnu, the Guru is Brahma,
the Guru is Parvati, Laxmi and Sarasvati.1
Were I to comprehend, I’d still fail to explain,
for That One is beyond all telling.
Guru, let me grasp this one thing:
All creatures have one Provider,
may I not forget this.
6 I would bathe at a pilgrimage site only to please That One;
without approval what is the use?
I see the expanse of creation,
how could it be without divine favour?
Hearing a single teaching from the Guru,
the mind shines with jewels, rubies and pearls.
Guru, let me grasp this one thing:
All creatures have one Provider,
may I not forget this.
7 If we were to live four ages, or even ten times four,
If we were known in the nine continents,
and hailed as leader by all,
If
we were to win good name, glory and fame
throughout the world,
But were denied the loving Gaze, we would be cast out,
Treated as the lowest of worms, accused as criminals.
Says Nanak, the wicked are made virtuous,
and the virtuous granted more virtue,
But it is unthinkable that anyone could grant virtue to
That One.
8 By hearing, we are graced like saints and gods,2
By hearing, we fathom the earth, underworld and skies,
By hearing, we know the nine continents,
the many worlds and underworlds,
By hearing, we are freed from the clutches of death.
Says Nanak, the devout enjoy eternal bliss,
Hearing banishes all suffering and sin.
9 By hearing, we become as Shiva, Brahma and Indra,
By hearing, the corrupt open their mouths in praise,
By hearing, ways of meditation and mysteries
of the body are revealed,
By hearing, treatises and scriptures are illumined.
Says Nanak, the devout enjoy eternal bliss,
Hearing banishes all suffering and sin.
10 Hearing leads to truth, contentment and knowledge,
Hearing bathes us in the sixty-eight sacred sites,
Hearing wins scholarly repute,
Hearing inspires peaceful contemplation.
Says Nanak, the devout enjoy eternal bliss,
Hearing banishes all suffering and sin.
11 Hearing the Word, we plumb the depths of virtue,
Hearing the Word, we rise to the status of sages and kings,
Hearing the Word, the path is lit for the blind,
Hearing the Word, the fathomless is fathomed.
Says Nanak, the devout enjoy eternal bliss,
Hearing the Word banishes all suffering and sin.
12 No words can speak of remembrance,
Attempts to explain are later regretted.
No paper, pen or scribe can describe,
Nor any philosophizing help to realize,
So wondrous is the immaculate Name,
It is known only by those who hold It in their mind.
13 Remembering, our mind and intellect awaken,
Remembering, we learn of all the worlds;
Remembering, we are safe from blows and pain;
Remembering, we part company with death.
So wondrous is the Immaculate Name,
It is known only by those who hold It in their mind.
14 Remembering, we walk on a clear path,
Remembering, we advance in honour and glory,
Remembering, we do not stray down lanes and byways,
Remembering, we keep to righteousness.
So wondrous is the Immaculate Name,
It is known only by those who hold It in their mind.
15 Remembering, we find the door to liberation,
Remembering, our family is liberated too,
Remembering, we swim and lead our companions to the shore,
Remembering, says Nanak, we need not beg in circles for freedom.
So wondrous is the Immaculate Name,
It is known only by those who hold It in their mind.
16 The chosen win approval, they are the chosen ones,
The chosen receive honours in the Court,
The chosen shine splendidly at the royal Gate,
The chosen meditate on the one and only Guru.
To speak or think of the Creator’s deeds
Is beyond calculation.
The bull that bears the earth is righteousness,
child of compassion,
Its rope is contentment, holding the earth in balance.
All who see, live the life of truth.
How heavy the weight borne by the bull,
For there is not one earth but many more above and beyond.
Who stands beneath supporting all?
This diversity of creatures, castes and colours
Has all been written in a single stroke of the Pen.
Who knows to write this infinite Writ?
What an infinite Writ to write.
What power and beauty of form.
How to estimate the gift,
This expanse from a single command,
Millions of rivers flowing forth at once.
How can I express the Primal Power?
I cannot offer myself to You even once,
Only that which pleases You is good.
You are for ever constant, Formless One.
17 Countless are the ways of meditation,
and countless the avenues of love,
Countless the ways of worship,
and countless the paths of austerity and sacrifice.
Countless the texts, and countless the Vedic reciters,
Countless the yogis turning away from the world,
Countless the devout reflecting on virtue and knowledge,
Countless the pious, and countless the patrons,
Countless the warriors, faces scarred by iron
Countless the sages sunk in silent trance.
How can I express the Primal Power?
I cannot offer myself to You even once.
Only that which pleases You is good.
You are for ever constant, Formless One.
18 Countless the fools lost in pitch dark,
Countless the thieves living off others,
Countless the tyrants bullying their way,
Countless the killers with blood on their hands,
Countless the sinners trailing misdeeds behind them,
Countless the liars spinning in lies,
Countless the perverts devouring filth,
Countless the slanderers bent by their burden.
After thought, lowly Nanak says this,
I cannot offer myself to You even once.
Only that which pleases You is good.
You are for ever constant, Formless One.
19 Countless are Your names and countless Your places,
Unreachable and unfathomable are Your countless spheres
Declaring them ‘countless’ we increase our burden.
Yet, by words we name, by words we acclaim,
By words we know and sing and praise,
By words we speak and by words we write,
By words we communicate and unite,
By words all our actions are written.
But who writes is above all writing.
As it is spoken, so are all allotted.
As expansive the creation, so too the Name,
There is no place without the Name.
How can I express the Primal Power?
I cannot offer myself to you even once.
Only that which pleases You is good.
You are for ever constant, Formless One.
20 Dirty hands, feet and body
Are washed clean with water.
Urine-stained clothes
Are washed with soap as well.
The mind polluted by evil
Is cleansed by the brilliance of the Name.
Good and evil are not mere words,
For our actions are written and go with us,
We reap only what we sow,
Nanak says, by the Will we come and go.
21 Any merit from pilgrimage, austerity, mercy and charity
Is barely worth a sesame seed.
Hearing, remembering and loving the Name
Immerses us in the sacred fount within.
Every virtue rests in You, I have none in me,
Without virtue, devotion is impossible.
Salutations! You are the world, the Word, the Creator,
You are Truth, You are Beauty, You are Joy Eternal.
What was the time, what was the hour,
What was the date, what was the day,
What was the season, what was the month,
When creation was born?
Had pundits the answer, it would be written
in the Puranas,
Had qadis the answer, it would be written
in the Qur’an,
No ascetic knows the date or day, no one knows
the month or season.
The Creator who designed this creation alone knows.
How can I speak of You? How can I praise You?
How can I describe You? How can I know You?
Nanak says, many speak of You, each outdoing the other.
Great is the Sovereign, great is Its Name, all that happens
is Its doing,
Says Nanak, but those who claim credit stay unadorned
in the hereafter.
22 Worlds below worlds, worlds above worlds,
Tired of seeking their limits, the Vedas say one thing,
Arabic scriptures speak of eighteen thousand worlds
traced to one source.
If It could be written, It would be written,
but the writing passes.
Nanak says, praise the Great who alone knows Itself.
23 Extollers extol but cannot fathom You,
Like brooks and streams that flow to the ocean,
nor knowing its expanse.
Kings and sultans may rule kingdoms vast as oceans,
possess wealth piled high as mountains,
Yet none can match an ant who does not forget in her heart.3
Hymns of the Sikh Gurus Page 5
