The Sikh Bulletin

he Sikh Bulletin cyq-vYYyswK 542 nwnkSwhI March-April 2010
BrIAY hQu pYru qnu dyh ] pwxI DoqY auqrsu Kyh ]
mUq plIqI kpVu hoie ] dy swbUxu leIAY Ehu Doie ]
BrIAY miq pwpw kY sMig ] Ehu DopY nwvY kY rMig ]
puMnI pwpI AwKxu nwih ] kir kir krxw iliK lY jwhu ]
Awpy bIij Awpy hI Kwhu ] nwnk hukmI Awvhu jwhu ] 20 ]
If and when one’s body becomes unclean, water can
wash away the dirt. When the dirt is such that the
clothes are soiled, soap is required. When the mind is
filled with impurities it can only be cleansed by the love
of the Name. Virtue and vice are not merely names.
Actions that are done over and over again are engraved
on the soul. One shall thus reap what one sows. O
Nanak, by the Hukam of what we sow, we come and
go.
Now, what about existing methods? Isn’t there merit in
what mankind has been doing all along to connect with
the Creator, to know the Creator and to understand
God? Guru Nanak’s response is in the next pauree.
qIrQu qpu dieAw dqu dwnu ] jy ko pwvY iql kw mwnu ]
suixAw mMinAw min kIqw Bwau ] AMqrgiq qIriQ mil nwau ]
siB gux qyry mY nwhI koie ] ivxu gux kIqy Bgiq n hoie ]
suAsiq AwiQ bwxI brmwau ] siq suhwxu sdw min cwau ]
kvxu su vylw vKqu kvxu kvx iQiq kvxu vwru ]
kvix is ruqI mwhu kvxu ijqu hoAw Awkwru ]
vyl n pweIAw pMfqI ij hovY lyKu purwxu ]
vKqu n pwieE kwdIAw ij ilKin lyKu kurwxu ]
iQiq vwru nw jogI jwxY ruiq mwhu nw koeI ]
jw krqw isrTI kau swjy Awpy jwxY soeI ]
ikv kir AwKw ikv swlwhI ikau vrnI ikv jwxw ]
nwnk AwKix sBu ko AwKY iek dU ieku isAwxw ]
vfw swihbu vfI nweI kIqw jw kw hovY ]
nwnk jy ko AwpO jwxY AgY gieAw n sohY ] 21 ]
Pilgrimages, austere discipline, compassion and
charity—these, by themselves, bring only an iota of
merit. The merit is in gaining a good reputation.
Listening and believing with love and humility in your
mind, provide for inner cleansing - the real merit. If
You do not instill Your virtues in me, I will have none
at all. Without acquiring virtue, there is no devotional
worship. I bow to You the Lord of the World, to Your
Word, to You as the creator. You are beautiful, true
and eternally joyful.
So immense is Your creation that it is beyond
mankind. What was that time, the moment the day, the
date, the season, and the month, when creation was
created? The Pundits could not know that, if they did
they would have written so in the Puraanas. The Qazis
and the Yogis could not know as well. The Creator
who created this creation—only He Himself knows.
How then can I praise Him? How can I describe Him?
How can I know Him? O Nanak, everyone speaks of
Him, each one wiser than the rest (yet they cannot tell
us the entire picture). Great is the Master, Great is His
Name. Whatever happens is according to His Will. O
Nanak, anyone who claims to know everything shall
not gain respect in God’s eyes.
pwqwlw pwqwl lK Awgwsw Awgws ]
EVk EVk Bwil Qky vyd khin iek vwq ]
shs ATwrh khin kqybw AsulU ieku Dwqu ]
lyKw hoie q ilKIAY lyKY hoie ivxwsu ]
nwnk vfw AwKIAY Awpy jwxY Awpu ] 22 ]
The Vedas, after a tiring but fruitless search, arrived at
the one finding that there are lakhs of regions beneath
regions, and lakhs of skies above skies. The four
scriptures (Torah, Bible, Quran and Book of David)
say that there are 18,000 worlds. But the reality is that
one could only count (in lakhs and thousands) if there
was a count. The counting and those counting meet
their ends but not what is being counted. O Nanak,
praise Him as Great because only He Himself knows.
But even praise has its limits with regards to knowing
the Creator’s workings.
swlwhI swlwih eyqI suriq n pweIAw ]
ndIAw AqY vwh pvih smuMid n jwxIAih ]
smuMd swh sulqwn igrhw syqI mwlu Dnu ]
kIVI quil n hovnI jy iqsu mnhu n vIsrih ] 23 ]
Even those who praise the Lord cannot obtain a full
accounting of the Creator. Just like the streams and
rivers flowing into the ocean, they can immerse
themselves into the Lord, but cannot know His
vastness. [Yet, remembrance is superior to other
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