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The Doer

Interpreted by EK ONG KAAR KAUR

 

 

 

 

 

It has taken me over eight years. But by Guru’s blessing, I’m grateful to be in the process of self-publishing a poetic interpretation of Guru Arjan’s Sukhmani Sahib.

The self-publishing process has taken a lot of attention these last couple months, so I have not had as much time to write other articles.

However, I wanted to share one of the Ashtpadis of Sukhmani Sahib with you. This particular Ashtpadi (# 22) speaks to the non-dualistic nature of reality. And how the One lives within everything, doing everything. We only need the eyes to see it.

 

 

22

SALOK


O Master of all,

You are the Doer within the life of every being.

Nanak, the One Consciousness expands Itself through form.

Who else is there to perceive?

 

22

ASHTPADI


22.1

You, Yourself, talk about sacred subjects,

And You are the one who listens.

You remain One within Yourself,

And You manifest the show.

You created the world for Your own pleasure,

And when Your Divine Will decides it,

Everything will merge back into You.

Nothing happens except what comes through You,

In Your originality.

You, Yourself, are the thread

That strings the entire Universe together.

Creator -- because of You someone understands this.

That servant of Yours receives the experience

Of his Ultimate Identity.

He knows the essence of reality,

And perceives everything impartially.

Nanak, such a one understands the entire universe.



22.2

All the creatures are like musical instruments

In the hands of the Creator.

Compassionate to the poor.

Master of the desolate.

Those who the One protects shall never be destroyed.

If the Divine, in Its mind, forgets about someone,

Then that person dies.

If someone abandons the Creator,

Who else can he turn to?

There is just One King,

Pure and unattached,

Who presides as the head of all.

The Creator’s hand guides the path of every living being.

Know that the One keeps you company,

Within and without.

The Creator is an Infinite, boundless treasure of virtues.

Slave Nanak surrenders himself as a sacrifice to Thee, forever.

 


22.3

The Omniscient One, through compassion,

Completes everything.

Overseeing all the beings,

The Creator acts with kindness.

The One moves skillfully,

And Itself knows the reason why.

The Inner-Knower of the heart

Abides, diffused, within.

The One has so many methods to guard Its creatures.

Whoever the Creator has fashioned meditates on Him.

As it pleases Thee,

Someone merges with the Divine.

Those who love the Divine

Sing about Its virtues.

Within their minds, they practice trust

And surrender to the command.

Nanak, recognize the One

As the Doer of all the deeds.



22.4

For the person who becomes attached to the One Creative Identity,

Her hopes do not go unfulfilled.

She performs the service that she is called to do.

By deeply understanding the Divine Will,

She attains the supreme state of consciousness.

From this elevated state,

No discussion is required.

The Formless One dwells within her mind.

Her bonds break and she lives beyond vengeance.

Day and night, adore the feet

Of those Teachings that take you

From darkness to light.

Then you will experience peace in this world,

And happiness in the next.

O Nanak, such people merge with the Creator, Itself.


22.5

You become blissful

By joining the community of those who live by purity and grace.

Singing about the qualities of the Creator,

You reach the peak of ecstasy.

Reflect on the essence of the One,

Whose Identity formed the sun and the moon.

Then you will become liberated through this rare and precious human body.

Sing about the virtues of the Divine

With immortal language.

Your breath will carry you across the ocean of life.

You will merge into the Light.

Look -- twenty-four hours a day

The Creator stays close to you.

Let the One erase your ignorance

And destroy the darkness.

Listen to the teachings,

And let them dwell in your heart.

Then, Nanak, you will receive the fruits

That your mind desires.


22.6

All of your affairs in this world and the next

Will be arranged for you,

When you focus, in your heart,

On the One whose Identity formed the sun and the moon.

The perfect Teacher has imparted the perfect instructions.

The mind that lives by these instructions can determine what is true.

With mind and body,

Call upon your Divine Identity

And attune yourself with love to it.

All suffering, afflictions, and mental fears will disappear.

Trade in the business of the Ultimate Reality.

In the Divine Court,

Your account shall be settled.

Within your mind,

Let the One support and protect you.

Nanak, then you shall come and go no more.



22.7

How can someone become distant from the Divine?

Meditating on the Sustainer

Grants a person freedom.

By calling upon the Fearless One,

All one’s fears cease to exist.

The being of breath gets released

Through the kindness of the Creator.

Those whom the Creator protects never suffer.

The mind becomes happy and peaceful

When it calls upon its Divine Identity.

Worries leave,

And the ego -- the false sense of self --

Is destroyed.

Nothing rivals the person who lives like this.

When the great sun, the Sound of Wisdom,

Takes Its place above someone’s head,

Then, Nanak,

Her work becomes complete.


22.8

When the intelligence is perfected in wisdom,

Then one’s perception becomes immortal.

Seeing with this sight,

A person gets liberated from the world.

Nothing compares to the Lotus Feet of the Divine.

Fruitful is the vision of the beautiful form that the Creator takes.

Blessed the service.

Approved the servant.

The one who knows the Inner-Reality of every heart

Is chief among men.

Whoever’s mind dwells in this consciousness

Flourishes with happiness.

Death does not come close to him.

He becomes immortal,

And achieves the status of immortality.

O Nanak,

Meditate upon the Divine

In the community of those who live

By purity, discipline, and grace.


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September 9, 2015

Conversation about this article

1: Dya Singh (Melbourne, Australia), September 09, 2015, 5:40 PM.

See and worship the Creator in His Creation with every breath. In the process of enjoying 'creation' we tend to forget the Creator or push Him aside. The Creator is everything! A very touching rendition of the ashtpadi, Ek Ong Kaar ji. A labour of love! Pursued in this vein, your whole Sukhmani intepretation in poetic form should be divine!

2: Aryeh Leib Lerner (Israel), September 10, 2015, 3:01 AM.

While I am (as yet) not conversant with Gurmukhi, I affirm that this is the most beautiful rendering I have seen in English. May the Guru grant you many good years to engage in this work. I hope we will cross paths one day.

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