Why Did He Create His Creation?

Read this shabad at least 2 times.

Guru Arjan Dev starts by saying "A son is born" "his mother's heart is very glad." The shabad is a song of joy and fulfillment. Guru Arjan Dev is rejoicing at the birth of a child. And Guru Arjan Dev is acknowledging that this child was given by the True Guru and will grow to be a devotee of the Lord of the Universe.

I placed this shabad in this thread "Why Did He Create His Creation" because "this son" is the creation of God. The shabad is about both creation and re-creation.

The baby grows in the womb, and then Guru Arjan Dev tells us that bliss shall be obtained. So the shabad is about more thant the birth of a child who will grow to become a devotee of God. For the Guru goes onto say, ਵਧੀ ਵੇਲਿ ਬਹੁ ਪੀੜੀ ਚਾਲੀ ॥vadhhee vael bahu peerree chaalee || The vine has grown, and shall last for many generations.

Something more persistent than another human life has been created; it is born, grows and will continue -- the Power of the Dharma. It has been firmly established, as a vine that bears fruit must be firmly established.

"A child places so much faith in his father." And then we realize that what has been created has been created through faith and that what Guru Arjan Dev has wished for has been granted -- the Power of the Dharma.

It is a prayer of thanksgiving, for a son and it is a prayer of thanksgiving for the granting of a wish. Guru Arjan Dev is speaking both as a father and he is speaking as a son. He is speaking about a child and he is speaking as a child that grows to become a devotee. He is speaking about a child that does not die or wither. He is speaking as a father and he is speaking to his father. He may be speaking as the father of Guru Hargobind, and he may be speaking of Guru Ram Das (carrying the jyote of Guru Nanak). Guru Arjan Dev is definitely speaking to the Satguru.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=19817

Who is the father and who is the son? And who is the baby that is born?

ਤੂੰ ਮੇਰਾ ਪਿਤਾ ਤੂੰਹੈ ਮੇਰਾ ਮਾਤਾ ॥ thoon maeraa pithaa thoonhai maeraa maathaa || You are my Father, and You are my Mother, says Guru Arjan Dev
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ਤੁਮਰੀ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਤੇ ਤੁਧੁ ਪਛਾਣਾ ॥ thumaree kirapaa thae thudhh pashhaanaa ||By Your Grace, I recognize You.

Sant Kabir speaks of the Philosopher's stone. The philosopher's stone is a metaphor for creation. For centuries, alchemists, magicians, freemasons, they all sought to create gold from base metals. Their endeavor described in terms of changing a base metal to a pure and valuable gold was itself symbolic for what they were really up to -- to change one's baser nature to a higher and more enlightened state. So Sant Kabir explains the situation this way. He starts by saying that creation is born of Light, and Light is in the creation. All that exists emerged from the Light, the pure intelligence of the Divine. He says that this Light is inside its very own creation. The Divine created everything and the Divine is in everything. And the everything that the Divine gave birth to includes two things: the false and the true. And then Sant Kabir asks the question that nags each and everyone of us, and that is echoed in Gurbani many times. How can we find liberation from fear, from the worries and anxieties that enslave us? Where can we find liberation from fear? So Sant Kabir goes on to point out that we remain entangled. Sin and virtue are the same -- a strange thing to say . It is our obsession with sin and virtue that entangles us in the same way. We remain trapped like rats running back and forth between these two states. We are trapped between wanting to be good, only to fall back into sin in the next breath. Only one thing can appease this fear. Bhagat Kabir tells us to renounce the trap and find the philosopher's stone within -- it is the only virtue. ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥ kabeer niragun naam n ros || Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord. ਇਸੁ ਪਰਚਾਇ ਪਰਚਿ ਰਹੁ ਏਸੁ ॥੪॥੯॥ eis parachaae parach rahu eaes ||4||9||Keep this mind of yours involved in this involvement. ||4||9|