Here is my understanding of 4th pauri.
Saa-cha sahib saach naaye bhakhiya bhau aapaar
True is God (Not fiction of our mind), true is His ownership, and Eternity’s is His Name. He is remembered with infinite expression of love, in communication with inner desired aim.
Aakhey manghey dhey dhey daat kareh daatar
People state and beg His alms; the bestower confers His gifts constantly. dyih dyih is twice means give me this and that. Saying unto Him ‘O God ! Bestow!! Bestow!!!’ And the Benevolent One grants them so.
Pher kai aaghey rakhiye jit deesey darbar
Then what in return to His majesty shall we make, A glimpse of God’s Divine Court to take?
Muh kee bolan boliyhay jit sun dharey piayar
What Words shall then from our lips flow, that God on us should His Love bestow?
Amrit veyla sach naau vadaayee veechar
In the serenity of dawn, meditate on this holy Name and contemplate on God’s Name.
Karmee aavey kapda nadry mokh duaar
Meditation with demands, one acquires robe of honor of human body and by selfless meditation with His benediction, we shall reach door of liberation.
Nanak avey jaaniay sabh aapeh sachiaar
Nanak sayeth we shall thus know that true one is all by Him.
Before Guru Nanak reverts to his most significant question, raised by him in Stanza-I, as to how a devotee should become truthful, he says it is the God and only God who is the True Owner of all the Creations and Truth is His Name and the language to merge back with Him is Love and only Love and by introducing new Language in Gurmukhi script, he clears all the misconception of supremacy of any particular language to merge with God. This was another misleading notion floated by the two communities in order to approve their mandate on the masses. The highest goal of human life is to merge back into the “Ek-Ong-kar” or God by mankind. “Ek-Ong-kar” is nothing else but Truth, the whole Truth. For the union of human being with Him, the mankind must become truthful. Really a stupendous task. To achieve this gigantic goal, the first prerequisite is to address Him in honey sweet voice of submission and surrender. Because “with Him only prayer works. Not the order.”- Guru Granth ang.474.13. Second prerequisite is to kill the haume and third to offer something to Him in return for the numerous gifts; He showers on the mankind endlessly on demand or of His own.
In the house of Guru Nanak the method gifted is, “Nanak kai ghar kewal naam - he has nothing else but Naam, the Name of God.”- Guru Granth ang.1136.16 to offer in gratefulness to God for His endless blessings. Naam and ability to contemplate was given as a gift to this human form.
The human form is unique for the ability to comprehend and contemplate the qualities of Waheguru. So use the gift of thought that was given to us. This is the best way to pay ultimate homage to and achieve union with Waheguru... With this Guru Nanak responds to the Million dollar question and pronounce to his devotees to awake in the ambrosial hours of the morning (Amrit-Vela), meditate on Ek-Ong-kar- God and contemplate on His greatness. Guru Nanak says He will hear the sincere prayer and would come down even to the simplest hut. There is no doubt that when we do seva and sing keertan at the Gurudwara, we do it sincerely and with faith. But I will tell you, my friends, there is always a hint of humai (ego) hidden in our actions as we think we are giving Him something. When we do good keertan, we wait for someone to say, “Wah, Wah.” But at the time that our overwhelming-ras-filled Guru calls “Amrit Vela”, there is no one there except Guru. Only Guru, pyareo, Guru (God). Then we please the Guru and the Guru only. The Guru loves us then. The Guru then has the chance to splash us with the Guru’s overflowing maddening prem, love, ras and jyot. The more this love is splashed on us, the more we are composed and reach near Him. The time that our loving Guru calls “Amrit Vela” is the beginning of sikhi. It is the time of enlightenment. It is the beginning of our path to the guru’s warm and sukh-sagar bosom. So He says let your intellect think of His greatness and His glorious virtues. So it is singing of glorious virtues of God, which Guru Nanak has made as base to return back in gift and not the quantity. He says meditating on Him in this hour is a real gift in return. He hears the sincere prayer of the ant first than the elephant.
In next line for an impact, Guruji divides merit of meditation and its reward in the early morning into two parts. Firstly, if meditation is done with anything in return in mind, then one acquires the honor of a human body with the kindness of Waheguru for fulfillment of his demands.
Second, if meditation is done selflessly, then he becomes “Sachiara-Truthful” and spends his life exclusively in accordance with the Divine will. It is a world dancing to the unstruck melody of Desire or Love that the Truth-Full person, the sachiara, gives birth to in the garden of their soul and blossoms forth as a fragrant rose in the garden of the world. This way of “Sachiara life” attracts the Grace or “Nadar” of Ek-Ong-kar and with His Grace the devotee crosses the ocean of worldly torments and merges into the Almighty. It is like a ray of sun with the Sun, drop of water in the ocean, Followers of Hindu thought eulogizes “karma” (human action) and holds that the right karma (carried out as appropriate rituals) can ensure salvation from the cycle of life and death. The Sikh doctrine, in contrast to this view, holds that “karma” is incapable of providing escape from mortality. It only leads man from mortality to mortality. Escape is possible only through the 'grace of God'.
It is will useful to brief once again with regard to the language of communication with God. He says medium to communicate with God is love and He is realized through love only. The infinite love is the pathway to communicate with him. Guru Nanak was so revolutionary that when it came for written language, instead of using Sanskrit which was considered the language of God (those who did not use this language were called malech ({censored}/non-believer or impure) or Persian which was the language of the elite, he used the spoken language Punjabi of the people which is in Gurmukhi script, thus eliminating the intermediary like Pandit, Mullah for reading, writing or translating and giving importance to one language. Further the language he employed allowed for diversity, and which enjoyed wide currency in whole of Southeast Asia and Mid-East. During his ministry any plea or petition, written or verbal in another language than the official one was consigned to the cosmic waste paper basket by the Divine Inscribe above. Guru Nanak says there is no such position of intermediary between God and Human. Gurbani teaches establishment of direct link with God.
Further Guru Nanak’s revelation utterances are known as the baani – from Sanskrit ‘vani’ meaning both sound and speech. He said there is no such thing as “Divine language” thru which vision could be expressed. He says love and devotion is the language as a vehicle to express Him. Therefore all written and non-written (verbal) languages that enable us to seek Him are worthy of respect. No one language is more sacred than the other. Words, in whatever language when wrapped with a loving heart is holy. The Guru made it explicitly clear that not words but devotion and love matters in spiritual world and Omniscient God needs no telling. Guru Amar Das is known to rebuke a delegation of religious scholars who came to persuade him to use the language of the religious elite, the Sanskrit, in order to impart his message. According to Bhai Santokh Singh, he told them a metaphor to make his point. He said, God’s theology is like water to a thirsty person. Divine Knowledge in Sanskrit or Arabic is like water in deep well; it takes effort to draw it and then irrigate crops of only those who own the land. Gurbani is in a language which serves like a cloud burst which turn the crops of every one and in every field green; it reaches mountains and valleys alike, birds and mammals alike, animals and human alike, poor and rich alike. Guru Amar Das’s respond was similar to a biblical parabola where Jesus said that when you lit a lamp; place it at a high pedestal so that the light can reach every one. Requiring especially made colored glasses to see the light will contradict Jesus’ teachings
I will welcome any comments so that real message of Guru Nanak is passed on to us.
Regards Sahni Mohinder.
Saa-cha sahib saach naaye bhakhiya bhau aapaar
True is God (Not fiction of our mind), true is His ownership, and Eternity’s is His Name. He is remembered with infinite expression of love, in communication with inner desired aim.
Aakhey manghey dhey dhey daat kareh daatar
People state and beg His alms; the bestower confers His gifts constantly. dyih dyih is twice means give me this and that. Saying unto Him ‘O God ! Bestow!! Bestow!!!’ And the Benevolent One grants them so.
Pher kai aaghey rakhiye jit deesey darbar
Then what in return to His majesty shall we make, A glimpse of God’s Divine Court to take?
Muh kee bolan boliyhay jit sun dharey piayar
What Words shall then from our lips flow, that God on us should His Love bestow?
Amrit veyla sach naau vadaayee veechar
In the serenity of dawn, meditate on this holy Name and contemplate on God’s Name.
Karmee aavey kapda nadry mokh duaar
Meditation with demands, one acquires robe of honor of human body and by selfless meditation with His benediction, we shall reach door of liberation.
Nanak avey jaaniay sabh aapeh sachiaar
Nanak sayeth we shall thus know that true one is all by Him.
Before Guru Nanak reverts to his most significant question, raised by him in Stanza-I, as to how a devotee should become truthful, he says it is the God and only God who is the True Owner of all the Creations and Truth is His Name and the language to merge back with Him is Love and only Love and by introducing new Language in Gurmukhi script, he clears all the misconception of supremacy of any particular language to merge with God. This was another misleading notion floated by the two communities in order to approve their mandate on the masses. The highest goal of human life is to merge back into the “Ek-Ong-kar” or God by mankind. “Ek-Ong-kar” is nothing else but Truth, the whole Truth. For the union of human being with Him, the mankind must become truthful. Really a stupendous task. To achieve this gigantic goal, the first prerequisite is to address Him in honey sweet voice of submission and surrender. Because “with Him only prayer works. Not the order.”- Guru Granth ang.474.13. Second prerequisite is to kill the haume and third to offer something to Him in return for the numerous gifts; He showers on the mankind endlessly on demand or of His own.
In the house of Guru Nanak the method gifted is, “Nanak kai ghar kewal naam - he has nothing else but Naam, the Name of God.”- Guru Granth ang.1136.16 to offer in gratefulness to God for His endless blessings. Naam and ability to contemplate was given as a gift to this human form.
The human form is unique for the ability to comprehend and contemplate the qualities of Waheguru. So use the gift of thought that was given to us. This is the best way to pay ultimate homage to and achieve union with Waheguru... With this Guru Nanak responds to the Million dollar question and pronounce to his devotees to awake in the ambrosial hours of the morning (Amrit-Vela), meditate on Ek-Ong-kar- God and contemplate on His greatness. Guru Nanak says He will hear the sincere prayer and would come down even to the simplest hut. There is no doubt that when we do seva and sing keertan at the Gurudwara, we do it sincerely and with faith. But I will tell you, my friends, there is always a hint of humai (ego) hidden in our actions as we think we are giving Him something. When we do good keertan, we wait for someone to say, “Wah, Wah.” But at the time that our overwhelming-ras-filled Guru calls “Amrit Vela”, there is no one there except Guru. Only Guru, pyareo, Guru (God). Then we please the Guru and the Guru only. The Guru loves us then. The Guru then has the chance to splash us with the Guru’s overflowing maddening prem, love, ras and jyot. The more this love is splashed on us, the more we are composed and reach near Him. The time that our loving Guru calls “Amrit Vela” is the beginning of sikhi. It is the time of enlightenment. It is the beginning of our path to the guru’s warm and sukh-sagar bosom. So He says let your intellect think of His greatness and His glorious virtues. So it is singing of glorious virtues of God, which Guru Nanak has made as base to return back in gift and not the quantity. He says meditating on Him in this hour is a real gift in return. He hears the sincere prayer of the ant first than the elephant.
In next line for an impact, Guruji divides merit of meditation and its reward in the early morning into two parts. Firstly, if meditation is done with anything in return in mind, then one acquires the honor of a human body with the kindness of Waheguru for fulfillment of his demands.
Second, if meditation is done selflessly, then he becomes “Sachiara-Truthful” and spends his life exclusively in accordance with the Divine will. It is a world dancing to the unstruck melody of Desire or Love that the Truth-Full person, the sachiara, gives birth to in the garden of their soul and blossoms forth as a fragrant rose in the garden of the world. This way of “Sachiara life” attracts the Grace or “Nadar” of Ek-Ong-kar and with His Grace the devotee crosses the ocean of worldly torments and merges into the Almighty. It is like a ray of sun with the Sun, drop of water in the ocean, Followers of Hindu thought eulogizes “karma” (human action) and holds that the right karma (carried out as appropriate rituals) can ensure salvation from the cycle of life and death. The Sikh doctrine, in contrast to this view, holds that “karma” is incapable of providing escape from mortality. It only leads man from mortality to mortality. Escape is possible only through the 'grace of God'.
It is will useful to brief once again with regard to the language of communication with God. He says medium to communicate with God is love and He is realized through love only. The infinite love is the pathway to communicate with him. Guru Nanak was so revolutionary that when it came for written language, instead of using Sanskrit which was considered the language of God (those who did not use this language were called malech ({censored}/non-believer or impure) or Persian which was the language of the elite, he used the spoken language Punjabi of the people which is in Gurmukhi script, thus eliminating the intermediary like Pandit, Mullah for reading, writing or translating and giving importance to one language. Further the language he employed allowed for diversity, and which enjoyed wide currency in whole of Southeast Asia and Mid-East. During his ministry any plea or petition, written or verbal in another language than the official one was consigned to the cosmic waste paper basket by the Divine Inscribe above. Guru Nanak says there is no such position of intermediary between God and Human. Gurbani teaches establishment of direct link with God.
Further Guru Nanak’s revelation utterances are known as the baani – from Sanskrit ‘vani’ meaning both sound and speech. He said there is no such thing as “Divine language” thru which vision could be expressed. He says love and devotion is the language as a vehicle to express Him. Therefore all written and non-written (verbal) languages that enable us to seek Him are worthy of respect. No one language is more sacred than the other. Words, in whatever language when wrapped with a loving heart is holy. The Guru made it explicitly clear that not words but devotion and love matters in spiritual world and Omniscient God needs no telling. Guru Amar Das is known to rebuke a delegation of religious scholars who came to persuade him to use the language of the religious elite, the Sanskrit, in order to impart his message. According to Bhai Santokh Singh, he told them a metaphor to make his point. He said, God’s theology is like water to a thirsty person. Divine Knowledge in Sanskrit or Arabic is like water in deep well; it takes effort to draw it and then irrigate crops of only those who own the land. Gurbani is in a language which serves like a cloud burst which turn the crops of every one and in every field green; it reaches mountains and valleys alike, birds and mammals alike, animals and human alike, poor and rich alike. Guru Amar Das’s respond was similar to a biblical parabola where Jesus said that when you lit a lamp; place it at a high pedestal so that the light can reach every one. Requiring especially made colored glasses to see the light will contradict Jesus’ teachings
I will welcome any comments so that real message of Guru Nanak is passed on to us.
Regards Sahni Mohinder.