Translation

1’s Identification
‍Why do you need to Identify with 1?

Devagandhari Sovereign 10
No one can be saved without Hari’s Nam, 1’s Identification.
That 1 who controls the fourteen worlds, where can you run away from That 1? Pause-reflect.
Rama and Rahim can not ferry you across whose names you are repeating.
Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, the sun, and the moon are all under the control of death.
All wisdoms of Vedas, Puranas, and Quran call That 1 infinite.
Indra, Sheshanaga, and great sages intensely concentrated for eons, but they still could not concentrate on That 1.
Whose form and color can not be recognized; how can That 1 be called Shyam-Krishna?
You will only be free from the death-web if you cling to the feet of That 1.

Commentary

Devagandhari musical mode invokes mood and emotions of effort and contentment.

Heaven the notion of a happy afterlife of pleasant resorts the classically religious can look forward to in the afterlife. For most people, the fear of hell is a powerful motivation to believe in faith, avoid sin, and generally behave. World religions and philosophies have multiple versions of heavens and hells; authors and exegetes have even more versions of interpretive heavens and hells. In Hinduism, there are fourteen worlds: seven higher ones or heavens and seven lower ones or hells.

Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, the Sovereign, conclusively declares: Without the Nam of Hari, there is no way anyone can be saved from the strike of death. Hari is All-Pervasive, Fear-Eliminator, the Force, the 1, and much more. Nam is the name, the attributes, the existence, the identity, and much more. Even the fourteen worlds of Hinduism, seven heavens and seven hells, are all under the Command of the 1. Where can anyone run and hide? My Sovereign tells me to experience freedom while alive and before death. I must identify with the 1, here, and now to do so. Then, I will stop efforts to secure a spot in any heaven and stop stress to ensure no entry into any hell.

My Sovereign explains via examples: No one like Rama or Rahim, whose names you have been repeating and remembering, can take you successfully across the earth’s journey. Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, the sun, and the moon are all under the command of death. Ram refers to Rama Chandar, the king of Ayodhya, which implies incarnate Rama; Rahim refers to the merciful, which implies the prophet Muhammad. Rama and Rahim collectively refer to incarnates and prophets. Rudra refers to Shiva. My Sovereign tells me not to identify with anyone who eventually dies, regardless of their glory or impact on this earth. My Sovereign also tells me not to identify with the deities who rule a particular world or the celestial bodies that are the domain of a particular culture. I can study their narratives and learn from their conduct, but I must identify with only the 1. The 1 beyond the cycle of birth and death!  

My Sovereign explains via illustrations: All the known great thoughts in the texts like Vedas, Puranas, and Quran call the 1 as the infinite one. Indra, Sheshanaga, and great sages have spent eons in intense concentrations, but they still could not concentrate on the 1. Vedas and Puranas are Ayran and Indic texts that extrapolate to scriptures related to Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Quran is an Islamic text that extrapolates to scriptures related to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Indra is the king of heavens; Sheshanaga refers to Phanindra, the thousand-headed king of snakes; great sages refers to Munindra, like Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu; and eons refers to Kalpa, which equals four Hindu eras, a day of Brahma, or 4.32 billion years. My Sovereign tells me to remain focused on the 1 who is infinite, many texts got it right, but most religions lost focus. My Sovereign also tells me to stay forever focused on the 1 who is infinite. Many heroes were busy ruling or concentrating for a very long time, like Googolplex years, but still lost focus. I can study the texts and learn from their exegesis, but I must identify with the 1 and only infinite 1—the 1 beyond comprehension.

My Sovereign explains via interrogation: The 1 with no designated form and color, how can anyone call that 1 Shyam-Krishna of the blue-violet-dark complexion? You will be saved from the web of death when you embrace the feet of the 1. My Sovereign tells me not to label the 1 with a particular color and form. To do that with an earthly authority or mythological character is a blunderous folly. My Sovereign tells me to shun my ego and, in humility, seek the mentorship of the 1. This is how I will be saved, freed from the network of intricate entrapments. This is how I-ness transforms into 1-ness. Which world do I want to be in, live in? The world where I am free for I am identifying with the 1!

Note: We are very finite; our understanding is finite too. We aspire to deepen our relationship with the Guru. In this translation and commentary, we focused more on meaning, context, and message and less on literalism and poetics. We aspire to learn and live the message to end our separation from the 1.

Art

This artwork, inspired by Guru Gobind Singh’s composition, illustrates the confusion of all the different ways we might be led to think we can be saved by those who cannot save us. The composition says that as we look for who has control, only the ੧ is complete and sure. Death has control of the 14 worlds, so where are we safe? The repeated memorization and recitation of different gods are futile, so what should we do? These gods are under the command of death, so how can we be saved by those who themselves can perish? In this piece, I have drawn a dark hand of Death holding onto 14 ovals representing the 14 worlds mentioned in the first line. In Hindu art, these vertical ovals are how the worlds are often drawn, so I chose to recreate them here, with links connecting them. The net of Death, mentioned in the final line, is tied to this hand, encompassing the symbols for gods, deities, and ancestries of the sun and moon incapable of true permanence and omnipotence.  Indra, Vishnu, and Shiva are all mentioned as having facets of this Divine power, and these are depicted in ways that traditionally appear in Hindu art: with lightning, with a conch shell, and the blue Krishna playing a flute-like instrument. The ੧ to the right side of the piece is the only part unobscured by orbs, hands, and stars, representing the clarity and the protection of the ੧.

Note: Where there is greenery, there is ‘natural life.’  I situate the readers, the learners, and seekers, those engaging with the composition there. In every artwork, I have placed ੧, a reference to IkOankar, the One, without limiting it to an object-based depiction such as a sun or a moon. The colors are chosen intentionally to evoke a particular interpretation or adhere to a cohesive color palette to show the relationship between the ten compositions of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib.

Gurmukhi

ਦੇਵਗੰਧਾਰੀ ਪਾਤਿਸਾਹੀ ੧੦
ਬਿਨੁ ਹਰਿਨਾਮੁ   ਨ ਬਾਚਨ ਪੈ ਹੈ॥
ਚੌਦਹਲੋਕ ਜਾਹਿ ਬਸਿ ਕੀਨੇ   ਤਾ ਤੇ ਕਹਾਂ ਪਲੈ ਹੈ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ॥
ਰਾਮ ਰਹੀਮ ਉਬਾਰਿ ਨ ਸਕਿ ਹੈ   ਜਾਕਰ ਨਾਮੁ ਰਟੈ ਹੈ॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਬਿਸਨੁ ਰੁਦ੍ਰ ਸੂਰਜ ਸਸਿ   ਤੇ ਬਸਿ ਕਾਲ ਸਬੈਹੈ॥੧॥
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਕੁਰਾਨ ਸਬੈ ਮਤਿ   ਜਾਕਰ ਨੇਤਿ ਕਹੈ ਹੈ॥
ਇੰਦ੍ਰ ਫਨਿੰਦ੍ਰ ਮੁਨਿੰਦ੍ਰ ਕਲਪ ਬਹੁ   ਧਿਆਵਤਿ ਧਿਆਨ ਨ ਐ ਹੈ॥੨॥
ਜਾਕਰ ਰੂਪ ਰੰਗ ਨਹਿ ਜਨਿਯਤਿ   ਸੋ ਕਿਮ ਸ੍ਯਾਮ ਕਹੈ ਹੈ॥
ਛੁਟਿਹੋ ਕਾਲਜਾਲ ਤੇ ਤਬ ਹੀ   ਤਾਹਿ ਚਰਨ ਲਪਟੈ ਹੈ॥੩॥੨॥੧0॥

Transcription

devgandhārī pātisāhī 10
binu harināmu   na bācan pai hai.
caudahlok jāhi basi kīno   tā te kahāṁ palai hai.1. rahāu.
rām rahīm ubāri na saki hai   jākar nāmu raṭai hai.
brahmā bisanu rudra sūraj sasi   te basi kāl sabaihai.1.
bed purān kurān sabai mati   jākar neti kahai hai.
indra phanindra munindra kalap bahu   dhiāvati dhiān na ai hai.2.
jākar rūp raṅg nahi janiyati   so kim sayām kahai hai.
chuṭiho kāljāl te tab hī   tāhi caran lapṭai hai.3.2.10.

Sabad Kirtan

Bhai Balbir Singh

Sabad Recitation

Harjinder Singh