⟵ Back to podcasts

Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10 - Sabad 05: Creator Ruler

What is the Ruler?

Tuesday
,
7
February
2023

In this sixth podcast, Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur explore Guru Gobind Singh Sahib’s utterances on the Creator Ruler, and his guidance of considering IkOankar as the only true Ruler.

Introducing Sabad Hajare Patshahi 10, new translations and commentaries of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib's composition. Harinder Singh (Innovation Director) and Jasleen Kaur (Research Associate) discuss their learnings and challenges while engaging with the words of this composition. The unique contexts and subversions these compositions reveal are a treat for those who yearn to get to know Guru Gobind Singh Sahib and those who yearn to celebrate Guru Gobind Singh Sahib.

In the fifth composition of the “Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10” (popularly Shabad Hazare Patshahi 10) series, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib emphatically declares that anyone created or formed by the 1 cannot be confused with the 1 and must not be accepted as the 1-Creator. Guru Sahib crumbles the power and magic of the multiple gods and states only the 1 can be termed the Supreme Ruler.

In this sixth podcast, Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur explore Guru Gobind Singh Sahib’s utterances on the Creator Ruler, and his guidance of considering IkOankar as the only true Ruler. They contextualize this composition in the larger popular context of attaching allegiance to or identifying with smaller rulers and incarnations of deities and demons.

Sabad

ਕਲਿਆਨ ਪਾਤਿਸਾਹੀ ੧੦
ਬਿਨੁ ਕਰਤਾਰਿ   ਨ ਕਿਰਤਮ ਮਾਨੋ॥
ਆਦਿ ਅਜੋਨਿ ਅਜੈ ਅਬਿਨਾਸੀ   ਤਿਹ ਪਰਮੇਸੁਰ ਜਾਨੋ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ॥
ਕਹਾ ਭਯੋ ਜੋ ਆਨਿ ਜਗਤ ਮੈ   ਦਸਕੁ ਅਸੁਰ ਹਰਿ ਘਾਏ॥
ਅਧਿਕ ਪ੍ਰਪੰਚ ਦਿਖਾਇ ਸਭਨ ਕਹ   ਆਪਹਿ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਕਹਾਏ॥੧॥
ਭੰਜਨ ਗੜ੍ਹਨ  ਸਮਰਥ ਸਦਾ ਪ੍ਰਭ   ਸੋ ਕਿਮਿ ਜਾਤਿ ਗਿਨਾਯੋ॥
ਤਾ ਤੇ ਸਰਬ ਕਾਲ ਕੇ ਅਸਿ ਕੋ   ਘਾਇ ਬਚਾਇ ਨ ਆਯੋ॥੨॥
ਕੈਸੇ ਤੋਹਿ ਤਾਰਿ ਹੈ ਸੁਨਿ ਜੜ੍ਹ   ਆਪਿ ਡੁਬ੍ਯੋ ਭਵ ਸਾਗਰਿ॥
ਛੁਟਿਹੋ ਕਾਲਫਾਂਸ ਤੇ ਤਬ ਹੀ   ਗਹੋ ਸਰਨਿ ਜਗਤਾਗਰ॥੩॥੧॥੫॥

Translation

Creator Ruler
What is the Ruler?

Kalyan Sovereign 10
Do not accept anyone else created as the Creator.
Consider the First, the Unborn, the Unconquerable, and the Imperishable as the Supreme Ruler. Pause-reflect.
So what if many came as incarnations in this world, so what if Hari-Vishnu-Krishna killed ten or so demons?
Proclaimed himself to be brahma-creator after showing many plays.
The Divine is ever capable of destroying and carving; how can that 1 be shown and measured?
This is why no one can save themselves from the strike of the sword of All-Death.
O ignorant! Listen, how can the one who is drowned in the world-ocean ferry you across?
When you take refuge in World-Source, only then will you be free from the noose of death.

In This Podcast

Harinder Singh

Senior Fellow, Research & Policy
Senior Fellow, Research & Policy

Harinder Singh is the Senior Fellow at the Sikh Research Institute. He holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Wichita State University, an MS in Engineering Management from the University of Kansas, and an MPhil from Punjab University in the linguistics of the Guru Granth Sahib. 

View profile ⟶

Jasleen Kaur

Research Associate
Research Associate

Jasleen Kaur is a Research Associate at the Sikh Research Institute. She has received a Religious Studies B.A./M.A. from the University of Virginia, focusing on South Asian Religions through the lens of literature and poetry.

View profile ⟶

Related Content

The Sikh Research Institute recognizes its ethical responsibility to promptly correct any factual small or large errors. Please get in touch with us via email to request a correction if you have identified a mistake.

Suggest a correction →

Latest Podcasts

Thursday
,
10
October
2024

1984 & Its Afterlives

To mark the 40th year of the violence of 1984, we reflect on the events that unfolded in India and make connections with the ongoing and durable violence against Sikhs, Muslims, and other minority groups in India and the diaspora.

LISTEN NOW⟶
Wednesday
,
9
October
2024

Explore Maru Kaphi

In Maru Kaphi, Guru Nanak Sahib reflects on the grief caused by separation from IkOankar, showing that even with worldly comforts, one remains unhappy without this connection.

LISTEN NOW⟶
Thursday
,
26
September
2024

Explore Bani Bhagat Sain Ji

In this Sabad, Bhagat Sain Ji sings the ‘Arti’ of the transcendent Supreme Being, IkOankar (the Divine). He emphasizes that the true 'Arti' of IkOankar is not a ritualistic act of adorning a platter with incense, lamps, and ghee.

LISTEN NOW⟶

Share on Social Media

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Stay informed with our weekly updates, important events and more at SikhRI.

Thank you! Your submission has been received.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.