Sikhism·Opening Banis·Sohila, Shabad 2
Verse 3 of 3

Many Hours From One Sun — Many Forms From One Creator

ਵਿਸੁਏ ਚਸਿਆ ਘੜੀਆ ਪਹਰਾ ਥਿਤੀ ਵਾਰੀ ਮਾਹੁ ਹੋਆ ॥
visu-ay chasi-aa gharhee-aa pahraa thitee vaaree maahu ho-aa.
The seconds, minutes and hours, days, weeks and months,
ਸੂਰਜੁ ਏਕੋ ਰੁਤਿ ਅਨੇਕ ॥
sooraj ayko rut anayk.
and the various seasons originate from the one sun;
ਨਾਨਕ ਕਰਤੇ ਕੇ ਕੇਤੇ ਵੇਸ ॥੨॥੨॥
naanak kartay kay kaytay vays. ||2||2||
O Nanak, in just the same way, the many forms originate from the Creator. ||2||2||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Seconds, minutes, hours. Days, weeks, months. The many seasons. All of them come from one sun.

In exactly the same way — all the many forms, all the many traditions, all the many expressions of life — they all come from the one Creator.

All the variety of existence comes from one source — the way all hours come from one sun.
The deeper layer

The analogy is elegant: no one disputes that all time — all the different measurements of it — comes from one sun. The sun does not have separate rays for Monday and Tuesday, for January and July. The variety comes from the single source.

The many forms of life, the many traditions, the many kinds of beings — these are like the hours and seasons. The variety is real. And it all comes from one source. The variety does not disprove the oneness. The variety IS the oneness expressing itself.

A Question to Sit With

Look around you right now — at the variety of things you can see, hear, touch. Does knowing they all come from one source change how you look at them?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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