ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਰਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਪਰਮੇਸਰੁ ਆਪਿ ॥
gur paarbarahm parmaysar aap.
The Guru is the Supreme Lord God; He Himself is the Transcendent Lord.
ਆਠ ਪਹਰ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰ ਜਾਪਿ ॥੪॥੧੬॥੬੭॥
aath pahar naanak gur jaap. ||4||16||67||
Twenty-four hours a day, O Nanak, meditate on the Guru. ||4||16||67||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The Guru is the Supreme One, the One beyond all things.
Every hour of the day, says Nanak, meditate on the Guru.
The hymn calls the Guru the Supreme, Transcendent One, and asks for continual remembrance of the Guru.
The shabad's culminating theology: "the Guru is the Supreme Lord God; He Himself is the Lord beyond all." This is read in the tradition as the Guru being so fully transparent to the One that to meditate on the Guru is to meditate on the One — hence "twenty-four hours a day... meditate on the Guru." A deeply devotional identification.
A Question to Sit With
Who has been, for you, a clear 'window' onto something far greater than themselves?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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