Sikhism·Raag Gauree·Shabad 241
Verse 5 of 9

How Could Anyone Describe Something So Vast?

ਜੈਸਾ ਘਰਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਸੋ ਤੈਸਾ ॥
jaisaa ghar baahar so taisaa.
Just as He is within the home of the self, so is He beyond.
ਬੈਸਿ ਗੁਫਾ ਮਹਿ ਆਖਉ ਕੈਸਾ ॥
bais gufaa meh aakha-o kaisaa.
But how can I describe Him, sitting in a cave?
ਸਾਗਰਿ ਡੂਗਰਿ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਐਸਾ ॥੪॥
saagar doogar nirbha-o aisaa. ||4||
The Fearless Lord is in the oceans, just as He is in the mountains. ||4||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Just as the One is here within the house of the self, so the One is out there beyond it.

How could I possibly describe such vastness while sitting in one small cave?

The fearless One is out in the wide oceans exactly as much as up on the high mountains.

The One is everywhere at once — how could anyone in one small spot ever describe something so vast?
The deeper layer

A verse of divine omnipresence and the humility of speech before it. Jaisaa ghar baahar so taisaa — the same One within and without, no split between inner and outer. Bais gufaa meh aakhao kaisaa — how describe the boundless from one small "cave" (a mind, a body, a viewpoint)? Saagar doogar nirbhau — the fearless One (echo of nirbhau) equally in ocean and mountain: nowhere the One is not.

A Question to Sit With

Have you ever tried to describe something so big that words felt too small? What was it?

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

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