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Sikhism·Raag Goojaree·Shabad 57
Verse 52 of 66

The Purest Wonder Aims at the Formless Behind All

ਸਲੋਕੁ ਮਃ ੩ ॥
salok mehlaa 3.
Shalok, Third Mehl:
ਵਾਹੁ ਵਾਹੁ ਬਾਣੀ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਹੈ ਤਿਸੁ ਜੇਵਡੁ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥
vaahu vaahu banee nirankaar hai tis jayvad avar na ko-ay.
Waaho! Waaho! is the Bani, the Word, of the Formless Lord. There is no other as great as He is.
ਵਾਹੁ ਵਾਹੁ ਅਗਮ ਅਥਾਹੁ ਹੈ ਵਾਹੁ ਵਾਹੁ ਸਚਾ ਸੋਇ ॥
vaahu vaahu agam athaahu hai vaahu vaahu sachaa so-ay.
Waaho! Waaho! The Lord is unfathomable and inaccessible. Waaho! Waaho! He is the True One.
ਵਾਹੁ ਵਾਹੁ ਵੇਪਰਵਾਹੁ ਹੈ ਵਾਹੁ ਵਾਹੁ ਕਰੇ ਸੁ ਹੋਇ ॥
vaahu vaahu vayparvaahu hai vaahu vaahu karay so ho-ay.
Waaho! Waaho! He is the self-existent Lord. Waaho! Waaho! As He wills, so it comes to pass.
ਵਾਹੁ ਵਾਹੁ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਨਾਮੁ ਹੈ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਪਾਵੈ ਕੋਇ ॥
vaahu vaahu amrit naam hai gurmukh paavai ko-ay.
Waaho! Waaho! is the Ambrosial Nectar of the Naam, the Name of the Lord, obtained by the Gurmukh.
ਵਾਹੁ ਵਾਹੁ ਕਰਮੀ ਪਾਈਐ ਆਪਿ ਦਇਆ ਕਰਿ ਦੇਇ ॥
vaahu vaahu karmee paa-ee-ai aap da-i-aa kar day-ay.
Waaho! Waaho! This is realized by His Grace, as He Himself grants His Grace.
ਨਾਨਕ ਵਾਹੁ ਵਾਹੁ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਪਾਈਐ ਅਨਦਿਨੁ ਨਾਮੁ ਲਏਇ ॥੧॥
naanak vaahu vaahu gurmukh paa-ee-ai an-din naam la-ay-ay. ||1||
O Nanak, Waaho! Waaho! This is obtained by the Gurmukhs, who hold tight to the Naam, night and day. ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

'Wonder!' is the Word of the Formless One — there is no other as great.

'Wonder!' — unfathomable, out of reach, the True One. 'Wonder!' — self-existent; as it wills, so it happens. 'Wonder!' — the nectar of the Name, reached by the Gurmukh. 'Wonder!' — realized by grace, as the One grants it. Nanak says: the Gurmukhs get it, holding tight to the Name day and night.

The purest wonder is aimed not at any image but at the formless reality behind everything — and even that awe is given.
The deeper layer

The litany crescendos on the Formless One — "there is no other as great as He is." Wonder is directed not at an image or an idol but at the formless reality behind all forms, "self-existent," doing as it wills. And it is "realized by His Grace" — even the highest wonder is given, not achieved. To cry "Wonder!" at the formless is the raag's purest act of awe.

A Question to Sit With

Can you feel wonder at something you cannot picture — a reality behind all the things you can see?

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

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