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Sikhism·Raag Goojaree·Shabad 58
Verse 33 of 63

That Anything Exists at All Is Cause for Astonishment

ਪਉੜੀ ॥
pa-orhee.
Pauree:
ਤੇਰੇ ਕੀਤੇ ਕੰਮ ਤੁਧੈ ਹੀ ਗੋਚਰੇ ॥
tayray keetay kamm tuDhai hee gochray.
The works which You have done, O Lord, could only have been performed by You.
ਸੋਈ ਵਰਤੈ ਜਗਿ ਜਿ ਕੀਆ ਤੁਧੁ ਧੁਰੇ ॥
so-ee vartai jag je kee-aa tuDh Dhuray.
That alone happens in the world, which You, O Master, have done.
ਬਿਸਮੁ ਭਏ ਬਿਸਮਾਦ ਦੇਖਿ ਕੁਦਰਤਿ ਤੇਰੀਆ ॥
bisam bha-ay bismaad daykh kudrat tayree-aa.
I am wonderstruck beholding the wonder of Your Almighty Creative Power.
ਸਰਣਿ ਪਰੇ ਤੇਰੀ ਦਾਸ ਕਰਿ ਗਤਿ ਹੋਇ ਮੇਰੀਆ ॥
saran paray tayree daas kar gat ho-ay mayree-aa.
I seek Your Sanctuary - I am Your slave; if it is Your Will, I shall be emancipated.
ਤੇਰੈ ਹਥਿ ਨਿਧਾਨੁ ਭਾਵੈ ਤਿਸੁ ਦੇਹਿ ॥
tayrai hath niDhaan bhaavai tis deh.
The treasure is in Your Hands; according to Your Will, You bestow it.
ਜਿਸ ਨੋ ਹੋਇ ਦਇਆਲੁ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਸੇਇ ਲੇਹਿ ॥
jis no ho-ay da-i-aal har naam say-ay layhi.
One, upon whom You have bestowed Your Mercy, is blessed with the Lord's Name.
ਅਗਮ ਅਗੋਚਰ ਬੇਅੰਤ ਅੰਤੁ ਨ ਪਾਈਐ ॥
agam agochar bay-ant ant na paa-ee-ai.
You are unapproachable, unfathomable and infinite; Your limits cannot be found.
ਜਿਸ ਨੋ ਹੋਹਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾਲੁ ਸੁ ਨਾਮੁ ਧਿਆਈਐ ॥੧੧॥
jis no hohi kirpaal so naam Dhi-aa-ee-ai. ||11||
One, unto whom You have been compassionate, meditates on the Naam, the Name of the Lord. ||11||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

The things You have done, only You could do.

Only what You will happens in the world. I am wonderstruck, seeing the wonder of Your power. I come to Your shelter — I am Your servant; if You will it, I am freed. The treasure is in Your hands; You give it as You please. The one You show mercy to receives the Name. You are out of reach, unfathomable, endless; Your limits can't be found. The one You are kind to remembers the Name.

Faced with the sheer fact that anything exists and works at all, the honest response is astonishment.
The deeper layer

The eleventh Pauree is pure Vismaad — "I am wonderstruck beholding the wonder of Your Almighty Creative Power." Faced with the sheer fact that anything exists and works at all, the response is astonishment. And the treasure of the Name is "in Your Hands," given "according to Your Will" — so even the wonder resolves into humble receptivity: I can only marvel and ask; the gift is Yours to give.

A Question to Sit With

When did you last feel genuine astonishment that anything exists at all? What sparked it?

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

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