ਆਪੇ ਸੁਰਗੁ ਮਛੁ ਪਇਆਲਾ ॥
aapay surag machh pa-i-aalaa.
You Yourself are the heavenly realms, this world and the nether regions of the underworld.
ਆਪੇ ਜੋਤਿ ਸਰੂਪੀ ਬਾਲਾ ॥
aapay jot saroopee baalaa.
You Yourself are the embodiment of light, forever young.
ਜਟਾ ਬਿਕਟ ਬਿਕਰਾਲ ਸਰੂਪੀ ਰੂਪੁ ਨ ਰੇਖਿਆ ਕਾਈ ਹੇ ॥੫॥
jataa bikat bikraal saroopee roop na raykh-i-aa kaa-ee hay. ||5||
With matted hair, and a horrible, dreadful form, still, You have no form or feature. ||5||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You are the highest heavens, this world, and the deep places below.
You are made of light, and You never grow old.
The old pictures give You wild hair and a fierce face, and yet You have no shape or face at all, because You are far bigger than any picture.
Every picture of the One is too small, because the One has no shape to hold.
The wild, fearsome form (an echo of certain deity images) is kept respectfully as one of the pictures people have drawn, then gently dissolved: the formless One is beyond every image. The keynote is the ever-young light.
A Question to Sit With
Why might it be hard to draw a picture of something that has no shape?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
Use ← → to navigate