Only the One Knows How Big the One Is

ਪਉੜੀ ॥

pa-orhee.

Pauree:

ਹੁਕਮੀ ਸ੍ਰਿਸਟਿ ਸਾਜੀਅਨੁ ਬਹੁ ਭਿਤਿ ਸੰਸਾਰਾ ॥

hukmee sarisat saajee-an baho bhit sansaaraa.

By His Command, He created the creation, the world with its many species of beings.

ਤੇਰਾ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਨ ਜਾਪੀ ਕੇਤੜਾ ਸਚੇ ਅਲਖ ਅਪਾਰਾ ॥

tayraa hukam na jaapee kayt-rhaa sachay alakh apaaraa.

I do not know how great Your Command is, O Unseen and Infinite True Lord.

ਇਕਨਾ ਨੋ ਤੂ ਮੇਲਿ ਲੈਹਿ ਗੁਰ ਸਬਦਿ ਬੀਚਾਰਾ ॥

iknaa no too mayl laihi gur sabad beechaaraa.

You join some with Yourself; they reflect on the Word of the Guru's Shabad.

ਸਚਿ ਰਤੇ ਸੇ ਨਿਰਮਲੇ ਹਉਮੈ ਤਜਿ ਵਿਕਾਰਾ ॥

sach ratay say nirmalay ha-umai taj vikaaraa.

Those who are imbued with the True Lord are immaculate and pure; they conquer egotism and corruption.

ਜਿਸੁ ਤੂ ਮੇਲਹਿ ਸੋ ਤੁਧੁ ਮਿਲੈ ਸੋਈ ਸਚਿਆਰਾ ॥੨॥

jis too mayleh so tuDh milai so-ee sachi-aaraa. ||2||

He alone is united with You, whom You unite with Yourself; he alone is true. ||2||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

By the flow of existence, a whole world of countless kinds of creatures came to be. How vast that flow is, I cannot begin to measure — the One is unseen and endless.

Some hearts are drawn close and get to reflect on the teaching. Soaked in what is real, they come clean, letting go of the feeling of being a separate, self-important me. Whoever is drawn in by the One belongs to the One — and that is what it means to be true.

The One is too vast to measure — and yet reaches out and draws hearts close.

The deeper layer

alakh apaaraa = unseen, infinite. haumai taj vikaaraa = shedding haumai, the illusion of separateness, and its distortions. sachiaaraa = the true one — sach as the most real. gur sabad beechaaraa = reflecting on the Shabad is how the drawing-close happens.

A Question to Sit With

What is something so big you cannot picture all of it at once?

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

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