Verse 1 of 4
The One Is the Pen, the Writer, and the Words Being Written
ਸੋਰਠਿ ਮਹਲਾ ੪ ॥
sorath mehlaa 4.
Sorat'h, Fourth Mehl:
ਆਪੇ ਸੇਵਾ ਲਾਇਦਾ ਪਿਆਰਾ ਆਪੇ ਭਗਤਿ ਉਮਾਹਾ ॥
aapay sayvaa laa-idaa pi-aaraa aapay bhagat omaahaa.
The Beloved Himself commits some to His service; He Himself blesses them with the joy of devotional worship.
ਆਪੇ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਵਾਇਦਾ ਪਿਆਰਾ ਆਪੇ ਸਬਦਿ ਸਮਾਹਾ ॥
aapay gun gaavaa-idaa pi-aaraa aapay sabad samaahaa.
The Beloved Himself causes us to sing His Glorious Praises; He Himself is absorbed in the Word of His Shabad.
ਆਪੇ ਲੇਖਣਿ ਆਪਿ ਲਿਖਾਰੀ ਆਪੇ ਲੇਖੁ ਲਿਖਾਹਾ ॥੧॥
aapay laykhan aap likhaaree aapay laykh likhaahaa. ||1||
He Himself is the pen, and He Himself is the scribe; He Himself inscribes His inscription. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The Beloved draws us into loving service and fills it with joy.
It moves us to sing its praises and is lost in the song itself.
It is the pen, the writer, and the very words being written.
The One is the pen, the writer, and the very words being written.
Omaahaa — the surge of joyful devotion — sets the mood of this whole shabad. The closing image, laykhan, likhaaree, laykh — pen, scribe, and writing — extends the aapay logic to storytelling itself: the One authors the tale, is the author, and is the story being written. There's no author standing outside the book.
A Question to Sit With
If your life were a story, who's holding the pen?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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