Sikhism·Siree Raag·Ashtapadee 1
Verse 6 of 8

His Place and His Name Are Not Known

ਥਾਵਾ ਨਾਵ ਨ ਜਾਣੀਅਹਿ ਨਾਵਾ ਕੇਵਡੁ ਨਾਉ ॥
thaavaa naav na jaanee-ahi naavaa kayvad naa-o.
His Place and His Name are not known, no one knows how great is His Name.
ਜਿਥੈ ਵਸੈ ਮੇਰਾ ਪਾਤਿਸਾਹੁ ਸੋ ਕੇਵਡੁ ਹੈ ਥਾਉ ॥
jithai vasai mayraa paatisaahu so kayvad hai thaa-o.
How great is that place where my Sovereign Lord dwells?
ਅੰਬੜਿ ਕੋਇ ਨ ਸਕਈ ਹਉ ਕਿਸ ਨੋ ਪੁਛਣਿ ਜਾਉ ॥੫॥
ambarh ko-ay na sak-ee ha-o kis no puchhan jaa-o. ||5||
No one can reach it; whom shall I go and ask? ||5||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

His Place and His Name are not known. No one knows how great is His Name.

How great is that place where my Sovereign Lord dwells?

No one can reach it. Whom shall I go and ask?

Whom shall I go and ask? No one knows His place or His greatness — the honest position is: I don't know where He is.
The deeper layer

This one says it is fine to admit we cannot find where the One lives.

Ha-o kis no puchhan jaa-o: "whom shall I go and ask?" No one knows the One's place or how great the Name is. There is no expert to ask and no map to check.

This is a special kind of honesty. Knowing that you do not know is its own kind of wisdom. It is like looking at the night sky and saying, "It is bigger than I can ever count." That is not failure. It is wonder.

This is not a sad feeling. It is the calm, honest place of someone who has stopped pretending the One can be measured or put in a box. From that humble place, love can grow.

A Question to Sit With

What is it like to genuinely not know the answer to something important and have no one to ask? How do you sit with that?

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

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