Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You are without color or mark.
And yet the Lord is seen to be manifest and present.
Hearing of Your Glories again and again, Your devotees meditate on You — they are attuned to You, O Lord, Treasure of Excellence.
Roop-u na rekh-aa — You have no form (roop-u) or mark (rekh-aa — outline, feature, identifying characteristic). The Formless (Nirankaar) teaching from throughout the GGS: the divine has no describable shape, no features that the eye can identify. The divine cannot be seen with the ordinary seeing.
Parg-at-u bujh-ii-ai — and yet He is seen and known (parg-at-u bujh-ii-ai — made manifest, recognized, perceived) to be present. The paradox: no form, and yet manifest. The divine whose limits are unknown (Shabad 127 Pauri0) and who is in everything (Yogis, pleasure-seekers, Gopis, Krishna, the river) — this divine who cannot be described or marked is nonetheless parg-at-u, manifest. Not a logical contradiction but the description of what genuine encounter with the divine is like: beyond form and yet undeniably present.
Jan-u gu-no kaa daas-u — Your servants (jan-u) are the servants (daas-u) of Your virtues (gu-no kaa — of the qualities/excellences). Not just servants of the Lord but servants of His qualities — of His excellence itself. The devotee is attuned (pag-u lii-aa — has set foot in, is attuned to) the Treasure of Excellence (gunn-ee nidh-aan-aa — the treasury of all virtues).
How do you perceive what has no form — the divine that cannot be seen or pointed to? What is your experience of the Formless?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI