Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The Lord Himself inspires us to worship Him. He reveals His own greatness — not to boast, but to give us something to turn toward.
He Himself puts faith in us. He performs His own service through His devotees.
The Lord gives bliss to His devotees and gives them a permanent home in the eternal realm.
He gives sinners no stability and no resting place — they sink.
The Lord blesses His devotees with His Love. He sides with them and saves them.
The Lord as the initiator of His own worship
Har āp japā'ie, āp jāpai — "The Lord Himself inspires us to worship Him; He reveals His Glorious Greatness." The Lord does not stand back and wait to be worshipped. He actively inspires the worship. He makes Himself known. He reveals His greatness — not for His own benefit but because the revelation is what makes devotion possible for the soul that cannot see on its own.
Āp sevā karā'ie — "He Himself inspires us to place our faith in Him. Thus He performs His Own Service." The most paradoxical claim in the Pauree: the Lord performs His own service. The devotee serves the Lord, but the serving itself is the Lord's doing. The Lord is both the served and the servant — He serves Himself through the devotees who serve Him.
This is the Vaar's final answer to the question of who initiates the devotional relationship: the Lord. Always the Lord. The devotee's role is to receive and be moved by what the Lord initiates.
"The eternal home"
Har sev sī'ā, nij ghar vasā'i — "The Lord bestows bliss upon His devotees, and gives them a seat in the eternal home." The nij ghar (the own home, the true home) is the interior dwelling — the soul's genuine abode within the divine. The sinners get no stability (ṭikā'u) — they are unrooted, ungrounded, without a permanent place. The devotees are given this permanent place.
"He sides with them"
Har pakkh kari'ā, tinh kā — "The Lord blesses His devotees with His Love; He sides with them and saves them." The Lord takes a side. He sides with His devotees. This is not an abstract neutrality but an active commitment: when the devotee is in trouble, the Lord is with them.
*Have you ever felt like you were drawn into doing something good — something that felt like it was coming through you rather than from you? What was that like?*
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI