Beneath the Dirt and Hunger, a Light That Lacked Nothing
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When there was only the Stainless Lord of beings - there was no dirt anywhere: what was there to wash?
When there was only the Pure and Formless, in perfect stillness - who was honored? Who was shamed?
When there was only the form of the One - whom did fraud stain? Whom did sin touch?
When the Light was immersed in its own Light - who was hungry, and who was filled? He is the Cause behind causes, the Maker - past all calculating.
Under all our dirt and all our hunger is a Light that never lacked anything.
Jah nirmal purakh purakh pat hotaa — when there was only the Spotless One. Tah bin mail kahhu ki-aa dhotaa — with no dirt anywhere, what was there to wash? Every bath, every penance, every washing ritual is carried back to a time with nothing to wash away. Ashtapadee 3 spoke of a wall of mud that washing cannot clean. Here is the reason under it. The dirt was not there at the start. It belongs to the play, so the washing does too.
Honor and shame come next. Tah ka-un ka-o maan ka-un abhimaan — who was honored, and who shamed? Reputation runs so much of human life. Here it looks like play money, printed after the show began. That helps explain Ashtapadee 17, where the Master covers our faults and guards our honor. The Master can freely give away what the Master printed.
Then comes the most haunting pair. Jah jot saroopee jot sang samaavai — when the Light was merged in its own Light. Tah kiseh bhookh kavan tariptaavai — who was hungry, and who was filled? Hunger drives every search. The Guru's words speak often of trisnaa, thirsty wanting, and santokh, contentment. But wanting came after the beginning. It is not woven into what you most deeply are. Under the hungry wave is a Light that was never missing anything.
If the deepest part of you has never actually been hungry for anything, what is doing all the wanting - and what would quiet it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI