Gurbani Enlightenment

Copyright © 2024 by Dr. Janak Singh.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 08/19/2024

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CONTENTS

1       Jap Ji of Guru Nanak: A Poetic Translation

2       The Synopsis of the Hymns in Jap Ji

3       The Spiritual Authors of Guru Granth Sahib

4       Guru Granth Sahib

5       Guru Gobind Singh

6       Notes

7       Bibliography

Author’s Other Works

1

Jap Ji of Guru Nanak:

A Poetic Translation

Ek Oankar, Divinity, Waheguru

1 Originator-Supreme Being

Divinity

Name Eternal Truth, Creator

Pervading, Fearless, without

Hostility, Immortal Image

Unborn, Self-illuminating Curator

Experienced through the Guru,

the Spiritual Sage.

Jap (Recital)

Divinity is Self-manifested from the start,

A truth for all ages.

Oh, Nanak, it will remain Self-existent,

The truth at all stages. 1.

The purity of the mind for the

truth can’t be realized,

By bathing at places sacred, times numerous.

The Urge to express desires

can’t be silenced,

Through meditating in a perfect

silence continuous.

Hunger for needs will not be satisfied,

By hoarding the wealth of cities enormous.

Even millions of intellectual feats,

Can’t reach that truth, the

spiritual target wondrous.

How may one become truly righteous?

And how to break the wall fallacious?

Oh, Nanak, live according

to the true command,

As ordained, to receive divine

grace glamorous. 1.

Divine natural law command,

The shaper of the universe

is hard to describe.

By command, all beings are created,

And greatness that command does inscribe.

By command formed high and low,

And through command are

granted joy or pain.

By command, some are blessed forever,

And others in journey, forever remain.

Everything is within the command,

And none is outside of the command.

Oh, Nanak, one who follows

the true command,

Is free of egoistic reprimand. 2.

One who has the power

Sings of the divine power,

.Someone sings of great generosity,

Marked as blessing’s shower.

Someone sings of virtuous attributes,

Beautiful so wonderfully.

Someone sings of knowledge,

Difficult to comprehend ever fully.

Someone sings of divine creation,

Of body and then destruction.

Someone sings of taking away the soul,

Followed by its resurrection.

Someone sings of the phenomenon

Of Divinity being too far away.

Someone sings of seeing

True presence everywhere right away.

There is no end

To the talk of Divinity’s description.

Talks have been going on

Many millions of times for a definition.

Natural treasures are so numerous

That the receivers are exhausted.

For many ages, these

Have been consumed uninterrupted.

Following the order of natural laws,

Every phenomenon is on course.

Oh, Nanak, blissfully throughout,

Permeates the carefree creator’s force. 3.

The creator is truly timeless,

And justice is Divinity’s essence.

The divine language is

Love beyond immense.

All of us repeatedly ask

And beg for necessities.

Great giver’s blessings

Shower Nature’s bounties.

What can we offer

To the supreme power?

Just to have a glance

Of its incredible tower.

What kind of words

May we carefully speak?

So that listening to them,

We receive the divine love we seek.

In the tranquility of early morning,

Reflect on the true name of greatness.

To be blessed with the divine cloak of love,

And salvation through mercy to access.

Oh, Nanak, this is the way,

We will know the divine truth’s prowess. 4.

We can’t mold and put on a pedestal

Or produce that power supreme.

That is self-manifested and not influenced

Even by its own natural scheme.

Whoever earnestly reflects,

On the omnipresent, high their honor moves.

Oh, Nanak, we should sing

Praises to that one treasure of virtues.

Let us recite and listen to that one,

With deep love in our minds.

Who will bring peace and harmony,

By removing pain of all kinds.

The Guru’s true follower realizes,

The divine name, knowledge,

and omnipresence.

Actually, the word Guru, is our Ishwar,

Gorakh, Brahma, and Parvati in essence.

Even if I know I can’t tell,

Since God’s full description is endless.

I beseech the Word Guru,

To grant me one understanding.

Not to ever forget,

One benefactor of every being. 5.

I take a bath at a religious place,

Only if it pleases the Supreme Creator.

Without a divine approval,

What good is an immersing feature?

In the visible created world,

What can one receive without divine choice?

Pearls and gems of reflections,

Will fill the mind on listening

to the Guru’s advice.

I beseech the Word Guru,

To grant me one understanding

Not to ever forget,

One benefactor of every being. 6.

Even with a life span of four ages,

Each of thousands of years or

ten times that figure.

And when one is known

In nine world regions, everyone is a follower.

Or one is bestowed a good name

And showered with prestige

all over the world.

If unrecognized by Divinity

Is helpless and without a

truly honorable hold.

Such a person is an insignificant insect.

And is blamed for ungrateful neglect.

Oh, Nanak, divine power endows,

Virtues to a destitute and

makes virtuous superior.

There is no other being

That can enhance a valueless

person’s caliber. 7.

Listening to the divine word,

One achieves a Seer, Saint,

Prophet, or Yogi’s spirituality.

Listening to the divine word,

One realizes that the support of

Earth and Sky is Divinity.

Listening to the divine word,

One feels Divinity in islands,

worlds, and under earth.

Listening to the divine word,

One is liberated from the

reach of spiritual death.

Oh, Nanak, the devotees of Divinity

Are always in a blissful state.

Listening to the divine word

Destroys the pain and sinful fate. 8.

Listening to the divine word,

One transforms into gods Ishwar,

Brahma, and Indra.

Listening to the divine word,

Anyone with a foul mouth

starts admiring Nature.

Listening to the divine word,

One notices physical flaws

and connects spiritually.

Listening to the divine word,

One perceives Simritis, Shastras,

and Vedas actually.

Oh, Nanak, the devotees of Divinity

Are always in a blissful state.

Listening to the divine word

Destroys the pain, and sinful fate. 9.

Listening to the divine word

Brings chastity, contentment,

and knowledge great.

Listening to the divine word

Is like immersions at religious

places sixty eight.

Listening to the divine word

Brings honor that one gets from

advanced education.

Listening to the divine word

Puts the mind in a steady state

of deep meditation.

Oh, Nanak, the devotees of Divinity,

Are always in a blissful state.

Listening to the divine word

Destroys the pain, and sinful fate. 10.

Listening to the divine word,

One is acquainted with the sea of virtues.

Listening to the divine word,

One attains the status of

leaders, saints, and kings.

Listening to the divine word,

The spiritually blind find

their path illuminated.

Listening to the divine word,

The understanding of the deep,

worldly Ocean is granted.

Oh, Nanak, the devotees of Divinity

Are always in a blissful state.

Listening to the divine word

Destroys the pain and sinful fate. 11.

Hard to describe the condition

Of an acceptor of the truth divine.

The one who tries ends up

Repenting to define the sublime.

None is capable of writing

A believer’s account with pen and paper.

People may join together to reflect

Upon the intensity of a true acceptor.

The divine truth is above

The ups and downs of the world physical.

The acceptor of this fact achieves

Divine change in a sense practical. 12.

The true Divinity acceptor’s thinking,

Is enhanced and the mind is awakened fully.

Of all the regions of creation,

The acceptor becomes aware wholly.

The true acceptor’s mind

Is not hurt by the hits from this world.

By the angel of death,

A true acceptor is not at all imperiled.

The divine truth is above

The ups and downs of the world physical.

The acceptor of this fact achieves

Divine change in a sense practical. 13.

The real acceptor faces,

No hurdles on the path of a life virtuous.

The real acceptor gains

Prestige and becomes glaringly famous.

The real acceptor of truth

Does not seek other routes for sure.

The real acceptor finds

Intimate connection to the religion pure.

The divine truth is above

The ups and downs of the world physical.

The acceptor of this fact achieves

Divine change in a sense practical. 14.

The true acceptor is liberated

From the clutches of worldly falsehood.

The true acceptor finds divine protection

For the whole family for good.

The true acceptor swims through storms

Along with the Sikhs who

follow divine advice.

Oh, Nanak, the true acceptor,

Never begs or gets lost in an abyss.

The divine truth is above

The ups and downs of the world physical.

The acceptor of this fact achieves

Divine change in a sense practical. 15.

Virtuous people get divine acceptance,

And they also become leaders greater.

And only the virtuous get honors higher

In the divine grand theater.

In the realm of the divine court,

The Virtuous shine and are revered.

Only in the divine Word Guru,

Virtuous are completely absorbed.

If someone talks about Nature’s creation

And does an analysis of its theme.

It is not possible to fully estimate

And understand the creator’s scheme.

A Mythical bull that holds Earth

Is the inherent divine kindness discipline.

That has held together in contentment

The entire system of universal creation.

The one who understands

This phenomenon becomes aware.

And fully grasps how much

Of the Earth’s weight a bull can bear!

The Earth is very large

And extended too far in dimension.

What being has the strength to carry

Its weight is beyond comprehension.

Nature, decorated with living beings,

Has distinct names numerous.

They constitute writing with a pen,

In a lasting mode continuous.

Only an exceptional person can write

The real account of creation.

If a practical attempt is made

That will be an infinite description.

Absolute is the divine power,

And there is no divine beauty’s measure.

Also there is none who can make

An estimate of the divine treasure.

With one divine word truth

Came into existence the entire Universe.

That led to the formation,

Of the hundreds of thousands of rivers.

What strength do I have to describe

Fully the grand cosmic phenomenon?

My one grateful life is not enough

For this task’s completion.

I wish to live in contentment,

According to the divine blessing.

The power of Divinity is indeed absolute

And forever immaculate and

self-manifesting. 16.

Countless people are praying

And countless are busy loving.

Countless people are worshiping

And countless are in penance, searching.

Countless people attempt to realize

The divine by scriptures and Veda reciting.

Countless make an attempt to realize

Through Yoga practice with

an ascetic feeling.

Countless devotee sages are busy

With knowing the divine

virtues and discoursing.

Countless people are truth-loving,

And countless benevolent are busy donating.

Countless people who are

bold Divinity seekers

Face the fierce literary criticism,

directly charging.

Countless are actually in silent mode,

That they are continuously following.

What strength do I have to describe

Fully the grand cosmic phenomenon?

My one grateful life is not enough

For this task’s completion.

I wish to live in contentment,

According to the divine blessing.

The power of Divinity is indeed absolute

And forever immaculate and

self-manifesting. 17.

Countless people are foolish

To the extent greatest.

And countless thieves there are,

Living a life of the corruption highest.

Countless people ultimately leave

After dominance with violations gravest.

And Countless become murderers

By chopping off the heads innocent.

Countless sinners finally leave

After committing crimes incessant.

Countless people are liars,

From their activities lie springs.

And countless have wicked minds

Who keep eating unsavory things.

Countless are busy slandering

And carry on their heads a load of tension.

Nanak, being of humble status,

Can’t fully explain the query existential.

My one grateful life is not enough

For this task’s completion.

I wish to live in contentment,

According to the divine blessing.

The power of Divinity is indeed absolute

And forever immaculate and

self-manifesting. 18.

There are countless names of things,

And countless are their places.

Very far away unreachable are

Countless their celestial spaces.

By saying Countless is,

Like carrying a load of hypotheses.

Letters describe the divine name,

And through the letters praises ring.

Words are divine knowledge,

Through words virtuous songs we sing.

Letters are used to write,

Thus expressions and hymns emanate.

Through letters, one can show

What is in somebody’s fate.

The divine power that writes

Is not bound by things written.

The way Divinity commands,

Only that way gets everyone.

To the extent this world is created,

All that is Divinity’s expression.

There is nothing in existence

Beyond that, that one can mention.

How may any one

Fully describe Nature’s creation?

My one grateful life is not enough

For this task’s completion.

I wish to live in contentment

According to your divine blessing.

The power of Divinity is indeed absolute,

And forever immaculate and

self-manifesting. 19.

When hands, feet, and body

Get dirty with mud.

One simply uses regular water

To wash off the crud.

If clothes are stained with urine,

One uses soap to get them clean.

However, when the human mind

Gets polluted with sins.

One needs an affinity with Divinity

To accomplish the desired cleanse.

Virtuous and sinful are not

Just the labels for saying.

Whatever acts one performs

Determine the script of fate writing.

It is always true that

What one sows, one reaps as a reward real.

Oh, Nanak, that’s how the divine command,

Implements the birth-and-death cycle. 20.

Visits to Shrines, practicing austerity

Or kindness and philanthropy.

Any respect that one gets

From these acts is insignificant actually.

The one who listened agreed

And loved the divine will heartily.

That one purged the vice

From the inner shrine entirely.

All virtues in me are produced

By Divinity since I have no capability.

Worshiping the Divinity

Without virtues, there is no possibility.

Reverence to your creation through Brahma

Of the illusory world and words divine.

Oh, Divinity, you are truly beautiful,

Within mind a forever delightful shine.

At what instance,

What time, what date, and what day?

In what season,

What month started the creation play?

Pundits did not know

Creation’s time, no Puran was written.

Kazis did not know

The creation time, Quran does not mention.

Even Yogis know not the date,

Day, season, and month knows none.

Only the creator of the Universe,

Divinity, knows when it all was done.

How may I speak

To praise Divinity, describe, or understand?

Oh, Nanak, for the sake of telling,

Everyone thinks of possessing

wisdom grand.

Divinity only is great with distinction,

Being cause of everything.

Oh, Nanak, all reckoning is dismal

For anyone who claims to

be all-knowing. 21.

The Earth’s underground is enormous,

And there are millions of skies.

Ultimately the Vedas have concluded

This after exhausting tries.

Semitic scriptures, the Bible,

and the Quran say,

One God created all eighteen

thousand universes.

There is no way to write

All about creation until the

process itself finishes.

Oh, Nanak, Divinity we call great,

Only that its own greatness

truly assesses. 22.

None through praise of praiseworthy,

Developed a full understanding

of the power divine.

Like rivers and streams lose their identity

After flowing into the Ocean sublime.

The great kings and rulers over Oceans

Who possess mountains of wealth.

They are no match for a humble insect

Who doesn’t forget Divinity

from its heart. 23.

Endless are the virtues of Divinity

And endless too are their descriptions.

Endless are the creations in Nature,

And endless also are their distributions.

Endless is the visualization of cosmic power,

And endless too is hearing about its extent.

Endless appears to be also

The conjecture about the

divine mind’s content.

Endless in reality is the size

Of the whole creation in this universe.

It is not possible to mark down

The limits of this creation endless.

Many became helpless

To explore the limits of the whole creation.

But the truth about Divinity,

None has succeeded to fully mention.

No one will ever know

About the actual end of the whole creation.

No matter how big the estimate,

The much higher appears its ascension.

The supreme Divinity occupies

A uniquely elevated place.

The name used to express Divinity

Is of higher than the highest grace.

If anyone has actually attained

The same height as Divinity.

Only that great being can

Recognize the supreme in reality.

Actually, only the Divinity

Knows its own true greatness.

Oh, Nanak, only through the divine blessings

We are fated for anything to possess. 24.

So great are Divinity’s blessings

That those are beyond recording.

The supreme charity giver is not

Even touched by greedy desiring.

Countless brave people stand there

Before Divinity as mere beggars.

There are countless more categories

Of persons who also are paupers.

Through repeated evil actions,

There are perishing many others.

Many refuse to acknowledge

The receipt of any blessing.

And without being grateful,

Many fools are busy consuming.

Many other people suffer

From pain and hunger forever.

To those who forget the divine law,

Suffering admonition is your shower.

From the worldly troubles,

Divine will causes salvation.

There is no other way

One can make a determination.

If an immature person

Tries to spell liberation’s way.

He knows how many times

He faced blows for going astray.

Divinity very well knows the needs

And provides for them accordingly.

There are many people

Who acknowledge this frankly.

To whosoever the Divinity blesses

With the ability to praise.

Nanak, only that righteous person

Can the highest kingly position embrace. 25.

Priceless are the virtues of Divinity,

And their trade is also priceless.

Priceless are the conductors of trade,

And their treasure is also priceless.

Priceless come for the divine business,

And carry qualities that are also priceless.

Priceless is the vocation of divine love,

And those immersed in it are also priceless.

Priceless is the divine law,

And its conducting arena is also priceless.

Priceless is the balance of justice,

And its weight measures are also priceless.

Priceless is divine kindness,

And its sign is also priceless.

Priceless is divine blessing,

And all its commands are also priceless.

It is not possible to estimate Divinity,

That is priceless beyond priceless.

Those who have tried to estimate,

With deep thought became breathless.

The messages of spiritual books,

Vedas and Puranas, talk of Divinity.

Learned scholars of these

Scriptures also talk of Divinity.

The religious messengers,

Brahmas and Indars, also talk of Divinity.

Lords Krishnas and Gopis,

The legendary milkmaids,

also talk of Divinity.

Lords Shivas and many others,

Worshipping sages also talk of Divinity.

Countless enlightened Buddhas

Created in nature also talk of Divinity.

Many other demons

And godly people also talk of Divinity.

Many decent, saintly,

Along with service people,

also talk of Divinity.

So many more people talk

And others are busy trying

to talk about Divinity.

Many have left the world

After repeated exercises of

talking about Divinity.

If as many more

Living beings are gathered together.

Even they will not be able

To describe Divinity fully ever.

How much Divinity wishes to be?

It will be that much greater.

Nanak, that fact of greatness

Is known only to Divinity, existing forever.

If someone else attempts rubbish talk

About the ultimate vastness of the creator,

That person should be described

As an idiot of incompetence higher. 26.

Divinity, what wondrous door

or mansion is that?

Where from for everybody you are caring.

Numerous unique musical instruments

Are sounding and countless are playing.

There are many great forms of melodies

And numerous consorts there are singing.

Air, water, fire are all singing your glories

Along with the king of the court righteous.

Sings also Angel, the secret writer of actions,

Who thinks and judges the acts virtuous.

Forever your beautiful, honored Shivas,

Brahmas and goddesses are singing to you.

Sitting on their thrones, divine Indars

And devas at your door are singing to you.

Sages in deep meditation and recluses

In intense thought are singing to you.

Celibate people, the donors, the contended,

And the invincible braves are singing to you.

The Pundits and great sages,

the highly learned

In the Vedas for ages are singing to you.

Attractive women of paradise

as well as those

Above and below Earth are singing to you.

Your bright creations and

Sixty-eight pilgrimage places

are singing to you.

Great powerful warriors and

All four forms of lively creations

are singing to you.

Your regulated Earth,

The Solar system, and the

Universe are singing to you.

Devotees approved by you

Immersed in love are singing to you.

Oh, Nanak, the count is beyond thinking,

Many other favored ones are praising you.

Forever existent Divinity is the grand truth,

And truly glorious is the

expressed immanence.

Divinity will remain never to go,

Is the one who created this existence.

One who has produced

In nature the illusive multiform material.

Also takes care of the creation

According to the grand divine will.

Divinity operates according to laws,

And no one can command differently.

The master is the ruler above all rulers,

Oh, Nanak, live with reverence fervently. 27.

Oh, Yogi, make contentment,

The earrings you are wearing.

Let effort be the bowl and lap,

And meditation the ash you are rubbing.

Consider thoughts of death,

The patched quilt you are carrying.

Make inner purity the Yoga discipline,

And Divine faith the stick for walking.

Let your higher Aai Panthi class

Be the same as all other people.

It is winning the mind that leads to

Real victory in the world spiritual.

Express your reverence

With sincerity to Divinity,

The forever existent spotless,

Nondestructive unvarying to eternity. 28.

Let in every heart play music divine,

With knowledge as food its

distributor, compassion.

Let Divinity, the controller of

the world, be your master,

Greatness through miracles

is your futile passion.

Coincidental union and

separation run the world,

It is fate what one gets at the destination.

Express your reverence

With sincerity to Divinity,

The forever existent, spotless,

Nondestructive, unvarying to eternity. 29.

Through an elusive power

technically emerged

Three divine disciples for Nature’s creation.

One gives birth to everything in the