MORNING
Jap
JAP, respectfully known as Japji, was composed by Guru Nanak. It is the first prayer in the Guru Granth, and encapsulates the fundamental philosophical and ethical beliefs of the Sikhs. It is recited at the break of dawn when the mind is fresh and the atmosphere is serene. Described as the ambrosial hour in the Jap, dawn is considered most conducive to grasping the divine Word. Reading or reciting or hearing the Jap enables Sikhs to conceive the Formless Reality and instils in them an urge to unite with the Infinite One.
There is One Being
Truth by Name
Primal Creator
Without fear
Without enmity
Timeless in form
Unborn
Self-existent
The grace of the Guru.
MEDITATE
Truth before time
Truth throughout time
Truth here and now
Says Nanak, Truth is evermore.
1 Thought cannot think,
nor can a million thoughts.Silence cannot silence,
nor can seamless contemplation.Greed is not made greedless,
not by the wealth of all the world.Though a thousand mental feats become a million,
not one can go with us.How then to be true?
How then to break the wall of lies?By following the Will.
Says Nanak, this is written for us.
2 By the divine Will, all forms were created;
what that Will is, no one can say.By that Will, all life is formed
and, by that Will, all are exalted.The Will determines what is high and what is low;
the Will grants all joy and suffering.Some are blessed by the Will,
others migrate from birth to birth.All are within the Will, none stands apart.
Says Nanak, by recognizing the Will,
we silence our ego.
3 Filled with might, they sing praise of the Might,
Seeing the signs, they sing praise of the Bounty,
Perceiving the virtues, they sing praise of the Glory.
Some sing praise through high philosophy,
Some sing praise of the power that creates and destroys,
Some sing in awe of the giving and taking of life.
Some sing of the thereness, the utter transcendence,
Some sing of the hereness, the close watch over all.
Stories and stories add one to another,
Preaching and preaching lead nowhere.
The Giver gives, the receivers tire of receiving;
Age upon age they eat and eat the gifts.
All are directed by that Will;
Says Nanak, the Carefree is ever in bliss.
4 The True Sovereign, Truth by Name,
infinite love the language.Seekers forever seek gifts
and the Giver gives more and more.What can we offer for a glimpse of the Court?
What can we say to win divine love?
In the ambrosial hour, exalt and reflect upon the True Name.
Through actions each is dressed in a body,
but liberation comes only from the Gaze of grace.Says Nanak, know the Absolute thus.
5 That One cannot be moulded or made,
Alone immaculate and self-existent.
Those who serve receive honours.
Nanak says, sing of the Treasure of virtues,
Sing, listen, and hold love in the heart
So sorrow is banished, joy ushered in.
Through the Guru comes the sacred Word,
through the Guru comes the scripture,
through the Guru, That One is experienced in all.The Guru is Shiva, the Guru is Vishnu, the Guru is Brahma,
the Guru is Parvati, Laxmi and Sarasvati.1Were I to comprehend, I’d still fail to explain,
for That One is beyond all telling.Guru, let me grasp this one thing:
All creatures have one Provider,
may I not forget this.
6 I would bathe at a pilgrimage site only to please That One;
without approval what is the use?I see the expanse of creation,
how could it be without divine favour?Hearing a single teaching from the Guru,
the mind shines with jewels, rubies and pearls.Guru, let me grasp this one thing:
All creatures have one Provider,
may I not forget this.
7 If we were to live four ages, or even ten times four,
If we were known in the nine continents,
and hailed as leader by all,If we were to win good name, glory and fame
throughout the world,But were denied the loving Gaze, we would be cast out,
Treated as the lowest of worms, accused as criminals.
Says Nanak, the wicked are made virtuous,
and the virtuous granted more virtue,But it is unthinkable that anyone could grant virtue to
That One.
8 By hearing, we are graced like saints and gods,2
By hearing, we fathom the earth, underworld and skies,
By hearing, we know the nine continents,
the many worlds and underworlds,By hearing, we are freed from the clutches of death.
Says Nanak, the devout enjoy eternal bliss,
Hearing banishes all suffering and sin.
9 By hearing, we become as Shiva, Brahma and Indra,
By hearing, the corrupt open their mouths in praise,
By hearing, ways of meditation and mysteries
of the body are revealed,By hearing, treatises and scriptures are illumined.
Says Nanak, the devout enjoy eternal bliss,
Hearing banishes all suffering and sin.
10 Hearing leads to truth, contentment and knowledge,
Hearing bathes us in the sixty-eight sacred sites,
Hearing wins scholarly repute,
Hearing inspires peaceful contemplation.
Says Nanak, the devout enjoy eternal bliss,
Hearing banishes all suffering and sin.
11 Hearing the Word, we plumb the depths of virtue,
Hearing the Word, we rise to the status of sages and kings,
Hearing the Word, the path is lit for the blind,
Hearing the Word, the fathomless is fathomed.
Says Nanak, the devout enjoy eternal bliss,
Hearing the Word banishes all suffering and sin.
12 No words can speak of remembrance,
Attempts to explain are later regretted.
No paper, pen or scribe can describe,
Nor any philosophizing help to realize,
So wondrous is the immaculate Name,
It is known only by those who hold It in their mind.
13 Remembering, our mind and intellect awaken,
Remembering, we learn of all the worlds;
Remembering, we are safe from blows and pain;
Remembering, we part company with death.
So wondrous is the Immaculate Name,
It is known only by those who hold It in their mind.
14 Remembering, we walk on a clear path,
Remembering, we advance in honour and glory,
Remembering, we do not stray down lanes and byways,
Remembering, we keep to righteousness.
So wondrous is the Immaculate Name,
It is known only by those who hold It in their mind.
15 Remembering, we find the door to liberation,
Remembering, our family is liberated too,
Remembering, we swim and lead our companions to the shore,
Remembering, says Nanak, we need not beg in circles for freedom.
So wondrous is the Immaculate Name,
It is known only by those who hold It in their mind.
16 The chosen win approval, they are the chosen ones,
The chosen receive honours in the Court,
The chosen shine splendidly at the royal Gate,
The chosen meditate on the one and only Guru.
To speak or think of the Creator’s deeds
Is beyond calculation.
The bull that bears the earth is righteousness,
child of compassion,Its rope is contentment, holding the earth in balance.
All who see, live the life of truth.
How heavy the weight borne by the bull,
For there is not one earth but many more above and beyond.
Who stands beneath supporting all?
This diversity of creatures, castes and colours
Has all been written in a single stroke of the Pen.
Who knows to write this infinite Writ?
What an infinite Writ to write.
What power and beauty of form.
How to estimate the gift,
This expanse from a single command,
Millions of rivers flowing forth at once.
How can I express the Primal Power?
I cannot offer myself to You even once,
Only that which pleases You is good.
You are for ever constant, Formless One.
17 Countless are the ways of meditation,
and countless the avenues of love,Countless the ways of worship,
and countless the paths of austerity and sacrifice.Countless the texts, and countless the Vedic reciters,
Countless the yogis turning away from the world,
Countless the devout reflecting on virtue and knowledge,
Countless the pious, and countless the patrons,
Countless the warriors, faces scarred by iron
Countless the sages sunk in silent trance.
How can I express the Primal Power?
I cannot offer myself to You even once.
Only that which pleases You is good.
You are for ever constant, Formless One.
18 Countless the fools lost in pitch dark,
Countless the thieves living off others,
Countless the tyrants bullying their way,
Countless the killers with blood on their hands,
Countless the sinners trailing misdeeds behind them,
Countless the liars spinning in lies,
Countless the perverts devouring filth,
Countless the slanderers bent by their burden.
After thought, lowly Nanak says this,
I cannot offer myself to You even once.
Only that which pleases You is good.
You are for ever constant, Formless One.
19 Countless are Your names and countless Your places,
Unreachable and unfathomable are Your countless spheres
Declaring them ‘countless’ we increase our burden.
Yet, by words we name, by words we acclaim,
By words we know and sing and praise,
By words we speak and by words we write,
By words we communicate and unite,
By words all our actions are written.
But who writes is above all writing.
As it is spoken, so are all allotted.
As expansive the creation, so too the Name,
There is no place without the Name.
How can I express the Primal Power?
I cannot offer myself to you even once.
Only that which pleases You is good.
You are for ever constant, Formless One.
20 Dirty hands, feet and body
Are washed clean with water.
Urine-stained clothes
Are washed with soap as well.
The mind polluted by evil
Is cleansed by the brilliance of the Name.
Good and evil are not mere words,
For our actions are written and go with us,
We reap only what we sow,
Nanak says, by the Will we come and go.
21 Any merit from pilgrimage, austerity, mercy and charity
Is barely worth a sesame seed.
Hearing, remembering and loving the Name
Immerses us in the sacred fount within.
Every virtue rests in You, I have none in me,
Without virtue, devotion is impossible.
Salutations! You are the world, the Word, the Creator,
You are Truth, You are Beauty, You are Joy Eternal.
What was the time, what was the hour,
What was the date, what was the day,
What was the season, what was the month,
When creation was born?
Had pundits the answer, it would be written
in the Puranas,Had qadis the answer, it would be written
in the Qur’an,No ascetic knows the date or day, no one knows
the month or season.The Creator who designed this creation alone knows.
How can I speak of You? How can I praise You?
How can I describe You? How can I know You?Nanak says, many speak of You, each outdoing the other.
Great is the Sovereign, great is Its Name, all that happens
is Its doing,Says Nanak, but those who claim credit stay unadorned
in the hereafter.
22 Worlds below worlds, worlds above worlds,
Tired of seeking their limits, the Vedas say one thing,
Arabic scriptures speak of eighteen thousand worlds
traced to one source.If It could be written, It would be written,
but the writing passes.Nanak says, praise the Great who alone knows Itself.
23 Extollers extol but cannot fathom You,
Like brooks and streams that flow to the ocean,
nor knowing its expanse.Kings and sultans may rule kingdoms vast as oceans,
possess wealth piled high as mountains,Yet none can match an ant who does not forget in her heart.3
24 Infinite is Your glory, and infinite the ways to sing
Your praise,Infinite are the deeds, and infinite the gifts,
Infinite is the seeing, and infinite the hearing,
And infinite are the workings of That Mind.
Infinite is the variety of forms,
Infinite are the edges of the universe.
And how many yearn to comprehend the limits?
Even their end is not to be found.
The end eludes all,
The more it is expressed, the farther it extends.
The Sovereign is great and high in station,
Yet higher still is the Name.
If we could ever reach that height,
Then only would we know the Highest of the high.
Expansive as It is, That One alone can know Itself.
Nanak says, we are graced with the gift of the Gaze.
25 Grace abounds beyond all reckoning,
Great is the Giver, with no trace of greed.
How many great heroes beg from You
And how many more, we cannot know.
Many exhaust themselves in vicious deeds,
Many receive but deny their Giver,
Many fools eat and eat,
Many are devoured by pain and greed,
Yet these are borne as Your blessings, Giver.
Your Will frees us from bondage,
No one here can intercede,
The fool who dares speak
Alone knows the blows on his face.
That One alone knows, That One alone gives,
But few acknowledge this.
The person gifted to praise and adore,
Nanak says, is truly monarch of monarchs.
26 Priceless are the virtues, priceless their trade,
Priceless are the dealers, priceless the treasures in store,
Priceless are they who come for this trade,
priceless what they take away,Priceless is love, priceless those immersed in it,
Priceless is the law, and priceless the court,
Priceless are the scales, priceless the weights,
Priceless is the bounty, priceless the seal,
Priceless is the favour, priceless the command,
How priceless the Priceless One is, no one can say,
Those who try are lost in silence.
Vedas and Puranas have also sought to say,
Scholars say in their texts and discourses,
Brahmas say, Indras say,
Gopis and Krishnas say,
Shivas say, Siddhas say,
Innumerable Buddhas say,
The demons say, the gods say,
The virtuous, wise and devout say.
How many speak and begin to speak,
Many have spoken and gone,
And if their numbers were doubled again,
Still no one could say.
That One is as great as It chooses to be,
Nanak says, only the True One knows Itself.
That babbler who presumes to say
Is marked as the fool of fools.
27 What kind of a gate is it, what kind of a mansion
where You sit and support all creation?Countless are the instruments and melodies,
countless the players singing Your praise,Countless are the rags and their harmonies,
countless the singers.Wind, water and fire sing Your praise,
at Your doorstep Dharmaraja sings Your praise,His attendants, Chitra and Gupta, recording every deed
while he checks their records, sing Your praise,Shiva, Brahma and the Goddess, radiant with splendour
bestowed by You, sing Your praiseIndra, seated upon his throne in a circle of gods,
sings Your praise.Siddhas in their meditation and sages in contemplation
sing Your praise.Celibates, saints and the serene sing Your praise,
invincible heroes sing Your praise.Scholars and great seers with their texts in every age
sing Your praise.Beautiful women, enchanting the mind in the celestial,
terrestrial and netherworlds, sing Your praise.Jewels that come from You, sites made sacred by You,
sing Your praise.Heroes and mighty warriors sing Your praise,
the four sources of life sing Your praise,Continents, constellations, and universes upheld by You
sing Your praise.Devotees who win Your affection, revelling in Your love,
sing Your praise.How many other singers and players I cannot conceive.
Says Nanak, how then can I think of them?That One, ever True Sovereign,
true is the praise of that True One.That One is, ever will be,
and never will that Creator of the world not be.Designer of this colourful diversity,
Creator of this variegated world,You watch over and sustain Your creation,
all praise belongs to You.Whatever You desire comes to pass,
none can challenge Your commands.Nanak says, You are the Sovereign of sovereigns,
all abide by Your Will.
28 Wear contentment as your yogi earrings,
let honest actions be your pouch and begging bowl,
make inner contemplation your penitential ashes.Death shall be the cloak you wear,
pure living your yogic discipline,
and faith the staff you lean upon.Accept all humans as your equals,
and let them be your only sect.
Conquering ourselves, we conquer the world.Salutations!
Salutations to That One who is primal, immaculate,
immortal, immutable, constant throughout the ages.
29 With knowledge as the banquet, compassion as the hostess,
let the sacred music resonate in every heart.The One is supreme, the whole cosmos under Its sway,
why revere feats and miracles which lead you astray?Meeting and parting are the rhythm of the universe,
to all is given what is written.Salutations!
Salutations to That One Who is primal, immaculate, immortal, immutable, constant throughout the ages.
30 Our mother, the visible world, gave birth alone to three sons.
The Creator, the Sustainer and one who holds the Court.
But everything goes as That One decrees,
and all are under divine Command.It watches over all, and, marvel of marvels,
remains invisible to all.Salutations!
Salutations to That One who is primal, immaculate, immortal, immutable, constant throughout the ages.
31 Its dwelling is in every realm. So too Its treasures.
Whatever is there was placed once and for all time.
After making, the Maker regards Its creation.
Nanak says, the works of the True One are for ever true.
Salutations!
Salutations to That One who is primal, immaculate,
immortal, immutable, constant throughout the ages.
32 If one tongue became a hundred thousand tongues,
and each of these became twenty times more,And all recited it a hundred thousand times,
the Owner of the world has but one Name.The stairs to union are climbed without ego.
Hearing of those who reach these heights,
even the lowest are stirred to imitate.Nanak says, the Gaze is received,
the boasting of the false is false.
33 It is not ours to speak or stay silent,
It is not ours to ask or give,
It is not ours to live or die,
It is not ours to gain riches that rattle the mind,
It is not ours to have consciousness,
knowledge and reflection,It is not ours to be liberated from the cycle of life and death.
The One, whose power it is, regards Its doing.
Nanak says, no one is high or low.
34 Amid nights and seasons, dates and days,
Amid air, water, fire and netherworlds,
The earth is placed, the place for righteous action.
In it are colourful beings and lifestyles,
Infinite are their names and infinite their forms.
We are judged on every action performed;
The One is true, Its verdicts truly just.
Those who are accepted become radiant,
They glow with the mark of grace.
The raw and the ripened,4
Nanak says, reaching there, become known.
35 Such is the order of the Realm of Duty,
Now tell us about the Realm of Knowledge.
How many airs, waters and fires,
how many Krishnas and Shivas!How many Brahmas, and in what variety of forms, colours
and guises they are created!How many earths and mountains to live and act in,
how many saints, like Dhru, and their sermons!How many Indras, moons and suns,
how many continents and universes!How many ascetics, enlightened ones and yogic masters,
how many goddesses!How many gods, demons and sages,
how many jewels and oceans!How many species, how many languages
and how many rulers and kings!How many revelations, how many devotees!
Says Nanak, there is no end to their end.
36 In the Realm of Knowledge, knowledge blazes forth,
Here reign mystic melodies and myriad sports and joys.
Now the Realm of Beauty is beauty itself,
Here the faculties are honed in unmatched splendour.
Words fail to describe,
They who try lament their lack.
Here consciousness, wisdom, mind and discernment
are honed,Awareness sharpened like that of the gods and mystics.
37 The Realm of Action is full of force,
Here is the One with no other.
Here heroes and mighty warriors dwell,
Inspired by Rama.
Here are Sita and women of her fame and virtue,
Their beauty beyond words.
They do not die, they are not beguiled,
For Rama is in their hearts.
Saints from many worlds live in this Realm of Action.
They know bliss, for the True One
is imprinted on their minds.In the Realm of Truth, the Formless One is at home,
Gazing upon Its creation.
Here are continents, constellations, and universes
Whose limits cannot be told.
Here are creatures of various forms,
All acting according to the Will.
That One watches, rejoices
and contemplates Its own creation.Nanak says, to describe this is as hard as iron.
38 Let continence be your smithy, and patience your goldsmith.
Let wisdom be your anvil, and knowledge your hammer.
Let awe be the bellows, and inner control the blazing fire.
In the crucible of love, let the ambrosia flow,
In this true mint, forge the Word,
Such fulfilment comes to those blessed with the Gaze.
Says Nanak, happy are they who are gazed upon.
EPILOGUE
Air is our Guru, water our father,
and the great earth our mother.
Day and night are the female and male nurses
in whose laps the whole universe plays.
Good and bad deeds are all disclosed
in the presence of Righteousness.
Our actions take us near or far.
Those who remember the Name earn true success.
Nanak says their faces shine,
and they take many with them to liberation.