Japji (The Sikh Religion, vol. 1) · 3

Praisers praise God, but have not acquired a knowledge of Him, As rivers and streams fall into the sea, but know not its extent. Kings and emperors who possess oceans and mountains of property and wealth,[45] Are not equal to the worm which forgetteth not God in its heart. ​

XXIV

There is no limit to God s praises;[46] to those who repeat them there is no limit. There is no limit to His mercy, and to His gifts there is no limit. There is no limit to what God seeth, no limit to what He heareth. The limit of the secret of His heart cannot be known. The limit of His creation cannot be known; neither His near nor His far side can be discovered.[47] To know His limits how many vex their hearts.[48] His limits cannot be ascertained; Nobody knoweth His limits. The more we say, the more there remains to be said. Great is the Lord, and exalted is His seat. His exalted name is higher than the most exalted. Were any one else ever so exalted, Then he would know that exalted Being: How great He is He knoweth Himself. Nanak, God bestoweth gifts on whom He looketh with favour and mercy.

XXV

His many bounties [49] cannot be recorded, He is a great giver and hath not a particle of covetousness. How many, yea countless heroes beg of Him! How many others whose number cannot be conceived! How many pine away in sin![50] How many persons receive yet deny God's gifts! How many fools there are who merely eat! How many are ever dying in distress and hunger! Giver, these are also Thy gifts. ​Rebirth [51] and deliverance depend on Thy will: Nobody can interfere with it. If any fool [52] try to interfere with it He shall himself know the punishment he shall suffer, God himself knoweth to whom He may give, and He Himself giveth: Very few acknowledge this. He to whom God hath given the boon of praising and lauding Him, Nanak, is the King of kings.[53]

XXVI

Priceless are Thine attributes, O God, and priceless Thy dealings;[54] Priceless Thy dealers, priceless Thy storehouses; Priceless what cometh from Thee, and priceless what is taken away; Priceless Thy rate and priceless the time for dealing;[55] Priceless Thy justice and priceless Thy court; Priceless Thy weights and priceless Thy measures;[56] Priceless Thy gifts and priceless Thy marks; Priceless Thy mercy and priceless Thine ordinances. How beyond all price Thou art cannot be stated. Ever speaking of Thee men continue to fix their thoughts on Thee.[57] ​They who read the Veds and Purans speak of Thee; Learned men speak of Thee and deliver discourses on Thee; Brahmas speak of Thee, and Indars speak of Thee; The milkmaids and Krishan speak of Thee Shivs speak of Thee, the Sidhs speak of Thee; All the Budhas Thou hast created speak of Thee; The demons speak of Thee, the gods speak of Thee; Thy demigods, men, munis,[58] and servants speak of Thee; How many speak of Thee or attempt to speak of Thee! How many depart while speaking of Thee! If Thou wert to create as many more as Thou hast created, Even then few of them would be able to speak adequately of Thee. Thou mayest be as great as Thou pleasest. Nanak, only the True One Himself knoweth how great He is. If any one were to speak improperly of God, Write him down as the most ignorant of men.

XXVII

What is that gate, what is that mansion where Thou, God, sittest and watchest over all things? How many various and countless instruments are played! How many musicians, How many musical measures with their consorts, and how many singers sing Thee! Wind, water, and fire sing Thee; Dharmraj sings at Thy gate. The recording angels,[59] who know how to write, and on whose record Dharmraj judgeth sing Thee. Ishar,[60] Brahma, and Devi, ever beautiful as adorned by Thee, sing Thee. ​Indar seated on his throne with the gods at Thy gate sing Thee. Sidhs in meditation sing Thee; holy men in contemplation sing Thee. The continent, the true, and the patient sing Thee; unyielding heroes sing Thee. The pandits and the supreme Rikhis,[61] reading their Veds, sing Thee in every age. The lovely celestial maids who beguile the heart in the upper, middle, and nether regions sing Thee.[62] The jewels created by Thee with the sixty-eight places of Hindu pilgrimage sing Thee. Mighty warriors and divine heroes sing Thee; the four sources of life sing Thee. The continents, the worlds, and the universe made and supported by Thy hands sing Thee. The saints who please Thee, and who are imbued with Thy love[63] sing Thee. The many others who sing Thee I cannot remember; how could Nanak recount them? [64] ​That God is ever true, He is the true Lord, and the true Name. He who made this world is and shall be; He shall neither depart, nor be made to depart.[65] He who created things of different colours, descriptions, and species, Beholdeth His handiwork which attesteth His greatness. He will do what pleaseth Himself; no order may be issued to Him. He is King, the King of kings, O Nanak; all remain subject to His will.

XXVIII

Make contentment and modesty thine earrings, self-respect thy wallet, meditation the ashes to smear on thy body; Make thy body, which is only a morsel for death, thy beggar's coat, and faith thy rule of life and thy staff.[67] Make association with men thine Ai Panth,[68] and the conquest of thy heart the conquest of the world. ​

Hail![69] Hail to Him,

The primal, the pure, [70] without beginning, the indestructible, the same in every age!

XXIX

Make divine knowledge thy food, compassion thy store-keeper, and the voice which is in every heart the pipe to call to repast. Make Him who hath strung the whole world on His string thy spiritual Lord; let wealth and supernatural power be relishes for others. Union and separation is the law which regulateth the world. [71] By destiny we receive our portion.

Hail! Hail to Him,

The primal, the pure, without beginning, the indestructible, the same in every age!

XXX

One Maya in union with God gave birth to three acceptable children.[72] One of them is the creator, the second the provider, the third performeth the function of destroyer.[73] As it pleaseth God, He directeth them by His orders. He beholdeth them, but is not seen by them. This is very marvellous.

Hail! Hail to Him,

XXXI

His seat and His storehouses[74] are in every world. What was to be put into them was put in at one time. [75] The Creator beholdeth His creation. Nanak, true is the work of the True One.

Hail! Hail to Him,

The primal, the pure, without beginning, the indestructible, the same in every age!

XXXII

Were one tongue to become a hundred thousand, and a hundred thousand to become twentyfold more, I would utter the name of the one Lord of the world hundreds of thousands of times with all my tongues. In this way I should ascend the stairs of the Lord, and become one with Him. On hearing of the exaltation of the religious the vile become jealous.[76] Nanak, the former have found the Kind One, while false is the boasting of the false.

XXXIII

I have no strength to speak and no strength to be silent.[77] I have no strength to ask and no strength to give; I have no strength to live, and no strength to die; I have no strength to acquire empire or wealth which produce a commotion in the heart. I have no strength to meditate on Thee or ponder on divine knowledge; I have no strength to find the way to escape from the world. He in whose arm there is strength, may see what he can do.

XXXIV

God created nights, seasons, lunar days, and week days, Wind, water, fire, and the nether regions. In the midst of these He established the earth as a temple. In it He placed living beings of different habits and kinds. Their names are various and endless, And they are judged according to their acts. True is God, and true is His court. There the elect are accepted and honoured. The Merciful One marketh them according to their acts. The bad and the good shall there be distinguished. Nanak, on arrival there, this shall be seen.