Japji (The Sikh Religion, vol. 1) · 2

By hearing the Name sorrow and sin are no more.

XI

By hearing the Name, the depth of the sea of virtue is sounded. 2 By hearing the Name men become Shaikhs, Pirs, and Emperors. By hearing the Name a blind man findeth his way By hearing the Name the unfathomable becometh fathom able. Nanak, the saints are ever happy. By hearing the Name sorrow and sin are no more.

XII

The condition of him who obeyeth God cannot be described. Whoever trieth to describe it, shall afterward repent. There is no paper, or pen, or writer To describe the condition of him who obeyeth God. So pure is His name Whoever obeyeth God knoweth the pleasure of it in his own heart. 3

XIII

By obeying Him wisdom and understanding enter the mind; By obeying Him man knoweth all worlds; By obeying Him man suffereth not punishment; By obeying Him man shall not depart with Jam 4 So pure is God s name Whoever obeyeth God knoweth the pleasure of it in his own heart.

1 Or by hearing the Name man easily meditateth upon God.

2 Also translated man acquireth the best virtues.

3 Literally he knows it in his own mind, that is, he obtains a pleasure which is incommunicable.

4 The god of death, previously called Dharmraj. This verse means that man shall not die again, but be absorbed in God. ​

XIV

By obeying Him man's path is not obstructed; By obeying Him man departeth with honour and distinction; By obeying Him man proceedeth in ecstasy [24] on his way; By obeying Him man formeth an alliance with virtue - So pure is God's name - Whoever obeyeth God knoweth the pleasure of it in his own heart.

XV

By obeying Him man attaineth the gate of salvation; By obeying Him man is saved with his family; By obeying Him the Guru is saved, and saveth his disciples; By obeying Him, O Nanak, man wandereth not in quest of alms[25]- So pure is God's name - Whoever obeyeth God knoweth the pleasure of it in his own heart.

XVI

The elect[26] are acceptable, the elect are distinguished; The elect obtain honour in God's court; The elect shed lustre[27] on the courts of kings. The attention of the elect is bestowed on the one Guru.[28] If any one say he can form an idea of God, he may say so, ​But the Creator s works cannot be numbered. The bull that is spoken of is righteousness, the offspring of mercy, Which supported by patience maintaineth the order of nature. [29] Whoever understandeth this is a true man. What a load there is upon the bull! [30] Beyond this earth there are more worlds, more and more. What power can support their weight? The names of living things, their species, and colours Have all been written with a flowing pen. Doth any one know how to write an account of them? If the account were written, how great it would be! What power and beautiful form are Thine, O God! Who hath power [31] to know how great Thy gifts are? By one word [32] Thou didst effect the expansion of the world, Whereby hundreds of thousands of rivers were produced. What power have I to describe Thee? So powerless am I, that I cannot even once be a sacrifice unto Thee. Whatever pleaseth Thee is good. Thou, Formless One, art ever secure.

XVII

Numberless thy worshippers,[33] and numberless Thy lovers; Numberless Thine adorers, and numberless they who perform austerities for Thee; Numberless the reciters of sacred books and Veds; ​Numberless Thy Jogis whose hearts are indifferent to the world; Numberless the saints who ponder on Thine attributes and divine knowledge; Numberless Thy true men; numberless Thine almsgivers; Numberless Thy heroes who face the steel of their enemies; Numberless Thy silent worshippers who lovingly fix their thoughts upon Thee. What power have I to describe Thee? So lowly am I, that I cannot even once be a sacrifice unto Thee. Whatever pleaseth Thee is good. O Formless One, Thou art ever secure.

XVIII

Numberless are the fools appallingly blind; Numberless are the thieves and devourers of others' property; Numberless those who establish their sovereignty by force; [34] Numberless the cut-throats and murderers; Numberless the sinners who pride themselves on committing sin; Numberless the liars who roam about lying; Numberless the filthy [35] who enjoy filthy gain; Numberless the slanderers who carry loads of calumny on their heads; Nanak thus describeth the degraded. So lowly am I, I cannot even once be a sacrifice unto Thee. Whatever pleaseth Thee is good.

XIX

Numberless Thy names, and numberless Thy places. Completely beyond reach are Thy numberless worlds. Numberless they who repeat Thy name with all the strength of their intellects. [36] By letters [37] we repeat Thy name, by letters we praise Thee; By letters we acquire divine knowledge, and sing Thy praises and Thine attributes; By letters we write and utter the word [38] of God; By the letters recorded on man's head his destiny is declared. He who inscribeth them on others, beareth them not on His own head. As He ordaineth, so shall man obtain. As great Thy creation, O God, so great is Thy fame There is no place without Thy name. What power have I to describe Thee? So lowly am I, that I cannot even once be a sacrifice unto Thee Whatever pleaseth Thee is good. Formless One, Thou art ever secure.

XX

When the hands, feet, and other members of the body are covered with filth, It is removed by washing with water. When thy clothes are polluted, Apply soap, and the impurity shall be washed away. So when the mind is defiled by sin, It is cleansed by the love [39] of the Name. Men do not become saints or sinners by merely calling themselves so. ​The recording angels take with them a record of man's acts. It is he himself soweth, and he himself eateth. Nanak, man suffereth transmigration by God's order.

XXI

Pilgrimage, austerities, mercy, and almsgiving on general and special occasions Whosoever performeth, may obtain some little honour; But he who heareth and obeyeth and loveth God in his heart, Shall wash off his impurity in the place of pilgrimage within him. All virtues are Thine, O Lord; none are mine. There is no devotion without virtue. From the Self-existent proceeded Maya (athi), whence issued a word which produced Brahma and the rest[40]- 'Thou art true, Thou art beautiful, there is ever pleasure in Thy heart!' What the time, what the epoch, what the lunar day, and what the week-day, What the season, and what the month when the world was created, The Pandits did not discover; had they done so, they would have recorded it in the Purans. Nor did the Qazis [41] discover it; had they done so, they would have recorded it in the Quran: Neither the Jogi nor any other mortal knows the lunar day, or the week-day, or the season, or the month. Only the Creator who fashioned the world knoweth when He did so. How shall I address Thee, O God? how shall I praise Thee? how shall I describe Thee? and how shall I know Thee? ​Saith Nanak, everybody speaketh of Thee, one wiser than another. Great is the Lord, great is His name; what He doeth cometh to pass. Nanak, he who is proud shall not be honoured on his arrival in the next world.

XXII

There are hundreds of thousands of nether and upper regions. Men have grown weary at last of searching for God's limits; the Veds say one thing, that God has no limit. [42] The thousands of Purans [43] and Muhammadan books tell that in reality there is but one principle.[44] If God can be described by writing, then describe Him; but such description is impossible. Nanak, call Him great; only He Himself knoweth how great He is.

XXIII