34th Pauree
Excerpted from the book Guru Nanak’s Call of the Soul: Japji Sahib:
The “khands” can be thought of as stages of spiritual progression that the soul takes over the ages. The devotee can evolve, step by step, to the abode of the One. The 34th pauree describes our earth as Dharam Kandh, the Realm of Dharma. In these verses, Guru Nanak explains that the Creator created the earth and the elements, including those subtle realms beyond the physical space that we inhabit. Guru tells us that in the midst of this, God placed the earth as a home for Dharma, the path of spirituality. The earth was created as a place for us to realize God and to practice truthful actions.
In the human incarnation on earth the law of karma prevails, where every action has a sequence and a consequence. It is by following Dharma that karma is erased. When we finally clear this karma, the soul merges back with the Universal Soul. Guru Nanak ends the 34th pauree by portraying God’s court. There, he tells us, sitting in radiant grace are those souls who have done the hard work of self-realization. In this court, both the “ripe and unripe” are judged by their actions. Guru concludes this pauree by assuring us that when we leave this earth and return to the One, we will see it all for ourselves. This, the Guru tells us, is righteous living in the Realm of Dharma.
34th Pauree
Raatee rutee thitee vaar.
Pavann paannee aganee paataal.
Tis vich dhartee thaap rakhee dharam saal.
Tis vich jee-a jugat kay rang.
Tin kay naam anayk anant.
Karmee karmee ho-i veechaar.
Sachaa aap sachaa darbaar.
Tithai sohan panch parvaann.
Nadaree karam pavai neeshaann.
Kach pakaa-ee othai paa-i.
Naanak ga-i-aa jaapai jaa-i. || 34 ||
Nights, days, weeks and seasons;
Wind, water, fire and the nether regions;
In the midst of these,
He established the earth as a home for Dharma.
Upon it, He placed the various species of beings.
Their names are uncounted and endless.
By their deeds and their actions, they shall be judged.
God Himself is True, and True is His Court.
There, in perfect grace and ease, sit the self-elect,
the self-realized Saints.
They receive the mark of Grace from the Merciful Lord.
The ripe and the unripe,
the good and the bad, shall there be judged.
O Nanak, when you go home, you will see this.
Musical Recitation
Enjoy this beautiful musical recitation of the 34th Pauree. Available to stream through the SikhNet Gurbani Media Library:
Wahe Guru Kaur (WHA!) – Raatee Rutee
Need to practice your pronunciation of Japji Sahib?
One of the best ways to learn how to recite Japji is to listen to and read along with someone else reciting it.
To help with that, we have a FREE Japji for the Aquarian Age App for IOS and Android. Once you download it, you can use it to recite the complete Japji Sahib in your daily practice, or you can choose the “Repeat Paurees” feature and follow along with the recitation of each section of Japji Sahib.
A special 40 week practice of reciting Japji Sahib is to recite one section 11x a day for one week and then do the same for the next section and so on, until over 40 weeks, you’ve completed a practice of reciting each of the 40 sections of Japji Sahib 11x a day for a week.
Here are instructions for downloading the Japji for the Aquarian Age App
In Guru Nanak’s Call of the Soul: Japji Sahib, by Gurutej Singh Khalsa with Shanti Kaur Khalsa, Based on the teachings of Siri Singh Sahib Yogi Bhajan:
In Japji Sahib, Guru Nanak touches the deepest essence of individual consciousness, elevating one to the universal consciousness. Japji is made up of 40 remarkable segments where Guru Nanak not only explains the mysteries of the cosmos, but also gives us spiritual instruction that we can follow to achieve the same experience of higher consciousness that Guru Nanak embodied. In this book the Mul Mantra and each of the 38 paurees of Japji, plus the Slok, are explained from a spiritual as well as historical perspective, enhanced by the teachings of Siri Singh Sahib Yogi Bhajan. It is our sincere prayer that this book will open up to you the miraculous wonder of Japji Sahib.
194 pages including an in-depth exploration of the 40 sections of Japji Sahib, 48 full color illustrations, 15 meditations that enhance the effects of the paurees, pronunciation guide and glossary and a foreword by Bhai Sahiba, Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Khalsa, PhD. Includes beautiful full-color paintings by Sewa Singh and Sewa Kaur.
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