37th Pauree
Excerpted from the book Guru Nanak’s Call of the Soul: Japji Sahib:
In the 37th pauree, Guru Nanak gives insight into two final realms: Karam Khand, the Realm of Grace; and Sach Khand, the realm of Truth.
Guru Nanak tells us that in the Realm of Grace the Bani is power; nothing else can prevail there. This is a profound statement, meaning that ultimately it is the Bani that takes one through the cycle of birth and death to our final merger in the One. Guru describes the great beauty of this realm and those who dwell in it who are absorbed in the revelation of the Divine. He tells us there are magnificent warriors of great power and courage whose every cell is elevated with divine awareness.
Guru Nanak also illuminates Sach Khand, the ultimate Realm of Truth where Nirankar, the Formless Lord, abides. Guru Nanak speaks to us about Sach Khand from his own state of spiritual ecstasy. During his Jalstambha Samadhi in the waters of the river Kali Bein, the Guru experienced this bliss, this state of knowledge, this deep insight when his being was lit up and the Truth of all existence was revealed to him. In this state of super-consciousness, he was able to return to the world of mere humans and describe it to us.
Guru Nanak tells us that, after having formed the creation, the Lord watches over it from Sach Khand, bestowing Grace and happiness. Sach Khand is the final destination of the atma, the soul, and it is here, freed from the bondage of existence, that the individual soul merges with the Universal Soul as water merges with water.
Guru Nanak assures us that God watches over and contemplates His creation. But more than that, He rejoices upon beholding it. The Divine Lord delights in what He has created, which is all things, including we who read Japji Sahib. God is happy with us and, as Guru advises us in the Mul Mantra, has no enmity toward us. We see the beneficence of the Divine and can take comfort knowing that the universe is created for joy and bliss.
“Guru Nanak has told us about, Saram Khand, Karam Khand and finally he described Sach Khand, the state of truthfulness. Truthfulness is not what you speak and you communicate and you say. That is not Truth. It may be true for you but it may not be true for me, it may not be true for others. It may not be true for those who have gone, it may not be true for those who have yet to come. The state of truthfulness is the state of compassion. Truth comes from the fourth center of consciousness. When a being becomes totally a being of compassion, when he talks, his words can shake every heart, they penetrate. Words that do not penetrate are like that arrow that does not hit the mark. ‘In the beginning there was the Word and Word was with God and Word was God.’ It is the compassionate heart that can change the heart of everyone through the power of the Word. It belongs to those who have that state of compassionate self.”
– Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan – October 11, 1973
37th Pauree
Karam khandd kee baannee jor.
Tithai hor na ko-ee hor.
Tithai jodh mahaabal soor.
Tin mahi raam rahi-aa bharpoor.
Tithai seeto seetaa mahimaa maa-hi.
Taa kay roop na kathanay jaa-hi.
Naa oh mareh na tthaagay jaa-hi.
Jin kai raam vassai man maa-hi.
Tithai bhagat vaseh kay lo-a.
Karahi anand sachaa man so-i.
Sach khandd vasai nirankaar.
Kar kar vaykhai nadar nihaal.
Tithai khandd manddal varbhandd.
Jay ko kathai ta ant na ant.
Tithai lo-a lo-a aakaar.
Jiv jiv hukam tivai tiv kaar.
Vaykhai vigasai kar veechaar.
Naanak kathanaa kararra saar. II 37 II
In the Realm of Grace, the Word is power.
No one else dwells there,
except the warriors of great power,
the spiritual heroes.
They are totally fulfilled, imbued with the Lord’s Essence.
Myriads of Sitas are there,
cool and calm in their majestic glory.
Their beauty cannot be described.
Neither death nor deception comes to those,
within whose minds the Lord abides.
The devotees of many worlds dwell there.
They celebrate; their minds are imbued with the True Lord.
In the Realm of Truth, the Formless Lord abides.
Having created the creation, He watches over it.
By His Glance of Grace, He bestows happiness.
There are planets, solar systems, and galaxies.
If one speaks of them, there is no limit, no end.
There are worlds upon worlds of His Creation.
As He commands, so they exist.
He watches over all, and contemplating the creation, He rejoices.
O Nanak, to describe this is as hard as steel!
Musical Recitations
Enjoy these musical versions of of the 37th Pauree courtesy of the SikhNet Gurbani Media Center:
Wahe Guru Kaur (WAH!) – Karam Khand
Professor Satnam Singh Sethi – Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Ang 0008 (includes Pauree 36)
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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