Explore Savaiye (Mahale Pahile Ke)

Welcome to Sikhcast, brought to you by Sikh Research Institute, illuminating every path. Waheguru Jika Khalsa, Waheguru Jiki Fateh, my name is Tirupat Singh and I'm an English commentary writer on the Guru Granthap project. We're excited to announce this month's release of Sabayee Mahal Pele King. As we've learned in the past couple months, Sabayee is the plural form of the word Sabaya and Sabaya is an ancient poetic form in Indic tradition. In the context of the Guru Granthap, Sabaya serves to express praise, love and devotion towards Ikhwanqar, what we interpret as the one creative and pervasive force, or towards the embodiments of the Guru. These 10 stanzas which are released this month are in praise, love and devotion towards Mahal Pele which is the first embodiment Guru Nanak Sahib. And these 10 stanzas are composed by Patkaliya or Patkaliya Sahar, those names are both for the same person. And Patkaliya was a court poet or a bard in the court of Guru Arjan Sahib. One thing that's especially notable about these stanzas is that Patkaliya invokes all kinds of characters, figures, traditions of the Indic spiritual landscape of his time. He invokes different deities of the Hindu Panthian. He invokes different sages, renunciates, yogis. He invokes different kings from Hindu epics. And he also invokes Buddhists and Jains or Jains. And the purpose of all of this is to express Guru Nanak's glory to all people. So there's this transcendence here of time as not all of these characters even exist in one time. There's a transcendence of religious distinctions, caste, social status. This really is all in service of the praise of Guru Nanak who in the first stanza is referred to as the ultimate supreme Guru. And in these stanzas we see that Guru Nanak Sahib is invoked as the embodiment of Ikhwankar in Kaliya, the current era. So to explore that more, I want to take us to the seventh stanza of this set. So in the seventh stanza we see how Patkaliya invokes time through the four classical eras in Hindu philosophy. So these are Satyog, Treta, Dwapar and Kaliog. And Satyog is defined by truth whereas progressively that truth diminishes and then in Kaliog is an era defined by ignorance and darkness. And Patkaliya invokes different stories from each of these eras to express how the virtues of the Ikhwankar and the divine they have become embodied in different figures in these different eras and through embodying those virtues of Ikhwankar in those eras people have accomplished and exemplified a kind of rule, a sovereignty while in union with the divine. And in Kaliog Patkaliya is saying that Guru Nanak is that embodiment of Ikhwankar and Ikhwankar's virtues. And this is really quite stark and notable because Kaliog as I said is an era defined by darkness and ignorance. So as while these other characters were able to embody the sovereignty and union in these other eras which had more truth in them, in the darkest era Guru Nanak comes and Kaliog we can think of and interpret as something that's not just an era of time in a linear or cyclical conception of time but it's also interpreted as a state that we can operate in, a state that's ruled by ignorance and darkness. And so even in a state that one is experiencing Guru Nanak is that embodiment of Ikhwankar of divine virtues that brings us from that darkness into realization, truth, light, etc. We interpret the last line of the Seventh Stanza as the rule of the honorable Guru is immovable, firm. The primal being has proclaimed it. And this isn't just about Guru Nanak Sahib. In the previous line we see that Guru Angad Sahib and Guru Amrita Sahib are also invoked here. So this is about these embodiments of the Guru and this is also an affirmation of a line which is repeated in the first few stanzas of these ten stanzas which is about Guru Nanak's enjoyment of Raj and Yov which is sovereignty and union. This state of being in alignment with Ikhwankar, embodying Ikhwankar's virtues as well as embodying sovereignty in the world. And this line really spoke to me because what it's telling me is that it really doesn't matter what anyone is saying about Guru Nanak Sahib because Ikhwankar has made Guru Nanak Sahib great. We hope that you can find time to read through these ten stanzas in praise of Guru Nanak Sahib and really kind of understand more how the Guru was conceived of at the time by somebody who was in the court of the Guru and in the same place as the Guru. As always the literal translation, interpretive transcreation and commentary is provided to help you soak in these messages and the footnotes, the word meanings and the historical dimension are invaluable as well. Waheguru Jika Khalsa Waheguru Jikki Fateh Read the translations and commentaries at GuruGranSahab.io You are listening to SickCast, my Sick Research Institute illuminating every path.