Japji Sahib: Mool Mantra to 15th Pauree

Mool Mantra

One Spirit Beyond
Moves within the Creation-
Coordinating
Consolidating
Continually
Creating,

And this Spirit
Within me
Is my True Identity.

It Does All
And Causes All
To be Done.

It Protects me
Through all incidents
Of Time and Space.

It fears nothing
And knows nothing
Of vengeance
Or anger.

Deathless
It comes into Form.

In Itself, It has
Never been born.

Flowing through the cycles
Of Birth and Death,
It moves
By Its Own
Purity and Projection.

This understanding
Shall come to you
As a sweet blessing,
As a gift.

In every moment
Continue
In Its Continual
Remembrance.

From the start
This Truth was True.

All through Time and Space
Is True.

Even now,
This Truth is True.

Nanak says,
Ever shall be True.


First Pauree

You think and think
Ten-thousand thoughts,
But not one thought
Will give you
What you seek.

You sit in silence
To find the silence
But silence never comes.
Your spirit always sings
The song of the Divine.

And all your troubles,
And all your cares,
These will never fade away
Though you may hoard
Every treasure in the world.

And all the clever tricks
You use,
The countless little tricks-
Not even one
Will go along with you.

How can we find
The House of Truth?

How can we break
This wall of lies?

Surrender yourself
And walk the Way
Of Spirit’s Will.

Nanak,
Be with what
Is already written.


Second Pauree

Through Spirit’s Will
Come countless forms,

Though of this Will
I cannot speak.

Through Spirit’s Will
Come all the souls.

Merge in that Will
And become great.

In Spirit’s Will
Are good and bad.

That Will writes
Pain and peace
For all.

For some, it brings
Abundant gifts.

For some, it leads
To endless wanderings.

Everything exists within that Will.
Nothing lies Beyond It.

Nanak,
If you understand
The Will of the Divine,
Your ego will have
Nothing to say.


Third Pauree

When the soul
Tunes in
To the Infinite

And spontaneously sings
With Divine love and joy,

In that soul-singing,
Some capture Your power.

But who has the power
To capture Your power?

When the soul
Tunes in
To the Infinite

And spontaneously sings
With Divine love and joy,

In that soul-singing
Some sing of You
As a Giver
And know giving
As the sign of You.

When the soul
Tunes in
To the Infinite

And spontaneously sings
With Divine love and joy,

In that soul-singing
Some sing of
Your virtues,
The elements You use
To create life,
And how amazing
It all is.
How magnificently beautiful.

When the soul
Tunes in
To the Infinite

And spontaneously sings
With Divine love and joy,

In that soul-singing
Some sing
Of the knowledge
That can only be gotten
By arduous study.

When the soul
Tunes in
To the Infinite

And spontaneously sings
With Divine love and joy,

In that soul-singing
Some sing
Of the Power that
Creates all things
Sustains them
And destroys them.

When the soul
Tunes in
To the Infinite

And spontaneously sings
With Divine love and joy,

In that soul-singing
Some sing
Of how You
Take the souls away
And then
Give them back again.

When the soul
Tunes in
To the Infinite,

And spontaneously sings
With Divine love and joy

In that soul-singing,
Some sing
Of how far beyond
Our reach, our grasp
You are.

When the soul
Tunes in
To the Infinite

And spontaneously sings
With Divine love and joy,

In that soul-singing
Some sing
You are always with us.

There is no end
To what
We can say
About You.

Millions of people
Speak
Millions of ways.

You, Great Giver,
Keep giving to us
And we grow tired
Of just taking.

Age after age
You continually
Feed and
Nourish us.

In Your Will,
Oh Divine Spirit,
You guide us along
The path You choose for us.

Nanak,
Blissful,
Hasn’t a care.


Fourth Pauree

True is the Master
Of Creation.

True is His Spirit
Within me.

Speak it with Infinite Love.

We call on You
And beg to You,
“Give me, give me.”

And you, Great Giver,
Give it All.

What can we
Place before You
That will allow us
To see the splendor
Of Your Divine and Noble Court?

What words can we speak
With our own lips
That, upon hearing,
You would touch us
With Your Love?

In the Amrit Veyla,
The still hours before sunrise,
Our True Spirit
Becomes known
As we meditate upon
Your Greatness.

By the consequences
Of our positive past actions,
We have been gifted
This robe of human form.

Grace leads us
To the gate of liberation
Found within it.

Nanak,
In this way know,
All people
Hold the Truth
Within themselves.


Fifth Pauree

Nothing has
Established You
Or placed You
On Your throne.

Neither are You
Created by anything.

You within Yourself
Are pure
Like the crystal
Cool, clear water
Of a stream.

Those who serve You,
You bestow upon them
So much honor.

Nanak sings
Of Your virtues,
Your priceless gifts and treasures.

Sing.
Deeply listen.
And oh my mind
Overflow with Love.

All suffering shall vanish,
And peace,
Sweet peace,
Shall make its home
In your heart.

The wise person
Who flows
With the integrity
Of the Guru’s words
Is one
With the Naad,
The subtle vibration
Which powers creation.

The wise person
Who flows
With the integrity
Of the Guru’s words
Is one
With all scriptures written
And yet to be written.

The wise person
Who flows
With the integrity
Of the Guru’s words
Remains continually
Within herself
With Thee.

The Guru,
The Divine Teacher,
Can take the form
Of Shiva.

That Guru
Can take the form
Of Vishnu or Brahma.

That Divine Teacher
Can even take the form
Of the Divine Mother.

Even if I know all this,
Still there’s no way
To speak it,
No matter how much I say.

The Divine Teacher
Has given me
One lesson to learn.

All souls come
From the hand of One Giver.

May I never, ever
Forget Him.


Sixth Pauree

I wash myself
In sacred waters
In order to please You.

But if it doesn’t please You,
What is the bathing for?

I see
The vastness of Your wondrous creation.

But without taking action,
How can I merge with Thee?

Within my own
Awareness
Are jewels, gems
And rubies,
From listening to the Teachings
Of the Guru
Even once.

All souls come
From the Hand of One Giver.

May I never, ever
Forget Him.


Seventh Pauree

If a person were to live
Through the four ages
Or ten times that,

Known across
The nine continents
Followed by everyone.

Protected by a good name,
With fame and reputation
Received from the entire world.

Yet, if You do not look kindly
Our way, oh Divine One,
That position
Nobody would want.

Such a one would be
The worm
That lives inside worms.

Among criminals-
The most criminal.

Nanak,
The virtueless and the virtuous
Are both created by the Divine.

And what virtues they carry
Are given by Thee.

No one exists
Who can bestow virtues on You,
Oh Love.


Eighth Pauree

Those who are merged in You,
Those who spiritually lead,
Angels,
Masters
Deeply Listen.

The Earth,
And what holds the Earth,
And what surrounds the Earth
Inter-coordinate
By Deep Listening.

The Continents,
Other Realms,
Lower Worlds,
Work together
By Deep Listening.

Deeply Listening,
Death
Cannot touch you.

Nanak,
Those who surrender themselves in Love
To the Divine
Continually blossom and bloom.

Deeply Listening,
Sorrows
And errors
Depart.


Ninth Pauree

Deeply Listening,
The Three Aspects
Of the Divine-
Generator
Organizer
Deliverer/Destroyer
Maintain their balance
And dance.

Deeply Listening,
Even those
With an imbalanced mind
Praise Thee
With their lips.

Deeply Listening,
Yoga
And the hidden systems
Of the body
Make themselves known.

Deeply Listening,
The wisdom
Of all sacred scriptures in the world
Is revealed.

Nanak,
Those who surrender themselves in Love
To the Divine
Continually blossom and bloom.

Deeply Listening,
Sorrows
And errors
Depart.


Tenth Pauree

Deeply Listening,
Truth,
Complete, utter contentment
And genuine wisdom
Will be with you
Within you.


Deeply Listening,
The purity
From bathing
In all sacred waters
Will cleanse you.

Deeply Listening,
The same honor comes
As if you had continually
Read and studied.

Deeply Listening
Brings you
To the point
Of One-Pointedness,
Flowing with the continual flow
Of the Divine Spirit
In meditative delight.

Nanak,
Those who surrender themselves in Love
To the Divine
Continually blossom and bloom.

Deeply Listening,
Sorrows
And errors
Depart.


Eleventh Pauree

Deeply Listening,
Recognize
The ocean of virtues
Within you.

Deeply Listening
Become
In tune with Spirit,
Perfectly balanced
In your own humanity
And nobility.

Deeply Listening,
Even blind
You will find your way
Along the path
Chosen for you.

Deeply Listening,
Understand
The unfathomable.

Nanak,
Those who surrender themselves in Love
To the Divine
Continually blossom and bloom.

Deeply Listening,
Sorrows
And errors
Depart.


Twelfth Pauree

Trust what you hear
When you listen-
Even though
You won’t be able
To explain it
To anyone,

And even if you do
Talk about it,
You’ll just regret it
Afterwards.

There is no person
Who, with their pen,
Has the power to describe
All that is heard
When you deeply listen.

Those who sit together
And trust what they hear
When they listen
Are doing
The most powerful
Meditation.

Such is
That True Spirit
Within me
That is makes me become
Pure, clear and sweet.

If you
Trust what you hear
When you listen,
That knowing
Becomes the psyche
Through which you
Reflect, understand
And act.


Thirteenth Pauree

By trusting
What you hear
When you listen,
The Truth
Of your own Inner
Consciousness
Will saturate your psyche
With wisdom
And deep understanding.

By trusting
What you hear
When you listen,
You shall dwell
In all mansions
Of learning.

In trusting
What you hear
When you listen,
The blows and insults
Of others
Will not affect you.

By trusting
What you hear
When you listen,
Death will have
No power over you.

Such is
That True Spirit
Within me
That it makes me become
Pure, clear and sweet.

If you,
Trust what you hear
When you listen,
Then you will know
What you see,
How to understand
And act.


Fourteenth Pauree

In trusting
What you hear
When you listen,
There will be
No obstacles
On your path.

In trusting
What you hear
When you listen,
Radiance and honor
Will be with you.

In trusting
What you hear
When you listen,
There’ll be no need
To take short-cuts
On your journey.

In trusting
What you hear
When you listen,
Dharma,
The path of Divine
Discipline and law,
Will guide
Your whole life.

Such is
That True Spirit
Within me
That is makes me become
Pure, clear and sweet.

If you
Trust what you hear
When you listen,
That knowing
Becomes the psyche
Through which you
Reflect, understand
And act.


Fifteenth Pauree

Trust what you hear
When you listen
And find
The door of liberation.

Trust what you hear
When you listen,
And bring all your loved ones
Along.

Trust what you hear
When you listen.
You will swim across
All difficulties
And your very presence
Will carry others
Across, as well.

And that is what it means
To be a Sikh of the Guru,
A seeker of Divine Wisdom,
Who walks from the darkness of ego
To the light
Of our own purity and spirit.

Trust what you hear
When you listen.
Nanak,
Even if you wander
Lost
There will be no need
To beg for anything.

Such is
That True Spirit
Within me
That is makes me become
Pure, clear and sweet.

If you,
Trust what you hear
When you listen,
Then you will know
What you see,
How to understand
And act.



Translation inspired by and written for the Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji.
Translated by Sardarni Sahiba Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa, SikhNet Communications Director.
Copyright June 2003. All Rights Reserved.

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