The Most Perfect Prayer: Reflections On The Japji Sahib

Place aside any thoughts of religion and open your spiritual heart to receive the profound insights of Guru Nanak (1469-1539 CE). While the Japji Sahib, or morning prayer, is a part of the Sikh Adigranth (or scriptures), the wisdom it contains transcends all religious beliefs and takes us into the very core of unifying Truth. Here I share my reflections and interpretations of this most exquisite, sublime prayer and ancient transmission of light. The Opening starts at the 00:03:48 mark.

Transcript

The Japji Sahib by Guru Nanak,

An evolutionary prayer for liberation.

I encountered the Japji Sahib as a result of my Kundalini yoga practice.

I had no idea what it was even when I would hear parts of it recited in classes.

It was several years before I ever heard it in its entirety,

And it took a couple more years before I ever sought out an English translation.

When I found one,

I was enthralled.

Though considered a morning prayer,

I listened to the Japji every night before bed,

Sometimes when I would wake up in the middle of the night,

And even in the early mornings before getting out of bed.

I loved it.

I found it to be so utterly magical,

With applications to every life situation.

It transformed those situations with its sparkling clarity.

It's been a huge blessing that I pray to live by,

Share,

And spread.

I consider this prayer to be the most perfect of any I've ever known.

I know sublime truth when I hear it,

And this divine song or prayer contains so much wisdom,

So much liberation.

I adore it,

And I am eternally grateful for it.

The Japji is a living wisdom teacher comprised of a section of the Sikh scripture Arikrant,

Consisting of an opening,

38 pories or verses,

And a closing.

Each pore is like an antidote to various aspects of suffering.

Reciting it teaches us how to live consciously and responsibly.

That's why I wanted to spend time with it.

I wanted to understand the lessons it contained and put them in my own words.

In some ways,

I wanted to demystify it and make it more accessible.

I hope in so doing that I've captured some of its pure and powerful essence,

Which Guru Nanak originally intended,

His love shining through so brightly.

That said,

I know I've not even come close to doing it justice,

Nor do I think that any interpretation of it ever could.

For one thing,

In its original form,

There is rhythm and repetition,

Which empowers the meaning.

I've not maintained either of those here.

I've also combined pories or verses when it made sense to do so.

This isn't intended to take the place of Japji.

Nothing ever could.

It is merely a distillation,

An introduction perhaps for some,

And an exercise in expression for me,

Nothing more.

I don't pretend to be a scholar of this that could take lifetimes to truly integrate,

Nor do I lay claim to any extraordinary insights about it.

In introducing others to this prayer,

One that perhaps they never would have encountered elsewhere,

I pray that I can share some of the same blessings and insights it has brought me.

If you taste even an inkling of its profundity,

Perhaps the interest will be such that you will seek it out in its original forms,

Whether translated into English or in its original Gurbani.

To render your fate and create a destiny of prosperity in God,

There is one God.

The purpose of religion is merely to express that one God uniquely.

Religions may try and lay claim to God,

But it all lies beyond their reach.

Religions may try and separate or divide,

But God remains whole and one,

The ultimate truth,

The one-doer.

Beyond fear,

Beyond hatred and revenge,

Beyond time,

Beyond birth and death,

God,

The infinite.

There is also only one creation.

Nations,

Races,

And cultures may lay claim to individuality and uniqueness.

They too may separate and divide,

Even drawing imaginary borders or starting wars.

But creation remains tied together,

Forever bound.

Whatsoever one does,

It comes back around.

Meditate.

Original truth,

True for all time,

True at this instant and forever true.

One,

The key to free yourself from depression,

Fear of loss,

Despair,

And insecurity is neither in fasting nor satiating hunger.

It cannot be found in logic,

It cannot be washed away with soap and water.

There is nothing external to you that can open the door into grace.

We can think and think to solve a problem or manifest some material thing or debate any issue in our heads.

But even with all that energy expended,

Nothing happens.

Thinking never makes anything happen except by appearances.

But just consider how many thoughts you have every day that never come to anything.

And multiply that over a lifetime.

Yet things do happen,

Often automatically and without a single thought.

Everything that happens emerges out of nothing,

Out of silence.

From that vast eternal void comes great intelligence far superior to the human mind.

Yet we still think our thinking can save us.

We still think the stories we tell and the sense we make of life will keep us safe and bring us satisfaction.

But we are soon anxious or dissatisfied and thinking about the next thing and the next.

Be that thing honorable or not.

Or we are wracked with confusion,

Trying to understand what is too far beyond us,

Spinning tails to comfort our sense of self.

This dissatisfaction is a heavy weight to carry throughout our lifetimes.

Thought is a heavy burden and a waste of energy.

Because no matter how smart one is,

He'll never find the answer to satisfying the desire.

Desire has a hundred thousand heads.

If one desire is satisfied,

Another springs up in its place.

If one puzzle is solved,

Another great mystery takes its place.

But what then are we to do to be free of such a predicament?

Turn to the soul,

Surrender the will to God.

God's will lies beyond thought,

Beyond understanding.

Trust in God's will,

For it is God's will that created all things,

People,

And situations.

God created your soul and mine.

And it is this soul that carries our redemption.

God's will is alive inside of each of us.

It is always at the ready to guide and protect us.

But in our ignorance or defiance,

We turn away.

It doesn't matter who we appear to be in this life.

The king and the lowly slave are equal in God's eyes because it is God who placed each and no earthly power or privilege.

But from our limited perspective,

We assume one to be superior.

Again,

It is but our ignorance at play,

Our illusion and delusion.

God's will is the key to understanding what cannot be understood.

It explains pleasure and pain.

It explains loss and gain.

And only by embracing God's will do we come to understand the truth of who we are and what we are not.

In God's will,

We realize we are already free of ourselves and that toiling,

Roiling,

Boiling over mind.

Act according to God's order and all is well.

2.

When you lack stability or patience,

Know this.

No matter who speaks of power or who appears to have it or not,

The power belongs to God alone.

No matter who appears to be talking or giving,

It is God alone to whom all things belong.

Turn your face toward excellence,

Wonder,

And beauty.

Turn toward spiritual knowledge and practice.

The opportunity to do so comes with this life,

But life is but a blip,

A momentary dream.

Soon we die.

Soon we become dust,

Neither able to feel awestruck nor able to pray or give thanks.

You may feel that God has deserted you,

You may feel that the very name God makes you recoil,

But it is only a perspective brought about by the mind.

God is ever close and unconditionally loving.

Oh,

The stories we tell against that simple truth.

When one looks around,

One sees a million things given,

And yet we want more.

We are never satisfied.

We take and take,

We eat and eat,

We consume and consume,

All throughout the ages again and again.

And so it will continue,

If we fail to awaken,

Understand order,

And say goodbye to the personal I.

3.

Elevate yourself and become self-sufficient and self-confident,

Knowing that there is both truth and justice in this world,

And it comes from a single source.

It is bestowed lovingly and unceasingly,

Yet still we cry out for more.

Our greedy hands reach out and are filled again and again.

We take so much,

But few ask what they might give in return.

But what could we possibly give to repay an unceasing love?

We must strive to love in return,

Through meditation,

Through mindful living,

Through great care with our life,

All our debts will be covered by the giver who gives ceaselessly,

Free from all care.

A person who not only recognizes truth in the mind,

But who lives that truth,

Contains the entire universe.

4.

Let the lightning of these words enlighten any sense of lack and limitation in you.

God alone is pure,

Beyond existence,

Space,

And time.

So many pray and pray and ask for more and more.

On each one the perfect response is bestowed.

Could we ever repay for all that we've received?

Yet we are never once asked.

If we can but serve that one,

All victory is ours.

In our discipline toward excellence,

What treasures we discover inside ourselves.

If we but keep love in our minds and hearts,

All pain and suffering would flee.

Peace would be ours.

So many before us have tried to show us the way.

So many wise teachers and light bearers,

That wisdom is not to be taken for granted.

Seek out the word that brings true knowledge.

Seek out the living energies they provide.

Yoke yourself to the teachings.

Meditate.

Imagine such love.

Souls will be useless to the one who sees,

And the one who speaks will only make a fool of himself.

All souls are gifts of the one.

May I never forget it.

When you need the strength to carry on,

When thoughts of failure loom,

Serve the one that was never created and can never be destroyed.

There are a million meaningless superstitions and a million empty rituals created by man,

But the only ritual necessary is pleasing God.

That takes care of everything,

And it grants one a truer experience of God.

We are surrounded by so many thoughts,

Ideas,

And concepts.

Each person is a universe unto himself.

Yet so few do the work necessary to receive life's greatest rewards.

Strive to please God.

In so doing,

You will discover that underneath all the superficial mental fluff,

There are true gems,

Jewels,

And rubies within you.

There is but one giver,

Each soul is a gift from that one God.

Never forget this.

When you feel cornered,

Trapped,

Or coerced,

Remember the unseen is a world of which you must strive to be aware while you live.

So much exists within the unseen world.

It matters little if you may be ten or a hundred and ten.

You may have lived a million lives and read a million books.

You may know thousands of people,

And some of them might even respect you or look to you for guidance.

But if you don't know that invisible world,

You know nothing and have nothing to offer.

Realize that those you admire and follow,

If they know nothing of the unseen world,

They do not merit your admiration.

They are blind to what matters and cannot lead you anywhere.

You place them upon pedestals,

But on the day you realize they have faults,

You will leave them disappointed.

All of it is nothing but projection.

Are you the dark shadow or the golden one?

Know who you are.

Know that every goodness is God-given.

God alone is the absolute perfection.

7-10 Release greedy ambition and madness for power.

You will never control what is God's domain.

Worldly fame and praise is like a pustule.

It will pop,

And so many poisons will fill the mind.

Find grace,

Find spaciousness within yourself,

And become wise.

Any who are worthy are worthy because of God.

One must hear to know.

Listen.

What do you hear?

Chatter of men?

Sounds of nature?

Listen.

Do you hear sounds of mystery?

Do you hear the eternal music of the timeless?

Only deep listening can erase your ignorance,

Destroy all obstacles,

And put an end to your suffering.

Listen.

Deeper still,

Realize who you are.

Listen ever more deeply to discover that every word is bliss.

Listen and know without reading or studying.

Listen and nature shows you.

Listen and become wise.

All sorrows disappear when you not only listen but hear.

Listen and receive grace.

Listen and claim truth.

Listen and become holy and contented.

Listen to the stones.

Listen to what is sacred.

Listen to the teachings of the universe.

Listen and every door opens to you.

Listen and the kingdom of heaven is yours.

Be virtuous now.

Stay in alignment with God,

Attuned to God's frequency,

And you will be beyond description.

Stand with dignity.

No label or judgment will touch you.

All problems will shrink into nothing.

You will remain free of all concepts,

Unlimited by space and time.

Let the note of God ring you into purity,

And all doubt will leave you as your understanding awakens through your intuition.

Some may try and pull you down,

But you will remain unperturbed.

Some may even try and lift you up,

But you will remain unperturbed.

When thy sea is dark and all stars are gone,

Still you will see your path through God's mercy.

In alignment,

True wisdom is yours.

In alignment,

Clear awareness is yours.

All realms and dimensions open to you.

When you align,

Dignity and grace are your perfume.

When you align,

You become fearless and eternal.

Such is God's music,

Purifying all and making you unshakable in life's winds.

In alignment,

Find the perfect timing.

In alignment,

You regain a foothold in spirit.

Truth becomes your compass.

What miracle is the power of faith?

To they that have faith,

God's power is theirs.

Contemplate this great mystery and bind yourself with truth.

In alignment,

God's gifts are yours.

Grace is upon you and your loved ones.

Abundance and prosperity are yours.

You cross the ocean of life's suffering,

Walking on water.

It makes you pure and sure.

15.

Liberation is now.

There is no difference between the chosen and those who choose.

They are one.

So choose God and you are automatically the chosen,

Worthy,

Supreme,

Honorable,

And beautiful.

When you choose to meditate,

Your heart belonging to God,

Doing only what pleases God,

The kingdom opens to reveal miraculous wonders beyond all imaginings.

Consider.

Contemplate.

Religion is an ever-expanding mystery of uncountable forms.

Yet there is rhythm and harmony.

There is natural law and compassion woven through the fabric of existence.

Understand.

Behold the perfection,

The precision.

Recognize your place in it all and swim in utter fascination with the colors,

Creatures,

Shapes,

And wonders.

Even beyond what the eye can see,

So much is unknown.

So much is ever unfolding.

Design music,

Beautiful forms,

And countless gifts that one cannot fathom.

Such power,

Such vivacious life,

It is beyond description.

What could ever be more powerful than pleasing that force which creates it all?

Enter that formless,

Peaceful,

And divine stream.

Sixteen through eighteen,

Counter the madness of society,

Those godless creatures,

Those self-hating,

Destructive,

And confused ones.

Resurrect yourself from zombie states.

Do not sacrifice this one precious life.

Do what pleases God.

Live in the grace of the formless,

Peaceful,

And divine.

Countless numbers of souls sing,

Love,

And worship in countless ways.

Countless souls read and study spiritual texts and practice spiritual practices.

Countless are the number of devotees displaying countless virtues and countless knowledge.

Countless numbers meditate.

Countless people value truth and offer all they have to give.

Countless people stand brave in the face of fear and injustice despite the consequences.

Countless numbers cannot speak of their true longing to love and be loved.

Countless numbers of souls are tormented,

Maniacal,

And blind.

There are countless who steal,

Lie,

Kill,

And bring harm to others through slander and corruption.

Countless numbers look away from the pain of others,

Comfortable in their comfort.

There are countless names and places,

So many lands and ways of living,

Beyond countless,

Limitless.

The sound of God,

The great universal Om,

Is the container of all.

All praise,

All knowledge,

All song,

All words,

All destinies.

The great composer orchestrates it all,

Every single note.

No note is born outside of this.

How on earth can we ever begin to consider this kind of power with our puny minds?

19.

Understand universal laws.

We wash our bodies daily to be clean.

We wash our clothes and homes too.

Do not forget to cleanse also the mind,

For it too becomes clouded with the filth of error and fear based in painful ruminations.

Cleanse your mind with the word.

Cleanse it with the love of God.

This alone will satisfy your longing to be inspired.

Talking about your spiritual practice will never bring you closer to God.

Neither will the rote and mechanical repetitions of a ritual.

Let go the mental revelations and step into revelation.

It is the heartfelt daily practice and the manner in which daily actions are taken in life that create your life and death.

We all reap what we sow,

And we eat what we sow.

Sign with God's will and reap and eat well.

20.

All is karma.

When your karma appears unkind,

Give thanks.

A debt is being paid.

When your karma is sweet,

Give thanks.

It is just one small sign of honor.

Every small act to align with God,

Praying,

Offering a kindness,

Giving gifts,

Sharing,

These acts bring honor.

Make love in your mind with all people,

All things,

All circumstances.

Wash away bitterness,

Resentment,

And other dirt of the inner kind.

But claim not the virtues of these acts.

That belongs to God alone.

True devotion is the action without reward or status.

It is enough to know the Word,

To serve the Creator,

To live in truth.

These bring a happy mind.

We cannot know how God's miracles are performed.

No one has ever known.

It is an unsolvable mystery.

We can only imagine that even the gift of imagination comes from God.

So heed not the explanations of those who think they understand.

Rather,

Be still in the great mystery and have faith that God knows.

God understands.

God is perfection.

No one can do anything,

And those that claim they can are blithering fools.

God is essential to everything.

What is worldly status if one is not aligned?

What is position worth if that position is not ordained by God?

The world of illusion is such a tempting material playground,

And the etheric worlds a hall of mirrors extending into infinity.

We may come to know one facet or even a million facets of either or both,

But we will never be satisfied or know it all.

The treasures we truly seek,

The treasures of the soul,

Can't be found in these realms.

There are so many of us that keep searching,

Thinking the next will yield the elusive treasure.

All we get is tired.

Seek only the one,

Know only the one and know everything.

And know this,

Only God can know the immensity of God.

Those who praise God hear only their own voices,

They cannot hear God's.

You must surrender to hear,

Must lose yourself in the great vastness.

There are those who seem to have everything,

But even he who owns the world is nothing compared to the one who knows the self.

Let this be your strategy when faced with injustice.

23 The wheels of samsara turn and turn,

On and on.

More ideas,

More words,

More doing,

More giving,

More to see,

More to hear,

More life to live.

There is no end in sight in an ever expanding universe.

When you see this,

You know there is no end in sight.

It is both awe-inspiring and terrifying.

But the end does not exist.

What never began can never end.

This truth dispels all darkness.

This mantra is beyond the mind of men.

Only God is high enough to see.

Can you imagine such eyes alighting upon you?

You would evaporate in less than an instant,

Eternally free,

Exalted.

24 Cleanse your ancestors across all timelines,

Backwards and forwards.

The giver of life just keeps giving.

It matters so little,

Whether to be a saint begging,

A holy man meditating,

Or a miserable wretch or powerful king.

Those who take without giving thanks are fools.

Those who eat without digesting grow ill.

But even sickness is a gift.

All things are only gifts,

But we value one over the other.

Each gift is a balancer of karma.

It is liberation.

One can wail and cry how unfair the world is,

But that is folly.

One can moan and weep for the injustice,

But that too is a fool's game.

God gives.

God knows.

The only thing worth doing is to please God.

This is the only true blessing,

To free one of all limitation.

25 Even before asking,

God knows your needs,

You needn't put words to them.

Your work is not to plead.

Your work is to trust and serve.

From out of that trust and service,

Every need is granted.

Truly there is no lack or limitation in this world.

What you can open to hold is what you can receive,

For God's storehouse is overflowing.

We have only this one precious human birth in which to awaken.

There are no assurances of others.

So realize the pricelessness of every single detail.

It is all an astonishing,

Mesmerizing illusion,

Each facet a holographic reflection of the whole.

Priceless are the arrows that point us back away from illusion.

But even these,

Scriptures,

The teachings,

The practices,

Can become rote and empty expressions.

It simply isn't enough to recite what you know.

It isn't going to save you from the death that is coming for you.

God remains beyond description.

Be not the fool who thinks he knows.

God is simply as great as he pleases.

26.

Banish ideas of bad luck or misery in business and in home.

In every building,

Even those who aren't aware of it are actually praising the One.

They do so by the virtue of the breath until death,

And then they return to it.

There is no escaping this.

All of life sings God's praises constantly.

The people with their cries and complaints,

With their doubts and dark nights.

The musicians and singers of course with their variety and creativity.

Even nature's trees and waters and winds and fires sing.

It's all vibration.

Everything praises by vibration.

The planets and stars and galaxies sing.

There are invisible realms singing constantly.

The angels sing,

And every thought and deed is a song recorded.

The gods and goddesses sing.

The bodhisattvas sing.

Some sing aware they are singing praises to life,

And their songs ring out wild and true.

Other songs are confused,

But even they too are born of the longing to praise the One.

Those who know they sing your song sing with joy and glow with love for you.

No one can even count the number of singers singing in this mysterious and incomprehensible creation.

The one true God is always true,

Gracious,

Loving,

Kind.

God is now and shall always be.

God does not come and go.

All things are created within God.

Within Him,

Within her,

Within us.

We are the masters of illusions.

God does whatever pleases.

No one tells God what to do.

God is supreme,

The King of Kings.

Oh,

Nanak,

Live ever in God's will.

27-31 Stuck,

Stagnant,

Mired,

Practice patience.

Remain humble,

Meditate.

Know death is your ally.

Walk with purity.

Walk with faith.

Never forget who you are.

Conquer your own mind and be victorious in this world.

Grow in wisdom.

Be kind to all.

Recognize the song of eternal praise in all man and womankind.

God is the master,

The master of all.

Magic powers and wealth and every pleasure,

Joy and ecstasy.

Both union and loneliness come from God.

Your actions write your great destiny.

One can tone me,

Say who would injure me?

All enemies are vanquished.

God,

Generator,

Organizer and destroyer.

It is God who moves all the pieces on the chessboard.

God sees every move even if we do not.

It is wondrous is it not.

There is one master of the board.

The same for every piece.

All are touched by God,

Infused with God.

Trust in He who watches and He who acts.

Be one with God and all virtues of God are yours.

Take your seat upon heavenly throne.

None may command God but God.

Conform to God's will and one is shielded from all threats.

Oh Nanak,

The actions of truth are true.

Hail,

Hail,

Hail unto God.

Primal,

Pure and equal to none.

There is no beginning and no end through all ages.

I,

The one.

32 Abra-cadabra,

As I speak so I create,

The law of karma is one over which we ourselves can preside if we understand.

This millions of tongues creating millions of worlds.

Why do we fight to impose our creation on others?

Can we not see the mastery in their own art?

All paths lead back to the one.

Our longing for home is the longing to return to that one.

We don't return by the force of our will.

We get there by God's grace.

Then we try to take credit for it.

33 No power to be silent or speak.

No power to give.

No power to die.

No power to live.

No power to win.

No power to lose.

No power is yours even to choose.

No power lies in worldly might.

No power from treasures in earthly sight.

No power to control of any kind.

To think so provokes the restless mind.

No power to meditate or know the unknown.

Nanak,

Not even this life is your own.

No power to leave this world and go home.

One power.

One actor.

One doer.

One knower.

Oh Nanak,

No one is higher or lower.

Reclaim your divinity and purge yourself of yourself.

Ask for nothing and receive everything.

34 Here time appears to pass.

The elements appear to dance.

What is stable and eternal but God?

That which was never born and will never die.

On this earth live countless souls,

Each so unique,

And there is work to be done for each one.

For we must accept and learn the lessons we are here to learn.

We cannot pick,

Choose,

Or evade the law of karma.

Give thanks for whatever appears and know you are paying a debt for good.

If you cannot find gratitude,

The lesson will repeat until you can.

It's the same for each and every one of us.

None is immune.

Discover the grace that covers your karma and know how perfect it all is.

Understand when it hurts,

Even when it is half finished.

And if you can't see it now,

Have faith you will understand one day.

35 There is a peaceful understanding that lives within wisdom.

Wisdom is knowing that there is only the one.

Among so many lands,

So many kings,

So many oceans,

So many things,

All that appears comes from the one.

All that appears is the one.

It isn't enough to trust,

Tune in,

And serve the one.

You must free each person,

Place,

Or thing to serve in its way.

That is your true purpose.

To liberate the world.

36 It is a fool's game to describe the realm of realization.

Every word would fail.

It is a joy,

A delight,

A beauty,

A vibration beyond description.

A frequency so rarified and high.

From here comes all power to listen and to know.

This is divine realization.

37 Karma can be so sticky,

So tricky,

But it is entirely possible to surrender oneself to the realm of grace,

Where the power of the word is beyond that of deception and death.

In awareness there is light.

In awareness there is God's might.

In awareness there is truth.

It is all watched and known.

It is all a blessing.

And there is neither an end nor beginning.

Just a universe forever spinning.

As God commands,

So all things come forward.

It is all God and only God.

Rejoice in this profound mystery.

38 Change your direction in this single moment and your whole destiny changes.

Life takes self-control and patience.

Life demands awe and reverence.

It is a higher love that seeks expression through our lips.

We belong to God.

We are gods.

We must remember and finally receive the blessing that we have pushed away again and again,

All while exclaiming that God has forsaken us.

The giver of all blessings waits happily for our readiness.

Shlug Let us pray to respect all of creation and affirm what we know to be true.

The Mother below us,

The Great Father above us,

And we in between.

We live as the days and nights pass,

Spending this precious birth as we do in the tug of aversion,

Desire,

And ignorance.

To sin is to miss the mark.

We can judge our actions by how close or far we feel from God.

Meditate.

Listen.

Do your healing work.

They who heal themselves can rejoice and go home.

When we step into the light of God,

That very light shines through our eyes and falls upon those around us.

When we awaken,

We ignite the awakening of every other piece of the One.

I would like to add a couple of footnotes.

So first I'd like to thank the translation of S.

S.

Garuka Singh Khalsa,

Columbus,

Ohio,

April 6,

1987.

I have two more footnotes from the writings I had quoted.

A lyric from the Cosmic Chant Pole Star of My Life by Paramahansa Yogananda.

That lyric was,

When they see as dark and all stars are gone.

And then I also quoted a lyric from Vedanta teacher Swami Ram Tirtha.

The quote was from a poem,

None can tone me,

Say who would injure me.

Thank you so much.

Blessings all.

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Thank you so much for sharing this Amazing prayer 🙏