Japji Sahib Pauree 19

Japji Sahib Pauree 19

Original Gurmukhi

ਏਤੇ ਦੰਦਾ ਗੁਣੀਅਹਿ ਕਾਤੀਅਹਿ ਵੇਕਾਰ ॥

ਤੇਤੇ ਦੰਦਾ ਸਚਿਆਰਿ ਨਾਨਕ ਇਕ ਦਾਤਿ ॥

ਜੇ ਕੋ ਖਾਇਕੁ ਆਖੀਐ ਬੇਲੋੜਾ ਬੇਕਾਰੁ ॥

ਆਖਣਿ ਵੇਖਣਿ ਜੀਵਣਾ ਚਲਣਾ ਇਕ ਨਾਲਿ ॥

ਨਾਨਕ ਭਗਤਾ ਸਦਾਊਣੀ ॥੧੯॥

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Transliteration

Etay dandaa guneeahi kaateeahi vekaar.

Tete dandaa sachiaar Nanak ik daat.

Je ko khaik aakhee-ai belorraa bekhaar.

Aakhan vekhan jeevna chalan ik naal.

Nanak bhagtaa sadaaoonee. ॥19॥

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Straight, Clear Meaning (Sikh-Accurate)

So many beings, so many worlds,

so many measures of greatness and limitation.

Yet all of these are held within the One Giver.

If someone claims ownership over blessings,

they fall into ego and emptiness.

To speak, to see, to live,

to walk through this world,

all happens in the company of the One.

Guru Nanak says:

The devotees remember this always.

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Sacred Commentary

Devotional • Clear • Non-Didactic

Pauree 19 is the soft collapse of arrogance.

It is Guru Nanak inviting the seeker to notice

the immensity of creation,

the countless beings, forces, talents, failings, and gifts,

and then to notice how small the “I” becomes in the face of such vastness.

This is not a humiliation.

It is the return of perspective.

All skills, all intelligence, all fortune, they do not originate in us.

They flow through us.

When someone believes,

“I did this alone,”

they slip into the illusion of separation.

Their own giftedness becomes a trap.

Guru Nanak’s reminder is gentle but firm:

The Giver is One.

We are the vessels, not the source.

To “walk with the One”

is to live with humility,

to see every breath as participation in something larger,

to allow life to move through us

without needing to claim credit or control.

This Pauree is not asking you to be smaller.

It is showing you how to relax into the truth

that you were never meant to carry everything yourself.

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The IFS Lens

Alignment with Self-energy • No Forcing Beliefs

Parts hear this Pauree with very different ears.

Performers might tighten:

“If I’m not the one doing everything, then who am I?”

Achievers might protest:

“My work is my worth. Don’t take that from me.”

Exiles might feel exposed:

“If I’m not exceptional, will anyone value me?”

Protectors might fear irrelevance:

“Humility sounds like danger.”

IFS gives us language for this:

Many parts believe they must be the sole source

of success, safety, or love

in order to keep the system afloat.

Pauree 19 offers a different truth:

You are supported.

You are accompanied.

You are not the only one holding everything.

In the Sikh frame, that support is the Giver.

In IFS, that support arises from Self-energy,

the spacious, steady presence that is never overwhelmed by the world’s enormity.

Both invite the same release:

You don’t have to do this alone.

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Trauma-Informed Practice

Curiosity-Only • Non-Directive • Balanced for Trauma + Self-Led Readers

If it feels comfortable, let your body settle

in whatever way feels natural.

Bring the heart of Pauree 19 into the room:

“There is a vastness beyond me, and I walk within it, not separate from it.”

Allow these words to simply exist nearby.

Gently notice what arises as you sit with this idea,

a sensation, belief, emotion, or silence.

Some feel relief or softening.

Some feel fear, protectiveness, or resistance.

Some feel nothing at all.

All experiences are welcome.

Turn toward whichever part responds first.

Not to correct it, only to be with it.

You may explore softly:

“What comes up when I imagine not carrying everything alone?”

“What feels comforting, or what feels threatening, in that idea?”

If it feels safe, let the part express whatever is true, images, sensations, words, or quiet.

This is not about belief or surrender.

It is about building trust with the part

through presence and curiosity.

This is the practice.

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Closing Reflection

Poetic • Grounded • Inclusive

Pauree 19 widens the sky above your life.

It reminds you that you live inside a universe

overflowing with beings, stories, and forces

far larger than your personal striving.

You are not small.

You are part of something vast.

Humility is not shrinking.

It is resting

in the truth that your brilliance, your breath,

your gifts, your path, all arise from the same great Source.

You walk with the One,

even on the days you forget.

And remembering this

is the beginning of freedom.