Japji Sahib Pauree 20

Japji Sahib Pauree 20

Original Gurmukhi

ਕੰਤੀ ਕੇਤੇ ਵਣਿ ਤਰਿ ਕੋਏ ॥

ਕੇਤੇ ਤੰਤੇ ਕੇਤੇ ਵਾਚੋਏ ॥

ਕੇਤੇ ਟੁੰਡੇ ਘਾਟੀਅਹਿ ਵੇਚਾਰੇ ॥

ਕੇਤੇ ਟੁੰਡੇ ਮਾਤੀ ਪਹੁਚਾਰੇ ॥

ਕੇਤੇ ਦੰਦੇ ਦੋਖ ਭੰਜਣਹਾਰ ॥

ਨਾਨਕ ਨਦਰੀ ਪਾਈਐ ਸਚੁ ਨਾਮੁ ਅਧਾਰ ॥੨੦॥

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Transliteration

Kantee kaytay van tar ko-ay.

Kaytay tantay kaytay vaacho-ay.

Kaytay tundday ghaateeahi vaychaare.

Kaytay tundday maatee pahuchaare.

Kaytay dandday dokh bhanjanhaar.

Nanak nadree paa-ee-ai sach naam adhaar. ॥20॥

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Straight, Clear Meaning (Sikh-Accurate)

There are countless beings crossing the world’s forests of life.

Countless threads, countless ways of speaking and living.

Many are wounded, limited, struggling.

Many are those who help, guide, and uplift.

There are countless protectors,

and countless are the ones who break through obstacles.

Guru Nanak says:

Only through Divine Grace is the True Name realized,

the foundation of all.

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Sacred Commentary

Devotional • Clear • Non-Didactic

Pauree 20 opens the world like an immense tapestry.

Threads everywhere.

Stories everywhere.

Souls everywhere,

each carrying their own shape, limits, strengths, tasks, and longings.

Guru Nanak is showing us the plurality of the human journey:

• Some walk with clarity.

• Some struggle with wounds that make the path uneven.

• Some care for others.

• Some break through obstacles.

• Some collapse under them.

He is not creating categories.

He is naming the vastness of this human world,

a world where every soul holds pain, beauty, and purpose.

And then he says something that humbles all striving:

Realization is not earned.

It is received.

No matter how skilled, damaged, clever, or devoted we are,

awakening does not happen by merit.

It comes through Grace,

through the mysterious opening that allows the Name,

the living truth, to become our ground.

This Pauree is an invitation to stop comparing your path to others

and to see the dignity in every form of human limitation.

You are not behind.

You are not disqualified.

You are simply one thread in the tapestry,

and Grace is available to all threads equally.

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The IFS Lens

Alignment with Self-energy • No Forcing Beliefs

IFS echoes this teaching beautifully:

Every part is a “thread.”

Some are burdened, injured, or constricted, like the “wounded” beings named in the Pauree.

Some protect fiercely.

Some guide wisely.

Some push.

ome collapse.

Some hold stories of failure, others of resilience.

Guru Nanak is saying what IFS knows deeply:

All parts belong.

All parts are part of the human fabric.

All parts are worthy of compassion.

Self-energy appears not when parts are perfect,

but when we relate to their burdens with openness.

Grace, in this sense, is the moment a part feels seen

and loosens its grip even slightly.

The “True Name” becomes the foundation

when a system begins shifting from performance

toward presence.

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Trauma-Informed Practice

Curiosity-Only • Non-Directive • Inclusive of All Responses

If it feels comfortable, settle your body in whatever way feels natural.

Bring the heart of Pauree 20 into the room:

“There are countless paths, countless burdens, countless gifts, and all are held in Grace.”

Let this idea simply be nearby.

Notice gently what arises inside you,

warmth,

resistance,

confusion,

resonance,

or nothing at all.

All experiences are welcome.

Turn toward whichever part responds first.

Not to fix it, only to be with it.

You may explore softly:

• “What happens inside me when I imagine many paths, none better or worse than mine?”

• “Is there a part that compares my journey to others?”

• “What does it need from me right now?”

If it feels safe, let the part express whatever is true, through feelings, images, sensations, or silence.

This practice is not about accepting doctrine.

It is about meeting your inner world with gentleness and curiosity.

This is the practice.

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Closing Reflection

Poetic • Grounded • Inclusive

Pauree 20 widens the lens of your life.

It reminds you that the world is full of travelers,

each carrying their own ache, brilliance, and destiny.

You do not walk alone.

You do not struggle alone.

You do not heal alone.

Grace threads through every path,

entering through cracks we never knew were openings.

Let this Pauree teach you the freedom

of not needing to be exceptional, only present.

In the tapestry of existence,

your thread is already woven.