Japji Sahib Pauree 38
- Jan 22
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 26
Japji Sahib Pauree 38
Original Gurmukhi
ਜਤੁ ਪਾਹਾਰਾ ਧੀਰਜੁ ਸੁਨਿਆਰੁ ॥
ਅਹਰਣਿ ਮਤਿ ਵੇਦੁ ਹਥੀਆਰੁ ॥
ਭਉ ਖਲਾ ਅਗਨਿ ਤਪ ਤਾਉ ॥
ਭਾਂਡਾ ਭਾਉ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਤਿਤੁ ਢਾਲਿ ॥
ਘੜੀਐ ਸਬਦੁ ਸਚੀ ਟਕਸਾਲ ॥
ਜਿਨ ਕਉ ਨਦਰਿ ਕਰਮੁ ਤਿਨ ਕਾਰ ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਨਦਰੀ ਨਦਰਿ ਨਿਹਾਲ ॥੩੮॥
Transliteration
Jaṯ pahārā ḏẖīraj suniār.
Aharan maṯ veḏ hathīār.
Bẖa▫o kẖalā agan ṯap ṯā▫o.
Bẖāʼnḏā bẖā▫o amriṯ ṯiṯ dẖāl.
Gẖaṛī▫ai sabaḏ sacẖī ṯaksāl.
Jin ka▫o naḏar karam ṯin kār.
Nānak naḏrī naḏar nihāl.
Straight Meaning (Sikh-accurate)
Guru Nanak teaches:
Let self-discipline be the furnace, patience the goldsmith.
Let your mind be the anvil, and divine wisdom your tools.
Let fear of losing your way be the bellows, and the fire of inner heat be your spiritual intensity.
Let love be the vessel into which the nectar is poured.
In this forge, the Word is shaped in the true mint of the Divine.
Those who receive the glance of grace carry out this work.
Nanak says
By grace upon grace, one is blessed.
Sacred Commentary
Pauree 38 is the great alchemical verse of Japji Sahib. Here, Guru Nanak reveals how spiritual transformation actually happens, not through rituals, not through dogma, but through inner metallurgy.
He builds the metaphor piece by piece:
Self-discipline is the furnace. Not harshness, steadiness.
Patience is the goldsmith. Transformation requires gentleness, not force.
The mind is the anvil. It is where life strikes us and shapes us.
Wisdom is the tool. Understanding turns experience into insight.
Fear, awe, reverence, is the bellows. A healthy awareness of consequences keeps us aligned.
Inner heat is the fire. The longing for truth, the intensity of sincerity.
Then the heart of the metaphor:
“Let love be the vessel into which the nectar is poured.”
No transformation happens without love.
Love is the container.
Love is the safety.
Love is the ground where grace enters.
“The Word is shaped in the true mint.”
This means: Truth is forged inside us, not learned, memorized, or inherited.
It is formed through living, refining, softening, opening.
And the culmination:
Grace initiates the work.
Grace completes the work.
Grace blesses the result.
Effort matters, but grace transforms.
IFS Lens
Through the IFS lens, Pauree 38 is a perfect map of internal healing:
Self-discipline as the furnace → the steady presence of Self-energy holding the system.
Patience as the goldsmith → protectors soften only when they feel patience, not pressure.
Mind as anvil → life’s blows land on parts; healing reshapes those impressions.
Wisdom as the tool → the clarity of Self guides the process.
Fear in the sense of sacred awareness → parts recognize what harms and what helps.
Inner heat → the yearning for wholeness.
Love as the vessel → the relational field inside, protectors, exiles, all held in compassion.
IFS mirrors Guru Nanak here:
Healing is not cognitive.
It is alchemical, a slow forging of inner truth,
powered by presence and grace.
Grace in IFS is the moment
a protector softens unexpectedly,
a burden releases,
a part feels seen for the first time.
Trauma-Informed Practice (Curiosity Only)
As you sit with this pauree, explore softly:
Is there a part that tries to force transformation, rather than let it unfold?
Is there a part that feels exhausted from being the “furnace” on its own?
What is it like to imagine patience, not pressure, shaping you?
Is there a part that longs to be held in love as the vessel?
How does your system respond to the idea that grace, not effort, completes the work?
All responses, tension, openness, numbness, confusion, or warmth, are welcome.
This is the practice.
Closing Reflection
Pauree 38 is the secret architecture of awakening.
It tells you:
You do not transform through force.
You do not heal by pushing.
You are shaped slowly, lovingly, in the hidden forge of the heart,
through discipline that is steady,
patience that is tender,
love that is unconditional,
and grace that arrives unannounced.
May this pauree remind every part of you that transformation is not a demand,
it is a slow, luminous becoming.