Japji Sahib Pauree 4
- Jan 22
- 3 min read
Japji Sahib Pauree 4
The Endless Giver • The Poverty of Greed • An IFS-Aligned Teaching
Original Gurmukhi
ਸੋਚੈ ਸੋਚਿ ਨ ਹੋਵਈ ਜੇ ਸੋਚੀ ਲਖ ਵਾਰ ॥
ਚੁਪੈ ਚੁਪ ਨ ਹੋਵਈ ਜੇ ਲਾਇ ਰਹਾ ਲਿਵ ਤਾਰ ॥
ਭੁਖਿਆ ਭੁਖ ਨ ਉਤਰੀ ਜੇ ਬੰਨਾ ਪੁਰੀਆ ਭਾਰ ॥
ਸਹਸ ਸਿਐਣਪਾ ਲਖ ਹੋਹਿ ਤ ਇਕ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਨਾਲਿ ॥
ਕਿਵ ਸਚਿਆਰਾ ਹੋਈਐ ਕਿਵ ਕੂੜੈ ਤੁਟੈ ਪਾਲਿ ॥
ਹੁਕਮਿ ਰਜਾਈ ਚਲਣਾ ਨਾਨਕ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਨਾਲਿ ॥੪॥
Transliteration
Daataa kare daat paa-ee-ai.
Akath kathaa rahai liv laa-ee-ai.
Daat paa-ee saahib simree-ai.
Saahib saytee man milaa-ee-ai.
Daataa kare daat paa-ee-ai
.Hukam bujhai tahi sukh ho-ee-ai.
Nanak nadar karay jay aapay.
Tahi bakhas la-ay kar iko nay-o.
English Translation (Sikh-Accurate)
One receives when the Giver gives.
The indescribable can be spoken of
only by remaining absorbed in love.
Receiving the gift, one remembers the Divine.
The mind begins to unite with the One.
Whatever the Giver gives, one receives.
Understanding Hukam brings peace.
O Nanak, when the Divine bestows grace,
one is forgiven and aligned with the One.
Sacred Commentary
(Devotional, Clear, Non-Didactic)
Pauree 4 continues the theme of humility and reverses the entire logic of spiritual striving.
We are taught our whole lives:
Work harder.
Try more.
Earn everything you want.
Pauree 4 says gently:
What is deepest cannot be earned.
It can only be received.
The “Giver” in Sikh wisdom is not a separate being,
but the Infinite Source that flows through all things.
Guru Nanak reminds us:
You cannot force awakening.
You cannot manufacture grace.
You cannot perform yourself into union.
But when something opens in you, a moment of clarity,
a breath of peace, a softening in the chest,
you didn’t achieve it.
You received it.
And receiving shifts everything.
The mind begins remembering the One.
The heart moves toward unity.
Control relaxes.
Hukam becomes less of a concept
and more of a rhythm your life begins to follow.
Pauree 4 is devotional surrender, not resignation,
but trust in the flow that has been carrying you
long before you knew how to name it.
The IFS Lens
(Alignment with Self-Energy Without Forcing Belief)
IFS teaches that protectors often operate from a belief:
“If I don’t hold everything together,
everything will fall apart.”
These parts overwork, overthink, overachieve,
and try to earn safety through perfection.
Pauree 4 speaks directly to them:
You don’t have to manufacture connection or Self-energy.
You receive it when the system softens.
You receive it when burdened parts feel safe enough to settle.
You receive it when grace finds a small opening.
“Receiving the gift, one remembers the Divine.”
In IFS terms:
When protectors relax,
Self-energy naturally rises.
No force.
No spiritual athletics.
Just space.
Just openness.
Just allowing what is naturally yours
to move toward you.
Pauree 4 honors both:
the protector who believes it must earn everything
and
the Self-led awareness that knows
some gifts arrive without effort.
Trauma-Informed Practice
(Curiosity-Only • Non-Directive)
If it feels comfortable, let your body settle however it wishes.
Eyes open or soft, there is no preferred posture.
Bring the heart of Pauree 4 into the room:
“Some things cannot be forced. Some things are received.”
Let this idea simply rest beside you.
As it settles, notice what arises, a sensation, an emotion, a belief, or nothing at all.
Some people feel relief, warmth, or gratitude.
Others feel skepticism, tension, or grief.
All responses are welcome.
Turn toward whichever part responds first.
Not to change it, only to notice it with tenderness.
You may softly explore:
How do you feel hearing that some things are received, not earned?
What feels hopeful, and what feels uncomfortable?
If it feels safe, allow the part to express itself
through words, feelings, sensations, or silence.
You may gently explore:
“What does this part believe it must earn in order to be safe?”
There is nothing to fix.
Only presence and listening.
This is the practice.
Closing Reflection
(Poetic, Grounded, Inclusive)
Pauree 4 is a loosening of the soul.
It whispers:
“You do not carry the universe alone.
You do not create your own worth.
You do not need to force what is meant to meet you.”
Some gifts arrive the moment you stop clutching.
Some clarity appears only after exhaustion.
Some peace enters quietly
when the inner noise becomes too tired to continue.
Receiving is not passive.
It is courageous
It is an opening
It is the moment you stop performing holiness
and begin resting in it.
This Pauree is a reminder:
You are already held
by the One who gives without measure,
without transaction,
without condition.
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