Japji Sahib Pauree 5
- Jan 22
- 3 min read
Japji Sahib Pauree 5
The One Who Gives in Every Breath • The Futility of Pride • An IFS-Aligned Teaching
Original Gurmukhi
ਥਾਪਿਆ ਨ ਜਾਇ ਕੀਤਾ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥
ਆਪੇ ਆਪਿ ਨਿਰੰਜਨੁ ਸੋਇ ॥
ਜਿਨਿ ਸੇਵਿਆ ਤਿਨਿ ਪਾਇਆ ਮਨਿ ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਗਾਵੀਐ ਗੁਣੀ ਨਿਧਾਨਿ ॥
ਗਾਵੀਐ ਸੁਣੀਐ ਮਨਿ ਰਖੀਐ ਭਾਉ ॥
ਦੁਖੁ ਪਰਹਰਿ ਸੁਖੁ ਘਰਿ ਲੈ ਜਾਇ ॥
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਨਾਦੁ ਅੰਗਦੁ ਬੇਦ ॥
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਰਹੈ ਸਮਾਇ ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਗਾਵੀਐ ਗੁਣੀ ਨਿਧਾਨਿ ॥੫॥
Transliteration
Thaapiaa na jaa-e keetaa na ho-ay.
Aapay aap niranjan so-ay.
Jin sayvi-aa tin paa-i-aa man.
Nanak gaavee-ai gunee nidhaan.
Gaavee-ai sun-ee-ai man rakhee-ai bhaa-o.
Dukh parhar sukh ghar lai jaa-ay.
Gurmukh naad angad bayd.
Gurmukh rahai samaa-ay.
Nanak gaavee-ai gunee nidhaan.
English Translation (Sikh-Accurate)
The One cannot be created or installed.
The One is self-existent, pure, beyond stain.
Those who serve with love
find the Divine within themselves.
Says Nanak, sing of the Treasure of Virtues.
Sing, listen, and let your heart hold devotion.
In doing so, suffering falls away
and one carries peace home.
Through the Guru-centered path
the wisdom of all ages resounds within.
Such a person lives immersed in the One.
Nanak says: Sing of the Treasure of Virtues.
Sacred Commentary (Devotional, Clear, Non-Didactic)
Pauree 5 turns the seeker inward
after the dissolving lessons of Paurees 1 to 4.
Guru Nanak now tells us:
You cannot construct God.
You cannot manufacture connection.
You cannot build Truth like a monument.
The One is not created, the One simply is.
And so the seeker’s work is not construction
but opening.
Pauree 5 introduces one of the most tender themes in the Japji:
Singing.
Listening.
Holding devotion.
This is not about musical talent.
It’s about orientation, turning the heart toward what softens it.
“Sing” means:
Let your awareness dwell on what is true.
“Listen” means:
Let your system take in what nourishes it.
“Hold devotion” means:
Allow yourself to care.
This Pauree teaches a mystery:
When attention turns toward the Divine,
suffering does not vanish because life becomes easy,
it shifts because the heart is no longer alone in its ache.
Peace returns home with you
because you are carrying a different center.
And Guru Nanak ends with a reassurance:
You do not need to force immersion into the One.
It happens naturally
as the heart keeps turning toward what it loves.
The IFS Lens (Alignment with Self-Energy Without Forcing Belief)
IFS honors the subtle truth in this Pauree:
The Self cannot be created.
It is already here.
Just as the One is not “installed,”
Self-energy is not built.
It is uncovered when protectors soften
and exiles are met with compassion.
Pauree 5 invites the system into this orientation:
“Sing,” give your parts something nourishing to rest near.
“Listen,” receive what arises without judgment
“Hold devotion,” allow a warm curiosity toward your inner world.
For some protectors, this Pauree brings relief:
“Oh, I don’t have to manufacture Self. I can rest.”
For others, it brings fear:
“If I don’t keep controlling, everything will collapse.”
Both are welcome.
Pauree 5 does not demand belief, it offers a rhythm:
Turn gently toward what is good,
and you will find yourself
more and more aligned with the One inside you.
Trauma-Informed Practice (Curiosity-Only • Non-Directive)
Settle in whatever way is most comfortable.
There is no ideal posture.
Bring the heart of Pauree 5 into the room:
“The One cannot be built. We open to what already is.”
Let the words sit beside you without needing to accept or reject them.
Notice what arises, a softening, a tightening, an emotion, a blankness, or nothing at all.
Every response is valid.
Turn toward whichever part responds first.Not to fix it, just to meet it.
You may gently explore:
“How do you feel hearing that truth already lives within?”
“What feels comforting, and what feels threatening?”
“Is there anything this part wants me to know right now?”
If it feels safe, let the part express itself, through words, sensations, emotions, or silence.
There is nothing you need to force.
Some truths unfold slowly.
Some parts trust slowly.
This is the practice.
Closing Reflection (Poetic, Grounded, Inclusive)
Pauree 5 is the soft hum beneath all spiritual paths:
You do not manufacture the sacred.
You recognize it.
You return to it.
You remember it.
The One does not need your performance, only your presence.
Your system does not need pressure, only space.
You do not need to create Self-energy, only allow it.
As you keep turning your attention,
again and again,
toward what is true and tender and real,
you begin to discover:
The One you seek
was always speaking from within you.
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