Japji Sahib Pauree 7
- Jan 21
- 3 min read
Japji Sahib Pauree 7
The Path That Clears Itself • The Quiet Power of Naam • An IFS-Aligned Teaching
Original Gurmukhi
ਜੇ ਜੁਗ ਚਾਰੇ ਆਰਜਾ ਹੋਰ ਦਸੂਣੀ ਹੋਇ ॥
ਨਵਾ ਖੰਡਾ ਵਿਚਿ ਜਾਣੀਐ ਨਾਲਿ ਚਲੈ ਸਭੁ ਕੋਇ ॥
ਚੰਗਾ ਨਾਉ ਰਖਾਇ ਕੈ ਜਸੁ ਕੀਰਤਿ ਜਗਿ ਲੇਇ ॥
ਜੇ ਤਿਸੁ ਨਦਰਿ ਨ ਆਵਈ ਤ ਵਾਤ ਨ ਪੁਛੈ ਕੇ ॥
ਕੀਟਾ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਕੀਟੁ ਕਰਿ ਦੋਸੀ ਦੋਸੁ ਧਰੇ ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਨਦਰੀ ਨਦਰਿ ਨਿਹਾਲ ॥੭॥
Transliteration
Je jug chāre ārjā hor dasūṇī ho-e.
Navā khandā vich jāṇī-ai nāl chalai sabh ko-e.
Changā nāo rakhā-e kai jas kīrat jag le-e.
Je tis nadar na āva-ee ta vaat na puchhai ke.
Kītā andar kīt kar dosī dos dhar-e
Nanak nadree nadar nihāl. ॥7॥
Straight, Clear Meaning (Sikh-Accurate)
Even if you lived through all four ages of time, multiplied ten times over.
Even if you were known throughout the nine continents
and everyone walked with you in respect.
Even if you earned a great name
and the world praised your virtues.
None of it matters
if Divine Grace does not touch you.
Without that grace,
all status and accomplishments mean nothing.
Those who blame others
sink into blame themselves.
Guru Nanak concludes:
Through Divine Grace alone
one becomes truly blessed.
Sacred Commentary (Devotional, Clear, Non-Didactic)
Pauree 7 is the great equalizer.
It dissolves every illusion of “earning” spiritual worth.
Guru Nanak paints an extreme picture:
Live for thousands of years.
Travel all realms known to humankind.
Be celebrated across nations.
Carry the admiration of millions.
And still, none of it opens the heart.
Why?
Because awakening is not produced by achievement.
It is not an item on a spiritual résumé.
It is not a reward for effort or moral performance.
Grace, Nadar, is not something we manufacture.
It is the natural opening that occurs
when we stop gripping our identity
and start relaxing into truth.
This Pauree also warns of the subtle violence of blame.
When we point outward,
our suffering deepens inward.
When we accuse others,
our parts begin accusing us.
The remedy is not perfection,
but softness.
Not striving,
but availability.
Grace is not something we capture,
it is something we become porous to.
And Guru Nanak ends with a tender promise:
When grace looks your way,
it lifts you beyond anything effort could ever build.
The IFS Lens (Alignment with Self-Energy Without Forcing Belief)
Parts that work hard, the achievers, performers, perfectionists,
often hear this Pauree with confusion or fear.
“Are you saying everything I’ve done doesn’t count?”
“Why try at all if grace decides everything?”
“What if grace never comes to me?”
Other parts feel relief:
“Oh, maybe I can rest.”
“Maybe worthiness isn’t something I have to earn.”
In IFS terms:
Managers try to create safety through accomplishment.
Firefighters blame or numb when things feel out of control.
Exiles carry the ache of unworthiness.
Pauree 7 speaks to all of them:
“You do not need to perform your way into love.Y
ou do not need to be flawless to be held.
The deepest openings are not forced, they are received.”
Self-energy is the only space where blame dissolves
and grace becomes visible.
Trauma-Informed Practice (Curiosity-Only • Non-Directive)
If it feels comfortable, let your body settle in whatever way is natural.
Nothing needs to be different for this moment to count.
Bring the heart of Pauree 7 into the room:
“Accomplishment cannot create awakening.
Blame cannot create freedom.
True opening comes through softness, not striving.”
Allow this teaching to simply rest beside you.
Notice what arises, a thought, a sensation, an emotion, or quiet.
Resonance and resistance are both welcome here.
Turn toward whichever part responds first.
Not to correct it, only to know it.
You may ask gently:
“How do you feel hearing that effort alone cannot create awakening?”
“What feels comforting, or what feels threatening, about that?”
“What does this teaching touch in you?”
If it feels safe, let the part express whatever is true:
words, pullback, warmth, tension, emptiness, or silence.
You may explore softly:
“What would it be like if worthiness didn’t depend on earning or proving?”
There is nothing to accept or believe.
Only connection.
Only curiosity.
Only presence.
This is the practice.
Closing Reflection (Poetic, Grounded, Inclusive)
Pauree 7 is a gentle undoing.
A loosening of the grip we didn’t know we were holding.
It whispers:
You can live a thousand lives
and never feel the light touch your chest.
And you can live one simple moment of openness
and be transformed forever.
Grace has no hierarchy.
It does not follow worldly rank or spiritual résumé.
It moves like wind, quiet, equal, free.
Your task is not to force the wind to blow.
Your task is simply
to open the window.
Grace will find you.
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