ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ

He Himself has staged His own drama;

O Nanak, there is no other Creator. ||1||

When there was only God the Master,

then who was called bound or liberated?

When there was only the Lord, Unfathomable and Infinite,

then who entered hell, and who entered heaven?

When God was without attributes, in absolute poise,

then where was mind and where was matter - where was Shiva and Shakti?

When He held His Own Light unto Himself,

then who was fearless, and who was afraid?

He Himself is the Performer in His own plays;

O Nanak, the Lord Master is Unfathomable and Infinite. ||2||

When the Immortal Lord was seated at ease,

then where was birth, death and dissolution?

When there was only God, the Perfect Creator,

then who was afraid of death?

When there was only the One Lord, unmanifest and incomprehensible,

then who was called to account by the recording scribes of the conscious and the subconscious?

When there was only the Immaculate, Incomprehensible, Unfathomable Master,

then who was emancipated, and who was held in bondage?

He Himself, in and of Himself, is the most wonderful.

O Nanak, He Himself created His Own Form. ||3||

When there was only the Immaculate Being, the Lord of beings,

there was no filth, so what was there to be washed clean?

When there was only the Pure, Formless Lord in Nirvaanaa,

then who was honored, and who was dishonored?

When there was only the Form of the Lord of the Universe,

then who was tainted by fraud and sin?

When the Embodiment of Light was immersed in His Own Light,

then who was hungry, and who was satisfied?

He is the Cause of causes, the Creator Lord.

O Nanak, the Creator is beyond calculation. ||4||

When His Glory was contained within Himself,

then who was mother, father, friend, child or sibling?

When all power and wisdom was latent within Him,

then where were the Vedas and the scriptures, and who was there to read them?

When He kept Himself, All-in-all, unto His Own Heart,

then who considered omens to be good or bad?

When He Himself was lofty, and He Himself was near at hand,

then who was called master, and who was called disciple?

We are wonder-struck at the wondrous wonder of the Lord.

O Nanak, He alone knows His own state. ||5||

When the Undeceivable, Impenetrable, Inscrutable One was self-absorbed,

then who was swayed by Maya?

When He paid homage to Himself,

then the three qualities were not prevailing.

When there was only the One, the One and Only Lord God,

then who was not anxious, and who felt anxiety?

When He Himself was satisfied with Himself,

then who spoke and who listened?

He is vast and infinite, the highest of the high.

O Nanak, He alone can reach Himself. ||6||

When He Himself fashioned the visible world of the creation,

he made the world subject to the three dispositions.

Sin and virtue then began to be spoken of.