The Countless Faces of Darkness – Japji Sahib (Paurī 18)

Based on Maskeen Ji’s Discourse on Japji Sahib

Introduction: The Dual Streams of Life

Sant Maskeen Ji, while reflecting on this paurī, explains that life resembles rivers created by the Divine. The Creator, Qādir Karīm (the Merciful), has set countless streams flowing. Some rivers are crystal-clear, pure, and refreshing. Sitting beside them feels like being in heaven; they carry peace, fragrance, and life.

Other rivers, however, are like filthy drains. Though they are also water, they stink, pollute, and suffocate. Sitting beside them feels like being in hell.

In the same way, humanity flows in two great currents:

• One of purity—devotion, truth, generosity, humility.
• Another of corruption—ignorance, falsehood, violence, and arrogance.

Guru Nanak, in Paurīs 17–20, presents these dualities. In the earlier paurī, he highlighted the countless virtues and seekers. Here, in Paurī 18, he turns to the countless who are lost in vice.

Countless Fools in Darkness

asaṅkh mūrakh andh ghor — countless are the fools, blind in utter darkness.

Maskeen Ji explains the word mūrakh: it refers to one who only puts the mouth forward, without reflection or thought. Such a person speaks endlessly but does not engage the mind. They live like owls and bats—creatures that cannot relate to light, even if the sun blazes above them.

For fools, no amount of wisdom helps. Just as water cannot be contained in a sieve, knowledge cannot stay in their hearts. Their inner world remains dark, regardless of how much light shines outside.

This darkness is not just the absence of physical light but the absence of awareness, of self-realization, of connection with the Divine.

Countless Thieves and Parasites

asaṅkh cor harāmkhor — countless are the thieves and those who feed off others dishonestly.

Maskeen Ji explains that theft goes beyond stealing money. A thief is anyone who claims what is not theirs—whether wealth, ideas, writings, or honor. Someone who attaches their name to another’s work, or claims credit for another’s effort, is as much a thief as the one who picks pockets.

Many people appear “honorable” only because they never had the opportunity to commit theft or oppression. Righteousness tested only in weakness is no righteousness. True integrity is when one has both opportunity and power yet chooses honesty.

Maskeen Ji adds: often, we mistake the lack of opportunity for virtue. But as soon as the right chance comes, the hidden thief in many hearts reveals itself.

Countless Tyrants Who Rule by Force

asaṅkh amar kar jāhi jor — countless are the tyrants who use power to enforce their will.

The desire to dominate is deeply rooted in the human ego. Every person, at some level, wants others to listen, obey, and submit. When this desire is unchecked, it becomes tyranny.

Maskeen Ji describes how this starts small. A person first wishes that the whole world obey them. Failing that, they hope their country will. Failing that, their city. Then their household. Then, at the smallest scale, they demand that at least their spouse or children must always comply.

When disobedience arises, anger and oppression surface. This reveals how widespread tyranny is—not only among kings and rulers but in everyday homes and relationships. Guru Nanak calls such oppressors countless.

Countless Killers and Butchers

asaṅkh galvaḍ haṯiā kamāhi — countless are those who cut throats and commit murders.

Maskeen Ji interprets this not only as literal butchers but also as anyone who destroys life without awareness of its sacredness. For them, killing becomes routine. They forget that each life holds a divine light, a reflection of God.

Violence, whether physical, emotional, or psychological, is also a form of murder. Words can cut as sharply as knives. Guru Nanak’s verse covers all those who destroy others to sustain themselves.

Countless Sinners

asaṅkh pāpī pāp kar jāhi — countless are sinners, who endlessly commit sin.

Sin, Maskeen Ji clarifies, is any thought, word, or action that causes pain to another being. By this definition, sin is not a ritualistic category but an ethical one. To harm another is sin. To relieve suffering is virtue.

Countless live their lives harming others in small or great ways, often without realizing, until they leave the world still entangled in wrong actions.

Countless Liars

asaṅkh kūṛiār kūṛe firāhi — countless are liars who wander in falsehood.

Falsehood begins small. A single lie sows seeds that multiply, like a single plant producing countless more. Soon, lying becomes a habit, then a nature.

Maskeen Ji explains: at first, a liar may feel guilty. But over time, they lose even the awareness that they are lying. Their life becomes falsehood itself. Relationships, work, and identity—all become entangled in deception.

Bhagat Farīd reminds: “Religion stands on truth, not on falsehood.” Yet the world is filled with those who live by lies, and they too are countless.

Countless Who Consume Filth

asaṅkh malechh mal bhakh khāhi — countless are the impure, consuming filth.

Here, Guru Nanak refers not only to physical impurity but also spiritual pollution. Many feed themselves with greed, lust, hatred, and ego. Just as eating rotten food destroys the body, consuming such corrupt impulses destroys the soul.

Maskeen Ji explains that this category represents all who willingly degrade themselves—living in ways that corrode their own humanity.

Countless Slanderers

asaṅkh nindak sir karahi bhār — countless are the slanderers, burdened with their own slander.

This is where Maskeen Ji dwells deeply. Slander (nindā) means speaking less or more than the truth—reducing someone’s worth or falsely exaggerating. Both are corrupt.

To call a flower a thorn is slander. To call a thorn a flower is flattery. Both distort reality.

Maskeen Ji quotes Sheikh Saadi, who lamented that false praise from friends often hides one’s faults. True friends should reveal our flaws; instead, most conceal them under sweet words.

Bhagat Kabir goes further: he welcomes slanderers, calling them as precious as parents. Why? Because parents wash our body of dirt, but slanderers wash our soul by reminding us of our shortcomings.

Thus, the slanderer unknowingly helps the seeker grow. Yet for those attached to ego, slander feels unbearable. That is why Guru Nanak lists slanderers among the countless vices.

Guru Nanak’s Humility

After listing all these vices—fools, thieves, tyrants, killers, sinners, liars, the impure, and slanderers—Guru Nanak does not set himself apart in pride. Instead, he says:

nānak nīc kahai vīcār — Nanak, the lowly, speaks this reflection.

This humility is astonishing. By standing with the fallen, the Guru shows that Divine compassion reaches everyone. His message: even if you recognize yourself in these categories, do not despair. The Guru stands beside you, to raise you up.

The Closing Declaration

As in the previous paurī, Guru Nanak concludes with surrender:

• I cannot sacrifice myself even once.
• Whatever pleases You, O Lord, is the only true good.
• You alone are eternal, O Formless One.

The message is clear: no matter the scale of human vice or virtue, all flows under Divine Hukam (Order). The seeker’s task is not to judge but to surrender—to align with what pleases the Divine.

Lessons from Paurī 18

1. Darkness is real but not final – Countless live in ignorance, but light is always available. Awareness can transform.
2. Integrity must be tested with opportunity – Virtue is proven when power and temptation are present.
3. Tyranny begins in small spaces – From households to nations, the desire to dominate is destructive.
4. Sin is measured by harm – Words and actions that cause pain are sin; those that relieve suffering are virtue.
5. Truth is the foundation – Falsehood multiplies, while truth nurtures the soul.
6. Criticism can be a gift – Slanderers unintentionally help us grow if we take their words as mirrors.
7. Humility is liberation – By calling himself “lowly,” Guru Nanak frees us from ego’s prison.

Conclusion

Paurī 18 of Japji Sahib is a mirror. It shows humanity’s darker side—ignorance, theft, oppression, violence, lies, impurity, and slander. But it ends not in despair but in humility and surrender.

Guru Nanak’s words remind us that both currents—virtue and vice—flow through creation. We cannot escape this reality. But we can choose which current we align with. By surrendering to the Divine will, by seeking truth and humility, we step into the clear, life-giving river rather than the filthy drain.

And in doing so, we realize: The Formless One alone is eternal. Whatever pleases Him is the only true good.