The Divine Play Beyond Creation, Preservation, and Destruction – Japji Sahib (Paurī 30)

Based on Maskeen Ji’s Discourse on Japji Sahib

Ancient Thought and Guru Nanak’s Response

For centuries, yogis and ancient philosophers believed that nature (prakṛiti) gave birth to three forces—creation, preservation, and destruction. These were personified as Brahmā, Vishṇu, and Shiv.

• Brahmā – the creator (saṅsārī).
• Vishṇu – the preserver (bhaṇḍārī).
• Shiv – the destroyer (lāe dībāṇ).

Thus, Indian spiritual tradition elevated these three as chief deities among countless gods.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji acknowledges this traditional understanding but does not stop there. He shows that this is only a partial view. The truth is higher and deeper.

The Three Forces Seen Everywhere

Indeed, life operates within these three processes. Every being is born, sustained for a while, and then dies. Planets, stars, galaxies are formed, exist for ages, and eventually dissolve. The same happens in human life, in nature, in history.

So the yogis were not wrong in recognizing these three cycles. But they erred in thinking these were separate powers or gods. Guru Nanak Dev Ji clarifies:

It is not three, but One. The One who creates is also the One who sustains, and also the One who dissolves.

Why Does the Creator Destroy?

A question naturally arises: If the same One gives birth, why would He also take life? Why would the Creator Himself bring destruction?

Here Maskeen Ji brings Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s profound answer: It is all His play (līlā), not His purpose.

The Divine has no agenda, no incomplete goal, no mission that creates tension. His creation is an act of joy.

Maskeen Ji explains with a beautiful example: Children playing on a riverbank build houses of sand. They laugh while building. Then, with the same laughter, they break them. The destruction is not out of anger or utility—it is out of delight. In building there is joy, in breaking too there is joy.

So it is with the Divine. His creation and dissolution are not for some external gain. They are His play, expressions of His Anand.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji captures this in Gurbani:
“Āvan jāvan ik khel banāiā, āgiākārī kīnī māiā.”
Coming and going are a play, and through His command He operates Māyā.

Be the Witness, Not the Spectacle

Guru Gobind Singh Ji echoes the same principle:

“Mai haṅ param purakh ko dāsā, dekhana āiō jagat tamāsā.”
“I am the servant of the Supreme Lord, and I have come to witness the spectacle of the world.”

Life is a spectacle, a play. The wise remain watchers, not caught in the show.

Maskeen Ji warns: Many humans have made their own lives into spectacles. Quarrels in homes, fights in neighborhoods, loud arguments—all become entertainment for others. People gather, laugh, and watch, while those inside suffer. The Guru’s wisdom is: be the witness, not the spectacle.

Divine Will Governs All

Guru Nanak Dev Ji continues:

“Jiv tis bhāvai tivai calāvai jiv hovai phurmāṇ.”
“As it pleases Him, so He causes it to function; as is His command, so it happens.”

The three processes—creation, preservation, destruction—are not separate. They all unfold under His Hukam, His Divine Order.

Nothing exists outside His Will. Whatever is born, whatever continues, whatever ends—it is all by His command.

The Greatest Wonder

Guru Nanak then expresses the greatest mystery of existence:

“Ohu vekhai onā nadar na āvai bahutā ehu viḍāṇ.”
“He sees all, but none can see Him; this is the greatest wonder.”

The Divine is the eternal seer. He looks upon all beings, but remains unseen by them. His gaze embraces the entire cosmos, yet the cosmos cannot behold Him.

Maskeen Ji calls this the supreme paradox: The One who sees all remains invisible to those He sustains. This is the greatest wonder of life.

Bow Only to the One

The paurī concludes with an eternal bow:

“Ādes tisai ādes.”
“Salutations, salutations to That One.”

Who is this One?

• Ād – primal, the beginning.
• Anīl – stainless, pure, untouched.
• Anād – without origin, yet the source of all.
• Anāhat – beyond destruction.
• Jug jug eko ves – unchanged through all ages.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji redirects seekers from fragments (Brahmā, Vishṇu, Shiv) to the indivisible One who is beyond all change.

Conclusion

Paurī 30 shows Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s genius in addressing ancient philosophy. He begins with the yogis’ belief in three powers, then gently lifts understanding higher:

• The three forces are not independent gods—they are the play of the One.
• Creation, sustenance, and dissolution all arise from His Hukam.
• He acts not out of purpose or agenda, but out of Anand, pure joy.
• He sees all, though none can see Him—the greatest wonder.
• And the only true obeisance is to the One who is primal, stainless, originless, indestructible, and unchanged across all ages.

This paurī dissolves the illusion of division and restores the vision of Oneness. It teaches us to look beyond appearances, to live as witnesses of the Divine play, and to bow only to the Eternal One.