The Ascent to the Divine — Understanding Japji Sahib (Paurī 32)

Based on Maskeen Ji’s Discourse on Japji Sahib

The Path to the Divine is an Uphill Ascent

In this sacred paurī of Japji Sahib, Guru Nanak Dev Ji reveals the nature of the journey to the Divine. This path is not smooth or flat; it is an ascent, a steep climb. Saints across centuries have described this spiritual road as difficult and demanding. Unlike worldly climbs, where one can rely on horses, carriers, or companions, the ascent to God must be made by one’s own surat (consciousness).

There are no external supports. The tools for this journey are not found outside but within. And unlike worldly roads where one draws courage from seeing others ahead or behind, this path is often lonely. Neither footprints ahead nor companions behind can be seen. In this silence, despair may grip the seeker — hopelessness, weariness, and uncertainty about how far remains. Guru Nanak acknowledges this deep spiritual fatigue.

Bhagat Kabir Ji, too, described it: “jah mārag paṇḍit gaye, pāchhe paṛī bahīr; ika ghaṭ ghaṭī rāma kī, tih caṛ rahu kabīr.” Kabir explains that clever ritualists attract crowds by offering easy solutions: “We will chant; you will receive the reward. We will turn the rosary; you will gain heaven. We will eat the offerings; your ancestors will be freed.” Such words gather followers. But the true path is a narrow gorge, steep and difficult, where Kabir walks alone.

A Persian philosopher-poet echoed this truth: caravans once set out toward the goal — some arrived, others perished along the way. Now the road looks deserted. This is the spiritual path: empty of crowds, demanding loneliness.

The True Temple is the Body

Temples, shrines, and pilgrimages are crowded. But how rare it is to meet a life that itself has become a temple. Until the body becomes the dwelling of the Divine, religiosity remains uncertain. Bhagat Pipa Ji said: “kāyo deva, kāyo deval, kāyo jaṅgama jātī…” — my very body has become the temple, because the Lord revealed Himself within.

When God manifests, this body is no longer just flesh and impurity. It becomes harimandar, the abode of the Eternal. Guru Nanak Dev Ji declares: “harimandar eh sārīr hai, tis vic sache kā vāsā.” Until the Divine is realized, the body is but a bundle of waste. Recognition of the One transforms it into a pure temple.

The Gravity of the World and the Rise of the Soul

Bhagat Ravidas Ji prayed about the difficulty of this ascent: as the mind tires like an ox on a steep climb, he begged for Divine grace to continue. The difficulty is not imagined — it is real.

Just as Newton revealed the law of gravity, the pull of the earth not only acts on material things but also on subtle consciousness. When one meditates or listens to kīrtan, the surat rises slightly, but soon the pulls of form, color, wealth, and desire drag it down again. This rise and fall happens daily in every seeker’s life. At times the mind feels pure and virtuous; at others, it sinks into despair and weakness. Sometimes charitable, sometimes dishonest; sometimes peaceful, sometimes restless — this fluctuation is part of the human condition.

Yet, through deep meditation, one can raise the surat so high that it escapes the pull of worldly gravity. At such a height, nothing can bring it down. That is why saints like Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Bhai Mati Das Ji, and countless martyrs remained unshaken under torture. Though their bodies were burned, boiled, or sawn apart, their consciousness remained calm, merged with the Divine. Such beings are called pūrṇ purakh, complete beings, whose souls have touched eternal heights beyond decline.

The Ladder of the Tongue

Guru Nanak Dev Ji identifies the true steps (pavaṛīā) on this journey: the tongue repeating the Name.

“ik dū jībhau lakh hohi lakh hovah lakh vīs; lakh lakh geṛā ākhiīah ek nām jagdīs.”

If one tongue became two, two became a hundred thousand, and then twenty hundred thousand, and with each tongue one chanted countless times the Name of the Lord, even then it would not be enough. This illustrates the boundless depth of chanting the Divine Name.

The tongue is central. Just as all of science rests on the eye, all of spirituality rests on the tongue. A blind person may still become a scientist, but one who cannot speak or hear cannot become a saint, for religion rests on utterance and remembrance.

The tongue is a double-edged tool. With it, one can chant God’s Name and ascend, or lie and descend. One word can soothe and bring peace; another can ignite fire in a heart. Used rightly, the tongue is heaven and nectar; misused, it is poison and hell.

Saints like Kabir Ji describe crying the Name ceaselessly — “keśo keśo kūkīe, na soīe āsār…” Day and night he calls until one day the Name itself becomes sweet. When the Name tastes sweet on the tongue, it is proof the call has reached the Divine Court.

The Envy of Imitation

Guru Ji warns: “suṇ galā ākās kī kīṭā āī rīs.”
When true saints ascend and their souls touch the heavens, impostors envy them. They too begin to add titles — “Sant,” “Bhagat,” “Brahm Gyani” — to their names, without any true practice. This imitation happens not only in worldly life but even in the religious world.

But imitation does not make one a saint. Only true practice, meditation, and Divine grace can do so. The story of Bhagat Kabir Ji illustrates this: when his wife once cured a sick man by making him say “Rām” three times, Kabir Ji rebuked her. For Kabir Ji, even one utterance of the Divine Name with full sincerity can purify an entire city. To use it casually was to dishonor its greatness.

Thus, when one devotedly utters the Divine Name, even once with focus, the surrounding atmosphere becomes sanctified. This is the power of the tongue engaged in remembrance.

False Claims and True Grace

Guru Nanak Dev Ji concludes:
“nānak nadarī pāīai kūṛī kūṛai ṭhīs.”
Union with the Divine is obtained only by His Grace. False boasts are worthless.

The world is full of impostors who gather crowds with displays of supposed powers. Guru Nanak Dev Ji himself exposed such frauds. In Jagannath Puri, a yogi demonstrated “seeing three worlds” by closing his eyes and speaking of Brahm Lok, Vishnu Lok, and Rudra Lok. Guru Nanak placed the yogi’s begging bowl behind him. When the yogi opened his eyes, he could not find it and cried out. Guru Ji smiled and said: “You claim to see the three worlds, yet you cannot see the bowl lying behind you?” These are the false boasts Guru calls ṭhīs — empty noises.

The Essential Teaching

The steps to God are not external; they are made of remembrance with the tongue. The Name, uttered truthfully and lovingly, lifts the soul beyond worldly gravity. This is the pavaṛīā — the ladder to the Divine. And yet, the ascent is not earned by effort alone. Ultimately, it is His Grace (nadar) that grants arrival. Without His glance of mercy, no imitation, no boasting, no claim can reach Him.