The Final Forging of the Mind — Japji Sahib Paurī 38

Based on Maskeen Ji’s Discourse on Japji Sahib

The Culmination of Japji Sahib

The thirty-eighth pauri of Japji Sahib serves as the grand conclusion to Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s first and foundational composition. After guiding the seeker through thirty-seven steps, each pauri lifting human consciousness higher, Guru Nanak brings everything together here in one complete method.

The central theme of Japji Sahib is the refinement of the human mind. The mind, left raw and unshaped, remains restless, corrupt, and easily swayed. But once refined in the mint of the Shabad—the eternal Word—it becomes radiant, divine, and filled with the fragrance of God. This pauri provides the complete recipe for the transformation of consciousness.

The Goldsmith’s Metaphor

To explain this process, Guru Nanak Ji uses the imagery of a goldsmith. Just as raw gold is refined into jewelry through fire, hammer, and patient crafting, so too the human soul must pass through discipline, patience, knowledge, reverence, and love to be molded into its divine form.

Let us examine each element in turn.

Discipline as the Anvil (Jat pāhārā)

The first requirement is jat—self-control. Guru Sahib says: let discipline be the anvil upon which the mind is placed.

This discipline does not mean renunciation of family life or unnatural suppression. Guru Nanak rejected such false asceticism. A householder who controls his senses—seeing truthfully, speaking truthfully, hearing truthfully, thinking purely—is more disciplined than a renunciate who has abandoned responsibilities but still falls prey to temptation.

True jat is mastery of the senses. It means not speaking unnecessarily, but speaking when truth demands it. It means not seeing corruption, not hearing slander, not touching impurity, and not harboring unworthy thoughts. This balanced discipline forms the base upon which everything else rests.

Patience as the Goldsmith (Dhīraj suniār)

The goldsmith who works in haste ruins his craft. Similarly, the seeker who rushes in spirituality misses depth. Patience (dhīraj) is the true goldsmith.

Haste is called a demonic trait in the scriptures. Guru Gobind Singh Ji said: Jūdi bavda kār āhir manā—haste is the work of demons. Without patience, knowledge cannot settle in the heart, and understanding remains shallow.

Patience brings stability, depth, and clarity. With it, the seeker walks slowly but firmly, with steady vision upon the goal.

Intellect and Knowledge as the Tools (Ahraṇ mat ved hathīār)

The mind is like raw gold—valuable, yet unshaped. To refine it, the anvil of intellect (mat) and the hammer of knowledge (ved) are needed.

Guru Nanak here uses ved not to mean the four scriptures, but knowledge itself. Intellect provides the ground; knowledge strikes repeatedly until the mind is shaped into beauty. Without wisdom and contemplation, the heart remains crude; with them, it becomes divine.

Divine Awe as the Bellows (Bhau khalā)

In the goldsmith’s workshop, bellows fan the fire. In the spiritual forge, the bellows are the reverence and awe of God.

Without Divine fear, worldly fears dominate. With Divine fear, the heart becomes pure, and worldly fear vanishes. Guru Ram Das Ji said: “Through pure fear of the Lord, the heart becomes clean.”

Where there is no reverence for God, there can be no true devotion. The day humanity begins to live with awe of the Divine, prisons, courts, weapons, and armies will no longer be needed. God’s fear cleanses the heart and makes society just.

Spiritual Discipline as the Fire (Agan tap tāu)

The fire in the forge is discipline (tap). Rising in the ambrosial hours, repeating the Divine Name, serving selflessly, giving in charity, and practicing devotion—all are forms of tap.

This spiritual fire purifies and illuminates, just as worldly fire melts and reshapes gold. Without it, transformation remains impossible.

Love as the Vessel (Bhāṇḍā bhāu)

The vessel into which nectar is poured is love (bhāu). Without love, no offering can be made to God. Fear prepares the ground, knowledge guides the mind, but love alone brings union.

Love is the ultimate fruit of the spiritual journey. A person may acquire discipline, patience, and knowledge, yet stop short. Only love carries the soul to the doorstep of the Divine.

The Mint of the Shabad (Ghaṛīai sabad sacī ṭaksāl)

When discipline, patience, knowledge, reverence, and love come together, the mind enters the mint of the Shabad. In this mint, through remembrance and immersion in the Divine Word, the mind is refined into its true radiant form.

An unrefined mind is demonic. A refined mind, shaped by the Word, is godly. Spiritual practice is nothing but the shaping of the mind.

The Role of Divine Grace

But who can accomplish this? Guru Ji answers: Jin kau nadar karam tin kār—only those upon whom God casts His merciful glance. Effort is necessary, but grace is decisive.

Under the gaze of a great master, a disciple becomes elevated. Under the gaze of God, the soul becomes divine. When touched by His glance, the human mind begins to shape itself, entering the mint of Truth.

The result is Nanak nadarī nadar nihāl—the soul becomes radiant, blessed, exalted. To be under God’s glance is to be filled with light and joy, made godlike.

The Final Slok: Cosmic Family

After the thirty-eight pauris, Guru Nanak concludes Japji Sahib with a slok—a universal vision of existence.

• Air is the Guru, water the father, earth the great mother.
• Day and night are the two nurses in whose lap the world plays.
• Good and evil deeds are read before Dharam Raj, the Judge.
• According to one’s actions, some draw near, others remain far.
• Those who meditate on the Divine Name and labor in devotion depart victorious.
• Their faces shine bright, and many others are saved with them.

This slok presents the cosmic household in which the human being lives, acts, and is judged. It affirms that liberation is not for oneself alone: one who truly meditates on the Name uplifts countless others.

The Essence of Japji Sahib

With this, Japji Sahib ends. Its purpose is clear:

• To shape the human mind into its divine form.
• To transform raw consciousness into radiant God-consciousness.
• To raise humanity from falsehood into Truth, from bondage into freedom.

Guru Nanak Ji gave Japji Sahib as the first Divine revelation, the eternal gift. It remains the daily prayer of Sikhs, the foundation of all spiritual practice. Through it, countless seekers have attained peace, wisdom, and union with God.

Conclusion

Paurī 38 is the crown jewel of Japji Sahib. In the imagery of the goldsmith, Guru Nanak Ji shows how discipline, patience, knowledge, reverence, and love come together in the mint of the Shabad to forge the soul into its true form. The journey ends not in theory but in transformation: the human becomes godlike, radiant under the glance of the Divine.

And the slok seals this truth in universal language: all creation is one family, bound by air, water, and earth; judged by deeds; elevated by remembrance of the Name.

Thus, Japji Sahib begins with the question, “How can one become truthful?” and ends with the answer: by being shaped in the mint of the Shabad, blessed by grace, and radiant in the love of God.