The Infinite Nature of God – Maskeen Ji’s Katha on Japji Sahib (Paurī 24)

Based on Maskeen Ji’s Discourse on Japji Sahib

Introduction

In Paurī 24 of Japji Sahib, Gurū Nānak Dev Ji addresses the deepest yearning of the human soul: the desire to grasp the Infinite. Man, by nature, seeks to reach the end of everything — to measure, to understand, and to contain. But when this same impulse is directed toward God, it meets the impossible. The Lord is without limit, and the attempt to measure Him through the human senses or intellect is futile.

In this profound katha, Giani Sant Singh Ji Maskeen explains how human faculties are bound within strict limitations, and why the praises, deeds, and very being of God remain beyond human comprehension. His commentary illuminates why spiritual pursuit is not about reaching God’s “end,” but about becoming worthy of His gracious glance.

The Human Urge to Reach the End

Our Natural Desire for Comprehension

Man has been created with an intrinsic tendency to seek the end of everything. To “end” something means to capture it fully, to hold it within one’s grasp. After conquering the external world, this urge turns inward, creating within man the desire to comprehend the Creator Himself.

But God’s infinity cannot be contained by finite senses. To grasp the fullness of the Divine requires limitless power: infinite speech to express, infinite sight to behold, infinite hearing to listen, and infinite thought to understand. Human faculties, however, are bound within narrow limits.

The Limits of the Senses

• Speech: Our voice carries only so far. To project beyond its natural reach, instruments and devices are required.
• Sight: The eye sees within a fixed range. To see further, we require telescopes or microscopes. Yet even these tools reach their end.
• Hearing: Our ears catch sound only within a certain distance and frequency. Beyond that, they are powerless.
• Mind: Our brain too thinks only within certain boundaries. To go beyond is almost impossible.

Man’s innate tendency is to capture the end, yet his very tools of perception are bound. When he realizes the smallness of his faculties, he enters a state of wonder. This wonder leads him not to attempt further measurement, but to dissolve into the Infinite and experience bliss.

Endless Praises of the Divine

antu na siftī kahaṇ na ant
There is no end to His praises, nor to speaking of them.

Guru Nānak Dev Ji begins by reminding us that God’s praises are limitless. Human beings can be praised within a fixed circle — beautiful, generous, wise, noble, kind — and after a handful of attributes, the list is complete. Nations, societies, and animals too can be described within boundaries. But when it comes to the Creator, there is no such circle. His virtues cannot be listed, cannot be captured in language.

Maskeen Ji notes that our tongue does not have the strength to recount them all. Language itself breaks down before the task. To attempt to number the Lord’s qualities is to fail before even beginning.

Endless Deeds and Gifts

antu na karaṇai deṇ na ant
There is no end to His deeds, nor to His gifts.

The Lord is not a creation but the Creator. His acts are beyond measure. If the artwork itself cannot be fully seen, how then can one comprehend the artist?

What He has given to His creation is equally immeasurable. To the sun, moon, and stars He has given light. To birds and animals, He has given life. To humans He has given intellect and breath. To every living being, He has given sustenance, strength, and power. These gifts cannot be counted, for they flow endlessly, as boundless as His creation itself.

The Limits of Seeing and Hearing

antu na vekhaṇ suṇaṇ na ant
There is no end to seeing Him, nor to hearing of Him.

The human eye demands proof through vision. Man believes in what he sees — “If I have not seen it, I will not believe.” Yet the eye itself is limited. It cannot even look directly at the sun for long, though the sun is only one star among countless others.

Maskeen Ji reminds us that if even a single sun blinds us, how can we see the One who is like countless suns? His radiance is unbearable to the eye.

History bears witness:

• Arjuna requested Kṛṣṇa to reveal His complete form. Kṛṣṇa replied: “You are not prepared; you will not be able to see it.”
• Moses (Mūsā) requested God to show His full glory. The Divine replied: “Your eyes cannot endure My radiance.” When Moses insisted, a glimpse was shown, and he fell unconscious for three days. On waking, he confessed: “Lord, You are too Great. I cannot behold You fully.”

Even the greatest prophets and saints acknowledged the limits of vision before the Infinite. Likewise, hearing too cannot exhaust the Divine. No one can claim to have heard all of His wisdom, nor seen all of His glory.

The Unknown Mind of God

antu na jāpai kiā man mant
There is no end to knowing what is in His mind.

What lies in God’s counsel? What decisions does He make for the world, for creation, for the individual? No one knows.

Astrologers and thinkers may speculate, but Guru Nānak rejects such attempts. God does not consult with anyone in His decisions. He acts from His own Will. As the Gurū says elsewhere: “He asks not counsel, nor takes advice. Whatever He does, He does Himself.”

Bhagat Kabīr echoes the same truth:
“What I thought did not happen, but what God thought came to be.”

Thus, no one can know the inner counsel of God. His thoughts remain beyond the grasp of even the wisest.

The Endless Forms of Creation

antu na jāpai kītā ākār
There is no end to the forms He has created.

Creation itself testifies to the infinite nature of the Creator. Modern science reveals billions of suns greater than ours. In their presence, our sun appears as nothing more than a toy.

A Sufi saint once said: “In God’s court, even the sun is but a grain of sand.” If even the mighty sun is a mere speck, then man’s attempt to measure creation is folly. God’s forms stretch beyond number.

No Beginning and No End

antu na jāpai pārāvār
There is no end to His limits, His near or far boundary.

Where does God begin? Where does He end? No one knows. We stand in the middle of existence, knowing neither origin nor conclusion. Saints, sages, and seekers have cried for ages, yearning to reach His end. But none have succeeded.

Like a fish in the ocean, man may swim in God’s waters, but he cannot measure their extent.

The Futility of Searching for an End

ant kāraṇ kete billāh, tā ke ant na pāe jāh
Many have cried out in yearning to reach His end, but none have ever found it.

Across ages, seekers have used intellect, meditation, and ascetic practices to find the Lord’s end. Yet He remains beyond reach. Endless effort, but no conclusion. The ocean remains unfathomable.

The Ever-Greater Lord

ehu ant na jāṇai koi, bahutā kahīai bahutā hoi
No one knows His true limits. The more we speak of Him, the greater He becomes.

If we call Him “great,” He becomes even greater. If we imagine Him vast, He is vaster still. Words fail, for whatever we say is too small for His reality. Our language cannot capture His infinity.

The High Lord and His Lofty Throne

vaḍā sāhib ūcā thāu, ūce upar ūcā nāu
Great is the Master, lofty is His throne. Higher than the highest is His Name.

In the world, people are considered “high” due to wealth, position, learning, or fame. But God is higher than all these. His Name, His reality, His essence stand above all worldly heights.

Only God Knows Himself

evaḍ ūcā hovai koi, tis ūce kau jāṇai soi
If anyone could be as great as He, only then could that one know Him.

But no one is His equal. He has no rival, no partner, no one to compare with Him.

jevḍ āp jāṇai āp āp
Only He Himself knows His own greatness.

God alone knows Himself fully. No other can claim to measure His being.

Gifts through His Grace

nānak nadarī karmī dāt ||24||
O Nānak, by His glance of grace alone are His gifts received.

Here lies the essence. Instead of trying to measure the Infinite, the seeker must strive to become worthy of His glance. To rise above human eyes may bring honor. But to rise above God’s eye is impossible. The true pursuit is to come under His gaze, to become a recipient of His compassion.

Through His glance alone, the soul is filled with divine gifts — peace, bliss, joy, and spiritual wealth.

Conclusion

In this Paurī, Gurū Nānak Dev Ji dismantles the human urge to measure the Divine. Maskeen Ji explains that God’s praises, deeds, vision, counsel, creation, and boundaries are endless. No intellect, no sense, no effort can capture His Infinity.

The true path, then, is not in seeking His end, but in seeking His Grace. To come under His merciful gaze is to receive the treasures of spiritual life. This is the message of Paurī 24 — abandon the futile attempt to measure, and instead, strive to become a vessel of His compassion.