The Realization of Divine Power — Japji Sahib Paurī 33

Based on Maskeen Ji’s Discourse on Japji Sahib

Japji Sahib unfolds as a spiritual ascent, where each step brings the seeker higher in awareness. By the time one reaches Paurī 33, a unique and profound realization dawns: all power belongs only to God. Man has none. What we call “my effort, my control, my achievement” is an illusion. Here, Guru Nanak reveals that everything is happening by Divine Power, not by individual strength.

The Foundation: What is True Power?

In the beginning of Japji Sahib, Guru Nanak posed the question: “How can one become truthful? How can the wall of falsehood be broken?” The falsehood is the ego — the belief that “I am doing.” This paurī breaks that illusion by declaring that only God’s Power operates everywhere.

God is not a person but Infinite Energy, the Supreme Force. Guru Nanak hints earlier: keta tāṇ suāliyo rūp — how immense is His Power, who can measure it, who can weigh it? The Infinite cannot be confined.

When the seeker climbs to this stage of spiritual awareness, he realizes that everything is happening, not being done. The pulse beats, the breath flows, life moves — but none of this is man’s doing. To claim “I am doing” is falsehood. Yet even to claim “everything happens” without experience is also false. Only through inner realization can this truth be seen.

Life as a Flowing River

Maskeen Ji explains with a vivid example. Life is like a river. A river may boast, “I am flowing to the ocean on my own,” but it cannot stop itself. If it tries, it stagnates, becomes foul, and dies. The flow is natural, governed by the law established by God.

Similarly, a child cannot prevent his youth, youth cannot prevent old age, and old age cannot prevent death. These transitions happen beyond human control. Life is a current moving by Divine Will, not by human effort.

Speech and Silence

“ākhaṇ jor cupai nah jor”
There is no power in speaking, nor in remaining silent.

How often a person regrets: “I should not have said that,” or, “I should have spoken, but I remained quiet.” Both speech and silence are not in man’s control — they are moved by a hidden Power. Even the tongue speaks only by His energy, and the mind thinks only through His energy. How can the limited describe the Infinite?

Begging and Giving

“jor na maṅgaṇ deṇ na jor”
There is no power in begging, nor in giving.

Sometimes a beggar despairs: “Why do I keep asking? Why can’t I stop?” And a donor may regret: “I should not have given this, but I did.” Both acts are driven by Divine Power.

Maskeen Ji says: Giving is like clouds that rain, flowers that spread fragrance, sandalwood that perfumes — all by nature, not by choice. Similarly, begging too is part of God’s play. When both beggar and donor realize this, neither remains; only God remains, manifest as both.

Life and Death

“jor na jīvaṇ maraṇ nah jor”
There is no power in living, nor in dying.

Birth was not by our choice, nor will death be. Even the thought of suicide arises only when circumstances and environments — also God’s creation — push a person. Thus neither birth nor death nor even life in between is in our hands.

The great Architect designed our form without asking us — our eyes, face, color, and features are His design. If even these most significant events of existence are not in our control, then what else could possibly be?

Wealth and the Noise of Desire

“jor na rāj māl man sor”
There is no power in ruling, nor in wealth, nor in the uproar of the mind.

The endless noise in the mind — “I want this, I must have that” — is also not in our power. True, contentment is a great treasure, yet restlessness and desire too play a role in creation.

From desire is born striving, from anger humility can arise, from greed generosity may awaken, from falsehood truth is sought. Even these storms are part of His design.

Concentration, Knowledge, and Liberation

“jor na surtī giān vīcār”
There is no power in concentration, wisdom, or contemplation.

No one can force the mind to settle by sheer will. True knowledge and insight are gifts, not products of human effort.

“jor na jugtī chuṭai sansār”
There is no power in any method to free oneself from the world.

Man tries through rituals, renunciation, or meditation, but binds himself in new ways. Leaving family, he binds himself to disciples. Leaving home, he binds himself to the monastery. He may abandon worldly pleasure but dream of pleasures in heaven. As Maskeen Ji quotes, even worship may become a bargain for paradise. Thus, liberation cannot be achieved by effort — only by His Grace.

The Final Realization

Guru Nanak concludes:

“jisu hath jor kar vekhai soi, nānak utam nīc na koi”
All Power lies in His Hands. Therefore, there is no high or low.

Just as foul manure gives rise to fragrant flowers, so too none is ultimately good or bad — all are instruments of Divine Power. When this vision arises, pride falls away. One realizes: “I am not good, and no one is bad.” This is the vision of Truth, the vision of God.

Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor and a poet, said: As long as I thought the world was bad, I was blind to my own faults. When I saw my flaws, I realized it was my own evil that made me see evil outside.

When the heart is purified, everything is seen as Divine. Then, as Baba Farid said: “Whom shall I call bad, when all is God?”

The mystic says: “Nothing is in my hands.” The one who insists “Everything is in my hands” moves far from God and ends with nothing but sorrow. The one who realizes “I have no power, all is His” merges into God.

Essence of Paurī 33

At this height, the ego dissolves completely. The seeker recognizes:

• Speech, silence, giving, and begging are not in his control.
• Birth, life, and death are not in his hands.
• Wealth, desires, knowledge, and methods cannot liberate him.
• All Power is only God’s.

And when this truth shines, the barriers of high and low, good and bad, fall away. Everything is seen as One.

Thus, Guru Nanak proclaims:

“Nanak, none is high or low.”