Part 34 — Japji Sahib: The three roles..
Pauri 30: The three roles are not three rival powers — everything moves by the One’s command
Where we are in Japji
Pauri 29 turned food, service, music, and spiritual powers inward: wisdom as food, compassion as the server, and the One as the true Master.
Now Pauri 30 does something similar with cosmology. It names a familiar three-part framework — and then quietly places the whole thing back under the One. The point is not mythological trivia. The point is Sovereignty.
Full pauri (Gurmukhi + Romanisation + Ang)
Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji — Ang 7
Gurmukhi
ਏਕਾ ਮਾਈ ਜੁਗਤਿ ਵਿਆਈ ਤਿਨਿ ਚੇਲੇ ਪਰਵਾਣੁ ॥
ਇਕੁ ਸੰਸਾਰੀ ਇਕੁ ਭੰਡਾਰੀ ਇਕੁ ਲਾਏ ਦੀਬਾਣੁ ॥
ਜਿਵ ਤਿਸੁ ਭਾਵੈ ਤਿਵੈ ਚਲਾਵੈ ਜਿਵ ਹੋਵੈ ਫੁਰਮਾਣੁ ॥
ਓਹੁ ਵੇਖੈ ਓਨਾ ਨਦਰਿ ਨ ਆਵੈ ਬਹੁਤਾ ਏਹੁ ਵਿਡਾਣੁ ॥
ਆਦੇਸੁ ਤਿਸੈ ਆਦੇਸੁ ॥
ਆਦਿ ਅਨੀਲੁ ਅਨਾਦਿ ਅਨਾਹਤਿ ਜੁਗੁ ਜੁਗੁ ਏਕੋ ਵੇਸੁ ॥੩੦॥
Romanisation (learning aid)
ekaa maa-ee jugat vi-aa-ee tin chele parvaan ||
ik sansaaree ik bhandaaree ik laa-e deebaan ||
jiv tis bhaavai tivai chalaavai jiv hovai furmaan ||
ohu vekhai ona nadar na aavai bahutaa ehu vidaan ||
aades tisai aades ||
aad aneel anaad anaahat jug jug eko ves ||30||
Plain-English sense rendering
(A learning aid — not a “final translation.”)
A single mothering principle gives rise to the three visible roles.
One is associated with bringing the world forth.
One is associated with sustaining and provisioning it.
One is associated with the court — ending, judging, dissolving.
But the point is not that there are three independent powers.
The point is this:
Everything moves only as the One pleases, only as the Command goes forth.
The One sees them all.
They do not truly see the One.
Great is this wonder.
So bow only to that One:
The Primal One.
The Stainless One.
The Beginningless One.
The Deathless One.
The One who remains the same through all ages.
Learning focus
1) Guru Nanak uses familiar language — then recentres it
This pauri names a framework people around Guru Nanak would already have recognised.
But he does not leave it there.
He refuses to let the mind imagine separate, competing centres of control.
Creation, sustaining, and dissolution are all brought back under the One’s furmaan — command.
2) Functions are many; sovereignty is one
This is the key correction.
There may be many visible processes, roles, and movements in existence —
but there is not more than one Sovereign Reality.
That matters spiritually, because the ego loves divided control.
It wants a world of fragments it can manipulate.
Japji keeps restoring unity.
3) The unseen Seer is a discipline of humility
“Ohu vekhai, ona nadar na aavai” is a sharp line.
The One sees.
We do not simply “have God figured out.”
This is not meant to make you fearful.
It is meant to make you honest.
4) The pauri ends with bowing, not speculation
After all the cosmological language, Japji does not reward debate.
It returns to Aades — reverence.
That is a deep lesson:
when the mind gets fascinated by systems, bow and come back to the One.
Key word reminders
Maai: the mothering principle here, commonly read as Maya / primal material principle in this context
Parvaan: manifest / acknowledged / evident
Bhandaaree: the sustainer, the one associated with provision
Deebaan: court, judgment-seat, dissolution/judicial function
Furmaan: command, ordinance
Vidaan / Vidaanu: wonder, astonishing play
Aades: bowing, reverence, salutation
One Anchor
Many roles. One Sovereignty.
10-second practice
For ten seconds, ask:
Where am I acting as though power is scattered and accidental —
or as though my own role gives me control?
Then say quietly:
“jiv tis bhaavai…”
As it pleases the One.
And take one small next step without ego-theatre:
do your duty,
release your claim,
and remember who actually holds the whole.
Verify
SGGS location: Ang 7 (Japji Sahib, Pauri 30)
Pauri begins: “ਏਕਾ ਮਾਈ ਜੁਗਤਿ ਵਿਆਈ ਤਿਨਿ ਚੇਲੇ ਪਰਵਾਣੁ ॥”
Pauri ends: “ਆਦਿ ਅਨੀਲੁ ਅਨਾਦਿ ਅਨਾਹਤਿ ਜੁਗੁ ਜੁਗੁ ਏਕੋ ਵੇਸੁ ॥੩੦॥”
Cross-check instruction:
Open Ang 7 on two independent SGGS databases and compare the Gurmukhi character-for-character.
Confirm that:
Pauri 29 ends immediately before with ॥੨੯॥
Pauri 30 contains these six lines exactly
Pauri 31 begins immediately after with “ਆਸਣੁ ਲੋਇ ਲੋਇ ਭੰਡਾਰ ॥”
If you ever spot a mismatch (Gurmukhi, Romanisation, or Ang), correct it publicly and calmly.
Next post teaser
Next is Pauri 31 (Part 35) — and Japji turns from cosmic roles to cosmic provision:
World upon world are the Divine seats and storehouses.
What has been placed there has been placed there once.
The Creator keeps creating — and keeps watching over what has been made.