Japji Sahib is the first composition in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, composed by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Here I share my recitation of the first five pauris with Gurmukhi text, transliteration and personal reflection.
Note from Sarbjit: 1 am not a scholar of Gurbani — I am a Sikh who grew up listening to these words, sometimes understanding them and sometimes just letting them wash over me like water. What I share here is my recitation, my understanding, and my heart. Any errors are mine alone. I bow to the Guru.
Mool Mantar
ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
Ik Oankaar, Sat Naam, Kartaa Purakh, Nirbhau, Nirvair, Akaal Moorat, Ajooni, Saibhang, Gur Prasaad.
One Universal Creator. Truth is His Name. Creative Being Personified. No Fear. No Hatred. Image of the Undying. Beyond Birth. Self-Existent. By Guru’s Grace.
Pauri 1
ਸੋਚੈ ਸੋਚਿ ਨ ਹੋਵਈ ਜੇ ਸੋਚੀ ਲਖ ਵਾਰ ॥ ਚੁਪੈ ਚੁਪ ਨ ਹੋਵਈ ਜੇ ਲਾਇ ਰਹਾ ਲਿਵ ਤਾਰ ॥ ਭੁਖਿਆ ਭੁਖ ਨ ਉਤਰੀ ਜੇ ਬੰਨਾ ਪੁਰੀਆ ਭਾਰ ॥ ਸਹਸ ਸਿਆਣਪਾ ਲਖ ਹੋਹਿ ਤ ਇਕ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਨਾਲਿ ॥ ਕਿਵ ਸਚਿਆਰਾ ਹੋਈਐ ਕਿਵ ਕੂੜੈ ਤੁਟੈ ਪਾਲਿ ॥ ਹੁਕਮਿ ਰਜਾਈ ਚਲਣਾ ਨਾਨਕ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਨਾਲਿ ॥੧॥
Sochai soch na hova-ee je sochee lakh vaar. Chupai chup na hova-ee je laa-e rahaa liv taar. Bhukhiaa bhukh na utree je bannaa pureeaa bhaar. Sehas si-aanpaa lakh hohi ta ik na chalai naal. Kiv sachiaaraa ho-ee-ai kiv koorhai tutai paal. Hukam razaa-ee chalnaa Naanak likhiaa naal. ॥1॥
By thinking, He cannot be reduced to thought, even by thinking hundreds of thousands of times. By remaining silent, inner silence is not obtained, even by remaining lovingly absorbed deep within. The hunger of the hungry is not appeased, even by piling up loads of worldly goods. Hundreds of thousands of clever tricks, but not even one of them will go along with you in the end. So how can you become truthful? And how can the veil of illusion be torn away? O Nanak, it is written that you shall obey the Hukam of His Command, and walk in the Way of His Will. ॥1॥
My Reflection on Pauri 1
This pauri has always hit me like cold water in the face — in the best way. Guru Nanak is dismantling every shortcut we think we have to reach God. Thinking harder? No. Silence? No. Accumulating wealth? No. Intelligence? No. The only way is surrender — walking in His will. I come back to this every time I think I’ve figured something out.
Pauri 2
ਹੁਕਮੀ ਹੋਵਨਿ ਆਕਾਰ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਨ ਕਹਿਆ ਜਾਈ ॥ ਹੁਕਮੀ ਹੋਵਨਿ ਜੀਅ ਹੁਕਮਿ ਮਿਲੈ ਵਡਿਆਈ ॥ ਹੁਕਮੀ ਉਤਮੁ ਨੀਚੁ ਹੁਕਮਿ ਲਿਖਿ ਦੁਖ ਸੁਖ ਪਾਈਅਹਿ ॥ ਇਕਨਾ ਹੁਕਮੀ ਬਖਸੀਸ ਇਕਿ ਹੁਕਮੀ ਸਦਾ ਭਵਾਈਅਹਿ ॥ ਹੁਕਮੈ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਹੁਕਮ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥ ਨਾਨਕ ਹੁਕਮੈ ਜੇ ਬੁਝੈ ਤ ਹਉਮੈ ਕਹੈ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥੨॥
Hukmee hovan aakaar hukam na kahi-aa jaa-ee. Hukmee hovan jee-a hukam milai vadi-aa-ee. Hukmee utam neech hukam likh dukh sukh paa-ee-ahi. Iknaa hukmee bakhsees ik hukmee sadaa bhavaa-ee-ahi. Hukmai andar sabh ko baahar hukam na ko-ay. Naanak hukmai je bujhai ta ha-umai kahai na ko-ay. ॥2॥
By His Command, bodies are created; His Command cannot be described. By His Command, souls come into being; by His Command, glory and greatness are obtained. By His Command, some are high and some are low; by His written Command, pain and pleasure are obtained. Some, by His Command, are blessed and forgiven; others, by His Command, wander in cycles. Everyone is subject to His Command; no one is beyond His Command. O Nanak, one who understands His Command, does not speak in ego. ॥2॥
My Reflection on Pauri 2
Hukam — divine order, cosmic will. Everything exists within it. Nobody stands outside it. And the last line is the one that stays: if you truly understand Hukam, your ego dissolves. You stop saying “I did this.” You stop taking credit. You stop blaming. A hard teaching for those of us with opinions about everything.
Pauri 3
ਗਾਵੈ ਕੋ ਤਾਣੁ ਹੋਵੈ ਕਿਸੈ ਤਾਣੁ ॥ ਗਾਵੈ ਕੋ ਦਾਤਿ ਜਾਣੈ ਨੀਸਾਣੁ ॥ ਗਾਵੈ ਕੋ ਗੁਣ ਵਡਿਆਈਆ ਚਾਰ ॥ ਗਾਵੈ ਕੋ ਵਿਦਿਆ ਵਿਖਮੁ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ ॥ ਗਾਵੈ ਕੋ ਸਾਜਿ ਕਰੇ ਤਨੁ ਖੇਹ ॥ ਗਾਵੈ ਕੋ ਜੀਅ ਲੈ ਫਿਰਿ ਦੇਹ ॥ ਕਥਨਾ ਕਥੀ ਨ ਆਵੈ ਤੋਟਿ ॥ ਦੇਦਾ ਦੇ ਲੈਦੇ ਥਕਿ ਪਾਹਿ ॥ ਨਾਨਕ ਵਿਗਸੈ ਵੇਪਰਵਾਹੁ ॥੩॥
Some sing of His Power — who has that Power? Some sing of His Gifts, and know His Sign and Insignia. Some sing of His Glorious Virtues, Greatness and Beauty. Some sing of knowledge obtained of Him, through difficult philosophical studies. Some sing that He fashions the body, and then again reduces it to dust. Some sing that He takes life away, and then again restores it. There is no shortage of those who preach and teach. The Great Giver keeps on giving, while those who receive grow weary of receiving. O Nanak, He blossoms forth, Carefree and Unattached. ॥3॥
My Reflection on Pauri 3
Guru Nanak lists all the different ways people try to sing God’s praises — through power, through gifts, through knowledge, through philosophy, through the mystery of life and death. And yet no description is ever complete. No list is ever enough. He blossoms forth, carefree and unattached — while we scramble to find the right words. I find this pauri deeply humbling. The moment I think I have understood something about the Divine, I remember this — that even the greatest singers, the greatest scholars, the greatest mystics have barely scratched the surface. And somehow that is not discouraging. It is liberating.
Pauri 4
ਸਾਚਾ ਸਾਹਿਬੁ ਸਾਚੁ ਨਾਇ ਭਾਖਿਆ ਭਾਉ ਅਪਾਰੁ ॥ ਆਖਹਿ ਮੰਗਹਿ ਦੇਹਿ ਦੇਹਿ ਦਾਤਿ ਕਰੇ ਦਾਤਾਰੁ ॥ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਵੇਲਾ ਸਚੁ ਨਾਉ ਵਡਿਆਈ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ ॥ ਕਰਮੀ ਆਵੈ ਕਪੜਾ ਨਦਰੀ ਮੋਖੁ ਦੁਆਰੁ ॥ ਨਾਨਕ ਏਵੈ ਜਾਣੀਐ ਸਭੁ ਆਪੇ ਸਚਿਆਰੁ ॥੪॥
True is the Master, True is His Name — speak it with infinite love. People beg and pray, “Give to us, give to us”, and the Great Giver gives His Gifts. In the Amrit Vaylaa, the ambrosial hours before dawn, chant the True Name, and contemplate His Glorious Greatness. By the karma of past actions, the robe of this physical body is obtained. By His Grace, the Gate of Liberation is found. O Nanak, know this well: the True One Himself is All. ॥4॥
My Reflection on Pauri 4
Amrit Vela — the ambrosial hours before dawn. This is when Japji Sahib is meant to be recited. There is something about those quiet hours before the world wakes up that feels closer to the Divine — as if the noise of existence has not yet started and God is still within earshot. Guru Nanak tells us: this is the time. Chant the True Name. Contemplate His greatness. It is no coincidence that my tagline reads “Prayers at dawn” — I did not plan it that way, but looking back, perhaps Pauri 4 planted that seed in me a long time ago without my knowing it.
Pauri 5
ਥਾਪਿਆ ਨ ਜਾਇ ਕੀਤਾ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥ ਆਪੇ ਆਪਿ ਨਿਰੰਜਨੁ ਸੋਇ ॥ ਜਿਨਿ ਸੇਵਿਆ ਤਿਨਿ ਪਾਇਆ ਮਾਨੁ ॥ ਨਾਨਕ ਗਾਵੀਐ ਗੁਣੀ ਨਿਧਾਨੁ ॥ ਗਾਵੀਐ ਸੁਣੀਐ ਮਨਿ ਰਖੀਐ ਭਾਉ ॥ ਦੁਖੁ ਪਰਹਰਿ ਸੁਖੁ ਘਰਿ ਲੈ ਜਾਇ ॥ ਗੁਰਾ ਇਕ ਦੇਹਿ ਬੁਝਾਈ ॥ ਸਭਨਾ ਜੀਆ ਕਾ ਇਕੁ ਦਾਤਾ ਸੋ ਮੈ ਵਿਸਰਿ ਨ ਜਾਈ ॥੫॥
He cannot be established, He cannot be created. He Himself is Immaculate and Pure. Those who serve Him are honored. O Nanak, sing of the Lord, the Treasure of Excellence. Sing, and listen, and let your mind be filled with love. Your pain shall be sent far away, and peace shall come to your home. The Guru has given me this one understanding: there is only the One, the Giver of all souls. May I never forget Him! ॥5॥
My Reflection on Pauri 5
That last line. So mai visar na jaa-ee. May I never forget Him. That is the whole prayer, really. Everything else — the theology, the philosophy, the poetry — all of it is just elaboration on that one terrified, devoted, humble plea: please don’t let me forget You. I recite this every morning hoping it sticks.
Listen: Watch and listen to my full recitation of the first five pauris above. If you feel the call, close your eyes and just let the words wash over you. Waheguru.