The Divine Reality    

Thus said Banda:
Thine exposition is superb and refined;
A difficult principle thou hast defined.
For more understanding I do ever yearn.
Please tell me the secrets I strive yet to learn.
What is the nature of the divine holy One,
And why of the Goddess hast thou sweetly sung?

Thus spoke Guru Gobind:
To you do I tell the pure Truth sublime,
The nature of the great One Lord divine.
Nameless and homeless is He, with no caste,
Formless is He-boundless and vast.
He is the first Being, gracious, benign,
Unborn, ever perfect, eternal, divine.
B’yond distinction of nation, He has no desire.
With no outer likeness, to Him all aspire.
To the East or the West, look where you may,
All actions and beings are under His sway.
He pervades and prevails with compassion and love,
Permeating all, both below and above.
There is but one God, and Truth is His name.
Whatever He’s called, He is always the same.

Now I will tell you why I praise the Goddess.
To Her have I given my soul’s solemn promise
To serve Her as loving and loyal devotee.
For none is more revered than She is by me.
The strength of the Mother is my great shield;
By Her is dharma’s fate ever sealed.
She is the source of adamant strength
That upholds the dharma for whatever length.
To Her do all turn as a final resort
When no other power can dharma thwart.
She is tender and loving with Her delicate child-
But if it is threatened, She rampages wild.
Then no force of man can Her fierce wrath assuage
As She slays aggressors in motherly rage.
With blood-dripping fangs and flesh-ripping claws,
She prevails o’er all foes to enforce dharma’s laws.
When all of Her weapons and ire She assembles,
The whole of creation marvels and trembles.
Dreadful Her visage and awesome Her dance;
She vanquishes evil with Her fiery glance.
Frightful the incomparable power She wields!
Inevitable that to Her the enemy yields!
She is Mother Durga, alive as the sword
That’s carried aloft by dharma’s warlord.
She is the power that in his veins flows;
Hers is the might that makes fierce his blows.

Long have my people loved and adored Her;
For freedom and victory have they oft implored Her.
Sites to Her homage in our land abound.
Anandpur itself is on Her sacred ground.
Even Vishnu and Brahma and Sri Maheswara
Bow to Her power as upholder of dharma.
The gods Her return to Her former benignity.
Soaked is my soul with the fervor of Shakti-
She showers Her grace in battle and bhakti.
She’s the inspiration of poet and warrior;
She is the source of builder and destroyer.
When moral order is threatened by evil ravages,
She is the sword that dispatches the savages.
Thus every Sikh should carry the sword,
remembering always the Name of the Lord.