Nothing Measures Without Love (I)
What remains when every philosophy is explored, but the heart is still restless?
What remains when every philosophy is explored, but the heart is still restless?
For some, there is a moment when the search feels complete, but not in the way that brings peace. Their feet have wandered from shrine to shrine, their mind has bent to logic and lore, and their body has endured austerity. There has been discipline, renunciation, praise, even silence. But beneath it all, something remains untouched. A dry hunger persists, immune to knowledge, unaffected by righteousness. There is a wondering that arises when even the most revered paths lead not to union, but to exhaustion. When every name is known, every teacher revered, and still the ache remains. What is missing?
The Tavparsad Savaiye voices such a moment. It is not an academic rejection, but a testimonial born of immersion. Penned by Guru Gobind Singh, this is the opening pauri of the Savaiye (or 33 Savaiye), part of the Dasam Granth and included in the daily Nitnem of the Khalsa. It forms the devotional arc following Jaap Sahib and Akal Ustat, recited in early morning prayer, brimming with sovereign clarity and spiritual discernment. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Nanak, embodied the paradox of mystic warrior and saint-sovereign. This savaiya emerges from that embodiment—not to denounce other traditions, but to illuminate the centrality of Divine Grace and Love.
ਤ੍ਵ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥ ਸਵੱਯੇ ॥
Tav prasād. Savayye.
By Your Grace. These are Savaiyas.
This opening invocation sets the tone of surrender. These reflections arise not from personal merit or mastery, but from the benevolence of the One.
ਸ੍ਰਾਵਗ ਸੁੱਧ ਸਮੂਹ ਸਿਧਾਨ ਕੇ ਦੇਖਿ ਫਿਰਿਓ ਘਰ ਜੋਗ ਜਤੀ ਕੇ ॥
Sraavag sudh samūh sidhaan ke dekh firiō ghar jog jatī ke.
I have examined the doctrines of Buddhist and Jain shravaks, the ritualists, the siddhas, the yogis, and the renunciates.
These are not surface encounters. The line evokes deep immersion; ghar meaning the inner home of each path. The seeker has not skimmed belief systems but entered their sacred logic. Shravaks (listeners or disciples) refer to devout followers of Jain or Buddhist traditions. Siddhas claim supernatural attainments; jogis and jatis are yogic ascetics, masters of renunciation and spiritual control. Every system has been explored. Still, the hunger lingers.
ਸੂਰ ਸੁਰਾਰਦਨ ਸੁੱਧ ਸੁਧਾਦਿਕ ਸੰਤ ਸਮੂਹ ਅਨੇਕ ਮਤੀ ਕੇ ॥
Sūr surārdan sudh sudhādik sant samūh anek matī ke.
I have seen the brave warriors, the demon-gods, the drinkers of divine nectar, and the assemblies of many saints and sages.
This is a canvas of celestial and heroic archetypes. Surārdan refers to beings who contend with gods. Sudhā, amrit or divine nectar, is the aspiration of celestial beings. Saints and sages form spiritual communities. Yet, the sheer range of philosophies, anek matī, offers no refuge. The reach has been wide; the resonance, thin.
ਸਾਰੇ ਹੀ ਦੇਸ ਕੋ ਦੇਖਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਮਤ ਕੋਊ ਨ ਦੇਖੀਅਤ ਪ੍ਰਾਨਪਤੀ ਕੇ ॥
Sāre hī des ko dekh rahio mat ko’ū na dekhi’at prānapatī ke.
I have surveyed every land and its schools of thought, but found none truly belonging to the Divine.
The implication is not disdain, but a deeper sorrow. Even among seekers and scholars, none reflect the prānapatī or Master of Life. There is alignment with ideas, not intimacy with the Source. The tension emerges: a world full of paths, yet empty of Presence.
ਸ੍ਰੀ ਭਗਵਾਨ ਕੀ ਭਾਇ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਹੂ ਤੇ ਏਕ ਰਤੀ ਬਿਨੁ ਏਕ ਰਤੀ ਕੇ ॥੧॥੨੧॥
Srī Bhagvān kī bhāi kripā hū te ek ratī binu ek ratī ke.
Without even a speck of love or grace from the Divine, all these are not worth even a speck.
This is the heart. All paths - brave, ascetic, scholarly, disciplined - amount to nothing without even ek ratī, a single speck, of bhāi kripā, loving grace. And with just one speck of that love, everything transforms. This is not a theological statement; it is an existential one. Love is not an emotion here, but a spiritual force. Grace is not a reward, but a revelation.
Guru Gobind Singh lived this truth. Born in Patna in 1666, raised in the court of Anandpur, he was shaped by the fire of political oppression and spiritual transmission. He did not inherit Guruship; he carried it like a blazing river - establishing the Khalsa, composing verses that fused sovereignty with surrender, and offering his own four sons in the defense of dignity and dharam. His legacy is not merely in martial valor but in mystical clarity. This savaiya reflects that clarity. It declares that no system is sacred unless soaked in love.
As part of the Nitnem, this Savaiya forms a daily rhythm of remembrance for the Khalsa. It functions not just as recitation, but as orientation. Every morning, the seeker is reminded: knowledge is not the measure, nor is power or purity. The only weight that matters is love. The only reality that endures is grace.
This is why the sabad carries both longing and lucidity. It is an honest admission: everything was tried. Everyone was consulted. Still, it is the gaze of the Beloved, the breath of the One, that makes meaning. This realization is not intellectual. It is embodied.
Returning to our beginning: when the seeking becomes its own exhaustion, when every lineage is known but the soul is still unlit - what remains?
Guru Gobind Singh invites us to stop measuring depth by discipline, or sanctity by system. The measure is more subtle. It is the pulse of love in what we do. The nearness of the One in how we live. And that nearness is not achieved, it is received. It is prasad—a gift.
The Khalsa does not recite this savaiya because it’s part of ritual, but because it reorients the soul each day. Back to love. Back to grace. Back to the One who is not found in philosophies or traditions—but in presence, in longing, in the simple act of remembering.
Listen to this bani sung by Bhai Parminder Singh