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tuning my instrument!" He felt he had not yet begun to sing His praise and already the moment to leave had arrived.
Rabindranath had written six thousand songs, all in praise of God. Yet he felt he hadn't sung a single word of His glory. Nanak also says the same thing and this is the experience of all the rishis who have known. Whatever is said about Him is only like adjusting the instrument; His song can never be sung. Who will sing it? How can one limited personality contain the boundless expanse? How can you hold the skies in your fist? All our efforts prove futile and only after trying totally can we realize our incompetence.
Only when you realize how insignificant you are can the understanding of His greatness take root. Fools always think themselves great; wise men are aware of their smallness. As understanding increases the feeling of being too small, too insignificant, parallels the sense of His vastness and all-pervading presence. A moment comes in this quest when you are completely lost, and only He remains.
The speaker is lost -- what is there to say? Only he remains: His glory, His grandeur, His endless resonance. The seer is lost; only the seen remains. You are extinct, completely annihilated; then who will give tidings of Him? Whatever discussions men have had about God have been hopeless. When a tremendous event occurs we are struck dumb; when a person reaches God he becomes speechless. Not only is speech lost, but the very breath stops. You stop completely at the moment of knowing Him: neither thoughts move, nor words, nor breath, nor does the heart beat. Even a single heartbeat would deprive you of His sight, that slight trembling can produce a separation.
In just such a moment of speechless silence, Nanak has uttered these words. They are not to teach others, but to express his own helplessness.
THERE IS NO END TO HIS VIRTUES,
NOR TO THEIR NARRATION.
THERE IS NO END TO HIS WORKS AND HIS BOUNTY,
AND ENDLESS WHAT HE SEES AND HEARS.
THERE IS NO KNOWING THE SECRETS OF HIS MIND;
THERE IS NO BEGINNING OR END TO IT.
SO MANY STRUGGLE TO KNOW HIS DEPTH,
BUT NONE HAS EVER
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