Voices of Shabad: A Reflection by GAAVANI
In honor of the 350th commemorative year of Guru Tegh Bahadur, GAAVANI continues its special essay series on SikhNet, sharing reflections from Sikh women on their personal journeys with Sikh spirituality and the living presence of the Guru’s Shabad.
In this essay, the author reflects on the sacred role of woman as envisioned through Gurbani, exploring how dignity, strength, and spiritual depth are woven into her being, and how honoring her is, in essence, honoring the Divine.
Launched on International Women's Day (March 8), this series continues to share a new reflection every two days, inviting the Sangat to reconnect with the wisdom and presence of the Guru’s Shabad in everyday life.
Guru Nanak’s Woman
Guru Nanak spoke in an age
When her dignity was denied,
He cut through the morass
Of prejudice, deep and wide.
“Without woman, none at all,”
Came the proclamation,
“Bhand jamiyeh, bhand nimiyeh”
A divine revelation.
From her, we are born.
In her, we are shaped
To her, we are bound
Through her life escapes.
Chosen by the Divine,
She is creation’s own vessel
Her soul, a bride
With a longing unrestrained.
In nurture, in compassion,
In love she creates
Her intuition, the key
To the most sacred gates.
A principle woven
In sacred lines:
Honoring woman
Is honoring the Divine.
This is the truth,
The unwavering creed -
From her we are born
By her we are freed.
To celebrate woman
Is not merely a date
It is love’s very foundation,
A spiritual state.
Guru Nanak’s Grace
In the light of Guru Nanak’s grace The sanctuary
Of the Beloved
I glimpse.
Not in stone or spire
Nor corridors of fame
In a whisper of the soul
A sacred place.
I yearn to enter
My body frail
My mind alas weak
I falter, I fail.
The pleasures of the world
Hard to forsake
Through pain and suffering
My path I trace.
To be worthy of You I seek
The fellowship of saints.
In their footsteps I tread
Tethered to faith.
I gather virtues
Bouquets of flowers, each petal a prayer In humility I bow
On the narrow trail.
In sacred intent
Day and night blend
From the mists of dawn
The Unstruck melody resounds.
My soul reborn
The void in my heart slowly fills The riches of the spirit, in stillness Yet awake.
My karma dissolves
In the Beloved’s arms
My songs heard
In ethereal realms.
Like the lotus
Above the slush where it grew I shed my woes and hold
Treasures untold
by Jessi Kaur