ਤਿਲ (til)
Meaning: noun: Sesame-seed, a little (as tiny as a sesame seed).
Quote:
ਤੀਰਥੁ ਤਪੁ ਦਇਆ ਦਤੁ ਦਾਨੁ॥ ਜੇ ਕੋ ਪਾਵੈ ਤਿਲ ਕਾ ਮਾਨੁ॥
teerath tap da-i-aa dat daan. je ko paavai til kaa maan.
Bathing at places of pilgrimage, observing austerities, showing compassion and making donations – if one may obtain any fruit from these, it is merely a bit of respect (as tiny as a sesame seed). – Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, Page 04
Message: There appear to be two distinct but related parts in pauri 21 of Jap Ji Sahib.
The first part is a reiteration of the key message from the previous pauris: that displays of external piety and rituals, pilgrimages, austerities and charity, might win us some worldly praise and recognition but their benefits amount only to a sesame seed.
On the other hand, real and radical transformation happens, not by physical travel on a pilgrimage to an external shrine, but by a movement inward into the depths of our own being. Attentive listening and meditative reflection on Gurbani leads to the cultivation of an inner environment, which is the true shrine. Through the power of this process, a devout person’s character is transformed, embodying the divine virtues and qualities and shining for all to see.
Thus, the person is cleansed of the filth of egotism and humility sets in. One realises that all virtues are the blessings of the Divine and none are our own. Without these virtues, we would be incapable of devotion to the Creator or service to creation. We realise that the Divine, the Eternal, the Beautiful, and the Blissful (sat suhaan sadaa man chau) is the true source of all blessings.
ਨਾਨਕ ਸਚੇ ਨਾਮ ਬਿਨੁ ਕਿਆ ਟਿਕਾ ਕਿਆ ਤਗੁ॥
Nanak! What use are the frontal mark and the sacred thread without the true Name of the Divine? – Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, Page 467
A resonating quote from the Prashanopanishad: “They who make their practice to consist of nothing else but sacrifice and public charity win only for themselves the lunar world; they then return again.”
Etymology: From Sanskrit til (sesame seed; small particle).
