????�(karam)
Meaning:�noun:�Beneficence (of the Divine).
Quote:
????? ???? � ????? ?? ???? ??? ???? � ???? ? ?????�
bahutaa karam�� likhiaa naa jaai. va?aa daataa�� til na tamaai.
The beneficence of the Divine is so abundant that it cannot be put in writing. He is the Great Giver who has no deception or greed. – Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, Page 05
Message:�
The word�karam�in this verse from�pauri 25,�refers to grace or the blessings of the Great Giver that abounds everywhere. He gives to everyone without any motive of deception or greed i.e. neither does He make any false display while giving, nor does he require praises from anyone.
Guru Nanak describes the world as begging at the altar of the One: countless warriors seeking bravery; the ungrateful ones receiving gifts thanklessly; the wretched, the depraved, fools, living lives of gluttony and depredation, and many more who are beyond counting.
Several others constantly endure distress, scarcity, and hardship. But these too, are blessings in disguise, the Guru says. He gives us a rare insight into the nature of suffering. By likening affliction and sorrow as a blessing, he is offering us a meaningful and creative response by stressing its potential therapeutic value.
If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering.�-Viktor E. Frankl, a neurologist and psychiatrist, and a Holocaust survivor, 1905 � 1997�
The message is that the Great Benefactor alone knows His own dispensation. Attempts to describe it are a fool�s errand and can only come to grief. Rare are the individuals who acknowledge that what we receive is by divine dispensation. For them, even suffering is a gift. The Guru likens such individuals to rulers among humans for they have been gifted with the virtues of praise and adoration.
??? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????????
The one upon whom He bestows the gift of praising and glorifying Him is the king of kings.�- Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, Page 05
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Keen to Explore further:
In another composition�(Asa Ki Var),�sorrow is referred to as medicine. The assertion that sorrow can be medicine may strike us as counterintuitive, but is consistent with modern theories of sensibility. Pleasure and comfort can be addictive and deplete the body of its strength, where hardship (in medicinal doses) can strengthen and stabilize, teaching us to deal with the hazards of sudden and unexpected change that life can throw at us.
The stanza discusses the various aspects of divine blessings. Due to our foolishness, we forget Him even while consuming His bounties.
The Great Benefactor does not have any hidden motives in giving. There is a lesson here for those of us who try to make deals with Him and promise to offer so much money or any material donation or do many recitations of some hymns. The Guru says that the Giver is above such things. Therefore, we should not expect our prayers to be heard simply because we are offering something. He knows what is needed and deserved by us. The Creator who created the universe has made arrangements for everything needed and has provided for it. Asking for benedictions of a material nature out of cravings or desires only deepens our bondage with objects of transitory pleasures. The only benediction that gives lasting satisfaction and emancipation is to praise and emulate divine virtues, thereby eliminating cravings and suffering.
Etymology:�From Arabic�karam�(grace, generosity, beneficence); this also gave us�kareem,�the Gracious One, and�karaamaat�(bounty, boon or wonderful gift), etc.
Notes:�The word�karam�here is used in its Persian sense (divine beneficence), and not in the Sanskritic sense (deed, action), which comes from Sanskrit�karman�(act, effort) and is related to the English word,�karma.
