Nanak sums up the different systems of human thought, preached for the realisation of oneness with God. He states their inadequacy to reveal the great Reality. Philosophy, intellectual power, outward observances, like the purification of the body – which cannot purify the sinfulness of the mind –, keeping silence and fasting etc., are but futile endeavours to reach the Goal.
There is only one way to reach Him, and that, says Nanak, is to make God’s Will our own. His Will is already a part of our being, but we are not conscious of it. It is not a question of finding or creating something new, but rather of attuning oneself to what is already there.
Stanza I
One cannot comprehend Him through reason, even if one reasoned for ages; one cannot achieve Inner Peace by outward silence, not though one sat dumb for ages; one cannot buy contentment with all the riches of the world, nor reach Him with all mental ingenuity. How may one know the Truth and break through the cloud of falsehood? There is a Way, oh Nanak, to make His Will our own, His Will which is already wrought in our existence.