From here begins the final part of Jap Ji. In it, Nanak gives a rapid survey of the various Spiritual Realms that the soul has to traverse in its Homeward journey.
They are five in number:
- Dharm Khand – or the Realm of Action.
- Gyan Khand – or the Realm of Knowledge.
- Sarm Khand – or the Realm of Ecstasy.
- Karm Khand – or the Realm of Grace.
- Sach Khand – or the realm of Truth.
The first is the Realm of Dharm, which the soul must fully realise before it can rise to the next higher Spiritual Plane above it. This is the stage where the embodied souls must work fully cognisant that it is He who made the world phenomena with all the immutable laws which bind one and all. The law of cause and effect nobody can escape. What a man sows, he must reap. There is none outside His domain. Men’s actions go with them after their death and are weighed in the scales of God’s Justice. Those found wanting are sent for judgement according to their actions. The only thing acceptable at his Court is communion with and practice of the Divine Word. Those who adhere to it, are honoured.
Stanza XXXIV
Creating the day and the night, the months and the seasons, the fire, the wind, the water and the nether regions, amidst all these, He set up the earth as Dharm Khand or the arena of action. And He peopled it with creatures of many colours and many forms, creatures of whom there is no count. All are judged according to their deeds, for True is the Lord and immaculate His Law. Those acceptable to Him are honoured in His Court, and it is only through His Grace that one may gain that distinction. The imperfect are perfected there,1 oh Nanak! It is there that this mystery is revealed.
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Explanation: 1) The last two lines – "Kach pakai uthe pa-aye, Nanak gia japey ja-aye" have been invariably interpreted by various translators, as stating that the true and the false are known there and can no longer deceive. But this does not appear to stand as it apparently ignores the fact that the lines follow on the reference to those honoured by God and the metaphor of "raw and ripe" suggests immaturity and maturity, rather than falsehood and Truth.