The Divine Reality has two facets or aspects – the Dhāt (Divine Essence) and Ṣifāt (Divine Attributes). This notion is not about dualism – belief in dual deities but rather, it is about dual facets or aspects of the Divine. A simple analogy will illustrate this idea. There are two sides of the moon – the hidden and the visible bright side. Metaphorically speaking, the hidden side of the moon symbolizes the Transcendent or the Dhāt, while the visible …show more content…
One Who is colourless and formless, nameless and abode-less,
That Hidden One became Manifest, and took a million Names.
The word guptā, which literally means ‘hidden’, refers to the Dhāt, the Kanz al-Makhfī (Hidden Treasure), the Ghayb al-ghuyūb (Mystery of the mysteries) or the Transcendent, the Absolute. Becoming pragat (manifest, evident, pervasive) refers to the Ṣifāt, the Immanent, the Relative aspect of the Divine - the Nūr. All Divine Names and Attributes relate to the Nūr.
In the first two lines of this verse, Pir Sadarddin states that the creation of the heavens and earth materialized through this Nūr (Divine Light). The word mi(n)dar, derived from the Sanskrit word mandir, means ‘temple’, ‘abiding place’, ‘habitation’, ‘dwelling’, ‘house’, ‘town’. According to the Gujaratilexicon, ma(n)dir also means ‘human body’. In context of this verse, mi(n)dar refers to the earth.
In one other Ginan, Pir Hasan Kabirddin echoes the above assertion:
Nūre te khāk nipāyā, vaṇ th(n)be rachyo āsmān
The Nūr created the earth and established the heavens without