tusī rovahu rovaṇ āīho jhūṭhi muṭhī sansāre.
haü muṭhṛī dhandhai dhāvaṇīā piri choḍiaṛī vidhaṇkāre.
ghari ghari kantu mahelīā rūṛai heti piāre.
mai piru sacu sālāhaṇā haü rahasiaṛī nāmi bhatāre.7.
-Guru Granth Sahib 580-581
This composition is based on the Panjabi folk poetic form Alahania related to death. In the first and second stanzas, the glory of IkOankar (the Divine) is described. In the third, the state of a being trapped in vices is portrayed. In the fourth, the being is consoled by showing death to be occurring under the command of IkOankar. In the fifth and sixth, the state of a being in this world and in the Court after death is described. In the seventh, by depicting the regret of a being who has spent their life in vain, there is advice to reflect and remember IkOankar. In the eighth, a happy and pleasant state of the being connected with the Wisdom (Guru) is presented.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the seventh stanza, Guru Nanak addresses the human-brides, the seekers, and says, O human-brides who have come to cry for the dead! You cry. The Guru reframes our crying and our grief and urges us toward a vaster understanding of existence and our relationship with IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). Let us cry about that One instead: I have been deceived in this world due to falsehood. I have been deceived, wandering in worldly dealings. I have been forsaken by the Divine-Husband due to practicing the conduct of widows. Let us cry, having reflected, having contemplated the virtues of the eternal Beloved. Let us understand that we have been misled by the illusions of this temporary world, by our attachment, separated because we have engaged in actions that lead us away from the Spouse. The Guru reminds us that the Spouse dwells in the home, in the heart of those seekers who are in love with the Spouse. This is how we can live fruitfully. If we cultivate love for the Spouse within, we will begin to feel the presence of the Spouse in our hearts. The Guru says, when I praised the Divine-Husband, I bloomed through the Nam of the Divine-Husband. Nam is Identification with IkOankar. If we cultivate a relationship with the One through Identification, praise, and remembrance, we will bloom!
Guru Nanak begins by acknowledging that we are pained: you have come here to cry, so let’s cry. But what are we crying for? The Guru shows us that we have been deceived by falsehood and temporariness, which has led us away from the Spouse, IkOankar. The Guru shows us the way to live and die so that there are no regret—such that our crying is not of attachment and vices but of separation. Such that we actually are not in separation, such that we are feeling the presence of the One in our hearts. The Guru reminds us that the One is always present. How do we become intimately in a relationship with that One? How do we sense that presence? By loving that One. By praising and remembering that One in every moment. This brings us incredible bliss. This is what causes us to bloom! And so the invitation to the ones who are crying is to reframe their understanding—to really reflect on what we are crying about and to shift our perspective so that we can spend our time and effort on knowing that Spouse who dwells within our hearts. This is what dying while alive looks like—deception ends, a relationship with the Beautiful One through Nam is developed, and bliss is constant.
Will we reflect and change our behaviors? Will we cry for the One? Will we feel the presence of the Spouse? Will we bloom?
Guru Nanak begins by acknowledging that we are pained: you have come here to cry, so let’s cry. But what are we crying for? The Guru shows us that we have been deceived by falsehood and temporariness, which has led us away from the Spouse, IkOankar. The Guru shows us the way to live and die so that there are no regret—such that our crying is not of attachment and vices but of separation. Such that we actually are not in separation, such that we are feeling the presence of the One in our hearts. The Guru reminds us that the One is always present. How do we become intimately in a relationship with that One? How do we sense that presence? By loving that One. By praising and remembering that One in every moment. This brings us incredible bliss. This is what causes us to bloom! And so the invitation to the ones who are crying is to reframe their understanding—to really reflect on what we are crying about and to shift our perspective so that we can spend our time and effort on knowing that Spouse who dwells within our hearts. This is what dying while alive looks like—deception ends, a relationship with the Beautiful One through Nam is developed, and bliss is constant.
Will we reflect and change our behaviors? Will we cry for the One? Will we feel the presence of the Spouse? Will we bloom?
