guri miliai vesu palaṭiā sādhan sacu sīgāro.
āvahu milahu sahelīho simrahu sirjaṇhāro.
baīari nāmi suohāgaṇī sacu savāraṇhāro.
gāvahu gītu na birhaṛā nānak braham bīcāro.8.3.
-Guru Granth Sahib 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 eighth stanza, Guru Nanak describes what happens when we live in the bliss discussed at the end of the seventh stanza. What happens to us when we live in this state of connection and Identification with IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One)? The Guru says the form is transformed upon receiving understanding through the Wisdom (Guru). The eternal Nam (Identification with IkOankar) became the adornment of the human-bride, the seeker. When we live in this bliss, and our personality, our temperament, our behavior, our way of thinking all change. Identification, praise, and remembrance become the things that adorn us—that make us beautiful! So, the Guru says, Come, gather, O feminine-beings, O truth-oriented companions! Remember the Creator. We are encouraged to gather and practice devotion to the One through remembrance, through community, through collective praise. The human-bride, the seeker, becomes a suhagan, a greatly fortunate seeker, a connected seeker, through Identification. That eternal Identification is what sets all things right. The Guru ends by encouraging us to sing the song of the Creator, to contemplate the One. If we do this, we will not feel separated.
The Guru describes the blooming that was referenced in stanza seven in greater detail. We change from the inside out, we soften, we adjust our way of being, our way of acting, and the efforts we make. Identification with the One becomes all we seek, rather than attachment to material objects and relationships or indulgence in vices. Identification is what motivates us and what shapes us. The Guru urges us to sing songs of the One, not just when we are in separation, not just when we are grieving the loss of loved ones, but also when we are with seekers, our truth-oriented companions, and we are seeking connection with IkOankar. We are urged to bring the reflection of the Supreme Being within our own beings. We are urged to decorate ourselves with love and remembrance! This is how we can become connected and fortunate seekers, beautified by the One. It all happens through the Nam.
Will we experience this constant blooming of the greatly fortunate seeker? Will we adorn ourselves with Remembrance and Identification? Will we sing the songs of praise with our fellow companions? Will we become beautiful in this remembrance, in this Identification, in this praise?
SUMMARY
The Guru has taken us through a journey of learning and reframing our understanding of the Command, of death as part of the Command, of the Creator as vast and unfathomable and engaged in a play, of the Creator as pervading all spaces and interspaces, and of crying for the Spouse as human-brides, rather than for our worldly relationships. In the first and second stanzas, the Guru describes the glory and vastness of both Creator and creation, focusing on the greatness of the eternal Sovereign. The rahau line, where we are asked to pause and reflect, asks for nothing other than love for that Sovereign. It does not ask for understanding; it only asks for devotion. In the third through sixth stanzas, we see how the dead are located in that larger system of the Command and play of the Sovereign. Our smallness is emphasized, even as the Guru offers understanding and acknowledgment of the pains we feel when we experience worldly loss. The process of death and the post-death care of the body are all described. The Guru acknowledges our crying and reframes it by invoking the greatest and most painful separation—that between the human-bride or seeker and the Spouse, IkOankar. We are asked to reflect on what we are crying for and what can remedy that great pain. What are our behaviors? Have we cried for the virtues of the One? How have we cultivated a love for the One? In the seventh and eighth stanzas, the Guru describes our regrets as beings who have spent our lives in vain. We are advised to reflect and remember IkOankar. It is in that Identification with IkOankar, in that love of the One, that we can learn to die while living. We are invited to come together with truth-oriented companions, seekers, and practice devotion through love and praise. This is what gets rid of our false entanglements and deceptions. Instead of crying in ritualistic songs sung about worldly loss, what would our lives look like if we spent our time singing of and reflecting on the Sovereign Spouse? How would it change us? How would we bloom?
The Guru describes the blooming that was referenced in stanza seven in greater detail. We change from the inside out, we soften, we adjust our way of being, our way of acting, and the efforts we make. Identification with the One becomes all we seek, rather than attachment to material objects and relationships or indulgence in vices. Identification is what motivates us and what shapes us. The Guru urges us to sing songs of the One, not just when we are in separation, not just when we are grieving the loss of loved ones, but also when we are with seekers, our truth-oriented companions, and we are seeking connection with IkOankar. We are urged to bring the reflection of the Supreme Being within our own beings. We are urged to decorate ourselves with love and remembrance! This is how we can become connected and fortunate seekers, beautified by the One. It all happens through the Nam.
Will we experience this constant blooming of the greatly fortunate seeker? Will we adorn ourselves with Remembrance and Identification? Will we sing the songs of praise with our fellow companions? Will we become beautiful in this remembrance, in this Identification, in this praise?
SUMMARY
The Guru has taken us through a journey of learning and reframing our understanding of the Command, of death as part of the Command, of the Creator as vast and unfathomable and engaged in a play, of the Creator as pervading all spaces and interspaces, and of crying for the Spouse as human-brides, rather than for our worldly relationships. In the first and second stanzas, the Guru describes the glory and vastness of both Creator and creation, focusing on the greatness of the eternal Sovereign. The rahau line, where we are asked to pause and reflect, asks for nothing other than love for that Sovereign. It does not ask for understanding; it only asks for devotion. In the third through sixth stanzas, we see how the dead are located in that larger system of the Command and play of the Sovereign. Our smallness is emphasized, even as the Guru offers understanding and acknowledgment of the pains we feel when we experience worldly loss. The process of death and the post-death care of the body are all described. The Guru acknowledges our crying and reframes it by invoking the greatest and most painful separation—that between the human-bride or seeker and the Spouse, IkOankar. We are asked to reflect on what we are crying for and what can remedy that great pain. What are our behaviors? Have we cried for the virtues of the One? How have we cultivated a love for the One? In the seventh and eighth stanzas, the Guru describes our regrets as beings who have spent our lives in vain. We are advised to reflect and remember IkOankar. It is in that Identification with IkOankar, in that love of the One, that we can learn to die while living. We are invited to come together with truth-oriented companions, seekers, and practice devotion through love and praise. This is what gets rid of our false entanglements and deceptions. Instead of crying in ritualistic songs sung about worldly loss, what would our lives look like if we spent our time singing of and reflecting on the Sovereign Spouse? How would it change us? How would we bloom?
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