Birhare

Guru Arjan Sahib

While ‘piare,’ or beloved, in the first astpadi (set of stanzas) addressed us as seekers, in these stanzas, "Beloved" addresses the greater beloved One, IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1 Force, the One). Here, we are all addressed as feminine beings. Now, we come into deeper wholeness through a relationship with the beloved One, and without the beloved One, we are incomplete. This transition to addressing the One mirrors the increasing centrality of the One in our consciousness as we continue to be shaped by the Wisdom-Guru. These stanzas move us beyond the journey of separation and longing; they now describe the meeting with the One.
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Guru Arjan describes the nature of human life: The suffering of birth and death is removed, O Beloved! Here, Hari is invoked. This highlights the fear-eliminating quality of the One, IkOankar. In the presence of this fear-eliminating One, the Sovereign, the ultimate fear of the continuous birth-death cycle ends. How is this tethering to the cyclical nature of life broken after eons? Guru Arjan describes the beauty of the beloved One: My Prabhu is beautiful, adept, all-knowing; life is received when the Beloved reveals a glimpse. Prabhu is invoked again as an epithet for IkOankar. This situates us in an intimate relationship with the One: the beloved Husband. The beloved Husband, the One, IkOankar, is beautiful and intimately all-knowing. Upon meeting the Husband, clarity springs forth. Our effort and energy begin to align with what pleases the Husband. Guru Arjan describes those to whom this glimpse has not yet been revealed: The beings who are separated from You, O Beloved! Having consumed poison, take birth and die. Without experiencing this clarity, they continue to consume and remain immersed in the poison-like Maya. They are caught in attachment to transient things and relationships. Immersed in this cycle, union is not realized in the brief window of life. Without union with the beloved Husband, the cyclical nature of birth and death sweeps the beings beneath the waves of the world-ocean. Yet, the warmth of the connection continues to inspire those yearning to experience the beloved Husband.
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Guru Arjan describes those who are beloved to the beloved Husband: Whom You unite, that being meets You, O Beloved! I bow at their feet. Bowing at the feet represents humility, mentorship, and the willingness to do anything and everything in Indic cosmologies. Here, it signals a willingness to serve those united with the beloved Husband through the Wisdom-Guru as well. This is a service few are willing to undertake. In this way, it also represents surrender, awareness, and constant care for the Wisdom-Guru.
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Guru Arjan describes those imbued with this love for the beloved Husband and the Will of the beloved Husband. This true love does not break, O Beloved! This particular love is eternal. Those experiencing union are internally connected to a supreme bliss and love. This state continues forever, even past mortal death. This profound love makes acceptance of the will possible, no matter what the will is. Imbued with love, anything that pleases the beloved Husband pleases the seekers. Guru Arjan describes the devoted acceptance of the will: Whatever is pleasing to You, that is good, O Beloved! Through this undying love, the will of the Husband is not merely accepted. It is met wholeheartedly, rooted in presence, and experienced positively. In this state, everything that pleases the beloved Husband is pleasing to the seeker. The very nature of experience has shifted to align with the will of the beloved Husband. The undying love is that of this steady One. Here, Narayan, an epithet for IkOankar, is invoked. This speaks to the stable, steady, abode-like quality of the One. This deep, sublime love is all-encompassing. It comes to dwell within easily and naturally. It becomes as much an integral part of the body and mind as the rhythm of the heart’s beats and the breaths of life. Guru Arjan concludes the final stanza: Those who are imbued with the color of You, the Narayan, O Beloved! They are enraptured in the inner wisdom, in deep love.
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We reflect on these stanzas, which address the beloved Husband with reverence and humility. They are infused with a sentiment of yearning. While seemingly contrasting qualities of the beloved Husband are invoked, they actually offer a more complete perspective on our relationship with the beloved Husband. At once, we are invited to recognize the nearness of the One as the beloved Husband. We are also invited to notice the great vastness as the Sovereign. To glimpse these qualities of the Sovereign is to experience the nature of that One. Connecting with this vast, eternal, and self-sustaining One disrupts the pain of continuously coming into and out of this world, linked endlessly to the cycle of rebirth. The elimination of this painful cycle is about being in the presence of the beloved Husband. It is about merging our consciousness with the eternal, sovereign One. In this merging, we recognize that we are not merely bodies. The body is the gifted vessel in which our adoration and union with the beloved Husband can bloom during our lives.
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Our relationship with the beloved Husband reveals a deeper aspect of our own nature as seekers. When this love takes root, we understand that the intimately knowing Husband is the one through whom we understand our deeper purpose and path in this life. In meeting the beloved Husband, we learn not only about ourselves, but about the time we have here. This meeting provides existential context. We begin to understand the nature of our perceived separation and how it can be resolved while here and now. Before this experience, we existed in anticipation and conjecture about the Truth. This glimpse we are graced with clarifies our purpose. We can finally orient ourselves meaningfully. We see what we ought to walk towards. In contrast to religious traditions at large, which place a mediator or middle party in the human-Divine relationship, this understanding that we can personally experience union and guidance is precious.
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The centrality of the Will in this journey ought not be overlooked. We are not able to take credit for what happens in our journeys, feel pride, or reinforce our egos when our separation or union comes down to the will of the beloved Husband. While we can make efforts to align ourselves with the One, this happens through the grace of the One. When we feel separated, we remain engrossed in "poisons." These can be understood as material attachments, fleeting pleasures, transient relationships, and the like. These things ease the unconscious pain of separation. Their illusory pleasures enrapture us. It is like becoming so engrossed in a film that we lose awareness of the real world around us. While this separation and distraction, too, exist in the will of the One, the Wisdom-Guru gifts us the perspective to see beyond these poisons of choice. The Wisdom-Guru turns us towards the One instead. If we follow the guidance of the Wisdom-Guru, walk this path, and are graced with this glimpse, we come to experience an expansive joy and contentment. We come to live in a state of unbreakable true love for the One. This love is unique from any love we may have experienced or witnessed before. It is beyond our temporary affections for people, places, and things. This love for the One diminishes not in any second, moment, hour, day, month, or era. Through this love, we are softened by the Will. We can walk in it and accept it as pleasing. This is the love we ought to cultivate. It stays with us day in and day out. There is no opportunity, no need, and no desire to attach to anything other than the One in this state.
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We may ask ourselves: Will we recognize the vastness of the One, and the various ways we can experience and relate with the One? Will we accept the will of the One as higher than our own, while understanding our own role in advancing on our path? Will we cultivate our ability to embrace the will through the love and joy we experience in a relationship with the One?