bhādaü bharami bhulī bhari jobani pachutāṇī.
jal thal nīri bhare baras rute raṅgu māṇī.
barsai nisi kālī kiu sukhu bālī dādar mor lavante.
priu priu cavai babīhā bole bhuiaṅgam phirahi ḍasante.
machar ḍaṅg sāir bhar subhar binu hari kiu sukhu pāīai.
nānak pūchi calaü gur apune jah prabhu tah hī jāīai.10.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1108
‘Barah Maha Tukhari’ describes the longing of a seeker to unite with their Origin, and the resulting bliss in that union. It is set against the backdrop of the occurring and changing natural conditions of the twelve months of the Indic and Panjabi calendar. Out of seventeen stanzas, the first four stanzas of the composition shed light on its theme. Stanzas five to sixteen sequentially outline the Guru’s teachings through the twelve months of the year. In the last stanza, the theme is concluded by providing the essence of the entire verse.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the tenth stanza, the second month of the rainy season, Bhadon (mid-August to mid-September), is described. Whereas the previous rainy month started with the seeker calling to their mind, this month is all about beyond just the mind or having a particular mindset. This is where Nam (Identification with the One) comes into the picture. Just as without the presence of the Spouse in the mind, life does not taste as good; similarly, Identification cannot come into the barren body. If we are not longing for it, that Identification will not enter us and expand us in the way we need. When Identification with IkOankar enters our hearts, when the Word of Wisdom enters the mind, the month becomes beautiful. The embrace of the Spouse is something of this Identification and this Word of Wisdom. The Word gives us intellect, reason, fulfills intellectual curiosities. Identification is about something beyond the intellect, beyond the cognitive. This is about something all-encompassing, something that addresses doubt, something that gives us comfort, something that fulfills life.
In this month, the seeker experiences doubt. Even in our youth, when we are filled with potential and are anticipating a sort of blooming, if we have doubts, even that blooming of our youth ends up in some kind of regret because it happens in separation from the Spouse. All around the seeker, the bodies of water are overflowing with abundance. There is so much opportunity to feel hopeful at the external environment — the blooming life all around. The animals are happy doing what they are meant to do; the pools are full; everything is so alive, teeming with life. This is the season to be in a sort of trance of joy, to enjoy the color of love of the Spouse. But the seeker who is in this state of doubt cannot get to that experience. Internally, that seeker is sitting in the pitch-black night; internally, the seeker is full of darkness. They wonder, how can I be happy and do what I am meant to be doing if my Spouse is not with me?
When enough conflict and doubt is there, when the mind is open due to the pain of separation, this is when the Wisdom (Guru) enters. This is where Identification is important. In the month after the rainy season, when we are in great happiness, this is the time when the biggest doubt can emerge, because any dissonance between the internal and external becomes magnified. We can also go astray in our happiness and emotional connection to the environment. We might feel the cool breezes and hear the birds chirping and get lost in our external happiness if we do not keep in mind that other things can get to us. The only way to get rid of our doubts is through Wisdom. There are entire Indic schools of thought on all of the different kinds of doubts and all of their different remedies. In this case, the cure for doubt is not knowledge but Wisdom and Identification. We really are able to get rid of doubt when the Wisdom enters, and Identification becomes part of our lives. This is not just a cursory understanding. This is a deep understanding, an emotional state, a way of being. Identification is everything. This is the nectar that makes us immortal. Drinking the nectar of Identification is a process that helps rid us of doubt.
We cannot just drink this nectar on our own. We must be given this nectar by the Wisdom. When we are in our youth, we might feel that abundance on an external level, but do we feel it internally? We might be beautifying ourselves, but are our minds equally beautiful? Our companionship might be full like those pools of water, but are we still searching for that one drop to quench our thirst? This is where the Wisdom comes in — Guru Nanak’s message to the seeker is, walk the path, having asked your Guru where to go, and go there.
In this month, the seeker experiences doubt. Even in our youth, when we are filled with potential and are anticipating a sort of blooming, if we have doubts, even that blooming of our youth ends up in some kind of regret because it happens in separation from the Spouse. All around the seeker, the bodies of water are overflowing with abundance. There is so much opportunity to feel hopeful at the external environment — the blooming life all around. The animals are happy doing what they are meant to do; the pools are full; everything is so alive, teeming with life. This is the season to be in a sort of trance of joy, to enjoy the color of love of the Spouse. But the seeker who is in this state of doubt cannot get to that experience. Internally, that seeker is sitting in the pitch-black night; internally, the seeker is full of darkness. They wonder, how can I be happy and do what I am meant to be doing if my Spouse is not with me?
When enough conflict and doubt is there, when the mind is open due to the pain of separation, this is when the Wisdom (Guru) enters. This is where Identification is important. In the month after the rainy season, when we are in great happiness, this is the time when the biggest doubt can emerge, because any dissonance between the internal and external becomes magnified. We can also go astray in our happiness and emotional connection to the environment. We might feel the cool breezes and hear the birds chirping and get lost in our external happiness if we do not keep in mind that other things can get to us. The only way to get rid of our doubts is through Wisdom. There are entire Indic schools of thought on all of the different kinds of doubts and all of their different remedies. In this case, the cure for doubt is not knowledge but Wisdom and Identification. We really are able to get rid of doubt when the Wisdom enters, and Identification becomes part of our lives. This is not just a cursory understanding. This is a deep understanding, an emotional state, a way of being. Identification is everything. This is the nectar that makes us immortal. Drinking the nectar of Identification is a process that helps rid us of doubt.
We cannot just drink this nectar on our own. We must be given this nectar by the Wisdom. When we are in our youth, we might feel that abundance on an external level, but do we feel it internally? We might be beautifying ourselves, but are our minds equally beautiful? Our companionship might be full like those pools of water, but are we still searching for that one drop to quench our thirst? This is where the Wisdom comes in — Guru Nanak’s message to the seeker is, walk the path, having asked your Guru where to go, and go there.
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