be das māh rutī thitī vār bhale.
ghaṛī mūrat pal sāce āe sahaji mile.
prabh mile piāre kāraj sāre kartā sabh bidhi jāṇai.
jini sīgārī tisahi piārī melu bhaïā raṅgu māṇai.
ghari sej suhāvī jā piri rāvī gurmukhi mastaki bhāgo.
nānak ahinisi rāvai prītamu hari varu thiru sohāgo.17.1.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1109-1110
‘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 seventeenth stanza, after going through the different months and seasons, the seeker is able to now say from experience that all times of day, all moments, all months, and all seasons are auspicious. The seeker is in a state now where the seasons will change and the moments will change, as they always do, but the seeker will be still and steady, in that state of sahaj, in the midst of the continually transforming and shifting fickle world all around.
This is because the seeker is with the Beloved, and the Beloved is the One who knows the way of union, who knows the way of resolving all affairs. The seeker shares their hope with the world that the one who has been adorned by the Beloved, who becomes endearing to the Beloved, is the one who enjoys being colored in love of the Beloved. The development of that love is happening, and the Spouse and the seeker have become dear to one another, in love. It is when this relationship reaches that kind of love that the seeker’s home-heart becomes beautiful. The seeker’s heart-bed becomes beautiful, where there is no play, no asking anymore, only being, only being in love.
All of this happens through the Wisdom (Guru). It is through the Wisdom that we become fortunate, connected seekers. Without the Wisdom, our seeking is simply an exercise in going through the motions dictated by the changing seasons. We become fortunate when the Spouse’s fortune is on us, and that love, that connection, remains.
The seeker enjoys the flavor of that connection perpetually because the Spouse is with them and they are enjoying that love, because they have developed insights over the changing seasons, their thinking has changed, and they understand that if they become of the One, they will enjoy — everything including the most intimate moments of connection and the harshest weather.
We have understood over the seeker’s journey through the months that separation of even a moment can kill us, and if it is longer, it can become even more painful for the whole year. Guru Nanak, using the voice of the seeker, has taken us on a journey to understand these pains and pangs and longings and yearnings so that we may also understand what we can continuously do to create this constant and incessant enjoyment of love and connection with the One. These weather changes are inevitable. But the voice of the seeker shows us how we may also end up with the Spouse in a state of absolute love and connection if we develop these insights, regardless of external circumstances. The voice of the seeker invites us to ask ourselves if our thinking is changing as the environment around us changes, if we are being guided by Wisdom or just going through the motions, if we are becoming of the One, if our hearts and our minds have come to call for that one thing.
“If” leaves, “when” enters. During the yearlong journey, the seeker navigates the mind and the heart through doubts and emotions, and ends up being one with the One through Word, Identification and Wisdom.
This is because the seeker is with the Beloved, and the Beloved is the One who knows the way of union, who knows the way of resolving all affairs. The seeker shares their hope with the world that the one who has been adorned by the Beloved, who becomes endearing to the Beloved, is the one who enjoys being colored in love of the Beloved. The development of that love is happening, and the Spouse and the seeker have become dear to one another, in love. It is when this relationship reaches that kind of love that the seeker’s home-heart becomes beautiful. The seeker’s heart-bed becomes beautiful, where there is no play, no asking anymore, only being, only being in love.
All of this happens through the Wisdom (Guru). It is through the Wisdom that we become fortunate, connected seekers. Without the Wisdom, our seeking is simply an exercise in going through the motions dictated by the changing seasons. We become fortunate when the Spouse’s fortune is on us, and that love, that connection, remains.
The seeker enjoys the flavor of that connection perpetually because the Spouse is with them and they are enjoying that love, because they have developed insights over the changing seasons, their thinking has changed, and they understand that if they become of the One, they will enjoy — everything including the most intimate moments of connection and the harshest weather.
We have understood over the seeker’s journey through the months that separation of even a moment can kill us, and if it is longer, it can become even more painful for the whole year. Guru Nanak, using the voice of the seeker, has taken us on a journey to understand these pains and pangs and longings and yearnings so that we may also understand what we can continuously do to create this constant and incessant enjoyment of love and connection with the One. These weather changes are inevitable. But the voice of the seeker shows us how we may also end up with the Spouse in a state of absolute love and connection if we develop these insights, regardless of external circumstances. The voice of the seeker invites us to ask ourselves if our thinking is changing as the environment around us changes, if we are being guided by Wisdom or just going through the motions, if we are becoming of the One, if our hearts and our minds have come to call for that one thing.
“If” leaves, “when” enters. During the yearlong journey, the seeker navigates the mind and the heart through doubts and emotions, and ends up being one with the One through Word, Identification and Wisdom.
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