prīti prem tanu khaci rahiā bīcu na rāī hot.
caran kamal manu bedhio būjhanu surati sanjog.2.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1363
The love of IkOankar (the Divine) cannot be inculcated through wealth, pilgrimages, recitations, austerities, or disciplines. The being who connects with IkOankar consciously becomes worthy of IkOankar’s love. Their mind remains immersed in the Nam of IkOankar in every moment; they do not go anywhere else in search of bliss. They remain in a constant state of joy due to their humility. Worldly comforts and praise received because of various practices like recitations and austerities are worthless before the love of IkOankar. On the other hand, a being entangled in attachment to the material world and relationships remains miserable despite having attained worldly comforts.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the second salok, Guru Arjan says, For the being whose body remains absorbed in love and affection, there is not even the distance of a mustard seed between them and IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). The mind is pierced in the lotus-feet. This realization happens through the union of the consciousness with Nam (Identification with IkOankar). The seeker whose body is absorbed in, dyed in, filled with, and drenched in love is completely in that love and affection. The love for IkOankar housed in the body makes up the entire body. There is no room for even a mustard seed’s worth of distance between the lover and the Beloved. That seeker is so drenched in love that it is as if they have become the love itself. When the body is filled with such love, it becomes inseparable and indistinguishable from that love, and the mind is in the sanctuary of the lotus-feet. What are the lotus-feet? This is how the mind comes to a state of humility, openness, and softness to this guidance amid the muddiness of life. This is how the union of the consciousness happens, how the awareness comes. As seekers, we might ask ourselves for a clear-cut method — when will the mind understand? When will we figure this out? There is no formula, but Guru Arjan reminds us that this only happens when the body is filled with love. Only a lover can know what love is! It cannot be explained! But the mind is constant in its desire to know. We are reminded that we cannot will this experience or knowing into our brains because it is not logical. It permeates the body and all its cells, filling us up such that the mind and body are constantly and ceaselessly with the One; even if we feel that excitement in the body, the mind can be stubborn! When that love and excitement fill the body completely, an intuitive alertness blooms in the mind. The mind becomes pierced by humility and loving submission to the One. Will we begin immersing ourselves in the love of IkOankar? Will we remain immersed in every moment?
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