dhanāsarī mahalā 9.
tih jogī kaü jugati na jānaü.
lobh moh māiā mamtā phuni jih ghaṭi māhi pachānaü.1. rahāu.
par nindā ustati nah jā kai kancan loh samāno.
harakh sog te rahai atītā jogī tāhi bakhāno.1.
cancal manu dahdisi kaü dhāvat acal jāhi ṭhahrāno.
kahu nānak ih bidhi ko jo naru mukati tāhi tum māno.2.3.
-Guru Granth Sahib 685
Guru Teghbahadar Sahib describes the signs of a real Yogi or a liberated being. A liberated being is detached from greed, attachment, and the dualities of life like praise-slander and sorrow-comfort, and thus, has stabilized their mind.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
Dhanasari is a rag (musical mode) used to create a mood of happiness or cheerfulness.
In the third composition, Guru Teghbahadar says, do not consider that Yogi to know the way, in whose heart is greed, attachment, and affection of material attachment. The Guru warns us against those whose hearts are filled not with Remembrance but with greed and attachment and the affection of attachment. This affection of material attachment is important because the Guru is not just talking about those attached to the material because it is part of the human condition’s struggle to find ourselves entangled. The people the Guru is referring to here are those who have taken it a step further, who are attached and in love with being attached, who enjoy it, who have great affection for it. These are the people who cannot guide us or show us the way.
Do not consider that Yogi to know the way, in whose heart is greed, attachment, and affection of material attachment. The Guru tells us that the people we ought to turn to for guidance are those within whom there is no slander or praise of others, for whom gold and iron are alike. These people do not put down or build up anyone; who consider all things alike: pains and triumphs, iron and gold. These are the real renunciates. They have not left the world but instead, move through the world without a sense of duality or wavering. They have not renunciated things that feed the five (lust, anger, greed, attachment, and pride) and dominate the self. It is not that this kind of person does not say positive things; it is that there is nuance and steadiness to how they move through the world. They are not reactive. They see that we are made of the same elements. They understand and recognize IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One).
Do not consider that Yogi to know the way, in whose heart is greed, attachment, and affection of material attachment. The mind is fickle and unsteady. It can’t sit still, and it spends its time wavering. Its rhythm is irregular; it marches to some kind of frenzied beat, it is playful and anxious. There is no room to slow down or engage in thoughtfulness. It runs in ten directions, but if we can calm the mind and pause it for a moment, if we can make it unmoving and steady, we can experience the feeling of what it means to be free. The one who can make the mind steady and immovable is free. There is a play here in the implicit reference to movement and stillness because many holy people do a spiritual practice by staying still. But what is the use of a still body when the mind continues to run around? What can we do? What is the way?
The Guru, through references to those who are considered “holy,” asks us to be more thoughtful of who we are looking to for guidance. There is an understanding that these “holy” people rely on the ones they critique for sustenance, an implicit hierarchy necessitating their need for alms for survival. The Guru does not condemn these people but instead asks us to see those beyond the binaries we impose on all things, who are steady and in Remembrance. The Guru says if we want to leave, we ought not to leave the world. Let us leave lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride, and affection for the material if we want to leave. If we want to make something still, let it be our minds. Let us not turn away from the world; let us not turn the mind off. Let us instead steady ourselves in the world; let us instead steady our minds. If we do this, the question changes. It is no longer who is the Yogi who can show us the way. It is: who is the free one who can show us the way to freedom?
In the third composition, Guru Teghbahadar says, do not consider that Yogi to know the way, in whose heart is greed, attachment, and affection of material attachment. The Guru warns us against those whose hearts are filled not with Remembrance but with greed and attachment and the affection of attachment. This affection of material attachment is important because the Guru is not just talking about those attached to the material because it is part of the human condition’s struggle to find ourselves entangled. The people the Guru is referring to here are those who have taken it a step further, who are attached and in love with being attached, who enjoy it, who have great affection for it. These are the people who cannot guide us or show us the way.
Do not consider that Yogi to know the way, in whose heart is greed, attachment, and affection of material attachment. The Guru tells us that the people we ought to turn to for guidance are those within whom there is no slander or praise of others, for whom gold and iron are alike. These people do not put down or build up anyone; who consider all things alike: pains and triumphs, iron and gold. These are the real renunciates. They have not left the world but instead, move through the world without a sense of duality or wavering. They have not renunciated things that feed the five (lust, anger, greed, attachment, and pride) and dominate the self. It is not that this kind of person does not say positive things; it is that there is nuance and steadiness to how they move through the world. They are not reactive. They see that we are made of the same elements. They understand and recognize IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One).
Do not consider that Yogi to know the way, in whose heart is greed, attachment, and affection of material attachment. The mind is fickle and unsteady. It can’t sit still, and it spends its time wavering. Its rhythm is irregular; it marches to some kind of frenzied beat, it is playful and anxious. There is no room to slow down or engage in thoughtfulness. It runs in ten directions, but if we can calm the mind and pause it for a moment, if we can make it unmoving and steady, we can experience the feeling of what it means to be free. The one who can make the mind steady and immovable is free. There is a play here in the implicit reference to movement and stillness because many holy people do a spiritual practice by staying still. But what is the use of a still body when the mind continues to run around? What can we do? What is the way?
The Guru, through references to those who are considered “holy,” asks us to be more thoughtful of who we are looking to for guidance. There is an understanding that these “holy” people rely on the ones they critique for sustenance, an implicit hierarchy necessitating their need for alms for survival. The Guru does not condemn these people but instead asks us to see those beyond the binaries we impose on all things, who are steady and in Remembrance. The Guru says if we want to leave, we ought not to leave the world. Let us leave lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride, and affection for the material if we want to leave. If we want to make something still, let it be our minds. Let us not turn away from the world; let us not turn the mind off. Let us instead steady ourselves in the world; let us instead steady our minds. If we do this, the question changes. It is no longer who is the Yogi who can show us the way. It is: who is the free one who can show us the way to freedom?
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