basantu mahalā 9.
kahā bhūlio re jhūṭhe lobh lāg.
kachu bigrio nāhin ajahu jāg.1. rahāu.
sam supnai kai ihu jagu jānu.
binsai chin mai sācī mānu.1.
saṅgi terai hari basat nīt.
nis bāsur bhaju tāhi mīt.2.
bār ant kī hoi sahāi.
kahu nānak gun tā ke gāi.3.5.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1187
Guru Teghbahadar Sahib guides the person trapped in worldly materialism to IkOankar (the Divine), the eternal Companion. In contrasting the impermanence of objects and the everlasting IkOankar, this Sabad elicits optimism that one may still be liberated from the attachment to material possessions and cultivate a connection by singing praises to IkOankar.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the fifth composition, Guru Teghbahadar says, Why are you lost, O friend, having engaged in false greed? Nothing is ruined yet. Wake up. The Guru is urgent, asking us again what kind of forgetfulness we are in that is causing us to be caught up in temporary greed. We are constantly immersed in our own greed but it is this constantly shifting and alive thing that drives us and layers on top of itself, perpetually compounding. But even then, even with this strong initial statement, the Guru reminds us that nothing is lost. We still have time to get ourselves out of this, so why don’t we get up and awaken now, prepare ourselves for the spring of our minds and hearts, and get rid of that which is engulfing us?
Why are you lost, O friend, having engaged in false greed? Nothing is ruined yet. Wake up. The Guru reminds us that this world and everything in it is like a dream, that the world and its objects perish instantly, and that we ought to remind ourselves of this fact. We spend our time immersed in greed, and it snowballs. We want and want and want, and we are never satisfied, even as we accumulate more and more and more. If we can remind ourselves of this temporariness, we will be able to shake ourselves out of our constantly compounding greed.
Why are you lost, O friend, having engaged in false greed? Nothing is ruined yet. Wake up. We ought to remind ourselves that the 1-Light dwells with us always and that we ought to live in Remembrance of the One daily, singing praises and inculcating the virtues of IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One). After understanding the temporariness of all that we thought was permanent, we can look within, to the one Eternal, and root ourselves in the Remembrance of that One. This Remembrance and inculcation of virtues will shift us out of our greed.
Why are you lost, O friend, having engaged in false greed? Nothing is ruined yet. Wake up. We ought to sing only the virtues of the One, the 1-Light, who dwells with us always, who is the only One who becomes helpful in the end. This body will leave, and we will leave too, but the 1-Light is eternal and constant, with us at the end when no one else is when nothing else is.
The Guru gives us a nuanced and multi-hued understanding of greed and its effects, as it causes forgetfulness. If we can recognize that the world is temporary, then we can take the next step of developing interest in and devotion to that which is not temporary. When we realize that the world is perishable, we will also recognize that loving only this perishable world and the things in it is futile. If we can allow this wisdom to enter our minds, we can get rid of these different waves of greed that we go through, where we might think we have it under control one minute, and the next, we are immersed in our greed and watching it feed on itself. Will we take this wake-up call as an opportunity to release ourselves from our greed and practice Remembrance?
Why are you lost, O friend, having engaged in false greed? Nothing is ruined yet. Wake up. The Guru reminds us that this world and everything in it is like a dream, that the world and its objects perish instantly, and that we ought to remind ourselves of this fact. We spend our time immersed in greed, and it snowballs. We want and want and want, and we are never satisfied, even as we accumulate more and more and more. If we can remind ourselves of this temporariness, we will be able to shake ourselves out of our constantly compounding greed.
Why are you lost, O friend, having engaged in false greed? Nothing is ruined yet. Wake up. We ought to remind ourselves that the 1-Light dwells with us always and that we ought to live in Remembrance of the One daily, singing praises and inculcating the virtues of IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One). After understanding the temporariness of all that we thought was permanent, we can look within, to the one Eternal, and root ourselves in the Remembrance of that One. This Remembrance and inculcation of virtues will shift us out of our greed.
Why are you lost, O friend, having engaged in false greed? Nothing is ruined yet. Wake up. We ought to sing only the virtues of the One, the 1-Light, who dwells with us always, who is the only One who becomes helpful in the end. This body will leave, and we will leave too, but the 1-Light is eternal and constant, with us at the end when no one else is when nothing else is.
The Guru gives us a nuanced and multi-hued understanding of greed and its effects, as it causes forgetfulness. If we can recognize that the world is temporary, then we can take the next step of developing interest in and devotion to that which is not temporary. When we realize that the world is perishable, we will also recognize that loving only this perishable world and the things in it is futile. If we can allow this wisdom to enter our minds, we can get rid of these different waves of greed that we go through, where we might think we have it under control one minute, and the next, we are immersed in our greed and watching it feed on itself. Will we take this wake-up call as an opportunity to release ourselves from our greed and practice Remembrance?
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