hari tījaṛī lāv mani cāu bhaïā bairāgīā bali rām jīu.
sant janā hari melu hari pāiā vaḍbhāgīā bali rām jīu.
nirmalu hari pāiā hari guṇ gāiā mukhi bolī hari bāṇī.
sant janā vaḍbhāgī pāiā hari kathīai akath kahāṇī.
hirdai hari hari hari dhuni upjī hari japīai mastaki bhāgu jīu.
janu nānaku bole tījī lāvai hari upjai mani bairāgu jīu.3.
-Guru Granth Sahib 774
Guru Arjan Sahib counsels the seeker longing for union with IkOankar (the Divine) to rid their mind of ego and cultivate reverence for the all-pervasive IkOankar.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the third stanza, we are made aware of bringing an intense perpetual “longing” into our lifestyle. The first link with the Light chiseled us by making the Utterances filled with infinite wisdom the center of our existence. And prepared us, beings, to become Wisdom-centered, to live in Nam, Identification with the Beautiful Being, and Nam became sweet to the mind. The second link with the Light, the “meeting” with the Eternal Wisdom, materialized. “Reverence” entered us and enabled us to see the Light in everything, and the limitless innate sound began to resound within us. Guru Ramdas says, Through the third link with the Light, joyous longing has occurred in the mind of detached ones; I lovingly surrender myself to the dearest Beautiful Being. What is this joyous longing? The Guru invokes the word bairag. In Indic traditions, it is a state of mind without excitement. There is nothingness; there is a void; there is no color; there is no love. However, the Guru redefines bairag—it is a state of mind where there is intense joyous longing. It is not an absence of color and love; it is absolutely filled with color and love. It is not mindlessness but mindfulness. It is not thoughtlessness but thoughtfulness. The mind delights in this intense experience of longing for the Light; it doesn’t seek numbness or a leveling of the senses. How does this joyous longing happen? It is born in the heart of that being where the Utterances filled with infinite wisdom are resounding within. The mind that began in excitement has now found the full-hearted longing. This color, this music, and this love are not about mindlessness but mindfulness. The Guru says the Light has made this joy and color-filled longing enter the mind. With intense love, devotion, and vigor, willingly surrender to the Beautiful Being in this love-journey.
The Guru elaborates that this longing will push you to seek the ones who exemplify the truth, who live the truth, and who are in this longing—the truth-exemplars. Their company will enable you to meet the Light. It is not just a meeting; you will also feel the Light, which will make you fortunate. In this company, you will sing the virtues of the flawless, exquisite, impeccable Light. And when you are “singing, living, and breathing” the virtues, what will flow from your mouth will be the wisdom of the Light from a lived experience. An element of the unnarratable narrative of the Light can be narrated only by those who have experienced this connection. In this connection, in this longing, a melody will be born in your heart. That uncomposed melody is not only being born; it will grow within you. And that melody is all about the Light. What you will be reciting and remembering is the Light. That recitation and remembrance will become intrinsic. It will be like an autonomic body function, and it will get “written” on your forehead and leave a mark on your mind. That intense longing will enter the mind. It is no longer just the heart’s desire and feeling; it is now an intentional, mindful existence and an endless longing. The path to a divine-centered intense perpetual longing is created through the third link.
Similar is the journey of two beings coming together in the House of Guru Ramdas with the One as their center. Towards that journey, the couple has developed a joyous longing for the Beautiful Being. What is this full-hearted longing? A longing where there is no negation. A longing where hope is never lost, where there is no questioning whether expectations will be met or not. However, if Nam and reverence have not entered the couple, they cannot enter the longing stage. They can hope to be in the expectation of longing and aspire to be in longing. But to be in the longing, the mind needs to be excited. They can have an intellectual understanding of these two things, but they will not be able to be in longing if there is the absence of Nam and reverence. They may have read and recited the religious texts, but if their behavior does not reflect reverence, the chiseling has not occurred. How will they know if they are in reverence? When a perpetual longing and excitement have entered the mind. A longing that never diminishes. A longing that is not transactional, a longing that brings out the virtues in them. When the couple is ready and enters this stage of joyous longing, they will meet those who exemplify truth—the truth-exemplars. The Light will make them meet the truth-exemplars, who are in this longing and who feel the presence of the Light. This longing and excitement will enable them to feel bliss perpetually, which will make them fortunate. Before, they were singing the divine virtues as a practice and routine. Now, it will happen continuously in the company of the truth-exemplars. They will speak the Utterances filled with infinite wisdom and share snippets of the unnarratable story of the Light. Though the couple will be immersed and excited to be in this longing, they are not to leave the Eternal Wisdom nor be swayed by other transcendental methods and extreme disciplinary lifestyles. They are to sing only the Utterances filled with infinite wisdom of the Light and praise only the Light and no other deity or personality. The sound of the Light will take birth in their hearts, and their foreheads will radiate. In Indic traditions, the belief is that what is written on one’s forehead is ordained. Nothing can change that. However, in the House of Guru Ramdas, when one is in the remembrance of the Light, one’s foreheads will reflect that remembrance, that connection. The only longing the couple needs is to be in the longing for the Utterances filled with infinite wisdom. Other longings will take them elsewhere. This is how they will rise above the distractions of material things and transitory relationships and enter the realm of love which is the third link. What if the couple as the human-bride-being, were to apply this longing for the Divine-Groom-Being, towards each other? This same intense longing they need to bring into their marriage. The excitement with each other is the enactment of the longing in the human dimension. Only when this experience, excitement, and longing enter the human dimension can they get a glimpse of understanding of how they can become excited about the Divine-Groom-Being in their life all the time. If the excitement in their relationship wanes, they need to recognize that something went amiss in the first and second links and return to strengthen them. The path to divine-centered longing is created through the third link.
Do we want to experience that “longing” that flows from the Eternal Wisdom? The sweet longing for the Utterances filled with infinite wisdom to resound within us. Do we want our foreheads to reflect the remembrance of the Light? What are we willing to change in our lifestyle to experience this longing to wed the Beautiful Being as shared by Guru Ramdas?
The Guru elaborates that this longing will push you to seek the ones who exemplify the truth, who live the truth, and who are in this longing—the truth-exemplars. Their company will enable you to meet the Light. It is not just a meeting; you will also feel the Light, which will make you fortunate. In this company, you will sing the virtues of the flawless, exquisite, impeccable Light. And when you are “singing, living, and breathing” the virtues, what will flow from your mouth will be the wisdom of the Light from a lived experience. An element of the unnarratable narrative of the Light can be narrated only by those who have experienced this connection. In this connection, in this longing, a melody will be born in your heart. That uncomposed melody is not only being born; it will grow within you. And that melody is all about the Light. What you will be reciting and remembering is the Light. That recitation and remembrance will become intrinsic. It will be like an autonomic body function, and it will get “written” on your forehead and leave a mark on your mind. That intense longing will enter the mind. It is no longer just the heart’s desire and feeling; it is now an intentional, mindful existence and an endless longing. The path to a divine-centered intense perpetual longing is created through the third link.
Similar is the journey of two beings coming together in the House of Guru Ramdas with the One as their center. Towards that journey, the couple has developed a joyous longing for the Beautiful Being. What is this full-hearted longing? A longing where there is no negation. A longing where hope is never lost, where there is no questioning whether expectations will be met or not. However, if Nam and reverence have not entered the couple, they cannot enter the longing stage. They can hope to be in the expectation of longing and aspire to be in longing. But to be in the longing, the mind needs to be excited. They can have an intellectual understanding of these two things, but they will not be able to be in longing if there is the absence of Nam and reverence. They may have read and recited the religious texts, but if their behavior does not reflect reverence, the chiseling has not occurred. How will they know if they are in reverence? When a perpetual longing and excitement have entered the mind. A longing that never diminishes. A longing that is not transactional, a longing that brings out the virtues in them. When the couple is ready and enters this stage of joyous longing, they will meet those who exemplify truth—the truth-exemplars. The Light will make them meet the truth-exemplars, who are in this longing and who feel the presence of the Light. This longing and excitement will enable them to feel bliss perpetually, which will make them fortunate. Before, they were singing the divine virtues as a practice and routine. Now, it will happen continuously in the company of the truth-exemplars. They will speak the Utterances filled with infinite wisdom and share snippets of the unnarratable story of the Light. Though the couple will be immersed and excited to be in this longing, they are not to leave the Eternal Wisdom nor be swayed by other transcendental methods and extreme disciplinary lifestyles. They are to sing only the Utterances filled with infinite wisdom of the Light and praise only the Light and no other deity or personality. The sound of the Light will take birth in their hearts, and their foreheads will radiate. In Indic traditions, the belief is that what is written on one’s forehead is ordained. Nothing can change that. However, in the House of Guru Ramdas, when one is in the remembrance of the Light, one’s foreheads will reflect that remembrance, that connection. The only longing the couple needs is to be in the longing for the Utterances filled with infinite wisdom. Other longings will take them elsewhere. This is how they will rise above the distractions of material things and transitory relationships and enter the realm of love which is the third link. What if the couple as the human-bride-being, were to apply this longing for the Divine-Groom-Being, towards each other? This same intense longing they need to bring into their marriage. The excitement with each other is the enactment of the longing in the human dimension. Only when this experience, excitement, and longing enter the human dimension can they get a glimpse of understanding of how they can become excited about the Divine-Groom-Being in their life all the time. If the excitement in their relationship wanes, they need to recognize that something went amiss in the first and second links and return to strengthen them. The path to divine-centered longing is created through the third link.
Do we want to experience that “longing” that flows from the Eternal Wisdom? The sweet longing for the Utterances filled with infinite wisdom to resound within us. Do we want our foreheads to reflect the remembrance of the Light? What are we willing to change in our lifestyle to experience this longing to wed the Beautiful Being as shared by Guru Ramdas?
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