vaḍahansu m: 3.
rovahi pirahi vichunnīā mai piru sacṛā hai sadā nāle.
jinī calaṇu sahī jāṇiā satiguru sevahi nāmu samāle.
sadā nāmu samāle satiguru hai nāle satiguru sevi sukhu pāiā.
sabde kālu māri sacu uri dhāri phiri āvaṇ jāṇu na hoiā.
sacā sāhibu sacī nāī vekhai nadari nihāle.
rovahi pirahu vichunnīā mai piru sacṛā hai sadā nāle.1.
-Guru Granth Sahib 584
The first stanza of this Alahani states that the seeker who considers death a reality enshrines the Wisdom (Guru) in their heart, contemplates the Nam of IkOankar (the Divine), and feels the presence of IkOankar in every moment. The second stanza describes the way to union with IkOankar. The third stanza states that the seeker, who, through the Wisdom, is imbued with the love of IkOankar, attains union with IkOankar. In the fourth stanza, it is conveyed that IkOankar, by Own-Self, does and causes everything. IkOankar by Own-Self bestows the seeker with the union.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the first stanza, Guru Amardas says the human-brides or the seekers who feel separated from the Spouse, IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One), weep. This composition takes a more personal tone; as the Guru reflects, my eternal Beloved Spouse is always with me. This composition seems to function as a song of separation that imagines a conversation between the one who feels separated and the one who does not. The separated ones are crying, while those who are not separated, who have experienced the presence of the One, who know that the departing from this world is true and real and inevitable, have cherished the Nam (Identification with IkOankar) and served the eternal Wisdom. What does it mean to cherish the Nam? To value Identification with IkOankar, to practice Identification with IkOankar, to remember and praise that One, to live in a culture of constant Identification with IkOankar. This happens through the eternal Wisdom’s guidance! This is how we learn to live in Nam, with Nam.
The Guru says that when we care for the Nam and cherish it, we find that the eternal Wisdom is always with us. When we serve that eternal Wisdom, when we humbly submit to it, and when we are guided by it, we find comfort. We find ultimate bliss and an end to our separation. What does it mean to take care of something? The way we take care of something depends on its value! If we think something is not valuable or dispensable, we do not care for it. We do not think about it much at all. But when we start valuing something, how we engage with it becomes more multifaceted, encompassing, and varied. When we start to take care of Nam, our relationship with Nam begins to look like remembrance, like meditation, like contemplation, like reflection, like praise, like following guidance, and much much more. It is layered! Identification with the One and what that looks like for each seeker evolves as we discover the infinite and unending value of the invaluable Nam.
The Guru says when our relationship with Nam and the Wisdom changes, we can kill our fear of death through Sabad (hymn-like stanza that exemplifies the word-sound of the Infinite Wisdom). When we enshrine the truth in our hearts, we no longer worry about death — when, where, and what will happen to us and what will happen to those we leave behind. Instead, our comings and goings cease. Coming out of this cycle occurs through the Sabad, through serving the eternal Wisdom, and through understanding how to take care of the Nam! We begin to realize that the Sovereign IkOankar is eternal, the praise of that One is eternal, and that the Sovereign beholds each of us with grace and takes care of each of us. We begin to feel this thing we know to be true, and we stop feeling separated. We begin to feel the presence of the Spouse in every moment. Will we serve the eternal Wisdom? Will we care for the Nam? Will we engage with the Sabad? Will we stop weeping out of separation and start crying in the love of the One, in Identification with the One?
The Guru says that when we care for the Nam and cherish it, we find that the eternal Wisdom is always with us. When we serve that eternal Wisdom, when we humbly submit to it, and when we are guided by it, we find comfort. We find ultimate bliss and an end to our separation. What does it mean to take care of something? The way we take care of something depends on its value! If we think something is not valuable or dispensable, we do not care for it. We do not think about it much at all. But when we start valuing something, how we engage with it becomes more multifaceted, encompassing, and varied. When we start to take care of Nam, our relationship with Nam begins to look like remembrance, like meditation, like contemplation, like reflection, like praise, like following guidance, and much much more. It is layered! Identification with the One and what that looks like for each seeker evolves as we discover the infinite and unending value of the invaluable Nam.
The Guru says when our relationship with Nam and the Wisdom changes, we can kill our fear of death through Sabad (hymn-like stanza that exemplifies the word-sound of the Infinite Wisdom). When we enshrine the truth in our hearts, we no longer worry about death — when, where, and what will happen to us and what will happen to those we leave behind. Instead, our comings and goings cease. Coming out of this cycle occurs through the Sabad, through serving the eternal Wisdom, and through understanding how to take care of the Nam! We begin to realize that the Sovereign IkOankar is eternal, the praise of that One is eternal, and that the Sovereign beholds each of us with grace and takes care of each of us. We begin to feel this thing we know to be true, and we stop feeling separated. We begin to feel the presence of the Spouse in every moment. Will we serve the eternal Wisdom? Will we care for the Nam? Will we engage with the Sabad? Will we stop weeping out of separation and start crying in the love of the One, in Identification with the One?
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