vaḍahansu mahalā 3.
ihu sarīru jajrī hai is no jaru pahucai āe.
guri rākhe se ubre horu mari jammai āvai jāe.
hori mari jammahi āvahi jāvahi anti gae pachutāvahi binu nāvai sukhu na hoī.
aithai kamāvai so phalu pāvai manmukhi hai pati khoī.
jam puri ghor andhāru mahā gubāru nā tithai bhaiṇ na bhāī.
ihu sarīru jajrī hai is no jaru pahucai āī.1.
-Guru Granth Sahib 584
In the first stanza of this Alahani, it has been stated that beings who are disconnected from the Wisdom (Guru) continue to wander in the cycle of birth and death. But those who contemplate Nam of IkOankar (the Divine) through the Wisdom are saved from it. The second stanza mentions the seekers who are absorbed in the Nam, always sing the glory of IkOankar, and attain happiness. The third stanza shows that without the awareness of the Wisdom and the company of the Wisdom-oriented ones, beings go astray; they are regretful in the Court. The faces of the seekers imbued with the Nam are radiant in love. They become one with IkOankar. The fourth stanza inspires beings to stay in the company of those seekers who always sing the glory and contemplate the Nam.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the first stanza, Guru Amardas says, this body is feeble, and old age reaches it. The word used here refers to something that is frail, and that will keep getting older and frailer. We are reminded that life is withering away, that these bodies are fickle, and that old age is coming, slowly engulfing us. The Guru says that the beings that are protected by the Wisdom will experience freedom, while the others will come and go in the cycle of birth and death. Those who connect with and contemplate the Nam (Identification with IkOankar, the One Creative and Pervasive Force) through the Wisdom are freed. Those who did not connect with the Wisdom continue to wander. Those who continue to wander find that in the end, when it is time to depart this world, they are filled with nothing but regret.
We all experience this emotion about the physical departure from the earthly realm. We might see our loved ones aging and approaching the end, recounting the things they did not do, the things they wish they had done, and expressing regret over what they waited too long to do. The Guru tells us that without the Nam, we can find no comfort. Without trying to Identify with the One, we will find no joy. Whatever we earn in this life, here and now, are the fruits or consequences we reap. The self-centered beings who have not spent their lives fruitfully and have not connected with the Wisdom lose their honor in this world and the next.
The Guru ends by saying that in the city of Death, in the hereafter, there is only extreme darkness. That is the place where the death’s justice is operating, where the Divine’s justice is operating. That place is terribly dark and intensely hazy. There is no relationship there that lasts with us — no sibling or parent or friend who can intervene on our behalf. The journey there is for us on our own. The Guru reminds us again: this body is going to wither away. This body is frail. Old age is engulfing us. What will we do with this time, with these bodies? What will we make an effort toward? What fruit do we wish to reap?
We all experience this emotion about the physical departure from the earthly realm. We might see our loved ones aging and approaching the end, recounting the things they did not do, the things they wish they had done, and expressing regret over what they waited too long to do. The Guru tells us that without the Nam, we can find no comfort. Without trying to Identify with the One, we will find no joy. Whatever we earn in this life, here and now, are the fruits or consequences we reap. The self-centered beings who have not spent their lives fruitfully and have not connected with the Wisdom lose their honor in this world and the next.
The Guru ends by saying that in the city of Death, in the hereafter, there is only extreme darkness. That is the place where the death’s justice is operating, where the Divine’s justice is operating. That place is terribly dark and intensely hazy. There is no relationship there that lasts with us — no sibling or parent or friend who can intervene on our behalf. The journey there is for us on our own. The Guru reminds us again: this body is going to wither away. This body is frail. Old age is engulfing us. What will we do with this time, with these bodies? What will we make an effort toward? What fruit do we wish to reap?
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