vaḍahansu mahalā 4 ghoṛīā
ikoaṅkār satigur prasādi.
deh tejaṇi jī rāmi upāīā rām.
dhannu māṇas janamu punni pāīā rām.
māṇas janamu vaḍ punne pāiā deh su kancan caṅgaṛīā.
gurmukhi raṅgu calūlā pāvai hari hari hari nav raṅgaṛīā.
eh deh su bāṁkī jitu hari jāpī hari hari nāmi suhāvīā.
vaḍbhāgī pāī nāmu sakhāī jan nānak rāmi upāīā.1.
-Guru Granth Sahib 575
This chant equates the occasion of marriage with human life. For a seeker, human life is also an occasion of joy and enthusiasm because the connection with IkOankar (the Divine) is possible only during one’s lifetime. Guru Ramdas Sahib inspires the seeker to connect with IkOankar. Depicting the human body as a mare, the Guru reveals that the seeker can unite with IkOankar by putting the saddle of Wisdom (Guru) on their body.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
This composition is set in the rag or musical mode of Vadahans, which is common to both wedding and death ceremonies. Vadahans is associated with folk traditions. In this composition, Ghoria are the songs of the groom’s side, sung by women from the groom’s family. Vadahans literally means the great swan. The swan is often associated with the self or the being or the spirit within. The Guru Granth Sahib often refers to the difference between being swan-like (calm on the waters) versus being crane-like (full of pretension). This is about our potential to be swan-like and more vastly understanding folk culture. These compositions are about more than the wedding ceremony, more than the folk culture around the groom’s procession on the horse, more than the folk culture of women singing, and the happiness and sadness of this occasion. Guru Ramdas uses this common experience they tell us about the wedding of the being with the larger Being, about the feminine-beings, the seekers, meeting the Divine-Husband. What do we do with this body, and how do we ride this life so that we can wed the divine?
In the first stanza, Guru Ramdas says, this body is like a mare, ji! The Beautiful One has created it. The Guru uses the word tejan to describe these human bodies. Tejan is a Persian word referring to Arabian horses, considered the superior breed. It is not just that these bodies are a gift; it is that they are the best and most beautiful vessels because they are made by the Beautiful, IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One), and they are made for Nam (Identification with IkOankar). These human bodies are beautiful and rare, these human births are great and blessed, and they have been received through virtuous deeds.
The Guru again reminds us that our human lives are received through virtuous deeds, and these bodies are like gold – priceless and excellent because they are received and created by the Beautiful One. Who gets to understand the value of this body and its purpose? It is those who are Wisdom-oriented that get to cultivate the color of deep crimson red within them. It is those who are Wisdom-oriented that cultivate a deep love for the One within their precious bodies. These bodies bring us all the graces and the privileges of the world if only we would seek them. The Wisdom-oriented ones sing of the 1-Light, remember the 1-Light, and make their bodies beautiful from within, immersing themselves in the color of love. This color of love does not stay the same – it is ever-new, ever-changing because the love is ever-fresh and exciting. This is the kind of love that we might experience a glimpse of when we are young and naive, when we are first in a relationship, and everything feels like a novelty. In our human relationships, those feelings fade, and we chalk it up to ‘puppy love’ or the ‘honeymoon phase.’ That feeling never ends in the relationship between the Wisdom-oriented and the One. It is euphoric and deep and always new. And we can all experience it through our bodies.
The Guru says this body is beautiful, through which the 1-Light is known. It becomes beautiful through Identification with the 1-Light. The purpose of these bodies is to cultivate Identification with IkOankar within. When we practice remembrance, praise, and identification, these beautiful bodies become even more beautiful from the inside out. This is how we become beautiful, fortunate, and pleasant; this is how Identification becomes our companion. In the usual folk wedding song genre, the companions are those women who sing the songs of the wedding in great bliss and anticipation. Here, the companion is Nam, and these bodies, created by the Beautiful One, are received through great fortune. We are already the fortunate ones, for we already have human bodies.
The Guru uses the common format of the wedding song to show seekers how to wed the Divine – how to connect with and experience union with the One. We are told in the first stanza that our bodies are rare, beautiful, valuable, and created by the Beautiful One – the very One we seek. These bodies were given to us through great fortune and virtuous deeds and made for Identification with the One. It is through these bodies that we can cultivate a relationship with the One. It is through these bodies that we can experience the One. Will we fulfill our purpose?
In the first stanza, Guru Ramdas says, this body is like a mare, ji! The Beautiful One has created it. The Guru uses the word tejan to describe these human bodies. Tejan is a Persian word referring to Arabian horses, considered the superior breed. It is not just that these bodies are a gift; it is that they are the best and most beautiful vessels because they are made by the Beautiful, IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One), and they are made for Nam (Identification with IkOankar). These human bodies are beautiful and rare, these human births are great and blessed, and they have been received through virtuous deeds.
The Guru again reminds us that our human lives are received through virtuous deeds, and these bodies are like gold – priceless and excellent because they are received and created by the Beautiful One. Who gets to understand the value of this body and its purpose? It is those who are Wisdom-oriented that get to cultivate the color of deep crimson red within them. It is those who are Wisdom-oriented that cultivate a deep love for the One within their precious bodies. These bodies bring us all the graces and the privileges of the world if only we would seek them. The Wisdom-oriented ones sing of the 1-Light, remember the 1-Light, and make their bodies beautiful from within, immersing themselves in the color of love. This color of love does not stay the same – it is ever-new, ever-changing because the love is ever-fresh and exciting. This is the kind of love that we might experience a glimpse of when we are young and naive, when we are first in a relationship, and everything feels like a novelty. In our human relationships, those feelings fade, and we chalk it up to ‘puppy love’ or the ‘honeymoon phase.’ That feeling never ends in the relationship between the Wisdom-oriented and the One. It is euphoric and deep and always new. And we can all experience it through our bodies.
The Guru says this body is beautiful, through which the 1-Light is known. It becomes beautiful through Identification with the 1-Light. The purpose of these bodies is to cultivate Identification with IkOankar within. When we practice remembrance, praise, and identification, these beautiful bodies become even more beautiful from the inside out. This is how we become beautiful, fortunate, and pleasant; this is how Identification becomes our companion. In the usual folk wedding song genre, the companions are those women who sing the songs of the wedding in great bliss and anticipation. Here, the companion is Nam, and these bodies, created by the Beautiful One, are received through great fortune. We are already the fortunate ones, for we already have human bodies.
The Guru uses the common format of the wedding song to show seekers how to wed the Divine – how to connect with and experience union with the One. We are told in the first stanza that our bodies are rare, beautiful, valuable, and created by the Beautiful One – the very One we seek. These bodies were given to us through great fortune and virtuous deeds and made for Identification with the One. It is through these bodies that we can cultivate a relationship with the One. It is through these bodies that we can experience the One. Will we fulfill our purpose?
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