ikoaṅkār satigur prasādi.
mārū kāphī mahalā 1 gharu 2.
āvaü vanñaü ḍummaṇī kitī mitra kareu.
sādhan ḍhoī na lahai vāḍhī kiu dhīreu.1.
maiḍā manu ratā āpanṛe pir nāli.
haü gholi ghumāī khannīai kītī hik bhorī nadari nihāli.1. rahāu.
peīaṛai ḍohāgaṇī sāhuraṛai kiu jāu.
mai gali aügaṇ muṭhṛī binu pir jhūri marāu.2.
peīaṛai piru sammalā sāhuraṛai ghari vāsu.
sukhi savandhi sohāgaṇī piru pāiā guṇtāsu.3.
lephu nihālī paṭ kī kāpaṛu aṅgi baṇāi.
piru mutī ḍohāgaṇī tin ḍukhī raiṇi vihāi.4.
kitī cakhaü sāḍaṛe kitī ves kareu.
pir binu jobanu bādi gaïamu vāḍhī jhūredī jhūreu.5.
sace sandā sadṛā suṇīai gur vīcāri.
sace sacā baihaṇā nadarī nadari piāri.6.
giānī anjanu sac kā ḍekhai ḍekhaṇhāru.
gurmukhi būjhai jāṇīai haümai garabu nivāri.7.
taü bhāvani taü jehīā mū jehīā kitīāh.
nānak nāhu na vīchuṛai tin sacai ratṛīāh.8.1.9.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1014-1015
Guru Nanak Sahib describes the lives of a miserable, separated individual and the blissful life of a united being. This is followed by a plea for grace so that the seeker’s mind can be dyed in the love of IkOankar (the Divine). Even if the being has numerous worldly comforts, the separated individual suffers. By enshrining the Wisdom (Guru) in the heart, the blissful union with IkOankar is experienced. Reflecting on the Wisdom, the individual is liberated from ego and arrogance and receives honor in the court of IkOankar. This Sabad encourages seekers to invite into their consciousness and connect to Nam (Identification with IkOankar).
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
Maru Kaphi is a quiet and contemplative rag (musical mode) associated with the colder season and the afternoon. Maru is a strike and denotes a kind of directness in word choice and tone. Kaphi is the Sufi expressive way of delivering things in sweetness. It provides relaxation and assurance. These two things together mean that Maru Kaphi is a rag of warriors who are drenched in love and of bluntness paired with sweet emotions beyond logic or explanation.
The three compositions by Guru Nanak, conventionally referred to as Maru Kaphi, show the seeker how to reflect on their two-mindedness, become Wisdom-oriented, and cultivate a relationship with the Divine.
In the first composition, Guru Nanak says, my mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. May I be a sacrifice, may I be cut into pieces, if it means the Divine-Spouse will look at me with a glance of grace for a moment. The Guru identifies with the human-bride, or the seeker, living in duality and dichotomy. The seeker reflects on their state of two-mindedness, of coming and going. The one who is in separation is in a state of constant sadness, caught up in the cycle of coming and going, and makes many other friends. But these relationships are being developed because the seeker does not know what to do or what to look for. They are looking for something they cannot find. We do this in different ways when we are in a state of sadness and dissatisfaction. We might seek out other people or experiences to distract ourselves from our own misery. We might even make new friends, as misery loves company. But these are friendships developed out of desperation and the dichotomies we are in. They are not relationships that will help us. It is because of the two-minded seeker’s state of separation that they cannot take the refuge of the Divine-Spouse, IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One). The seeker cannot find solace.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. The seeker’s mind is colored or imbued in the love of the Divine-Spouse, and the plea comes: may I be a sacrifice, may I be cut into pieces, if it means the Divine-Spouse will look at me with a momentary glance of grace. Even for a momentary glance, the seeker is willing to sacrifice themselves, to be cut into pieces for the briefest moment of grace from the Divine Spouse. This feeling cannot be explained. It is a state of existence in which the seeker circles around the One, constantly circles around the One. When we encircle someone or something, it is because we are centering our lives around that thing. We are willing to do anything for it. The seeker is encircling IkOankar and willing to do anything for a glance of grace. If it requires their limbs, they will do it just for a glance, just for a moment of happiness. Why? Because otherwise, the seeker is already dying in pain. Life feels as if it is not worth anything. And so there is a willingness to give one’s literal body or parts for a change in that state, a release from that pain, even if it is momentary. The focus on the mind here is important because it is the mind that does not understand emotions and the experiential. It is the mind that is caught up in two opposing ways of thinking, in dichotomies. And the accumulation of friends who are also living in dichotomy and duality encourages the mind to continue in this state.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. The Guru continues to identify with the voice of the two-minded seeker, reflecting, I am an unfortunate human-bride in the parents’ house. How can I go to the in-laws’ house? The separated and unfortunate seeker is disconnected in the parents’ house or in this world and this separated life. How can they be connected when it comes time for them to leave this house of existence for the hereafter, or the connected life, the in-laws’ house? Flaws are around the unfortunate seeker’s neck like a garland of non-virtues. They are filled with non-virtues, and they pine for connection. Without the Divine-Spouse, they die.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. The seeker reflects and says that if they are able to remember the Divine-Spouse in their parents’ house, if they are able to remember IkOankar here and now, in this life, if they are able to foster a relationship with the One while living, they will be able to find a dwelling in the in-laws’ house. We tell ourselves so many reasons why we cannot foster a relationship with IkOankar here and now. We are too busy; we are too flawed, we will get to it later in life. But that relationship ought to start as soon as possible. If we start remembering the One, we will find that our relationship with the One is strong before the metaphorical wedding. The fortunate human-brides, the fortunate seekers who are connected with the Divine-Spouse, who have fostered a relationship with IkOankar, sleep in comfort. They have found IkOankar, the Treasure of virtues, and it is through this relationship that they have become fortunate and virtuous.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. The unfortunate seekers who are in separation might do a lot to feel comfortable. They might live a great lifestyle outwardly, they might accumulate worldly things that they hope will give them physical and mental comfort and peace of mind. The same way we accumulate friendships even in our misery as a distraction, we accumulate material things in our misery in hopes that it will make us less miserable. But no matter what we do, we still suffer because we are still in separation. Our bodies might feel physical comfort externally, but we do not find comfort within the mind and the heart. Our lives pass in suffering and loneliness without the Spouse.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. The unfortunate seeker continues to reflect on this, saying, I savor numerous tastes, I don numerous guises. We might be enjoying great food and beautiful clothing, we might continue to accumulate different ways to escape the way we feel internally. But without the Divine-Spouse, our lives and our youth go to waste because we pine and pine in our separation. We are dying in this pain.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. So how does the seeker get that message that can really motivate them to change? Where can we get our Divine-Spouse’s love-filled message? This comes from the Wisdom. We listen to the Wisdom, which is found in the Sabad, or the Word. It is through this that the eternal seat of the eternal IkOankar is found, through the grace of the Bestower of grace, that we are dyed or imbued in love. It is through this that we are able to enter that eternal space where we are one with the Divine-Spouse, where we start to feel the grace, and the love-filled messaging is heard and resonates within us.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. Earlier the unfortunate two-minded seeker was decorating themselves in beautiful clothing and distracting themselves with friendships. Now the question comes – how do we really decorate ourselves now that we understand that these external things will not help us out of our separation? What eyeliner do we use? The Guru says that the wise or insightful one wears the eyeliner of truth around the eyes. This is what helps us to see the Seer, IkOankar. We might not have the right perspective right now. We might not have the best way of looking at things. This is what changes through the Wisdom. It is not possible to understand without the Wisdom. When Wisdom-orientedness is cultivated, we remove our pride and ego — a process that requires much effort, but when it has happened, we find that we have become wise and able to see the One.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. The Guru ends with a humble statement, addressing the Divine-Spouse. Those who are pleasing to You are like You. The ones like me are many. The Divine-Spouse separates not from those dyed in the true One. This language is so sweet despite the directness and even perceived hardness in some of the previous stanzas. The majority of the human-brides or seekers are two-minded, separated, unfortunate, and astray. We are all looking for other love, for ways to distract ourselves from our misery, escapisms of various kinds. It is worth noting that even after such a vulnerable self-reflection on their current state and the ways they have fallen short, the seeker still calls the Divine-Spouse the Spouse. They still invoke that intimate relationship despite their struggle in that relationship due to separation and dichotomies. The ones who are colored in the One are never separated from the One. Everything they do becomes of the One. In this world and in the world beyond, they are always with the Divine-Spouse.
This composition is about the dichotomies within us, the seekers or feminine beings, which keep us in that cycle of the parents’ and the in-laws’ home, this world, and the world beyond. Until we are in a complete relationship with IkOankar, until we understand that there is no separation between the here and the hereafter, we will remain in our two-mindedness, separated, unfortunate, and in pain. We will continue to make efforts to attract the Divine-Spouse that are only superficial and worldly and temporary. We may make these efforts and have our own attractiveness, but unless there is love or devotion with the Divine-Spouse, life is not truly fruitful. We cannot get out of this state unless we leave our attachments and prides and contemplate on the Wisdom. The Wisdom helps us understand how to connect with the One. And it is through grace that we begin to leave our two-mindedness. The Guru ends by identifying with the seeker who is not connected yet to show us how to acknowledge where we are in our own lives, and to understand that despite our current states, despite our misery, IkOankar is always there and always full of grace. The questions are: Will we follow the guidance of the Wisdom and cultivate Wisdom-orientedness? Will we make an effort to cultivate a relationship with the Divine-Spouse here and now? Will we prepare ourselves to feel that glance of grace?
The three compositions by Guru Nanak, conventionally referred to as Maru Kaphi, show the seeker how to reflect on their two-mindedness, become Wisdom-oriented, and cultivate a relationship with the Divine.
In the first composition, Guru Nanak says, my mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. May I be a sacrifice, may I be cut into pieces, if it means the Divine-Spouse will look at me with a glance of grace for a moment. The Guru identifies with the human-bride, or the seeker, living in duality and dichotomy. The seeker reflects on their state of two-mindedness, of coming and going. The one who is in separation is in a state of constant sadness, caught up in the cycle of coming and going, and makes many other friends. But these relationships are being developed because the seeker does not know what to do or what to look for. They are looking for something they cannot find. We do this in different ways when we are in a state of sadness and dissatisfaction. We might seek out other people or experiences to distract ourselves from our own misery. We might even make new friends, as misery loves company. But these are friendships developed out of desperation and the dichotomies we are in. They are not relationships that will help us. It is because of the two-minded seeker’s state of separation that they cannot take the refuge of the Divine-Spouse, IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One). The seeker cannot find solace.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. The seeker’s mind is colored or imbued in the love of the Divine-Spouse, and the plea comes: may I be a sacrifice, may I be cut into pieces, if it means the Divine-Spouse will look at me with a momentary glance of grace. Even for a momentary glance, the seeker is willing to sacrifice themselves, to be cut into pieces for the briefest moment of grace from the Divine Spouse. This feeling cannot be explained. It is a state of existence in which the seeker circles around the One, constantly circles around the One. When we encircle someone or something, it is because we are centering our lives around that thing. We are willing to do anything for it. The seeker is encircling IkOankar and willing to do anything for a glance of grace. If it requires their limbs, they will do it just for a glance, just for a moment of happiness. Why? Because otherwise, the seeker is already dying in pain. Life feels as if it is not worth anything. And so there is a willingness to give one’s literal body or parts for a change in that state, a release from that pain, even if it is momentary. The focus on the mind here is important because it is the mind that does not understand emotions and the experiential. It is the mind that is caught up in two opposing ways of thinking, in dichotomies. And the accumulation of friends who are also living in dichotomy and duality encourages the mind to continue in this state.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. The Guru continues to identify with the voice of the two-minded seeker, reflecting, I am an unfortunate human-bride in the parents’ house. How can I go to the in-laws’ house? The separated and unfortunate seeker is disconnected in the parents’ house or in this world and this separated life. How can they be connected when it comes time for them to leave this house of existence for the hereafter, or the connected life, the in-laws’ house? Flaws are around the unfortunate seeker’s neck like a garland of non-virtues. They are filled with non-virtues, and they pine for connection. Without the Divine-Spouse, they die.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. The seeker reflects and says that if they are able to remember the Divine-Spouse in their parents’ house, if they are able to remember IkOankar here and now, in this life, if they are able to foster a relationship with the One while living, they will be able to find a dwelling in the in-laws’ house. We tell ourselves so many reasons why we cannot foster a relationship with IkOankar here and now. We are too busy; we are too flawed, we will get to it later in life. But that relationship ought to start as soon as possible. If we start remembering the One, we will find that our relationship with the One is strong before the metaphorical wedding. The fortunate human-brides, the fortunate seekers who are connected with the Divine-Spouse, who have fostered a relationship with IkOankar, sleep in comfort. They have found IkOankar, the Treasure of virtues, and it is through this relationship that they have become fortunate and virtuous.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. The unfortunate seekers who are in separation might do a lot to feel comfortable. They might live a great lifestyle outwardly, they might accumulate worldly things that they hope will give them physical and mental comfort and peace of mind. The same way we accumulate friendships even in our misery as a distraction, we accumulate material things in our misery in hopes that it will make us less miserable. But no matter what we do, we still suffer because we are still in separation. Our bodies might feel physical comfort externally, but we do not find comfort within the mind and the heart. Our lives pass in suffering and loneliness without the Spouse.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. The unfortunate seeker continues to reflect on this, saying, I savor numerous tastes, I don numerous guises. We might be enjoying great food and beautiful clothing, we might continue to accumulate different ways to escape the way we feel internally. But without the Divine-Spouse, our lives and our youth go to waste because we pine and pine in our separation. We are dying in this pain.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. So how does the seeker get that message that can really motivate them to change? Where can we get our Divine-Spouse’s love-filled message? This comes from the Wisdom. We listen to the Wisdom, which is found in the Sabad, or the Word. It is through this that the eternal seat of the eternal IkOankar is found, through the grace of the Bestower of grace, that we are dyed or imbued in love. It is through this that we are able to enter that eternal space where we are one with the Divine-Spouse, where we start to feel the grace, and the love-filled messaging is heard and resonates within us.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. Earlier the unfortunate two-minded seeker was decorating themselves in beautiful clothing and distracting themselves with friendships. Now the question comes – how do we really decorate ourselves now that we understand that these external things will not help us out of our separation? What eyeliner do we use? The Guru says that the wise or insightful one wears the eyeliner of truth around the eyes. This is what helps us to see the Seer, IkOankar. We might not have the right perspective right now. We might not have the best way of looking at things. This is what changes through the Wisdom. It is not possible to understand without the Wisdom. When Wisdom-orientedness is cultivated, we remove our pride and ego — a process that requires much effort, but when it has happened, we find that we have become wise and able to see the One.
My mind is dyed with my Divine-Husband. The Guru ends with a humble statement, addressing the Divine-Spouse. Those who are pleasing to You are like You. The ones like me are many. The Divine-Spouse separates not from those dyed in the true One. This language is so sweet despite the directness and even perceived hardness in some of the previous stanzas. The majority of the human-brides or seekers are two-minded, separated, unfortunate, and astray. We are all looking for other love, for ways to distract ourselves from our misery, escapisms of various kinds. It is worth noting that even after such a vulnerable self-reflection on their current state and the ways they have fallen short, the seeker still calls the Divine-Spouse the Spouse. They still invoke that intimate relationship despite their struggle in that relationship due to separation and dichotomies. The ones who are colored in the One are never separated from the One. Everything they do becomes of the One. In this world and in the world beyond, they are always with the Divine-Spouse.
This composition is about the dichotomies within us, the seekers or feminine beings, which keep us in that cycle of the parents’ and the in-laws’ home, this world, and the world beyond. Until we are in a complete relationship with IkOankar, until we understand that there is no separation between the here and the hereafter, we will remain in our two-mindedness, separated, unfortunate, and in pain. We will continue to make efforts to attract the Divine-Spouse that are only superficial and worldly and temporary. We may make these efforts and have our own attractiveness, but unless there is love or devotion with the Divine-Spouse, life is not truly fruitful. We cannot get out of this state unless we leave our attachments and prides and contemplate on the Wisdom. The Wisdom helps us understand how to connect with the One. And it is through grace that we begin to leave our two-mindedness. The Guru ends by identifying with the seeker who is not connected yet to show us how to acknowledge where we are in our own lives, and to understand that despite our current states, despite our misery, IkOankar is always there and always full of grace. The questions are: Will we follow the guidance of the Wisdom and cultivate Wisdom-orientedness? Will we make an effort to cultivate a relationship with the Divine-Spouse here and now? Will we prepare ourselves to feel that glance of grace?
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