āsāṛu bhalā sūraju gagani tapai.
dharatī dūkh sahai sokhai agani bhakhai.
agani rasu sokhai marīai dhokhai bhī so kiratu na hāre.
rathu phirai chāiā dhan tākai ṭīḍu lavai manjhi bāre.
avgaṇ bādhi calī dukhu āgai sukhu tisu sācu samāle.
nānak jis no ihu manu dīā maraṇu jīvaṇu prabh nāle.8.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1108
‘Barah Maha Tukhari’ describes the longing of a seeker to unite with their Origin, and the resulting bliss in that union. It is set against the backdrop of the occurring and changing natural conditions of the twelve months of the Indic and Panjabi calendar. Out of seventeen stanzas, the first four stanzas of the composition shed light on its theme. Stanzas five to sixteen sequentially outline the Guru’s teachings through the twelve months of the year. In the last stanza, the theme is concluded by providing the essence of the entire verse.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the eighth stanza, the summer months get even more miserable and hot. Everything is so hot now that even the earth is radiating heat after a month of heat. Even the sky radiates heat. Everything is coated in a layer of burning. Even so, this month, Harh (mid-June to mid-July) is good too. Everything has been soaking up the heat of the sun for a month. But it is important to know that despite all of this unbearable heat, the earth is bearing it. Despite the sun drying up all of the vegetation, despite the land burning like a furnace, despite the heat making it seem like death is all around, even then, the sun continues its inherent nature and continues to move and rotate and heat the earth.
The seeker is looking for shade in the land between the rivers of Panjab — for a moment of relief. But unlike in the previous month, where there was at least a visual reminder of the possibility of relief through the bodies of water, even those bodies of water are dried up this month. That external hope is lessened. So the seeker runs around looking for shade. This burning happening all around the seeker points to an internal burning. Those five wrestlers, those five vices, especially when we are in our youth and have a lot of uninhibited energy, can burn us in their fire.
Similarly, the sun hits the entire earth with its heat, scorches everything it touches. The whole earth burns; the whole body burns. But the seeker who is able to be in that state of connection and love with the Spouse can understand that even in their youth, their relationship with the Spouse will keep them from burning up.
We do not know when Grace will come. Sometimes there is rain; sometimes there is burning. But even if it does not happen for us in this period of great burning, even if we were to die at this moment, those connected seekers know that they will still be okay, because their mind is in the presence of the One. That seeker — who understands that the external and internal seasons will come and go, that they are cyclical, who moves with these changes by centering their consciousness on the One — they know that they live and die only with the One.
That seeker who understands that pain and comfort change just as the seasons change, who lives through those changes instead of wishing only to be in a state of comfort, understands the importance of that pain. They understand the way that pain moves us into our longing, the way it makes those moments of union and comfort that much sweeter. That seeker still feels the pain of separation, but it does not ruin them — they know they will live through it as cycles come and go, and they know that a better time is coming. That seeker understands how to live through those moments that are hard. Hope carries that seeker through even if the hope is not visible anymore because the seeker knows what comes next in their mind’s eye. That seeker’s mindset is that no matter what is going on, no matter the state of the internal and the external seasons, they are with IkOankar, and they will be okay.
The seeker is looking for shade in the land between the rivers of Panjab — for a moment of relief. But unlike in the previous month, where there was at least a visual reminder of the possibility of relief through the bodies of water, even those bodies of water are dried up this month. That external hope is lessened. So the seeker runs around looking for shade. This burning happening all around the seeker points to an internal burning. Those five wrestlers, those five vices, especially when we are in our youth and have a lot of uninhibited energy, can burn us in their fire.
Similarly, the sun hits the entire earth with its heat, scorches everything it touches. The whole earth burns; the whole body burns. But the seeker who is able to be in that state of connection and love with the Spouse can understand that even in their youth, their relationship with the Spouse will keep them from burning up.
We do not know when Grace will come. Sometimes there is rain; sometimes there is burning. But even if it does not happen for us in this period of great burning, even if we were to die at this moment, those connected seekers know that they will still be okay, because their mind is in the presence of the One. That seeker — who understands that the external and internal seasons will come and go, that they are cyclical, who moves with these changes by centering their consciousness on the One — they know that they live and die only with the One.
That seeker who understands that pain and comfort change just as the seasons change, who lives through those changes instead of wishing only to be in a state of comfort, understands the importance of that pain. They understand the way that pain moves us into our longing, the way it makes those moments of union and comfort that much sweeter. That seeker still feels the pain of separation, but it does not ruin them — they know they will live through it as cycles come and go, and they know that a better time is coming. That seeker understands how to live through those moments that are hard. Hope carries that seeker through even if the hope is not visible anymore because the seeker knows what comes next in their mind’s eye. That seeker’s mindset is that no matter what is going on, no matter the state of the internal and the external seasons, they are with IkOankar, and they will be okay.
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