jaitsarī mahalā 9.
ikoaṅkār satigur prasādi.
bhūlio manu māiā urjhāio.
jo jo karam kīo lālac lagi tih tih āpu bandhāio.1. rahāu.
samajh na parī bikhai ras racio jasu hari ko bisrāio.
saṅgi suāmī so jānio nāhin banu khojan kaü dhāio.1.
ratanu rāmu ghaṭ hī ke bhītari tā ko giānu na pāio.
jan nānak bhagvant bhajan binu birthā janamu gavāio.2.1.
-Guru Granth Sahib 702-703
Guru Teghbahadar Sahib describes how the mind, engrossed in worldly attachments and greed, forgets IkOankar (the Divine). Without reflecting on the virtues of IkOankar, this forgetful mind wastes its precious human life. This Sabad encourages seekers to yearn for the eternal Nam (Identification with IkOankar).
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
The rag (musical mode) that this composition is set in is used to evoke a mood of being unable to live without someone. Guru Teghbahadar uses this ancient Jaitsiri musical mode to explore what it is that we cannot live without versus what we think we cannot live without. We say that we are unable to live without IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, 1Ness), that we cannot live without the feeling of companionship with the One. But this is juxtaposed with the shared experience we all have, living in Maya (material attachment) and unable to cultivate a relationship with the One. We are preoccupied with Maya, and we know logically that there is something else we need, a relationship we want to cultivate, but we do not know how to reach out to that something else.
In the first composition, Guru Teghbahadar addresses the people through addressing the mind and the mind’s condition. The Guru says, the forgetful mind has been entangled in Maya. Whatever, whichever deeds it has done are all fueled by greed. In those, in them, it has bound itself. The greed snowballs so that whatever deeds we have done have been done in greed and have only further entangled us in this material attachment. And it is because of this that we have strayed from the path of wisdom. In this condition, the mind tells itself that these are the things we do out of a sense of duty, or a need to “play the game.” We tell ourselves that we know what the big picture is but choose to play the game anyway, justifying ourselves with the argument that we need to provide and provide the best we can. This constant justification ends up taking us to privileged positions, positions of wealth or power, but the question then becomes, what is all of that for?
The forgetful mind has been entangled in Maya. It all starts with entanglement, and we do not know how to get out of it. Once we are entangled and greed takes over, we are caught in all of it, and it is hard to get out. In fact, getting out is havoc. We see this with that same justification of playing the game -- all our friends and family and everyone around us is entangled. The expectation is that we all play the game and continue to do things rooted in greed. Every moment becomes another thread being spun into some kind of knot, every moment becomes another bind, another layer of curtains placed over our eyes so that we cannot see. We cannot see that our belief that the 1-Light is far from us is not true. We cannot see the nearness of the 1-Light. We cannot feel the nearness of the 1-Light. We know that the 1-Light is within logically, but because we do not have the Wisdom within us, this is not something we know experientially. We do not have devotion to the 1-Light and so we run around looking for that connection outside.
The forgetful mind has been entangled in Maya. The Guru uses the name Suami for IkOankar as a reminder that the One is always near us. The word connotes a personal relationship, not a positional relationship. The Swami is the one who owns us, who we choose to give everything to, the One who is our companion. But because we are so caught up in playing the game of Maya, we look for this companion outside, wandering without end. The Guru says that the jewel-like Beautiful Charming One dwells in the heart. But without knowledge of this, without the experience of this truth, we do not feel that close relationship.
How can we get to that feeling? How can we believe the things we know to be true? The Guru says that without praise of the One, our lives waste away. It is when we disentangle ourselves and stop playing the game, when we devote ourselves to praise, that the companion dwells within us and enters into our consciousness. It is with this effort that we are able to develop companionship with the One. The forgetful mind has been entangled in Maya. Whatever, whichever deeds it has done are all fueled by greed. Can we release ourselves from these binds? Can we rid ourselves of greed? Can we find the jewel of the One within?
In the first composition, Guru Teghbahadar addresses the people through addressing the mind and the mind’s condition. The Guru says, the forgetful mind has been entangled in Maya. Whatever, whichever deeds it has done are all fueled by greed. In those, in them, it has bound itself. The greed snowballs so that whatever deeds we have done have been done in greed and have only further entangled us in this material attachment. And it is because of this that we have strayed from the path of wisdom. In this condition, the mind tells itself that these are the things we do out of a sense of duty, or a need to “play the game.” We tell ourselves that we know what the big picture is but choose to play the game anyway, justifying ourselves with the argument that we need to provide and provide the best we can. This constant justification ends up taking us to privileged positions, positions of wealth or power, but the question then becomes, what is all of that for?
The forgetful mind has been entangled in Maya. It all starts with entanglement, and we do not know how to get out of it. Once we are entangled and greed takes over, we are caught in all of it, and it is hard to get out. In fact, getting out is havoc. We see this with that same justification of playing the game -- all our friends and family and everyone around us is entangled. The expectation is that we all play the game and continue to do things rooted in greed. Every moment becomes another thread being spun into some kind of knot, every moment becomes another bind, another layer of curtains placed over our eyes so that we cannot see. We cannot see that our belief that the 1-Light is far from us is not true. We cannot see the nearness of the 1-Light. We cannot feel the nearness of the 1-Light. We know that the 1-Light is within logically, but because we do not have the Wisdom within us, this is not something we know experientially. We do not have devotion to the 1-Light and so we run around looking for that connection outside.
The forgetful mind has been entangled in Maya. The Guru uses the name Suami for IkOankar as a reminder that the One is always near us. The word connotes a personal relationship, not a positional relationship. The Swami is the one who owns us, who we choose to give everything to, the One who is our companion. But because we are so caught up in playing the game of Maya, we look for this companion outside, wandering without end. The Guru says that the jewel-like Beautiful Charming One dwells in the heart. But without knowledge of this, without the experience of this truth, we do not feel that close relationship.
How can we get to that feeling? How can we believe the things we know to be true? The Guru says that without praise of the One, our lives waste away. It is when we disentangle ourselves and stop playing the game, when we devote ourselves to praise, that the companion dwells within us and enters into our consciousness. It is with this effort that we are able to develop companionship with the One. The forgetful mind has been entangled in Maya. Whatever, whichever deeds it has done are all fueled by greed. Can we release ourselves from these binds? Can we rid ourselves of greed? Can we find the jewel of the One within?
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