sirīrāgu mahalā 1.
pahilai paharai raiṇi kai vaṇjāriā mitrā bālak budhi acetu.
khīru pīai khelāīai vaṇjāriā mitrā māt pitā sut hetu.
māt pitā sut nehu ghanerā māiā mohu sabāī.
sanjogī āiā kiratu kamāiā karṇī kār karāī.
rām nām binu mukati na hoī būḍī dūjai heti.
kahu nānak prāṇī pahilai paharai chūṭahigā hari ceti.1.
-Guru Granth Sahib 75
Guru Nanak Sahib compares night’s quarters to a life divided into four parts: infancy, youth, adulthood, and old age. The effects of these stages on the human mind and body are described here. Seekers are advised to protect their invaluable human birth from vices.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the second Pahare composition, Guru Nanak continues to refer to us, human beings, as Vanjara-Mitra, as a trader friend journeying through a passage of time in our lives. Pahare is a 3-hour period, a quarter, where each quarter represents a phase of life. Night represents life on this earth. In this composition, Guru Nanak uses a protagonist (trader-friend) to describe our journey at different stages of our lives, from childhood to adulthood and old age. A trader travels long hours during the night going from one destination to another to pursue business transactions. They must take care of the products they intend to trade with to maintain their overall purchase value during their travels. Just like a trader needs to look after the valuables they intend to trade in, so must we invest time to reflect on how we want to preserve our inner goods and valuables (virtues). In the first Pahare composition, we reflected on how we chose to trade at each life stage and the types of things we chose to invest our time and energy on. In this second composition, we are encouraged to reflect on ways to connect inwardly to the intuitive wisdom of our Creator-Provider and to Nam, 1Ness to guide us in responding to these life challenges.
In the first quarter of life, O trader friend, you entered the world surrounded by the love of your parents, who took care of all your needs. Your parents devoted themselves to you, attended to every cry, and gave milk to nurture you. Even though your intellect and self-awareness weren’t fully developed, you knew how to give and to receive love, to share a smile, babble to gain your parent’s attention, and curl up in their arms when you wanted to sleep. Out of their desire to please and protect you, your parents developed a deep attachment to you. We reflect as we remember that a child who arrives in the world is already content. The child is in deep connection with the Creator-Provider and has the potential to thrive and remain in that connection. Using the parent-child relationship as a metaphor encourages us to reflect on the deep attachments we form with our parents, friends, partners, colleagues, and others in our life journey. Do we trade in these relationships for pleasure, personal gain, and fulfillment of our desires? Could our love for others be deeper if it was beyond the confines of a transactional relationship? What if we invested in a love that was shared by all and for all. Remember, when we entered the world, the infinite love, the devotion, and the longing we felt for our Creator-Provider. What if the child, while being nurtured and protected, was also encouraged to develop a relationship with the Creator-Provider during this early phase? Would it not create an opportunity for the child to build a lifetime foundation towards establishing an ongoing relationship with the Creator-Provider? O, trader friend, do we realize that the loving connection we seek is within us and flows through us by the loving grace of our Creator-Provider?
In the first quarter of life, O trader friend, you entered the world surrounded by the love of your parents, who took care of all your needs. Your parents devoted themselves to you, attended to every cry, and gave milk to nurture you. Even though your intellect and self-awareness weren’t fully developed, you knew how to give and to receive love, to share a smile, babble to gain your parent’s attention, and curl up in their arms when you wanted to sleep. Out of their desire to please and protect you, your parents developed a deep attachment to you. We reflect as we remember that a child who arrives in the world is already content. The child is in deep connection with the Creator-Provider and has the potential to thrive and remain in that connection. Using the parent-child relationship as a metaphor encourages us to reflect on the deep attachments we form with our parents, friends, partners, colleagues, and others in our life journey. Do we trade in these relationships for pleasure, personal gain, and fulfillment of our desires? Could our love for others be deeper if it was beyond the confines of a transactional relationship? What if we invested in a love that was shared by all and for all. Remember, when we entered the world, the infinite love, the devotion, and the longing we felt for our Creator-Provider. What if the child, while being nurtured and protected, was also encouraged to develop a relationship with the Creator-Provider during this early phase? Would it not create an opportunity for the child to build a lifetime foundation towards establishing an ongoing relationship with the Creator-Provider? O, trader friend, do we realize that the loving connection we seek is within us and flows through us by the loving grace of our Creator-Provider?
Tags
