rāmkalī mahalā 9.
prānī nārāin sudhi lehi.
chinu chinu aüdh ghaṭai nisi bāsur brithā jātu hai deh.1. rahāu.
tarnāpo bikhian siu khoio bālpanu agiānā.
biradhi bhaïo ajhū nahī samjhai kaün kumati urjhānā.1.
mānas janamu dīo jih ṭhākuri so tai kiu bisrāio.
mukatu hot nar jā kai simrai nimakh na tā kaü gāio.2.
māiā ko madu kahā karatu hai saṅgi na kāhū jāī.
nānaku kahatu ceti cintāmani hoi hai anti sahāī.3.3.81.
-Guru Granth Sahib 902
Guru Teghbahadar Sahib shakes the mind urgently and encourages seekers to spend their beautiful lives in the fruitful pursuit of IkOankar (the Divine). The seeker is reminded of their ever-decreasing life that is passing and instructed to connect their consciousness with IkOankar.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
Ramkali is a rag (musical mode) used to evoke feelings of triumph regardless of circumstance. In the larger Indic musical tradition, it is about two moods — madhur (sweet) and chakat (startled). There is a level of sweetness and a level of startling that is expressed in these compositions. The way it is explained in many traditions is that Ramkali is usually used to communicate a disciplined and wise teacher explaining something to a disciplined and wise student. They are both very aware that there is pain, but they know that this is what is best. The struggle makes the triumph that much sweeter.
In the third composition, the Guru addresses the human being after addressing the mind and the virtuous beings. The Guru says, O being! Take awareness in the Steady One. Moment by moment, life is passing away, and the body is wasting away in vain. The Guru is alerting us here, waking us up to the reality that time is running out, using almost an imperative tone to gently shake us out of our sleep, like a friend asking us to get a hold of ourselves.
O being! Take awareness in the Steady One. The Guru describes what we have lost as we have been unaware, and time has continued to pass. We lost our youth in sensual pleasures and vices, we spent our childhood in ignorance, and now we are old, and we still don’t seem to understand the gravity of this situation. We have gone through this in all three stages of linear life! The Guru asks us what is preventing us from seeing things as they are, saying, what kind of bad or negative thinking are you caught up in now?
O being! Take awareness in the Steady One. The Guru asks us why we have forgotten IkOankar, the one who gave us this life. Why are we in a state of forgetfulness of That One? This human life is a gift, it is a gift that is meant for connection, and instead, we are using it to walk through the world unaware. If we practice Remembrance of the One who gave us this gift, we can become free, but we have not spent a single moment singing of That One. We have not brought the virtues within us.
O being! Take awareness in the Steady One. The Guru started the first composition with Maya (material attachment) and now ends the third composition with Maya, asking, why are you caught up in the intoxication of Maya? It does not go with anyone.
This is the time to get rid of the pride and ego of Maya because Maya will not help us in the end. The Guru reminds us of the importance of remembering IkOankar, the Wish-Fulfiller, to bring into our consciousness the greater Consciousness, the One who takes care of all other consciousnesses, the One who takes care of all worries. This higher conscious mind, IkOankar, is what takes care of everything and helps us in the end.
We, human beings, are being lazy. Our time is passing us by. The Guru spends this composition urgently shaking us out of our dead minds and into alertness, encouraging us to use these beautiful lives we have been given for something fruitful. We have forgotten the gift of our lives because of our own deep immersion in ego and consumption. Instead of living in thankfulness, we live in a constant state of wanting more. We are insatiable, and it makes us negative and unaware that nothing will go with us. But the Guru is giving us that triumph at the end of this composition, even after all of that urgency and unsettling. We are still being asked to practice Remembrance, even at the end, because even after all of our sleeping and all of our forgetfulness, there is still time to turn things around. Even with all of the mind’s worries about what we are doing, whether it is enough, whether we will be free, the perfect Mind, IkOankar, will ease these worries and help us in the end. This is the hope the Guru leaves us with: it is not too late, and these struggles are not ones we have to fight on our own. Will we awaken from our slumber and make sure to use our remaining time wisely? Will we triumph through our human struggles and connect with IkOankar? Will we find steadiness in the Steady One?
In the third composition, the Guru addresses the human being after addressing the mind and the virtuous beings. The Guru says, O being! Take awareness in the Steady One. Moment by moment, life is passing away, and the body is wasting away in vain. The Guru is alerting us here, waking us up to the reality that time is running out, using almost an imperative tone to gently shake us out of our sleep, like a friend asking us to get a hold of ourselves.
O being! Take awareness in the Steady One. The Guru describes what we have lost as we have been unaware, and time has continued to pass. We lost our youth in sensual pleasures and vices, we spent our childhood in ignorance, and now we are old, and we still don’t seem to understand the gravity of this situation. We have gone through this in all three stages of linear life! The Guru asks us what is preventing us from seeing things as they are, saying, what kind of bad or negative thinking are you caught up in now?
O being! Take awareness in the Steady One. The Guru asks us why we have forgotten IkOankar, the one who gave us this life. Why are we in a state of forgetfulness of That One? This human life is a gift, it is a gift that is meant for connection, and instead, we are using it to walk through the world unaware. If we practice Remembrance of the One who gave us this gift, we can become free, but we have not spent a single moment singing of That One. We have not brought the virtues within us.
O being! Take awareness in the Steady One. The Guru started the first composition with Maya (material attachment) and now ends the third composition with Maya, asking, why are you caught up in the intoxication of Maya? It does not go with anyone.
This is the time to get rid of the pride and ego of Maya because Maya will not help us in the end. The Guru reminds us of the importance of remembering IkOankar, the Wish-Fulfiller, to bring into our consciousness the greater Consciousness, the One who takes care of all other consciousnesses, the One who takes care of all worries. This higher conscious mind, IkOankar, is what takes care of everything and helps us in the end.
We, human beings, are being lazy. Our time is passing us by. The Guru spends this composition urgently shaking us out of our dead minds and into alertness, encouraging us to use these beautiful lives we have been given for something fruitful. We have forgotten the gift of our lives because of our own deep immersion in ego and consumption. Instead of living in thankfulness, we live in a constant state of wanting more. We are insatiable, and it makes us negative and unaware that nothing will go with us. But the Guru is giving us that triumph at the end of this composition, even after all of that urgency and unsettling. We are still being asked to practice Remembrance, even at the end, because even after all of our sleeping and all of our forgetfulness, there is still time to turn things around. Even with all of the mind’s worries about what we are doing, whether it is enough, whether we will be free, the perfect Mind, IkOankar, will ease these worries and help us in the end. This is the hope the Guru leaves us with: it is not too late, and these struggles are not ones we have to fight on our own. Will we awaken from our slumber and make sure to use our remaining time wisely? Will we triumph through our human struggles and connect with IkOankar? Will we find steadiness in the Steady One?
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