maṅghar māhu bhalā hari guṇ aṅki samāvae.
guṇvantī guṇ ravai mai piru nihcahlu bhāvae.
nihcalu caturu sujāṇu bidhātā cañcalu jagatu sabāiā.
giānu dhiānu guṇ aṅki samāṇe prabh bhāṇe tā bhāiā.
gīt nād kavit kave suṇi rām nāmi dukhu bhāgai.
nānak sādhan nāh piārī abh bhagtī pir āgai.13.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1109
‘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 thirteenth stanza, we come to the month of Maghar (mid-November to mid-December). In this month, everything is cold. There is a sort of pausing that happens in that cold, a slowing down of life and a dormancy amongst the natural surroundings. Guru Nanak says, this month is also good, this month also feels good, as long as the virtues of 1-Light are within.
While the rest of the world will keep changing because it is perishable, in this weather, when things are cold, there is a reminder that our memories can become imperishable, if we are really able to savor the virtues of the eternal One within our hearts. If within our hearts, we have that insight from the previous month that the separation is not really a separation, if the virtues are within us, then we become endearing to the Spouse because we have become like the Spouse, the one that we love. We become like the One in our thinking and our behavior. We sing songs because we have a greater Identification with the One. So in the inspiration of that Identification, we have these sorts of poems and songs bursting out of us, giving us solace, eliminating the pain of whatever perceived separation we are working through.
These things do not require us to think — they are not things that we must cognitively process; they are things that enter us. That seeker is loved, who has that devotion within them all the time. The Beloved is within, and so Love is within. The seeker knows that they must remember the virtues, which is very different from just reciting them, repeating them with closed eyes. Remembering is not the same as reciting or chanting, it is not cognitive, but it is a thing that happens internally where the flavors and tastes of that remembrance are coming into the seeker and being cherished. The seeker takes care of these virtues, brings them within, and they fulfill life. These virtues nourish the seeker even in this cold month and bring the seeker closer to feeling the Beloved despite the outside environment. The seeker has lived three-fourths of the year already. The seeker has done the cognitive work, has learned the virtues, has imbibed them and lived them so that they become perpetual like the perpetual One, so that this remembrance becomes less and less transient, so that separation becomes less and less cloudy. The seeker is no longer looking for anything external. Now that the thinking and behavior have changed, now that the seeker is bursting with music and poetry, the devotion has come. Devotion is not a deed that we do. Devotion cannot be taught. Devotion enters. Devotion happens.
While the rest of the world will keep changing because it is perishable, in this weather, when things are cold, there is a reminder that our memories can become imperishable, if we are really able to savor the virtues of the eternal One within our hearts. If within our hearts, we have that insight from the previous month that the separation is not really a separation, if the virtues are within us, then we become endearing to the Spouse because we have become like the Spouse, the one that we love. We become like the One in our thinking and our behavior. We sing songs because we have a greater Identification with the One. So in the inspiration of that Identification, we have these sorts of poems and songs bursting out of us, giving us solace, eliminating the pain of whatever perceived separation we are working through.
These things do not require us to think — they are not things that we must cognitively process; they are things that enter us. That seeker is loved, who has that devotion within them all the time. The Beloved is within, and so Love is within. The seeker knows that they must remember the virtues, which is very different from just reciting them, repeating them with closed eyes. Remembering is not the same as reciting or chanting, it is not cognitive, but it is a thing that happens internally where the flavors and tastes of that remembrance are coming into the seeker and being cherished. The seeker takes care of these virtues, brings them within, and they fulfill life. These virtues nourish the seeker even in this cold month and bring the seeker closer to feeling the Beloved despite the outside environment. The seeker has lived three-fourths of the year already. The seeker has done the cognitive work, has learned the virtues, has imbibed them and lived them so that they become perpetual like the perpetual One, so that this remembrance becomes less and less transient, so that separation becomes less and less cloudy. The seeker is no longer looking for anything external. Now that the thinking and behavior have changed, now that the seeker is bursting with music and poetry, the devotion has come. Devotion is not a deed that we do. Devotion cannot be taught. Devotion enters. Devotion happens.
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