soraṭhi mahalā 9.
prītam jāni lehu man māhī.
apne sukh siu hī jagu phāṁdhio ko kāhū ko nāhī.1. rahāu.
sukh mai āni bahutu mili baiṭhat rahat cahū disi gherai.
bipati parī sabh hī saṅgu chāḍit koū na āvat nerai.1.
ghar kī nāri bahutu hitu jā siu sadā rahat saṅg lāgī.
jab hī hans tajī ih kāṁiā pret pret kari bhāgī.2.
ih bidhi ko biuhāru banio hai jā siu nehu lagāio.
ant bār nānak binu hari jī koū kāmi na āio.3.12.139.
-Guru Granth Sahib 634
Guru Teghbahadar Sahib reminds seekers that this earth is driven by temporary and self-centered pursuits. People are surrounded by loved ones conditionally; in adversity, they are often alone. In the end, except for IkOankar (the Divine), no one accompanies us.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the twelfth composition, Guru Teghbahadar addresses us with love, saying, O dearest! Understand this in the mind: the entire world is entangled in their own happiness. No one is of anyone. The Guru is discussing a very serious phenomenon, but doing so with such love and care toward humanity at large. We are being shown that despite what we think about our relationships and our love in action, we are all really only engrossed in, driven by, and concerned with our own happiness. Although acknowledging this reality is difficult for us on an individual level, the softness of this composition is very much present, as we are addressed in the way we often hear the Beloved addressed.
O dearest! Understand this in the mind: the entire world is entangled in their own happiness. In happiness or comfort, many come and sit and meet and continue to surround us from all four directions. When we are in good times or successful times, we know that people want to be around us and celebrate and partake in that. But when adversity comes, or even a little trouble or a slightly hard time, all of those same people are nowhere to be found, and no one comes near us.
O dearest! Understand this in the mind: the entire world is entangled in their own happiness. Even the spouse, with whom there is so much love, who remains with us always, does not stay with us in the way we think. When the spirit leaves our bodies, when the breath comes out of us, we find that even the ones we thought were examples of the deepest and most eternal kind of love run from us, crying out, “Ghost! Ghost!” Even the ones we love so deeply are only our companions at the bodily level. In fact, outside of the body, they become scared and want nothing to do with us. The thing they are afraid of is the most transcendent aspect of the human being, the part of us that is beyond matter and spirit. And the reason for that fear is because we continue to see our relationships as only tied to the body, tied to what we can see and feel in front of us.
O dearest! Understand this in the mind: the entire world is entangled in their own happiness. The Guru makes it clear: this has become the way of the world, the way we operate. This is our collective norm or habit — whoever we love, this is what we are loving — a relationship that is not rooted in the eternal, a companionship that ends when our breath leaves us. In the end, without the revered 1-Light, no one comes to be of use. The 1-Light is the only one worthy of our companionship. If we can understand that, we can eliminate the fear we have underneath all our relationships — fear of loss, fear of abandonment, fear of conditional love — and feel the all-pervasiveness of the One.
The Guru is sharing with us the truth that can feel harsh. We might feel defensive of our relationships and the love we share with the ones we love. The Guru is not saying that this is the way it must be, but that this is the world we have constructed for ourselves. This is the way we have come to operate in our relationships. The Guru compares this kind of love to the ultimate Love, the Love of the Beloved, the 1-Light. If we can understand that kind of Love as a thing that is eternal and beyond matter, we can begin to understand how to change the norms we have established in our human relationships. We can rid ourselves of fear and rid ourselves of pain. The Guru has called us dear ones, or beloveds. Will we make an effort in these lifetimes to understand what it really means to be a beloved, to be a lover of the Beloved?
O dearest! Understand this in the mind: the entire world is entangled in their own happiness. In happiness or comfort, many come and sit and meet and continue to surround us from all four directions. When we are in good times or successful times, we know that people want to be around us and celebrate and partake in that. But when adversity comes, or even a little trouble or a slightly hard time, all of those same people are nowhere to be found, and no one comes near us.
O dearest! Understand this in the mind: the entire world is entangled in their own happiness. Even the spouse, with whom there is so much love, who remains with us always, does not stay with us in the way we think. When the spirit leaves our bodies, when the breath comes out of us, we find that even the ones we thought were examples of the deepest and most eternal kind of love run from us, crying out, “Ghost! Ghost!” Even the ones we love so deeply are only our companions at the bodily level. In fact, outside of the body, they become scared and want nothing to do with us. The thing they are afraid of is the most transcendent aspect of the human being, the part of us that is beyond matter and spirit. And the reason for that fear is because we continue to see our relationships as only tied to the body, tied to what we can see and feel in front of us.
O dearest! Understand this in the mind: the entire world is entangled in their own happiness. The Guru makes it clear: this has become the way of the world, the way we operate. This is our collective norm or habit — whoever we love, this is what we are loving — a relationship that is not rooted in the eternal, a companionship that ends when our breath leaves us. In the end, without the revered 1-Light, no one comes to be of use. The 1-Light is the only one worthy of our companionship. If we can understand that, we can eliminate the fear we have underneath all our relationships — fear of loss, fear of abandonment, fear of conditional love — and feel the all-pervasiveness of the One.
The Guru is sharing with us the truth that can feel harsh. We might feel defensive of our relationships and the love we share with the ones we love. The Guru is not saying that this is the way it must be, but that this is the world we have constructed for ourselves. This is the way we have come to operate in our relationships. The Guru compares this kind of love to the ultimate Love, the Love of the Beloved, the 1-Light. If we can understand that kind of Love as a thing that is eternal and beyond matter, we can begin to understand how to change the norms we have established in our human relationships. We can rid ourselves of fear and rid ourselves of pain. The Guru has called us dear ones, or beloveds. Will we make an effort in these lifetimes to understand what it really means to be a beloved, to be a lover of the Beloved?
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