[shabad] Guru Arjan Sahib Jee Mahaaraaj

[Akaali]

ਧਨਾਸਰੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥

Ḏẖanāsrī mehlā 5.

Dhanaasaree, Fifth Mehl:

ਬਿਨੁ ਜਲ ਪ੍ਰਾਨ ਤਜੇ ਹੈ ਮੀਨਾ ਜਿਨਿ ਜਲ ਸਿਉ ਹੇਤੁ ਬਢਾਇਓ ॥

Bin jal parān ṯajė hai mīnā jin jal si­o hėṯ badẖā­i­o.

The fish out of water loses its life; it is deeply in love with the water.

ਕਮਲ ਹੇਤਿ ਬਿਨਸਿਓ ਹੈ ਭਵਰਾ ਉਨਿ ਮਾਰਗੁ ਨਿਕਸਿ ਨ ਪਾਇਓ ॥੧॥

Kamal hėṯ binsi­o hai bẖavrā un mārag nikas na pā­i­o. ||1||

The bumble bee, totally in love with the lotus flower, is lost in it; it cannot find the way to escape from it. ||1||

ਅਬ ਮਨ ਏਕਸ ਸਿਉ ਮੋਹੁ ਕੀਨਾ ॥

Ab man ėkas si­o moh kīnā.

Now, my mind has nurtured love for the One Lord.

ਮਰੈ ਨ ਜਾਵੈ ਸਦ ਹੀ ਸੰਗੇ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਸਬਦੀ ਚੀਨਾ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

Marai na jāvai saḏ hī sangė saṯgur sabḏī cẖīnā. ||1|| rahā­o.

He does not die, and is not born; He is always with me. Through the Word of the True Guru's Shabad, I know Him. ||1||Pause||

ਕਾਮ ਹੇਤਿ ਕੁੰਚਰੁ ਲੈ ਫਾਂਕਿਓ ਓਹੁ ਪਰ ਵਸਿ ਭਇਓ ਬਿਚਾਰਾ ॥

Kām hėṯ kuncẖar lai fāʼnki­o oh par vas bẖa­i­o bicẖārā.

Lured by sexual desire, the elephant is trapped; the poor beast falls into the power of another.

ਨਾਦ ਹੇਤਿ ਸਿਰੁ ਡਾਰਿਓ ਕੁਰੰਕਾ ਉਸ ਹੀ ਹੇਤ ਬਿਦਾਰਾ ॥੨॥

Nāḏ hėṯ sir ḏāri­o kurankā us hī hėṯ biḏārā. ||2||

Lured by the sound of the hunter's bell, the deer offers its head; because of this enticement, it is killed. ||2||

ਦੇਖਿ ਕੁਟੰਬੁ ਲੋਭਿ ਮੋਹਿਓ ਪ੍ਰਾਨੀ ਮਾਇਆ ਕਉ ਲਪਟਾਨਾ ॥

Ḏėkẖ kutamb lobẖ mohi­o parānī mā­i­ā ka­o laptānā.

Gazing upon his family, the mortal is enticed by greed; he clings in attachment to Maya.

ਅਤਿ ਰਚਿਓ ਕਰਿ ਲੀਨੋ ਅਪੁਨਾ ਉਨਿ ਛੋਡਿ ਸਰਾਪਰ ਜਾਨਾ ॥੩॥

Aṯ racẖi­o kar līno apunā un cẖẖod sarāpar jānā. ||3||

Totally engrossed in worldly things, he considers them to be his own; but in the end, he shall surely have to leave them behind. ||3||

ਬਿਨੁ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਅਵਰ ਸੰਗਿ ਨੇਹਾ ਓਹੁ ਜਾਣਹੁ ਸਦਾ ਦੁਹੇਲਾ ॥

Bin gobinḏ avar sang nėhā oh jāṇhu saḏā ḏuhėlā.

Know it well, that anyone who loves any other than God, shall be miserable forever.

ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰ ਇਹੈ ਬੁਝਾਇਓ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਸਦ ਕੇਲਾ ॥੪॥੨॥

Kaho Nānak gur ihai bujẖā­i­o parīṯ parabẖū saḏ kėlā. ||4||2||

Says Nanak, the Guru has explained this to me, that love for God brings lasting bliss. ||4||2||

This keertaneeya did vichaar on this shabad, thought I would help translate. Guru Arjan Sahib blesses us with this understanding and lesson in love through this shabad. The shabad is written in dhanaasaree raag; Here's more on the dhanaasaree raag:

Raga Dhanasri appears in the Ragmala as a ragini of Malkaunsa and currently is a member of the Kafi thata. It closely resembles Bhimpalasi in musical content but the vadis and moods are different. Dhanasri is performed in the early afternoon and presents a cheerful, happy mood. It provided the setting for hymns by Guru Nanak, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadar for a total of 101 hymns. These texts stress that person reaps what he sows. Only in the Lord may be found the riches that dispel fear and ignorance and thus cause man to realize his true self.

The following represents the order of notes that can be used on the ascending and descending phase of the composition and the primary and secondary notes:

* Aroh: Sa Ga Ma Pa Ni Sa

* Avroh: Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma Pa Ga Re Sa

* Vadi: Pa

* Samvadi: Sa

Pa is given considerable emphasis and Ni and Pa receive sliding approaches, a characteristic of this raga. The pentatonic ascent provides some of the melodic features of this raga.

Guru Sahib jee talks about love. He asks us, O' mortal, where you put your love is it true, is it for the truth? We know there's only one truth. Guru sahib has written this entire shabad on love using some animals, like the elephant, deer, bees, some insects, etc. and towards the end he refers to a human.

Guru Sahib jee says:

ਬਿਨੁ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਅਵਰ ਸੰਗਿ ਨੇਹਾ ਓਹੁ ਜਾਣਹੁ ਸਦਾ ਦੁਹੇਲਾ ॥

Bin gobinḏ avar sang nėhā oh jāṇhu saḏā ḏuhėlā.

Know it well, that anyone who loves any other than God, shall be miserable forever.

ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰ ਇਹੈ ਬੁਝਾਇਓ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਸਦ ਕੇਲਾ ॥੪॥੨॥

Kaho Nānak gur ihai bujẖā­i­o parīṯ parabẖū saḏ kėlā. ||4||2||

Says Nanak, the Guru has explained this to me, that love for God brings lasting bliss. ||4||2||

Love is only true love when we love the truth. Love becomes false when we are in love with falsehood or maya (duality, people, things), nothing in this world is the truth. Truth is ever lasting, everything in the world is naashvant, it is meant to die, so why love that which is not meant to last. Maya uses and will use everything in its power to make you think otherwise through your daily interactions and life in general. He goes onto say, if we take the example of fish and the river, does the water ever love the fish? No, but the fish loves the water, it cannot live without it. Water is like maya, we are like the fish when the fish dies the water flings it out onto the shore, discarded and the fish wastes its life.

Same with the example of the bumble bee and the lotus flower, the bee, being us, and the flower being maya, the bee is so engrossed in love for the flower, it is lost in it, it cannot find a way to escape from it; when the flower petals close it kills the bee, that which the bee was so in love with kills it.

In the rahaao tuk, the message behind the shabad, Guru Sahib tells us, now enshrine love for the lord, do NOT be hopeful for anyone or anything else. ਆਸ ਅੰਦੇਸਾ ਦੂਰਿ ਕਰਿ ਇਉ ਮਲੁ ਜਾਇ ਸਮਾਇ ॥੪॥ Let your hopes and anxieties depart; thus pollution is washed away. ||4|| He does not die he does not get born like everything we see, so enshrine love for that one.

The elephant is the same. It falls into the power of another being. In gurbanee, the elephant is symbolized to be the most lustful being, its reference is used in many shabads. We, as humans love other humans the most out of anything in the world, our love for another being is probably the strongest, as bhainjee posted in the love thread here in gurbani vichaar, why we are in love with another, and what comes of it, that thread explains it very nicely. That love is also false and misleading and is probably the hardest to overcome. This interpretation can be taken in many ways, we should have the same love for every being, because ghat ghat vasai nirankaar| He is in everyone. But to love someone because they fill a void in you or they make you feel less of the pain like mentioned in that thread, is false love.

ਦੇਖਿ ਕੁਟੰਬੁ ਲੋਭਿ ਮੋਹਿਓ ਪ੍ਰਾਨੀ ਮਾਇਆ ਕਉ ਲਪਟਾਨਾ ॥

ਅਤਿ ਰਚਿਓ ਕਰਿ ਲੀਨੋ ਅਪੁਨਾ ਉਨਿ ਛੋਡਿ ਸਰਾਪਰ ਜਾਨਾ ॥੩॥

ਬਿਨੁ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਅਵਰ ਸੰਗਿ ਨੇਹਾ ਓਹੁ ਜਾਣਹੁ ਸਦਾ ਦੁਹੇਲਾ ॥

ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰ ਇਹੈ ਬੁਝਾਇਓ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਸਦ ਕੇਲਾ ॥੪॥੨॥

Guru Sahib jee uses several examples to instruct us, his he tells us that O' mortal you have put your love and hope in the wrong things in life, correct it before its too late. Don't put your love in which is not the truth.