Selections from the Guru Granth Sahib · 31 of 228

Raag Gauree: Bairaagan, Fourth Mehl

Gauree Bairaagan, Fourth Mehl:

Context

Raag Malaar is the great monsoon Raag of Indian music. Performed and composed for the rainy season, its melodic structure is built to evoke the breaking of drought, the gathering of clouds, the relief and ecstasy of the first downpour. Tansen — the Mughal-court legend who supposedly summoned rain by singing it — is said to have specialized in this Raag. In the Granth, Malaar is where the rain-and-grace metaphor goes deepest. The parched earth is the soul without the Name; the monsoon is the descent of grace. Nanak, Amar Das, Ram Das, and Arjan all compose here, with substantial concluding Bhagat Bani. If you read only one Raag for the affective heart of the Granth, this is also a strong candidate.Bonnie Wade, Imaging Sound: An Ethnomusicological Study of Music, Art, and Culture in Mughal India (Chicago 1998), ch. 4 on Malhar/Malaar; on the rain-grace metaphor in Punjabi devotional poetry, Christopher Shackle, A Guru Nanak Glossary (SOAS 1981).

O Master, You are my Banker. I receive only that capital which You give me.

I would purchase the Lord's Name with love, if You Yourself, in Your Mercy, would sell it to me. ||1||

I am the merchant, the peddler of the Lord.

I trade in the merchandise and capital of the Lord's Name. ||1||Pause||

I have earned the profit, the wealth of devotional worship of the Lord. I have become pleasing to the Mind of the Lord, the True Banker.

I chant and meditate on the Lord, loading the merchandise of the Lord's Name. The Messenger of Death, the tax collector, does not even approach me. ||2||

Those traders who trade in other merchandise, are caught up in the endless waves of the pain of Maya.

According to the business in which the Lord has placed them, so are the rewards they obtain. ||3||

People trade in the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, when the God shows His Mercy and bestows it.

Servant Nanak serves the Lord, the Banker; he shall never again be called to render his account. ||4||1||7||45||

Gauree Bairaagan, Fourth Mehl:

The mother nourishes the fetus in the womb, hoping for a son, who will grow and earn and give her money to enjoy herself.

In just the same way, the humble servant of the Lord loves the Lord, who extends His Helping Hand to us. ||1||

Section 07 - Raag Gauree - Part 016 O my Lord, I am so foolish; save me, O my Lord God!

Insight

'I hear the thunder in the clouds, and my mind is cooled and soothed; imbued with the Love of my Dear Beloved, I sing His Glorious Praises. The rain pours down, and my mind is drenched with His Love.' Nanak in Malaar, doing what only this Raag does. The thunder is felt as soothing rather than threatening, the downpour is welcomed rather than endured, and the mind is described as drenched in the same way the parched soil is drenched. The Christian hymn 'There Shall Be Showers of Blessing' (Daniel W. Whittle, 1883) hangs on the same image from Ezekiel 34:26. The Sufi version is the famous Rumi line where the cloud weeps and the garden laughs, the doctrine being that the Beloved's tears (grace, mercy, descent) are what the lover's blossoming is made of. The shabad does not argue these connections; it simply makes the same observation from the Punjabi monsoon.Ezekiel 34:26 ('showers of blessing'); Rumi, Masnavi Book I; on the chaatrik (rainbird) and monsoon metaphors in Hindustani devotional culture, Allyn Miner, Sitar and Sarod in the 18th and 19th Centuries (Wilhelmshaven 1993), ch. 6.

Your servant's praise is Your Own Glorious Greatness. ||1||Pause||

Those whose minds are pleased by the Praises of the Lord, Har, Har, are joyful in the palaces of their own homes.

Their mouths savor all the sweet delicacies when they sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord.

The Lord's humble servants are the saviors of their families; they save their families for twenty-one generations - they save the entire world! ||2||

Whatever has been done, has been done by the Lord; it is the Glorious Greatness of the Lord.

O Lord, in Your creatures, You are pervading; You inspire them to worship You.

The Lord leads us to the treasure of devotional worship; He Himself bestows it. ||3||

I am a slave, purchased in Your market; what clever tricks do I have?

If the Lord were to set me upon a throne, I would still be His slave. If I were a grass-cutter, I would still chant the Lord's Name.

Servant Nanak is the slave of the Lord; contemplate the Glorious Greatness of the Lord||4||2||8||46||

Gauree Bairaagan, Fourth Mehl:

The farmers love to work their farms;

they plow and work the fields, so that their sons and daughters may eat.

In just the same way, the Lord's humble servants chant the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, and in the end, the Lord shall save them. ||1||

I am foolish - save me, O my Lord!

O Lord, enjoin me to work and serve the Guru, the True Guru. ||1||Pause||

The traders buy horses, planning to trade them.

They hope to earn wealth; their attachment to Maya increases.

In just the same way, the Lord's humble servants chant the Name of the Lord, Har, Har; chanting the Lord's Name, they find peace. ||2||

The shop-keepers collect poison, sitting in their shops, carrying on their business.

Their love is false, their displays are false, and they are engrossed in falsehood.

In just the same way, the Lord's humble servants gather the wealth of the Lord's Name; they take the Lord's Name as their supplies. ||3||

This emotional attachment to Maya and family, and the love of duality, is a noose around the neck.

Following the Guru's Teachings, the humble servants are carried across; they become the slaves of the Lord's slaves.

Servant Nanak meditates on the Naam; the Gurmukh is enlightened. ||4||3||9||47||

Gauree Bairaagan, Fourth Mehl:

Continuously, day and night, they are gripped by greed and deluded by doubt.

The slaves labor in slavery, carrying the loads upon their heads.

That humble being who serves the Guru is put to work by the Lord in His Home. ||1||

O my Lord, please break these bonds of Maya, and put me to work in Your Home.

I continuously sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord; I am absorbed in the Lord's Name. ||1||Pause||

Mortal men work for kings, all for the sake of wealth and Maya.

But the king either imprisons them, or fines them, or else dies himself.

Blessed, rewarding and fruitful is the service of the True Guru; through it, I chant the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, and I have found peace. ||2||

Everyday, people carry on their business, with all sorts of devices to earn interest, for the sake of Maya.

If they earn a profit, they are pleased, but their hearts are broken by losses.

One who is worthy, becomes a partner with the Guru, and finds a lasting peace forever. ||3||

Section 07 - Raag Gauree - Part 017 The more one feels hunger for other tastes and pleasures, the more this hunger persists.

Those unto whom the Lord Himself shows mercy, sell their head to the Guru.

Servant Nanak is satisfied by the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. He shall never feel hungry again. ||4||4||10||48||

Gauree Bairaagan, Fourth Mehl:

Within my conscious mind is the constant longing for the Lord. How can I behold the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan, Lord?

One who loves the Lord knows this; the Lord is very dear to my conscious mind.

I am a sacrifice to my Guru, who has re-united me with my Creator Lord; I was separated from Him for such a long time! ||1||

O my Lord, I am a sinner; I have come to Your Sanctuary, and fallen at Your Door, Lord.

My intellect is worthless; I am filthy and polluted. Please shower me with Your Mercy sometime. ||1||Pause||

My demerits are so many and numerous. I have sinned so many times, over and over again. O Lord, they cannot be counted.

You, Lord, are the Merciful Treasure of Virtue. When it pleases You, Lord, You forgive me.

I am a sinner, saved only by the Company of the Guru. He has bestowed the Teachings of the Lord's Name, which saves me. ||2||

What Glorious Virtues of Yours can I describe, O my True Guru? When the Guru speaks, I am transfixed with wonder.

Can anyone else save a sinner like me? The True Guru has protected and saved me.

O Guru, You are my father. O Guru, You are my mother. O Guru, You are my relative, companion and friend. ||3||

My condition, O my True Guru - that condition, O Lord, is known only to You.

I was rolling around in the dirt, and no one cared for me at all. In the Company of the Guru, the True Guru, I, the worm, have been raised up and exalted.

Blessed, blessed is the Guru of servant Nanak; meeting Him, all my sorrows and troubles have come to an end. ||4||5||11||49||

Gauree Bairaagan, Fourth Mehl:

The soul of the man is lured by gold and women; emotional attachment to Maya is so sweet to him.

The mind has become attached to the pleasures of houses, palaces, horses and other enjoyments.

The Lord God does not even enter his thoughts; how can he be saved, O my Lord King? ||1||

O my Lord, these are my lowly actions, O my Lord.

O Lord, Har, Har, Treasure of Virtue, Merciful Lord: please bless me with Your Grace and forgive me for all my mistakes. ||1||Pause||

I have no beauty, no social status, no manners.

With what face am I to speak? I have no virtue at all; I have not chanted Your Name.

I am a sinner, saved only by the Company of the Guru. This is the generous blessing of the True Guru. ||2||

He gave all beings souls, bodies, mouths, noses and water to drink.

He gave them corn to eat, clothes to wear, and other pleasures to enjoy.

But they do not remember the One who gave them all this. The animals think that they made themselves! ||3||

You made them all; You are all-pervading. You are the Inner-knower, the Searcher of hearts.

What can these wretched creatures do? This whole drama is Yours, O Lord and Master.

Servant Nanak was purchased in the slave-market. He is the slave of the Lord's slaves. ||4||6||12||50||

Section 07 - Raag Gauree - Part 018 Gauree Bairaagan, Fourth Mehl:

Just as the mother, having given birth to a son, feeds him and keeps him in her vision - indoors and outdoors, she puts food in his mouth; each and every moment, she caresses him.

In just the same way, the True Guru protects His GurSikhs, who love their Beloved Lord. ||1||

O my Lord, we are just the ignorant children of our Lord God.

Hail, hail, to the Guru, the Guru, the True Guru, the Divine Teacher who has made me wise through the Lord's Teachings. ||1||Pause||

The white flamingo circles through the sky, but she keeps her young ones in her mind; she has left them behind, but she constantly remembers them in her heart.

In just the same way, the True Guru loves His Sikhs. The Lord cherishes His GurSikhs, and keeps them clasped to His Heart. ||2||

Just as the tongue, made of flesh and blood, is protected within the scissors of the thirty-two teeth

- who thinks that the power lies in the flesh or the scissors? Everything is in the Power of the Lord.

In just the same way, when someone slanders the Saint, the Lord preserves the honor of His servant. ||3||

O Siblings of Destiny, let none think that they have any power. All act as the Lord causes them to act.

Old age, death, fever, poisons and snakes - everything is in the Hands of the Lord. Nothing can touch anyone without the Lord's Order.

Within your conscious mind, O servant Nanak, meditate forever on the Name of the Lord, who shall deliver you in the end. ||4||7||13||51||

Gauree Bairaagan, Fourth Mehl:

Meeting Him, the mind is filled with bliss. He is called the True Guru.

Double-mindedness departs, and the supreme status of the Lord is obtained. ||1||

How can I meet my Beloved True Guru?

Each and every moment, I humbly bow to Him. How will I meet my Perfect Guru? ||1||Pause||

Granting His Grace, the Lord has led me to meet my Perfect True Guru.

The desire of His humble servant has been fulfilled. I have received the dust of the Feet of the True Guru. ||2||

Those who meet the True Guru implant devotional worship to the Lord, and listen to this devotional worship of the Lord.

They never suffer any loss; they continually earn the profit of the Lord. ||3||

One whose heart blossoms forth, is not in love with duality.

O Nanak, meeting the Guru, one is saved, singing the Glorious Praises of the Lord. ||4||8||14||52||