A Story Of Betrayal And Faithfulness (Bara Maha by Fifth Nanak)

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(Continues from the last month)

ਆਸਾੜੁ ਤਪੰਦਾ ਤਿਸੁ ਲਗੈ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਹੁ ਨ ਜਿੰਨਾ ਪਾਸਿ ॥
ਜਗਜੀਵਨ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਤਿਆਗਿ ਕੈ ਮਾਣਸ ਸੰਦੀ ਆਸ ॥
ਦੁਯੈ ਭਾਇ ਵਿਗੁਚੀਐ ਗਲਿ ਪਈਸੁ ਜਮ ਕੀ ਫਾਸ ॥
ਜੇਹਾ ਬੀਜੈ ਸੋ ਲੁਣੈ ਮਥੈ ਜੋ ਲਿਖਿਆਸੁ ॥
ਰੈਣਿ ਵਿਹਾਣੀ ਪਛੁਤਾਣੀ ਉਠਿ ਚਲੀ ਗਈ ਨਿਰਾਸ ॥
ਜਿਨ ਕੌ ਸਾਧੂ ਭੇਟੀਐ ਸੋ ਦਰਗਹ ਹੋਇ ਖਲਾਸੁ ॥
ਕਰਿ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਆਪਣੀ ਤੇਰੇ ਦਰਸਨ ਹੋਇ ਪਿਆਸ ॥
ਪ੍ਰਭ ਤੁਧੁ ਬਿਨੁ ਦੂਜਾ ਕੋ ਨਹੀ ਨਾਨਕ ਕੀ ਅਰਦਾਸਿ ॥
ਆਸਾੜੁ ਸੁਹੰਦਾ ਤਿਸੁ ਲਗੈ ਜਿਸੁ ਮਨਿ ਹਰਿ ਚਰਣ ਨਿਵਾਸ ॥੫॥

Āsāṛ ṯapanḏā ṯis lagai har nāhu na jinna pās.

Jagjīvan purakẖ ṯi-āg kai māṇas sanḏī ās.

Ḏuyai bẖā-e vigucẖī-ai gal pa-īs jam kī fās.

Jehā bījai so luṇai mathai jo likẖi-ās.

Raiṇ vihāṇī pacẖẖuṯāṇī uṯẖ cẖalī ga-ī nirās.

Jin kou sāḏẖū bẖetī-ai so ḏargėh ho-e kẖalās.

Kar kirpā parabẖ āpṇī ṯere ḏarsan ho-e pi-ās.

Parabẖ ṯuḏẖ bin ḏūjā ko nahī Nānak kī arḏās.

Āsāṛ suhanḏā ṯis lagai jis man har cẖaraṇ nivās. ||5||

In essence: The month of Haarh seems hot to those ones, who don’t have Har with them (not aware of His presence). They have forgotten Har, the life supporter. They have gotten into the worldly hope. Because of this duality, the noose of death is put around their necks. One reaps what one sows as per the destiny. The bride (who has forgotten Har) spends the night of her life in repentance and departs in sadness. Those brides who have met the Guru are liberated in His court. Oh Har! Show your mercy and quench my thirst of beholding you. Nanak prays: Oh Har! None is like you”. The month of Haarh becomes pleasing to those ones, who humbly involve with Him.

The Guru explains how time becomes hurtful and annoying without having love for the Creator; everything sometimes appears to be going against us, but we blame the time instead of realizing that it is our way of looking at things that brings us at this point; otherwise, everything is under His ordinance; only then we can comprehend His ordinance if we fall in love with Him. And falling in love with him comes through a teacher, who knows the mystery of His Being present in all and at everywhere.  Thus, through the Guru’s guidance, one finds the thin line drawn between the mundane affairs and the spiritual realization. A Guru who lacks the realization of the Ultimate Truth keeps others misleading toward a wrong path; therefore, the true Guru is needed to find the Great Guru within.

ਸਾਵਣਿ ਸਰਸੀ ਕਾਮਣੀ ਚਰਨ ਕਮਲ ਸਿਉ ਪਿਆਰੁ ॥
ਮਨੁ ਤਨੁ ਰਤਾ ਸਚ ਰੰਗਿ ਇਕੋ ਨਾਮੁ ਅਧਾਰੁ ॥
ਬਿਖਿਆ ਰੰਗ ਕੂੜਾਵਿਆ ਦਿਸਨਿ ਸਭੇ ਛਾਰੁ ॥
ਹਰਿ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਬੂੰਦ ਸੁਹਾਵਣੀ ਮਿਲਿ ਸਾਧੂ ਪੀਵਣਹਾਰੁ ॥
ਵਣੁ ਤਿਣੁ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਸੰਗਿ ਮਉਲਿਆ ਸੰਮ੍ਰਥ ਪੁਰਖ ਅਪਾਰੁ ॥
ਹਰਿ ਮਿਲਣੈ ਨੋ ਮਨੁ ਲੋਚਦਾ ਕਰਮਿ ਮਿਲਾਵਣਹਾਰੁ ॥
ਜਿਨੀ ਸਖੀਏ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਹੰਉ ਤਿਨ ਕੈ ਸਦ ਬਲਿਹਾਰ ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਹਰਿ ਜੀ ਮਇਆ ਕਰਿ ਸਬਦਿ ਸਵਾਰਣਹਾਰੁ ॥
ਸਾਵਣੁ ਤਿਨਾ ਸੁਹਾਗਣੀ ਜਿਨ ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮੁ ਉਰਿ ਹਾਰੁ ॥੬॥

Sāvaṇ sarsī kāmṇī cẖaran kamal si-o pi-ār.

Man ṯan raṯā sacẖ rang iko nām aḏẖār.

Bikẖi-ā rang kūṛāvi-ā ḏisan sabẖe cẖẖār.

Har amriṯ būnḏ suhāvaṇī mil sāḏẖū pīvaṇhār.

Vaṇ ṯiṇ parabẖ sang ma-oli-ā samrath purakẖ apār.

Har milṇai no man locẖḏā karam milāvaṇhār.

Jinī sakẖī-e parabẖ pā-i-ā haʼn-u ṯin kai saḏ balihār.

Nānak har jī ma-i-ā kar sabaḏ savāraṇhār.

Sāvaṇ ṯinā suhāgaṇī jin rām nām ur hār. ||6||

In essence: In the month of Sawan, the soul-bride blooms in joy by keeping herself involved in Ekankar’s love humbly. Her mind is drenched in His name and she deems it only as her support. To her, all other pleasures appear to be false and temporary. For a lover of Ekankar, His nectarous name becomes pleasing; however, it is quaffed (the taste for it is developed) through the Guru. With His love, everything is bloomed. Ekankar is capable of doing everything. My mind longs to meet Him, but only He is capable of uniting me with Him through His grace. I sacrifice to those friends, who have realized Him. Oh Nanak pray this: Oh Ekankar! Show mercy on me; you bedeck me with the Guru’s shabda.  The month of Sawan is good for those ones, who have bedecked their hearts with the all pervading Ekankar’s name.

As one’s true Guru guides, one falls in love with the all-pervading Creator. Then one makes His love an anchor to face the storms of Maya. In His love, remembering Him without uttering a word becomes one’s daily routine; His ordinance is seen crystal clear in various contexts. Actually the basic reason for not understanding it is our duality that is stretched out in our horizen through the Maya influences. What we see around us builds a wall around our spiritual realm, for which this wall needs to become nonexistent. It is the duality that creates doubt; the Guru elaborates on it: 

ਭਾਦੁਇ ਭਰਮਿ ਭੁਲਾਣੀਆ ਦੂਜੈ ਲਗਾ ਹੇਤੁ ॥
ਲਖ ਸੀਗਾਰ ਬਣਾਇਆ ਕਾਰਜਿ ਨਾਹੀ ਕੇਤੁ ॥
ਜਿਤੁ ਦਿਨਿ ਦੇਹ ਬਿਨਸਸੀ ਤਿਤੁ ਵੇਲੈ ਕਹਸਨਿ ਪ੍ਰੇਤੁ ॥
ਪਕੜਿ ਚਲਾਇਨਿ ਦੂਤ ਜਮ ਕਿਸੈ ਨ ਦੇਨੀ ਭੇਤੁ ॥
ਛਡਿ ਖੜੋਤੇ ਖਿਨੈ ਮਾਹਿ ਜਿਨ ਸਿਉ ਲਗਾ ਹੇਤੁ ॥
ਹਥ ਮਰੋੜੈ ਤਨੁ ਕਪੇ ਸਿਆਹਹੁ ਹੋਆ ਸੇਤੁ ॥
ਜੇਹਾ ਬੀਜੈ ਸੋ ਲੁਣੈ ਕਰਮਾ ਸੰਦੜਾ ਖੇਤੁ ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਸਰਣਾਗਤੀ ਚਰਣ ਬੋਹਿਥ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਦੇਤੁ ॥
ਸੇ ਭਾਦੁਇ ਨਰਕਿ ਨ ਪਾਈਅਹਿ ਗੁਰੁ ਰਖਣ ਵਾਲਾ ਹੇਤੁ ॥੭॥

Bẖāḏu-e bẖaram bẖulāṇī-ā ḏūjai lagā heṯ.

Lakẖ sīgār baṇā-i-ā kāraj nāhī keṯ.

Jiṯ ḏin ḏeh binsasī ṯiṯ velai kahsan pareṯ.

Pakaṛ cẖalā-in ḏūṯ jam kisai na ḏenī bẖeṯ.

Cẖẖad kẖaṛoṯe kẖinai māhi jin si-o lagā heṯ.

Hath maroṛai ṯan kape si-āhhu ho-ā seṯ.

Jehā bījai so luṇai karmā sanḏ-ṛā kẖeṯ.

Nānak parabẖ sarṇāgaṯī cẖaraṇ bohith parabẖ ḏeṯ.

Se bẖāḏu-e narak na pā-ī-ah gur rakẖaṇ vālā heṯ. ||7||

In essence: In the month of Bhadon, those who are in love with others are deluded in doubt. They decorate themselves many ways, but their efforts are of no use. Once one’s body crumbles, people call one a ghost. Without divulging the secret of where the soul is led to, the death takes it away. Those ones, with whom one was in love, leave one in a moment. (As the death comes); the man wrings, suffers and his body turns black to white. The field of life depends upon the seeds of deeds; one reaps what one sows. Oh Nanak! Those ones who seek Ekankar’s refuge swim cross the ocean of Maya. The Guru protects them and they do not go through sufferings in the month of Bhadon.

As said above, the Guru points at the relations layered in attachment; being in attachment, one tries to be a devotee but fails; the Guru advises us that one’s existence is very temporary; the body, with which one’s relatives get attached, faces a helpless betrayal, because it cannot be adored forever; its time is limited. In this period, the body owner departs leaving it behind without realizing the bliss of seeing the Creator within. And, the separation from the Creator widens, because a chance of envisioning Him within is lost just by attaching to those who are already drenched in the Maya love; nonetheless, those ones who get attached to the Guru’s guidance live by remaining focused on His presence in and out. They don’t endure miseries unlike the one who preferred Maya to Him.

In the following stanza, the Guru shows a state of mind of a person who truly desires to be with the Creator, because he/she knows that only those remain calm who are in love with Him, but who can help one to realize Him if one harbors love for the Creator? The Guru suggests that His devotees’ company helps one to grow one’s love for Him and to take it to the peak that brings His realization: 

ਅਸੁਨਿ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਉਮਾਹੜਾ ਕਿਉ ਮਿਲੀਐ ਹਰਿ ਜਾਇ ॥
ਮਨਿ ਤਨਿ ਪਿਆਸ ਦਰਸਨ ਘਣੀ ਕੋਈ ਆਣਿ ਮਿਲਾਵੈ ਮਾਇ ॥
ਸੰਤ ਸਹਾਈ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਕੇ ਹਉ ਤਿਨ ਕੈ ਲਾਗਾ ਪਾਇ ॥
ਵਿਣੁ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਕਿਉ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਈਐ ਦੂਜੀ ਨਾਹੀ ਜਾਇ ॥
ਜਿੰਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਹੀ ਚਾਖਿਆ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਰਸੁ ਸੇ ਤ੍ਰਿਪਤਿ ਰਹੇ ਆਘਾਇ ॥
ਆਪੁ ਤਿਆਗਿ ਬਿਨਤੀ ਕਰਹਿ ਲੇਹੁ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਲੜਿ ਲਾਇ ॥
ਜੋ ਹਰਿ ਕੰਤਿ ਮਿਲਾਈਆ ਸਿ ਵਿਛੁੜਿ ਕਤਹਿ ਨ ਜਾਇ ॥
ਪ੍ਰਭ ਵਿਣੁ ਦੂਜਾ ਕੋ ਨਹੀ ਨਾਨਕ ਹਰਿ ਸਰਣਾਇ ॥
ਅਸੂ ਸੁਖੀ ਵਸੰਦੀਆ ਜਿਨਾ ਮਇਆ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇ ॥੮॥

Asun parem umāhṛā ki-o milī-ai har jā-e.

Man ṯan pi-ās ḏarsan gẖaṇī ko-ī āṇ milāvai mā-e.

Sanṯ sahā-ī parem ke ha-o ṯin kai lāgā pā-e.

Viṇ parabẖ ki-o sukẖ pā-ī-ai ḏūjī nāhī jā-e.

Jinĥī cẖākẖi-ā parem ras se ṯaripaṯ rahe āgẖā-e.

Āp ṯi-āg binṯī karahi leho parabẖū laṛ lā-e.

Jo har kanṯ milā-ī-ā sė vicẖẖuṛ kaṯėh na jā-e.

Parabẖ viṇ ḏūjā ko nahī Nānak har sarṇā-e.

Asū sukẖī vasanḏī-ā jinā ma-i-ā har rā-e. ||8|| {SGGS-134-135}

In essence: It is the month of Assu and my love for Har is overflowing, but how can I meet Him? Oh my mother! I desire to see Har. I seek someone, who can unite me with Him. The Sants can help me how to love Har truly and I shall seek their refuge humbly. Without Har, there is no peace. And, I have no other place to go. Those ones who have tasted Har’s love remain satiated in His love. They abandon their conceit and pray to Him to remain attached to Him. Those brides whom He has united with Him do not separate from Him ever. Oh Nanak! I am in His refuge, because there is no other refuge for me. In the month of Assu, those ones upon whom Har bestows His grace remain in peace.

Obviously first of all, if we desire Him, we need to change our company; we can live wherever He has put us, but we should avoid those people who lead us to go away from Him, because they have betrayed themselves and they are unable to inspire us positively; instead, we should seek the company of those who are either enlightened and realized Him or of those who also sincerely want to get drenched in His love to realize Him. This way, negativity is pushed away and getting drenched in His love is encouraged realizing that peace is only in His love.

CONTINUES..