Anand Sahib

Opening · Ik Onkar, satigur prasadi

The sense: The title of the composition, and its invocation. Raga Ramkali, the bani of the third Guru, and the name is “anandu”. Right at the start a single condition is set down, “satigur prasadi”, all of this comes by the grace of the true guru. The whole composition will repeat this condition again and again.

Pauri 1

The sense: The very first pauri opens with a surge of feeling, and calls out directly to a mother. “O mother! Bliss has risen within me, for I have found the guru.” See what finding the guru does: the mind stops swaying, a settled stillness arrives, and inside, the instruments of joy seem to strike up. The beautiful raga, with its whole family and its raginis, has arrived to sing the praise of the Lord.

But Amardas ji sets down a small condition too: this bliss bursts forth only inside those who have done “mani jini vasaia”, who have settled that word into the mind. Bliss grows from the Name settled within; it rises from inside, never handed over from outside.

Pauri 2

The sense: Now Amardas ji begins to speak to his own mind, with great tenderness. “O my mind! Stay joined to the Lord always.” And he names the reward of staying close: that Lord makes all sorrows fade, stands by you at every hour, and has the power to set all your affairs right. So then, a plain question: the master who is able to do all things, why forget him from the mind at all?

Pauri 3

The sense: Here the voice shifts and becomes a direct plea to the Lord. “O ever-abiding master! What is there that your house does not hold?” Everything is present in your house, yet only the one you yourself give receives it. And the one you give takes your Name and your praise into the mind. Then the same image returns once more: for those in whose mind the Name has settled, the mingled notes of countless instruments strike up within.

Pauri 4

The sense: Now a refrain forms, one that binds the pauri at both ends: “sacha namu mera adharo”, that true Name has become the support of my life. That same Name wiped out every greed inside, fulfilled every longing of the mind, and, giving peace, came to dwell within. And whose gift is all this? The guru’s. This is why Amardas ji says he is forever a sacrifice to his guru. Then he turns toward the saints, “Listen, join your love to the word of the guru.”

Pauri 5

The sense: Here the “baje”, the instruments that keep recurring, come into full picture. The heart-home where the Lord sets down his power becomes fortunate, and in it the mingled notes of five kinds of instruments strike up. In such a home the five failings, desire, anger, and the rest, come under control, and even the thorn of death is drawn out. But Amardas ji adds one truth: this comes only to those in whose fate it was written from the very source. “Anahad vaje”, that unbroken sound of one savor, begins right here.

Pauri 6

The sense: Now Amardas ji shows the other side, and very gently. Without a longing for the true Lord this body is left without shelter, a poor thing, and whatever it does, it does half-finished. And there is no other place worthy of turning it in the right direction. So a direct call rises, “kripa kari banavaria”, O master of the world, grant your grace, so that this body, joined to the word of the guru, may be set right.

Pauri 7

The sense: This is the pivot pauri of the whole composition, so read it slowly. “Anandu anandu sabhu ko kahai”, anyone can say the words, I have found bliss. But Amardas ji holds a fine distinction: the insight into real bliss comes only from the guru. The guru, in grace, cuts away the sins within, and lines the eyes of discernment with the collyrium of insight into the spiritual life. In those from whom the attachment of maya breaks away, the Lord sweetens even their speech. This is the real bliss, and it cannot be understood at all without the guru.

Pauri 8

The sense: Here Amardas ji bows his head before a truth. “Baba, the one you give to is the one who receives.” What else can the rest, poor souls, do? Look at both sides: some people run about in all ten directions, lost in wandering, and some, joining themselves to the Name, are set right. Where does the difference come from? For those to whom his will grows dear, by the guru’s grace the mind turns pure. Bliss is a thing you ask for and are granted; it cannot be seized.

Pauri 9

The sense: Now comes an invitation, full of warmth. “O beloved saints, come, let us speak together of that indescribable Lord,” the one whose qualities simply cannot be told. And if someone asks by which door he is found, the answer is plain: hand over your body, mind, and wealth, all of it, to the guru. Only when the guru’s command begins to taste sweet is he found.

Pauri 10

The sense: Now Amardas ji checks his own restless mind head-on. “O restless mind! No one has ever won bliss through cleverness.” This is worth settling into the mind: to stay tangled in maya within, while wanting bliss from mere talk without, simply never works. This maya is a great enchantress, and it is she who has kept us under her spell. But look at Amardas ji’s way: he turns his love toward the Lord who made this sweet attachment, and leaves maya unblamed. The attachment breaks only when love is joined to the one who made it.

Pauri 11

The sense: “O beloved mind! Keep the true Lord safe within you always.” This family you see will not keep you company to the end, so why drown your whole heart in attachment to it? Amardas ji gives the plain counsel of an elder: never do a deed you will regret at the end. And the thing that truly will stand by you is the teaching of the true guru. Listen to it, for it alone stays with you to the last.

Pauri 12

The sense: The voice becomes a plea again, and with humility. “O unreachable one, O imperceptible one! No one has found the limit of your qualities.” Your true form is known to you alone. All these living creatures are a play you have fashioned, and who could describe them? You are in the one who speaks, and you are in the one who sees, you who made this whole world.

Pauri 13

The sense: Here bliss is given a new name, “amritu”, the nectar. This is the very nectar that gods, humans, and sages all go searching for. But look at what Amardas ji says: this nectar is found only from the guru. The one on whom the guru showed mercy settled the true Lord in the mind and found this nectar. And its effect? “Labu lobhu ahankaru chuka”, greed, avarice, and ego, all of it fell away.

Pauri 14 · The way of the devotees

The sense: Now Amardas ji points toward the devotees, and gives a line worth remembering, “bhagata ki chal nirali”, the people who taste true bliss live in a way apart from the world. This road is not easy, “khannihu tikhi valahu niki”, it is sharper than the edge of a sword and finer than a hair. Only the one who lets go of greed, ego, and craving, and does not go about advertising his own glory, can walk such a road. Whoever, by the guru’s grace, has given up his ego finds every craving dissolve into the memory of the Lord.

Pauri 15

The sense: This pauri is filled with a deep humility, much like Japji’s “hukami rajai chalana”, walk in the way of the divine will. “O master! As you move us, so we move, what more of the secret of your qualities could I know?” This alone has become clear: the path you set us on is the one we walk. Those you graciously join to the Name are the ones who remember him always. And those to whom you tell your own story find bliss at the guru’s door.

Pauri 16

The sense: “Ehu sohila sabadu suhava”, this beautiful word of the guru is a song that gives bliss. But it settles only in the minds of those in whose fate it was written from the very source. And Amardas ji states it plainly: many people go about only talking, discussing knowledge, yet “gali kinai na paia”, no one has found bliss through empty talk.

Pauri 17

The sense: This pauri turns around a single word, “pavitu”, pure. Those who, staying in the shelter of the guru, remembered the Name became pure. And this purity does not stay alone: through their company mother and father, family, the whole gathering, becomes pure. The Name is such a spring of bliss that the one who recites it is pure, the one who hears it is pure, and the one who settles it in the mind is pure too. This is exactly like that point in Japji, peace is contagious.

Pauri 18

The sense: Here Amardas ji speaks of an inner disease, “sahasa”, the mind’s dread, its anxiety. In the attachment of maya it stays on, and it does not leave through outward ritual, no matter how many pious-looking deeds you perform. When the mind stays in dread, it stays soiled. And this stain does not wash away by any external trick. So how to wash it? “Mannu dhovahu sabadi lagahu”, wash the mind with the word of the guru, keep the heart joined to the Lord. Only by the guru’s grace does poise rise within, and only then does this dread depart.

Pauri 19

The sense: Now Amardas ji says a blunt thing, direct yet without bitterness. Those who are soiled within and look pure on the outside have thrown away their life the way a gambler loses everything at the table. A great disease of craving has taken hold inside, and death has been forgotten. Even the Vedas call the Name the highest of all, yet they lend no ear to that side, and like the “betalia”, like a restless spirit, they keep wandering without order.

Pauri 20

The sense: The reverse side of the previous pauri. Those who learn that conduct from the guru become pure within and pure without. So much bliss builds inside them that not even news of maya’s attachment reaches them, and their mind dissolves into the truth. Living beings have come into this world to trade in bliss, and Amardas ji says, “bhale se vanajare”, the true merchants are the ones who made this priceless birth a success.

Pauri 21 · The sanmukh Sikh

The sense: Now Amardas ji speaks of the Sikh, and brings in a lovely word, “sanmukh”, the one who can stand before the guru with an open face, with no hidden flaw. How does such a Sikh come to be? The one who rests at the guru’s feet with a true heart, settles the guru in the heart, gives up his ego and stays always in the guru’s shelter, and takes no one but the guru as the support of the spiritual life. That is the Sikh who stands vindicated before the guru.

Pauri 22

The sense: The opposite of sanmukh is “vemukh”, the one who turns his face away from the guru. Amardas ji says such a person does not find liberation. And this is more than his own claim, “puchhahu bibekia jae”, go and ask any discerning person. Without the guru the bonds of maya are not cut anywhere else. A being caught in maya wanders through countless births, and release comes only when he attaches himself at the guru’s feet and the guru recites the word to him.

Pauri 23

The sense: Then another warm invitation. “O beloved Sikhs of the true guru, come, sing the true bani.” And Amardas ji gives this bani a high rank, “bania siri bani”, it is the crown of all banis. But it settles only in the hearts of those on whom the Lord’s merciful gaze falls. “Pivahu amritu”, drink this water of the Name, stay always in the color of the Lord. In this alone is bliss.

Pauri 24

The sense: The previous pauri was about the true bani; this one is about its opposite. A bani spoken apart from the guru’s intent is “kachi”, unripe, and it drops the mind below the seat of bliss. The minds of both the one who speaks such bani and the one who hears it grow weak. And a fine point: even if such people say “Hari, Hari” with the tongue, no deep bond with the Lord forms for them, because maya has enchanted their heart. What they speak, “ravani”, they speak only on the surface.

Pauri 25

The sense: Here is a beautiful metaphor. The word of the guru is a jewel, set with diamonds, meaning it is filled with the glories of the Lord. When the mind joins this jewel of the word, a wondrous absorption into the Lord takes shape. But at the end Amardas ji sets down that same condition, “ape hira ratanu ape”, he himself is the diamond and he himself the jewel, and this insight comes only to the one he himself grants it to.

Pauri 26

The sense: This pauri comes very close to Japji’s teaching of “hukam”. Having fashioned both the living soul and maya, the Creator himself runs his command, and himself watches this play of how beings dance at maya’s hands. To some rare one he gives insight into this through the guru, breaks his bonds, and that person is freed from maya. In other words, even the force of maya is his command, and this very understanding is liberation.

Pauri 27

The sense: The pandits who read the smritis and shastras keep pondering only this, what is sin and what is merit, yet the taste of the real essence, “tatai sar”, never comes to them. And Amardas ji gives the reason too: without the guru this taste simply does not come. The whole world lies asleep in the wandering of the three gunas, and the night of a lifetime passes in that very sleep. The ones who stay awake are those in whose mind the Lord dwells. Spiritual bliss comes to the one whose night passes in wakefulness.

Pauri 28 · The fire of the mother’s womb

The sense: Here is a very tender image. The Lord who nourishes the child even inside the mother’s belly, in the midst of that fire, and delivers food to it, why forget so great a giver from the mind at all? And here is a comforting point: the one he joins to the longing of his love, maya can touch not at all. But this love too, “apani liv ape lae”, he himself kindles.

Pauri 29

The sense: The fire image of the previous pauri opens up here. As the fire is in the mother’s belly, so is maya out in the world, and the Creator has fashioned this very play. The moment a person is born, the love of family surrounds him, and caught in it, the thread of love for the Lord snaps, and craving comes and clings. This is maya, and in it the Lord is forgotten. But at the end, a hope: those whose love, by the guru’s grace, stays joined to the Lord, “tini viche maia paia”, find bliss while living in the very midst of this maya.

Pauri 30

The sense: “Hari api amulaku hai”, the Lord himself is priceless, and cannot be had at any price. People wore themselves out trying to win him with wealth and riches, and failed. So what is the way? If such a guru is found that meeting him drives the ego out from within, then one should offer up one’s head before him. Then the being goes and meets the one to whom it belongs, and the Lord comes to dwell in the mind. Fortune wakes only for those whom he himself draws to his own side.

Pauri 31

The sense: Now Amardas ji brings in the metaphor of a merchant, and in a very personal voice. “The Name of the Lord is my capital, and my mind has become a trader.” This capital came to be understood only through the guru. And then an invitation, “hari hari nit japihu”, recite the Name daily, earn the profit of bliss each day. But this wealth too goes only to those whom the Lord himself is pleased to give it to.

Pauri 32

The sense: Now the voice turns toward the body, and Amardas ji speaks directly to the tongue. “O tongue! You stay lost in one taste after another, yet your thirst is never quenched.” And how could it be quenched, until “hari rasu”, the taste of the Lord’s Name, comes to hand? The one who has found this taste can never again be touched by craving. All other tastes are forgotten on the very day the Lord comes to dwell in the mind.

Pauri 33 · O my body

The sense: From here a new, very tender section begins, where Amardas ji addresses the body directly. “O my body! You came into the world only when the Lord placed his light inside you.” That light is your true life. And the Lord who fashions the being and shows it the world is himself its mother, himself its father. When insight comes by the guru’s grace, this whole world begins to look like a play, a spectacle. The source of bliss is that inner light, and the objects outside hold none of it.

Pauri 34

The sense: This is the most joy-filled moment of the whole composition. “Mani chau bhaia”, a delight welled up in the mind, because the news came of the arrival of the Lord, the husband. Amardas ji calls out like a companion, “hari mangalu gau sakhi”, O friend, sing the song of celebration, this heart-home has now become the Lord’s temple. The day the forehead rests on the guru’s feet is a fortunate day, the beloved Lord-husband is seen. And within, that same “anahat bani”, the unstruck sound, one unbroken savor, begins to play. The Lord who can do all things came in person and was met.

Pauri 35

The sense: The talk with the body continues, but now with a plain question. “O my body! Having come into this world, what have you done?” The very Lord who fashioned you, you did not settle in the mind, and you kept busy with one thing after another. But Amardas ji does not leave one in despair: for the person whose earlier-written impressions unfold by the guru’s grace, the Lord comes to dwell in the mind. And then, “ehu sariru paravanu hoa”, the body that joined its heart to the guru becomes a success.

Pauri 36 · O my eyes

The sense: Now it is the eyes’ turn. “O my eyes! The Lord has placed his light in you, so wherever you look, look only upon the Lord.” This whole world you are seeing is his own form. When insight came by the guru’s grace, one single Lord began to appear everywhere, and nothing else besides him. And a startling thing, “ehi netr andh se”, before the guru was found these eyes were blind, and once the guru was found, “dib drisati”, a divine sight opened. This very seeing is the root of bliss.

Pauri 37 · O my ears

The sense: Now the talk turns to the ears. “O my ears! The true Creator made you for this very listening, listen to the sati bani, the true word.” And see the effect of listening: the bani that, the moment it is heard, makes the mind and body bloom fresh and green, and the tongue sinks into its taste. That true Lord is a form of wonder, and his state simply cannot be told. But this much is certain, “amrit namu sunahu pavitr hovahu”, listen to the nectar-Name and you will become pure, the ears were sent for this very work.

Pauri 38 · The tenth door

The sense: This is a deep pauri, so read it slowly. The Lord settled the living soul in the cave that is the body, then sounded the instrument of the wind, meaning he gave the being the power of speech through the air of the breath. He made nine doors, the nose, ears, eyes, and the rest, visible, and kept the tenth door hidden. To those he blesses with faith at the guru’s door, he reveals this tenth door, and there they find a treasure-house of the nine treasures in the form of the many-formed Name, a treasure that has no end.

Pauri 39

The sense: The journey of thirty-eight pauris is now drawing to a close. “Ehu sacha sohila”, sing this true song of bliss right there, in that sangat where all, together, always meditate on the true Lord. But Amardas ji sets down that same condition once more: the ones who remember him are the ones who please him, to whom he grants insight through the guru. That true Lord is master of all, and the one who finds him is the one on whom his grace rests.

Pauri 40 · The close

The sense: And the composition closes exactly where it set out, on the ringing instruments. “Anadu sunahu vadabhagiho”, O greatly fortunate ones, listen to this bliss. Bliss is just this: all the running of the mind comes to rest, all resolves are fulfilled, the Supreme Brahman is found, and every worry lifts away. Listening to the true bani wipes out sorrow, disease, and torment. And in the last line Amardas ji comes into a voice of supplication, “binavanti nanaku”, those who attach themselves at the guru’s feet find within them, “vaje anahad ture”, that same unstruck trumpet strike up. The circle of the first pauri’s “vajia vadhaia” is completed here.