Aasaa Kee Vaar
The Commentary
A Vaar is a heroic ballad — in Nanak's day, the genre sung to celebrate warrior-kings and their battles, to a martial tune (this one is set "to the tune of Tunda-Asraaja"). Guru Nanak takes that popular, rousing form and turns it on its head: the hero praised here is not a conqueror but the One and the True Guru, and the great victory is the transformation of a human heart ("He made angels out of men," P0).
Read the full commentary →Contents
- Pauri 1A Good Teacher Makes Ordinary People Bright
- Pauri 2The Light That Matters Clears the Fog Inside
- Pauri 3Relying on Cleverness Leaves You Empty Inside
- Pauri 4The One Didn't Make the World and Leave
- Pauri 5Hold What's Real and You Become Real Yourself
- Pauri 6The One Is Great in the Ways That Comfort You
- Pauri 7The Whole World Is the One's Home
- Pauri 8Honesty Stands Firm Where Pretending Falls Apart
- Pauri 9Wonder Isn't Just for Pretty Things
- Pauri 10No Single Faith Owns the One
- Pauri 11A Life Chasing Only Pleasures Leaves You Empty
- Pauri 12The Universe Moves in Reverence; the One Is Fearless
- Pauri 13Real Wisdom Can't Be Bought; It's a Gift
- Pauri 14The Teacher's Best Gift Is Helping You Set Down Pride
- Pauri 15The Grandest Show Is Empty Without Understanding
- Pauri 16Real Devotion Isn't a Show but Quiet Love
- Pauri 17You're Already Given Life; So Use It Well
- Pauri 18Every Sincere Heart, of Any Faith, Longs to Love
- Pauri 19Every Body Returns to the Same Earth
- Pauri 20The One Is Reachable in the Light of Wisdom
- Pauri 21The Me-First Feeling Quietly Colors Everything
- Pauri 22Ego Is an Illness With Its Cure Hidden Inside
- Pauri 23Rest in a Forgiving One and Grow Forgiving
- Pauri 24No Outward Badge Matters Without Love in the Heart
- Pauri 25You Can't Earn Being Loved; Love Comes First
- Pauri 26The Deepest Truths Are Received, Then Lived
- Pauri 27Read a Library and Still Miss the One Thing
- Pauri 28Making Life Hard Doesn't Make You Good
- Pauri 29What Makes a Person Shine Is Love, Not Rank
- Pauri 30Don't Anchor Your Heart to What Washes Away
- Pauri 31Real Truth Is Lived, Not Won in Argument
- Pauri 32A Generous Heart Keeps the Quiet Joy of Helping
- Pauri 33Even in Hard Times, a Whole Seed Still Sprouts
- Pauri 34Everyone Thinks They're Right; Real Worth Is Weighed
- Pauri 35Rank and Power Count for Nothing in the End
- Pauri 36Why Some Hearts Turn Is a Mystery; the Door Is Open
- Pauri 37Hard Times Can Wake Us; Comfort Can Lull Us
- Pauri 38The Creative Power Has No Edge You Could Reach
- Pauri 39The One's Light Shines Inside Every Creature
- Pauri 40Goodness Is One Road, Open to Everyone Equally
- Pauri 41The One That Fills the Universe Is the Life in You
- Pauri 42Wisdom Steadies the Mind, but Wisdom Is Given First
- Pauri 43Being Smart Never Substitutes for Being Good
- Pauri 44Notice What's Holding Your Reins
- Pauri 45The Real Path in Every Age Is Devotion and Humility
- Pauri 46True Guidance Heals Your Sight and Carries You Across
- Pauri 47Better Sweet and Humble Than Tall and Impressive
- Pauri 48All the Holy Marks Are Empty Without the One Within
- Pauri 49Fine Things Get Left Behind; Only Actions Travel
- Pauri 50The Only Thread Worth Wearing Never Breaks
- Pauri 51A Symbol Can't Make You Good; Only Character Can
- Pauri 52The Thread of Real Honor Is Love and Truth
- Pauri 53Goodness Can't Be a Badge Given Only to Some
- Pauri 54The Good Life Starts With Grace Touching You
- Pauri 55Be the Same Person Inside and Out
- Pauri 56Fussing Over Rules Means Nothing If You're Unkind
- Pauri 57Even the Mightiest King Is Small Before the One
- Pauri 58You Can't Do Real Good With What You Took Wrongly
- Pauri 59Scrubbing the Outside Doesn't Make You Clean
- Pauri 60Nice Things Aren't the Problem; Forgetting Is
- Pauri 61The Idea That Things Defile You Collapses
- Pauri 62Real Impurity Is Greed, Lying, Envy, and Gossip
- Pauri 63The Only Real Impurity Is Forgetting the One
- Pauri 64Welcome Wisdom and the Unkind Things Leave
- Pauri 65What Comes Out of Your Mouth Matters More
- Pauri 66Every Person Is Born From a Woman; Honor Her
- Pauri 67Don't Call Anyone Bad, and Don't Puff Up
- Pauri 68The Words You Speak Shape You, Not Just Others
- Pauri 69Don't Judge Outside; the Plainest May Be Silk Within
- Pauri 70Life Is a Game; Play Your Turn Wisely
- Pauri 71Loving Only When Pleased Isn't Really Love
- Pauri 72Sweet to the Face, Rude Behind: False All Through
- Pauri 73Choose the Moves You Won't Regret
- Pauri 74The Same Deed: Spoiled by Show, Beautified by Humility
- Pauri 75What's Inside You Comes Out Anyway
- Pauri 76Closeness Comes When the Wall of Me-Versus-You Falls
- Pauri 77Closeness With the Shallow Is a Line Drawn in Water
- Pauri 78Wisdom in How You Do Things Makes Results Last
- Pauri 79Humility Multiplies Your Worth; Pride Throws It Away
- Pauri 80The Finest Gift Is Given Freely, Before You Ask
- Pauri 81Being Good Out of Fear Is Shallow
- Pauri 82Lives Differ; and the Maker Cares for Each
- Pauri 83Grace Can Make Any Life Beautiful
- Pauri 84When the One Is Everything, You Can Simply Rest
- Pauri 85After All the Words, the One Overflows Them All