Anand Sahib

Anand means bliss — a deep, quiet happiness that does not depend on what happens to you. Guru Amar Das, the third Guru, wrote this song of forty verses. Sikhs sing it at weddings, at births, at funerals, and at the end of almost every service. That is the clue to what it is about: a joy you can sing over a cradle and over a coffin and mean it both times. The song talks to your mind, your body, your eyes, your ears and your tongue, one at a time, and reminds each of them what it was made for — to stay close to the One.

Everyone talks about bliss. You find the True Guru the way morning light fills a room, and your mind starts ringing like a house throwing a party. Stay close to the One, and your troubles slip out of mind. Everything is already in the One's house; you only receive. Cleverness and rituals can't get you there. A body without love has no honor. Your eyes, ears, tongue and body were each made for one job: to notice the One everywhere. Family and things stay behind; the Guru's teaching goes with you. Sing, listen, and music no one plays sounds inside you. At the centre, the opening line: bliss has come, O my mother, for I have found the True Guru.