The Closing Saloks, Savaiye in Praise of Guru Ram Das (the bard Nal)
Without a light you cannot see the road; the Guru is that light.
The Arc
Try walking through a house at night with every light off. You bump into things. You can't tell where the door is. Without the Guru, life is that dark. Nothing makes sense, nothing settles, and no one walks free. So make the Guru your guide, and think about what is true. Turn your eyes toward the Guru. Let your words reach for the Guru too. Wrong turns from the past get cut away. A life that never finds that light ends up like a tree with no fruit. At the center, the opening line: without the Guru there is deep darkness, and understanding does not come.
Key Vocabulary
anDhaar - darkness
samajh - understanding
mukat - freedom
akyath - without fruit
Hukumnama
Subject: Without the Guru, the road stays dark Preview: Deep darkness, a mind told again and again to choose its guide, eyes and words turned to the light.
Today: Try walking through a house at night with every light off. You bump into things. You can't tell where the door is. Without the Guru, life is that dark. Nothing makes sense, nothing settles, and no one walks free. So make the Guru your guide, and think about what is true. Turn your eyes toward the Guru. Let your words reach for the Guru too. Wrong turns from the past get cut away. A life that never finds that light ends up like a tree with no fruit.
Make the Guru your guide, and the road becomes light.
For today: Ask someone wise for advice on one thing you have been stuck on.
Without a light you cannot see the road; the Guru is that light.
The Arc
Try walking through a house at night with every light off. You bump into things. You can't tell where the door is. Without the Guru, life is that dark. Nothing makes sense, nothing settles, and no one walks free. So make the Guru your guide, and think about what is true. Turn your eyes toward the Guru. Let your words reach for the Guru too. Wrong turns from the past get cut away. A life that never finds that light ends up like a tree with no fruit. At the center, the opening line: without the Guru there is deep darkness, and understanding does not come.
Key Vocabulary
Hukumnama
Subject: Without the Guru, the road stays dark Preview: Deep darkness, a mind told again and again to choose its guide, eyes and words turned to the light.
Today: Try walking through a house at night with every light off. You bump into things. You can't tell where the door is. Without the Guru, life is that dark. Nothing makes sense, nothing settles, and no one walks free. So make the Guru your guide, and think about what is true. Turn your eyes toward the Guru. Let your words reach for the Guru too. Wrong turns from the past get cut away. A life that never finds that light ends up like a tree with no fruit.
Make the Guru your guide, and the road becomes light.
For today: Ask someone wise for advice on one thing you have been stuck on.