Raag Aasaa
Commentary

Raag Aasaa, Mehl 5 (Guru Arjan)

Gamble away the vices and welcome the virtues into the home of the self; let the mind become the dust of all, and everyone becomes a sweet friend, for the One is held within them all.

The Arc

Pauri 0: the great exchange — the vices gambled away, the virtues ushered in. The Pause (Pauri 1): the loads of birth and death lifted in an instant in the Sangat. Pauri 2: the mind become dust, everyone a sweet friend, the One within all. Pauri 3: from the One came all creation, and the Name has saved so many. Pauri 4: the immeasurable One met with praise and a bow.

Key Vocabulary

  • the great exchange: vices gambled away, virtues welcomed in (Panch Vikaar outgrown)
  • "saved in an instant": grace that is not slow
  • dust of all / sweet friend: humility producing universal friendliness
  • Ik Onkar: the One from whom all creation unfolds

Themes and Cross-Connections

The exchange of vices for virtues is the Panch Vikaar outgrown and replaced by gun. "Mind become dust, everyone a sweet friend" links humility to love — the exalted-slave lowliness of B00C704 and B00C750, grounded in seeing the One in all (B00C748). "So many have been saved" makes the path a well-trodden road, not an elite feat.

For Raag Aasaa

Aasaa's hope is a trade anyone can make: lose your worst, gain your best, and find every person a friend. The mood is glad and humble — a soul lowered to dust and lifted into universal kindness.


Last updated: 2026-06-28

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