Raag Aasaa
Commentary

Raag Aasaa, Mehl 5 (Guru Arjan)

Come to me, Beloved — no one else can comfort me; scripture, ritual, fasts, and vows leave the heart restless, but Nanak abides with God in the Sanctuary of the Saints.

The Arc

The Pause (Pauri 0): come to me — without You, no comfort. Pauri 1: scripture and ritual give no peace without Your sight. Pauri 2: people weary of fasts and vows; Nanak abides in the Sanctuary of the Saints.

Key Vocabulary

  • viraha: no comfort but the Beloved's coming (cf. B00C736)
  • no peace without Darshan: scripture and ritual not the peace itself
  • austerities that weary: fasts and vows that exhaust without satisfying
  • the Sanctuary of the Saints: refuge succeeding where effort tires (cf. B00C821)

Themes and Cross-Connections

"No comfort without You" is viraha (B00C736). That scripture, ritual, fasts, and vows give no peace is the Inward Turn — the heart's object, not the practice, brings peace (B00C821, B00C783). The remedy is Sat Sangat.

For Raag Aasaa

Aasaa's hope is the Beloved's coming, sought not in wearying austerity but in abiding with the holy. The mood is longing and then restful.


Last updated: 2026-06-28

Read this shabad →
← Back to Raag Aasaa