Raag Aasaa
Commentary

Raag Aasaa, Mehl 1 (Guru Nanak), Ashtapadee

When the body perishes, only the Name goes with you; it is the only medicine — no charm or mantra works — and the One, the Lover of His devotees, dwells with them, liberating them through love.

The Arc

Pauri 0: when the body dies, only the Name's wealth remains. The Pause (Pauri 1): without the Name, who is ours? — pleasure and pain alike. Pauri 2: the fool forgets the Name in gold and craving. Pauri 3: the mind pleased with the One is cured. Pauri 4: the Name is the only medicine; He lets us stray and saves us. Pauri 5: the mind diseased with doubt; what use is life without the Word? Pauri 6: wonder-struck before the Marvellous One. Pauri 7: devotion in the Society of the Saints. Pauri 8: the Lover of His devotees dwells with them, liberating through love.

Key Vocabulary

  • the only medicine: the Name, no charm or mantra working (cf. B00C787)
  • pleasure and pain alike: the equanimity of the rooted soul (Sahaj; cf. B00C703)
  • wonder-struck: astonishment as the right response (Waheguru as wonder)
  • the Lover of His devotees: the One who dwells with His own, freeing through love

Themes and Cross-Connections

"The Name is the only medicine, no charm or mantra" restates B00C787. "Pleasure and pain alike" is Sahaj (B00C703). "You cause us to stray and save us" holds both in the Hukam. The close — "the Lord is the Lover of His devotees... dwells with them... liberated through Love" — is ang-sang and love as the path (B00C810).

For Raag Aasaa

Aasaa's hope is the Name as the only wealth and only medicine, and a One who is not only loved but loves back, dwelling with His own. The mood is tender and wonder-struck.


Last updated: 2026-06-28

Read this shabad →
← Back to Raag Aasaa