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Sikhism·Raag Aasaa·Shabad 301
Verse 1 of 4

A Quiet Music Plays Under Everything

ਆਸਾ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ॥
aasaa mehlaa 1.
Aasaa, First Mehl:
ਅਨਹਦੋ ਅਨਹਦੁ ਵਾਜੈ ਰੁਣ ਝੁਣਕਾਰੇ ਰਾਮ ॥
anhado anhad vaajai run jhunkaaray raam.
The unstruck melody of the sound current resounds with the vibrations of the celestial instruments.
ਮੇਰਾ ਮਨੋ ਮੇਰਾ ਮਨੁ ਰਾਤਾ ਲਾਲ ਪਿਆਰੇ ਰਾਮ ॥
mayraa mano mayraa man raataa laal pi-aaray raam.
My mind, my mind is imbued with the Love of my Darling Beloved.
ਅਨਦਿਨੁ ਰਾਤਾ ਮਨੁ ਬੈਰਾਗੀ ਸੁੰਨ ਮੰਡਲਿ ਘਰੁ ਪਾਇਆ ॥
an-din raataa man bairaagee sunn mandal ghar paa-i-aa.
Night and day, my detached mind remains absorbed in the Lord, and I obtain my home in the profound trance of the celestial void.
ਆਦਿ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਅਪਰੰਪਰੁ ਪਿਆਰਾ ਸਤਿਗੁਰਿ ਅਲਖੁ ਲਖਾਇਆ ॥
aad purakh aprampar pi-aaraa satgur alakh lakhaa-i-aa.
The True Guru has revealed to me the Primal Lord, the Infinite, my Beloved, the Unseen.
ਆਸਣਿ ਬੈਸਣਿ ਥਿਰੁ ਨਾਰਾਇਣੁ ਤਿਤੁ ਮਨੁ ਰਾਤਾ ਵੀਚਾਰੇ ॥
aasan baisan thir naaraa-in tit man raataa veechaaray.
The Lord's posture and His seat are permanent; my mind is absorbed in reflective contemplation upon Him.
ਨਾਨਕ ਨਾਮਿ ਰਤੇ ਬੈਰਾਗੀ ਅਨਹਦ ਰੁਣ ਝੁਣਕਾਰੇ ॥੧॥
naanak naam ratay bairaagee anhad run jhunkaaray. ||1||
O Nanak, the detached ones are imbued with His Name, the unstruck melody, and the celestial vibrations. ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Deep inside there's a music that plays without anyone striking a note — and my heart, my heart is soaked in love for the One.

Day and night that love holds me steady and at home, in a calm so deep it feels like a quiet, endless sky.

There is a quiet music playing under everything, heard by a heart that has grown still with love.
The deeper layer

The shabad opens on one of Gurbani's most beautiful ideas: the anhad shabad — the 'unstruck melody,' a music that sounds without any instrument being played, the hum of reality itself heard by a still heart. The mind imbued with the Beloved's love rests day and night in sahj — a deep, effortless calm 'like the celestial void,' a quiet as wide as the sky. This isn't a trance you strain for; it's what remains when love has settled you. The Guru is the one who 'reveals' the Unseen Beloved — points out the music that was always playing.

A Question to Sit With

Have you ever felt a deep quiet so peaceful it seemed to hum? What brought it on?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

About this shabad →
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