Seen in woods and fields, in every seeker, in every scripture — the One is hidden from no one.
The Arc
This is one of Gurbani's great hymns of omnipresence. Guru Arjan reports seeing the One everywhere: in forests and fields, in family homes and renunciation, in yogis and wanderers, in silent sages and even in actors and dancers. Then in the scriptures — Vedas, Shaastras, Puranas, Simritis — all of which, together, declare the same One. If every path and every book point to the One, from whom could it be hidden? The close bows to those who carry that One awake within their own hearts.
Key Vocabulary
garihi / udaasaa-ay — household and renunciation, honoured equally
satsang / man maa-ay — the company of the holy, and within one's own mind
ras mangal — joyful song, the overflow of recognition
chahu / khat / das astee / simmriti — the four Vedas, six Shaastras, eighteen Puranas, and Simritis, all declaring the One
bal bal jaa-ee-ai — a devotional idiom of complete offering, rendered as bowing
Themes and Cross-Connections
Omnipresence, the equal honoring of every path, and seeing the One within and without recur across Guru Arjan's Bhairao shabads and connect directly to the philosophy notes on Ik Onkar and radical inclusivity.
For Raag Bhairao
A bright dawn raag suits a hymn about seeing the One clearly, everywhere, in full daylight — nothing hidden, nothing in shadow.
Translation Notes
This is a landmark of interfaith evenhandedness. Every path (yogis, sannyasis, celibates, wanderers, sages) and every named scripture (Vedas, Shaastras, Puranas, Simritis) is rendered with full respect, as together declaring the one Oneness — never ranked or diminished. The idiom bal bal jaa-ee-ai ("I am a sacrifice") is rendered as devotional bowing, avoiding literal sacrifice-language.
Seen in woods and fields, in every seeker, in every scripture — the One is hidden from no one.
The Arc
This is one of Gurbani's great hymns of omnipresence. Guru Arjan reports seeing the One everywhere: in forests and fields, in family homes and renunciation, in yogis and wanderers, in silent sages and even in actors and dancers. Then in the scriptures — Vedas, Shaastras, Puranas, Simritis — all of which, together, declare the same One. If every path and every book point to the One, from whom could it be hidden? The close bows to those who carry that One awake within their own hearts.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
Omnipresence, the equal honoring of every path, and seeing the One within and without recur across Guru Arjan's Bhairao shabads and connect directly to the philosophy notes on Ik Onkar and radical inclusivity.
For Raag Bhairao
A bright dawn raag suits a hymn about seeing the One clearly, everywhere, in full daylight — nothing hidden, nothing in shadow.
Translation Notes
This is a landmark of interfaith evenhandedness. Every path (yogis, sannyasis, celibates, wanderers, sages) and every named scripture (Vedas, Shaastras, Puranas, Simritis) is rendered with full respect, as together declaring the one Oneness — never ranked or diminished. The idiom bal bal jaa-ee-ai ("I am a sacrifice") is rendered as devotional bowing, avoiding literal sacrifice-language.