Raag Bhairao
Commentary

Raag Bhairao, Shabad, Mehl 5 (Guru Arjan Dev)

Look anywhere, and there is only the One.

The Arc

From the One as the truth inside every scripture and the light of all, through the call to take hold of that steadiness, into the whole universe strung on a single thread, into wherever one looks only the One, and closing in the servant who lacks nothing.

Key Vocabulary

  • aapay saasat aapay bayd — the One as the truth every scripture reaches for.
  • jot saroop — the embodiment of light.
  • soot paro-i-aa sansaar — the world strung on one thread.
  • siv saktee sanjogee — the joining of stillness and energy.
  • tis bin doojaa naahee — there is no second.
  • mukat bhugat jugat — freedom, joy, and union.

Themes and Cross-Connections

Divine immanence and the oneness at the heart of Ik Onkar; the One as both rest and play; nearness that leaves nothing lacking. Connects to Hukam as the way existence actually moves, and to the single thread running through all appearances.

For Raag Bhairao

Bhairao's reach widened to the whole cosmos, then drawn back to one thread in one hand.

Translation Notes

Interfaith: the Shaastras and Vedas (saasat, bayd) and the pairing of Shiva and Shakti (siv saktee) and Nirvaana (nirbaanee) are rendered respectfully — the One as the truth every scripture reaches for and the joining of stillness and energy — with no tradition diminished, in keeping with the project's reading that the oneness belongs to none and to all.

Read this shabad →
← Back to Raag Bhairao