Where you're born doesn't make you higher or lower — one clay, many cups.
The Arc
Nobody gets to be proud of the family or group they were born into. Standing comes from knowing the One. That kind of pride is foolish, and a lot of harm grows from it. People love to sort each other into classes. Every one of those classes comes from the same single seed. Think of one big lump of clay. The Potter shapes it into mugs, bowls and vases. Every body is the same five elements mixed together. So who is more, and who is less? What you do shapes you. Meeting the True Guru sets you free. At the centre, the Rahao: pride in your caste is foolish, and much harm grows from it.
Key Vocabulary
jaat / varan — caste, social class; named as human sorting, then dissolved.
barahm bindday so braahman — the Brahmin is the one who knows the One.
moorakh gavaaraa — foolish, unthinking one.
maatee ayk — one clay; unity-in-difference.
panch tat — the five elements composing every body.
Themes and Cross-Connections
Caste-leveling flows from the One-in-every-heart of Shabad 6 and continues in Shabad 10's all-four-castes-can-wake.
For Raag Bhairao
The bright, egalitarian raag sounds one of Gurbani's clearest notes of human equality.
Hukumnama
Subject: Set down pride in the family you're born to Preview: one seed for every class, one lump of clay, a potter's many pots, five elements in every body.
Today: Nobody gets to be proud of the family or group they were born into. Standing comes from knowing the One. That kind of pride is foolish, and a lot of harm grows from it. People love to sort each other into classes. Every one of those classes comes from the same single seed. Think of one big lump of clay. The Potter shapes it into mugs, bowls and vases. Every body is the same five elements mixed together. So who is more, and who is less? What you do shapes you. Meeting the True Guru sets you free.
Pride in where you were born is foolish, and a great deal of harm grows from it.
For today: Sit with someone new at lunch or practice and learn one thing about them.
Where you're born doesn't make you higher or lower — one clay, many cups.
The Arc
Nobody gets to be proud of the family or group they were born into. Standing comes from knowing the One. That kind of pride is foolish, and a lot of harm grows from it. People love to sort each other into classes. Every one of those classes comes from the same single seed. Think of one big lump of clay. The Potter shapes it into mugs, bowls and vases. Every body is the same five elements mixed together. So who is more, and who is less? What you do shapes you. Meeting the True Guru sets you free. At the centre, the Rahao: pride in your caste is foolish, and much harm grows from it.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
Caste-leveling flows from the One-in-every-heart of Shabad 6 and continues in Shabad 10's all-four-castes-can-wake.
For Raag Bhairao
The bright, egalitarian raag sounds one of Gurbani's clearest notes of human equality.
Hukumnama
Subject: Set down pride in the family you're born to Preview: one seed for every class, one lump of clay, a potter's many pots, five elements in every body.
Today: Nobody gets to be proud of the family or group they were born into. Standing comes from knowing the One. That kind of pride is foolish, and a lot of harm grows from it. People love to sort each other into classes. Every one of those classes comes from the same single seed. Think of one big lump of clay. The Potter shapes it into mugs, bowls and vases. Every body is the same five elements mixed together. So who is more, and who is less? What you do shapes you. Meeting the True Guru sets you free.
Pride in where you were born is foolish, and a great deal of harm grows from it.
For today: Sit with someone new at lunch or practice and learn one thing about them.