Come together and share the stories of the One; the Name is the boat that ferries this age across, sweet to the taste and a medicine for everything.
The Arc
Guru Ram Das calls the companions together to share the stories of the One — the Name is the boat, the Word the boatman. Sing the praises and cross over together. The verses locate the treasure inside the body-village, invite everyone to taste how sweet the Name is, and name it the medicine that cures every ill, bringing the four great blessings.
Key Vocabulary
sant / bhaa-ee: the companions, siblings of destiny
bohith / khayvat: the boat / the boatman
kaa-i-aa nagar: the body-village
amrit har ras: the sweet nectar-essence of the One
rasaa-in: the medicine, the elixir
chaar padaarath: the four great blessings
Themes and Cross-Connections
Har har naam bohith hai — the Name is the boat — is Ram Das's image of shared crossing: not a solo swim but a boat with room for the whole sangat. The invitation chaakh dikhahu (taste and see) makes the teaching experiential — do not just believe it, try it on your own tongue.
For Raag Bilaaval
This is Bilaaval at its most companionable — the bright, shared gladness of friends singing the One's praises together and crossing over as one boat.
Come together and share the stories of the One; the Name is the boat that ferries this age across, sweet to the taste and a medicine for everything.
The Arc
Guru Ram Das calls the companions together to share the stories of the One — the Name is the boat, the Word the boatman. Sing the praises and cross over together. The verses locate the treasure inside the body-village, invite everyone to taste how sweet the Name is, and name it the medicine that cures every ill, bringing the four great blessings.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
Har har naam bohith hai — the Name is the boat — is Ram Das's image of shared crossing: not a solo swim but a boat with room for the whole sangat. The invitation chaakh dikhahu (taste and see) makes the teaching experiential — do not just believe it, try it on your own tongue.
For Raag Bilaaval
This is Bilaaval at its most companionable — the bright, shared gladness of friends singing the One's praises together and crossing over as one boat.
Last updated: 2026-07-08