Put down the flavorless water and drink the Name; the mirage melts, the heart comes home, and wonder blends into Wonder.
The Arc
Sung friend-to-friend in the soul-bride register, this shabad is an invitation. It opens by contrasting two waters — the flavorless glitter of what only looks good, and the deep sweetness of the Name — and locating true beauty in being claimed by the One. It names Maya as a mirage that always melts away, then points to the company of the good as the place where aches lose their grip and the heart finally rests. It closes at the summit: one glance of grace, an effortless attunement, and the wonder in the self blending into the Wonder itself, beyond all words.
Key Vocabulary
sakhee: friend, companion — the soul-bride's address
bikhai ban feekaa: the tasteless water of what only glitters
naam mahaa ras: the deep sweetness of the Name — the real thing
marig trisnaa: the deer chasing a mirage of water — Maya's illusion
chanchal: fickle, restless — never staying
nihchal: unshakable — the refuge where the heart rests
sahj subhaa-ay: effortless, natural attunement
achraj / bismaad: wonder — the self's wonder blending into the Wonder
Themes and Cross-Connections
The two waters restate the Sach/jhooth distinction in taste: the unreal washes off flavorless, the real is deeply sweet. The mirage-trio (mirage-city, deer-and-mirage, tree-shade) is Gurbani's standard picture of impermanence. And the closing "wonder meets Wonder" is the experiential heart of Waheguru — awe recognizing itself, past the reach of speech, the same wordlessness the previous shabads reached by "tasting."
For Raag Bilaaval
Bilaaval's brightness turns tender here. The raag of daylight carries the soul-friend's gladness — not striving but delight — and lands on the brightest note a bright raag can hold: joy so full it becomes silence.
Translation Notes
Soul-bride (sakhee) imagery kept child-safe: the "adorned bed" of union (sej suhaavee) is rendered as the inner home turned beautiful, and verse two's reference to sensual delight is carried abstractly as "every pleasure and every beautiful thing." "No birth or death" (verse three) is read as the restless coming-and-going stopping. This shabad has no Rahau line; its four stanzas run as an unbroken invitation.
Put down the flavorless water and drink the Name; the mirage melts, the heart comes home, and wonder blends into Wonder.
The Arc
Sung friend-to-friend in the soul-bride register, this shabad is an invitation. It opens by contrasting two waters — the flavorless glitter of what only looks good, and the deep sweetness of the Name — and locating true beauty in being claimed by the One. It names Maya as a mirage that always melts away, then points to the company of the good as the place where aches lose their grip and the heart finally rests. It closes at the summit: one glance of grace, an effortless attunement, and the wonder in the self blending into the Wonder itself, beyond all words.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The two waters restate the Sach/jhooth distinction in taste: the unreal washes off flavorless, the real is deeply sweet. The mirage-trio (mirage-city, deer-and-mirage, tree-shade) is Gurbani's standard picture of impermanence. And the closing "wonder meets Wonder" is the experiential heart of Waheguru — awe recognizing itself, past the reach of speech, the same wordlessness the previous shabads reached by "tasting."
For Raag Bilaaval
Bilaaval's brightness turns tender here. The raag of daylight carries the soul-friend's gladness — not striving but delight — and lands on the brightest note a bright raag can hold: joy so full it becomes silence.
Translation Notes
Soul-bride (sakhee) imagery kept child-safe: the "adorned bed" of union (sej suhaavee) is rendered as the inner home turned beautiful, and verse two's reference to sensual delight is carried abstractly as "every pleasure and every beautiful thing." "No birth or death" (verse three) is read as the restless coming-and-going stopping. This shabad has no Rahau line; its four stanzas run as an unbroken invitation.
Last updated: 2026-07-08