Raag Bilaaval
Commentary

Raag Bilaaval, Du-Pada, Mehl 5 (Guru Arjan)

Water your mind with the Name, grow a love steady enough to keep the One close all day, and a heart tilted toward the good is its own good fortune.

The Arc

The shabad opens with a gardening image: irrigate the mind with the Name, sing praise day and night. The Rahau, spoken to one's own mind, asks for a love warm enough that the One never feels far. The close names the bright inner fortune of a heart that naturally rests on the divine.

Key Vocabulary

  • man meh sinchahu: irrigate the mind — what you water is what grows
  • keertan: singing praise, day and night
  • aath pahar: all eight watches — the whole day
  • nayray: near — the One felt close, not far
  • nirmal bhaag: spotless fortune, a bright inner luck

Themes and Cross-Connections

The garden image makes practice concrete for a child: the mind grows whatever is poured into it. The Rahau's address to one's own mind models the inner turning that the whole shabad asks for.

For Raag Bilaaval

Bilaaval's steadiness shows as nearness — a love kept warm enough that the One stays close through every hour.


Last updated: 2026-07-08

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