Raag Devgandhaari
Commentary

Raag Devgandhaari, Shabad 36, Mehl 5 (Guru Arjan)

"The Lord and Master is close at hand — He dwells in each and every heart."

The Arc

Remembrance making one fearless (rahau); the hand on the forehead, and seeing the One in every direction, supporting every breath (v.1); the mature balance — unfathomably vast AND dwelling in each heart (v.2).

Key Vocabulary

  • nirbhau / fearless — the practical fruit of remembering the vast One.
  • maathai haath / hand on the forehead — the blessing-touch (cf. B00C3049, 3050).
  • ghat ghat / each and every heart — the immanence pole.
  • be-ant / without limit — the transcendence pole, held together with immanence.

Themes and Cross-Connections

Near-and-far held together resolves the raag's central paradox (B00C3027, 3055, 3058, 3061). "Wherever I look, I find Him" links to B00C3035 (seeing the One everywhere). Hand-on-forehead and breath-support link to the raag's intimacy cluster.

For Raag Devgandhaari

The raag's synthesis shabad: the vast One of B00C3061 and the intimate One of the love-shabads revealed as one and the same — immense and in-the-heart at once. Its balance is the raag's mature achievement.

Read this shabad →
← Back to Raag Devgandhaari