So much of what we chase is dream-stuff; the Name is what stays.
The Arc
The rahau sets the frame: in the sanctuary of the holy, what was chased is seen as dream-objects, while the Guru plants the living Name. The verses follow: power, youth, and wealth never satisfy the endless chase, but singing praise quiets every thirst; and living unaware leaves one tangled, until good company cuts the knot of fear and the heart settles into natural ease.
Key Vocabulary
supnaa — dream — the fleeting quality of what we chase
triptaano / trisnaa — satisfaction; the thirst that chasing cannot fill
jam jayvree — the binding cord of fear, cut in good company
sahj — natural ease — where the heart settles
Themes and Cross-Connections
The dream image for maya, and thirst-that-cannot-be-quenched, recur across Guru Arjan's work; both resolve in sahaj, the natural ease of the aligned soul. The pasoo (animal) image marks living unaware, used gently rather than as insult.
For Raag Kaanraa
Kaanraa's longing is redirected from the dream-chase toward the one thing that lasts.
Translation Notes
jam jayvree (the 'noose of Death') is rendered as 'the knot of fear' that good company loosens, dropping death-terror imagery per the project's wellbeing lens while keeping the release. pasoo kee ni-aa-ee softened to 'stumbling along half-asleep.'
So much of what we chase is dream-stuff; the Name is what stays.
The Arc
The rahau sets the frame: in the sanctuary of the holy, what was chased is seen as dream-objects, while the Guru plants the living Name. The verses follow: power, youth, and wealth never satisfy the endless chase, but singing praise quiets every thirst; and living unaware leaves one tangled, until good company cuts the knot of fear and the heart settles into natural ease.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The dream image for maya, and thirst-that-cannot-be-quenched, recur across Guru Arjan's work; both resolve in sahaj, the natural ease of the aligned soul. The pasoo (animal) image marks living unaware, used gently rather than as insult.
For Raag Kaanraa
Kaanraa's longing is redirected from the dream-chase toward the one thing that lasts.
Translation Notes
jam jayvree (the 'noose of Death') is rendered as 'the knot of fear' that good company loosens, dropping death-terror imagery per the project's wellbeing lens while keeping the release. pasoo kee ni-aa-ee softened to 'stumbling along half-asleep.'