Raag Kaanraa
Commentary

Raag Kaanraa, Shabad, Ghar 9, Mehl 5 (Guru Arjan)

The One who lifts the fallen and ends fear also holds the breath of life.

The Arc

Everyone slips sometimes. The One lifts up people who have gone wrong and loves those who love back. The One takes away fear and carries you across, like a ferry on a wide river. Let your eyes rest on the One, and they are satisfied. Let your ears hear the One's praise, and they are content. Every breath you take has a Master. When you feel small and have no one to lean on, there is shelter. Hope gets fulfilled there. Pain gets taken away. So hold on. At the centre, the Rahao: the One lifts the fallen, takes away fear and carries you across.

Key Vocabulary

  • patit paavan — uplifter of the fallen
  • bhai haran taaran taran — remover of fear, the ferrying boat
  • nain tiptay daras paykh — eyes filled by the vision
  • aas pooran dukh binaasan — fulfiller of hope, ender of pain

Themes and Cross-Connections

Refuge and reassurance: the same One who holds the breath of life also holds our hope. The senses, turned toward beauty and praise, are satisfied.

For Raag Kaanraa

Kaanraa's longing rests here in the certainty of shelter — no one is too lost to be carried home.

Hukumnama

Subject: The One takes fear and carries you across Preview: a ferry on a wide river, eyes and ears filled, the breath of life, a shelter for the small.

Today: Everyone slips sometimes. The One lifts up people who have gone wrong and loves those who love back. The One takes away fear and carries you across, like a ferry on a wide river. Let your eyes rest on the One, and they are satisfied. Let your ears hear the One's praise, and they are content. Every breath you take has a Master. When you feel small and have no one to lean on, there is shelter. Hope gets fulfilled there. Pain gets taken away. So hold on.

The One lifts the fallen, takes away fear and carries you across.

For today: When you feel afraid today, take one slow breath and hold on to the One.

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