Once Tasted, Praise Pours Out on Its Own

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

This verse says that once you really taste the sweetness, praise comes out on its own.

This is the Rahao, the "pause" line, the center of the song. It tells what happens after you catch the rain and drink. The key word is chaakh, to taste. An earlier song in this raag describes a scholar who read all about the nectar but never tasted it. This is the one who actually put it on the tongue. "Rasnaa ras chaakh" — the tongue tastes the sweetness.

A real taste changes you. "Sadaa rahai rang raatee" — it stays forever dyed in the color of love. Think of your first bite of a mango on a hot day. You don't forget it. One real sip of the One's love leaves a color on the heart. The tradition calls this pakkaa, a dye that doesn't wash out.

The most important word comes back from the opening: sehjay, naturally, with no effort. "Sehjay har gun gaavani-aa" — easily singing the One's praises. That's the secret. After the taste, praise isn't something you grind out like homework. It pours out on its own, the way you can't help humming a song you love. The grace fell naturally. Now the thank-you flows back just as naturally.

This is good news for anyone who thinks the spiritual life is all hard pushing. Guru Amar Das keeps saying that, deep down, it's easy. The forcing and grabbing belong to the ego. When that quiets and the nectar is tasted, what's left is sahj: the soul singing because it's full, like a stream that makes music just by flowing. "Ha-o vaaree" — I give myself to such people. It means loving to be near anyone living in that easy joy, because their song shows the sweetness was free all along.