Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
It is like the monsoon month: clouds heavy with sweet nectar hang low over everything.
The mind, like a peacock crying out for the rain, calls and calls — and catches the Word in its open mouth. The nectar of the One pours down, and the great King is met at last. Nanak is soaked through with that love.
This verse pictures the mind as a peacock calling for the rain, and the rain of grace finally pouring down.
It uses a much-loved picture from the monsoon. Saavan varas amrit jag chhaa-i-aa — in Saavan, the rainy month, clouds of amrit, sweet nectar, spread over the world. In India, people wait for the monsoon through weeks of burning heat. Here the rain is amrit, the nectar of the Name. The clouds of grace hang low and heavy, ready to pour.
The soul is a peacock. Man mor kuhuki-arhaa sabad mukh paa-i-aa — the mor, peacock, of the mind calls out and catches the shabad, the Word, in its mouth. In Punjabi songs, the peacock cries with joy when the monsoon comes, calling to the clouds. There is also an old belief that some birds drink only the rain falling from the sky, with their beaks turned up. So the mind-peacock, longing for the One, calls — and catches the Word like raindrops in its open mouth. Think of a child on a hot day, face turned up, catching the first cool raindrops on their tongue.
Then the downpour: har amrit vuth-rhaa mili-aa har raa-i-aa — the nectar of the One rains down, and the great King is met. The long thirst of the dry season is answered by a rain of grace, and it ends in meeting. Jan naanak paraym ratannaa — Nanak is soaked in love. Thirst, the call, the rain, and a joyful meeting: that is the heart of this shabad.
What are you 'crying out' for like the peacock for rain — and are you keeping your 'mouth open' to receive when grace comes?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI