Raag Maaroo
Commentary

Raag Maaroo, Chau-Padas, Mehl 5 (Guru Arjan)

You are the water, and I am the fish.

The Arc

The One lifts everyone who has stumbled and carries them across; if only one could meet a heart that helps hold the One in mind. Unknown to the world but known as the One's own — that belonging is enough. Then the shabad's jewel: You are the water, I am the fish — the soul cannot live an instant outside the One, who pervades every world and star; eternal, unseen, infinite. The prayer is for good company and humble nearness to those who serve.

Key Vocabulary

  • Patit-udhaaran — lifter of the fallen
  • Tum jal ham meenaa — You are the water, I am the fish
  • Ot aadhaaraa — shelter and sustenance

Themes and Cross-Connections

"You are the water, I am the fish" is a close cousin of Todee's "you cannot be far from the water you swim in" — the soul's utter, moment-by-moment dependence on the One.

For Raag Maaroo

Dependence rendered as intimacy — not lack, but the closeness of fish to water.

Translation Notes

"Redeemer of sinners" is softened to lifter of those who have stumbled; "slave" (daas) is rendered as "Yours," keeping devotion without the harsher register.

Last updated: 2026-07-09

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