Vaar Of Malaar, First Mehl, Sung To The Tune Of Rana Kailaash And Malda:
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ik-oNkaar satgur parsaad.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਸਲੋਕ ਮਹਲਾ ੩ ॥
salok mehlaa 3.
Shalok, Third Mehl:
ਗੁਰਿ ਮਿਲਿਐ ਮਨੁ ਰਹਸੀਐ ਜਿਉ ਵੁਠੈ ਧਰਣਿ ਸੀਗਾਰੁ ॥
gur mili-ai man rehsee-ai ji-o vuthai Dharan seegaar.
Meeting with the Guru, the mind is delighted, like the earth embellished by the rain.
ਸਭ ਦਿਸੈ ਹਰੀਆਵਲੀ ਸਰ ਭਰੇ ਸੁਭਰ ਤਾਲ ॥
sabhdisai haree-aavalee sar bharay subhar taal.
Everything becomes green and lush; the pools and ponds are filled to overflowing.
ਅੰਦਰੁ ਰਚੈ ਸਚ ਰੰਗਿ ਜਿਉ ਮੰਜੀਠੈ ਲਾਲੁ ॥
andar rachai sach rang ji-o manjeethai laal.
The inner self is imbued with the deep crimson color of love for the True Lord.
ਕਮਲੁ ਵਿਗਸੈ ਸਚੁ ਮਨਿ ਗੁਰ ਕੈ ਸਬਦਿ ਨਿਹਾਲੁ ॥
kamal vigsai sach man gur kai sabad nihaal.
The heart-lotus blossoms forth and the mind becomes true; through the Word of the Guru's Shabad, it is ecstatic and exalted.
ਮਨਮੁਖ ਦੂਜੀ ਤਰਫ ਹੈ ਵੇਖਹੁ ਨਦਰਿ ਨਿਹਾਲਿ ॥
manmukhdoojee taraf hai vaykhhu nadar nihaal.
The self-willed manmukh is on the wrong side. You can see this with your own eyes.
ਫਾਹੀ ਫਾਥੇ ਮਿਰਗ ਜਿਉ ਸਿਰਿ ਦੀਸੈ ਜਮਕਾਲੁ ॥
faahee faathay mirag ji-o sir deesai jamkaal.
He is caught in the trap like the deer; the Messenger of Death hovers over his head.
ਖੁਧਿਆ ਤ੍ਰਿਸਨਾ ਨਿੰਦਾ ਬੁਰੀ ਕਾਮੁ ਕ੍ਰੋਧੁ ਵਿਕਰਾਲੁ ॥
khuDhi-aa tarisnaa nindaa buree kaam kroDh vikraal.
Hunger, thirst and slander are evil; sexual desire and anger are horrible.
ਏਨੀ ਅਖੀ ਨਦਰਿ ਨ ਆਵਈ ਜਿਚਰੁ ਸਬਦਿ ਨ ਕਰੇ ਬੀਚਾਰੁ ॥
aynee akhee nadar na aavee jichar sabad na karay beechaar.
These cannot be seen with your eyes, until you contemplate the Word of the Shabad.
ਤੁਧੁ ਭਾਵੈ ਸੰਤੋਖੀਆਂ ਚੂਕੈ ਆਲ ਜੰਜਾਲੁ ॥
tuDhbhaavai santokhee-aaN chookai aal janjaal.
Whoever is pleasing to You is content; all his entanglements are gone.
ਮੂਲੁ ਰਹੈ ਗੁਰੁ ਸੇਵਿਐ ਗੁਰ ਪਉੜੀ ਬੋਹਿਥੁ ॥
mool rahai gur sayvi-ai gur pa-orhee bohith.
Serving the Guru, his capital is preserved. The Guru is the ladder and the boat.
ਨਾਨਕ ਲਗੀ ਤਤੁ ਲੈ ਤੂੰ ਸਚਾ ਮਨਿ ਸਚੁ ॥੧॥
naanak lagee tat lai tooN sachaa man sach. ||1||
O Nanak, whoever is attached to the Lord receives the essence; O True Lord, You are found when the mind is true. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
There is only One. And the One is found by the True Guru's grace — a gift that is always here, waiting for an open heart.
When I meet the Guru, my mind fills with joy, like the earth dressed up by the rain. Everything turns green and fresh, and the pools and ponds fill to the brim.
My inside is dyed deep with love for the True One, as bright as cloth dyed red. The lotus of my heart opens, my mind becomes true, and the Guru's word fills me with joy.
The one who follows only their own mind stands on the other side; you can see it with your own eyes. They are caught like a deer in a trap, and death hovers over their head.
Hunger for more, endless thirst, and harsh words about others are bad; desire and anger are fierce. These eyes cannot see them until we think deeply on the Guru's word.
Those who please You are content, and all their tangles fall away. Serving the Guru, what is most precious stays safe. The Guru is the ladder and the boat.
Nanak says: whoever holds on to the One receives the heart of everything. You are True, O One, and You are found when the mind is true.
Grace is the monsoon, and the heart is the ground that turns green.
The deeper layer
Meeting the Guru, the heart comes alive the way dry earth turns green in the rain.
This salok of Guru Amar Das, the third Guru, opens Malaar ki Vaar, which is sung to the tune of an old ballad of Rana Kailash and Malda. The pauris of this Vaar are Guru Nanak's; the saloks around them come from the first, second, third and fifth Gurus. Gur mili-ai man rehsee-ai ji-o vuthai dharan seegaar: meeting the Guru, the mind is delighted, like the earth adorned by rain. The whole Vaar grows from this picture. Grace is the monsoon, and the heart is the soil.
The manmukh, the one who follows only their own mind, is pictured as a deer caught in a trap. Hunger, craving, harsh words, desire and anger hide from plain sight until we reflect on the shabad, the Guru's word. The Guru is pa-orhee and bohith, the ladder and the boat: two ways across.
Think of a garden after a long, dry summer. One good rain, and green comes back everywhere.
A Question to Sit With
What in you comes alive after a long dry spell, the moment it is finally watered?
