The raag opens: chant the Name day and night and old mistakes are washed away; the five troubling feelings eased in a moment; a humble wish for good company; and shelter for whoever asks.
The Form and the Raag
This opens Raag Nat-Naaraayan. Nat is the raag of the dancer/acrobat — so a lively, joyful, sometimes ecstatic feeling runs through it — joined to Naaraayan, a name of the Divine. Guru Ram Das (Mehl 4) writes the opening block; nearly every shabad is addressed to man, "O my mind," coaxing the mind toward joyful remembrance. This shabad has a rahao (Pauri0) + four verses (Pauri1–4).
The Arc
Pauri 0 (rahao): chant the Name day and night; old mistakes sent away. Pauri 1: loving remembrance rinses the heart "as water washes off dirt." Pauri 2: the "five incurable diseases" (the five troubling feelings) eased in a moment. Pauri 3: a humble wish for good company (sangat). Pauri 4 closes in sanctuary — shelter for whoever asks.
Key Vocabulary
Sachiaar (P1) — genuine, real, true through and through.
The five "incurable diseases" (P2) — the panch dooth (grabbing, anger, greed, over-attachment, pride); eased by remembrance.
Sangat (P3) — good company; the humble wish to be among good people.
Sanctuary (P4) — shelter for whoever asks; the shabad's resting place.
Translation Notes
Self-lowering ("I am a fool and an idiot," P3) is rendered as honest smallness ("I feel small and lost, help me"), not self-insult, per the project's voice rules.
Memento mori ("millions of sins," P0) softened to the weight of old mistakes set down.
Themes and Cross-Connections
"Remembrance washes the heart clean" restates the raag-wide relocation of purity to the inside (Wadahans B00C1158, Bihaagraa's inner bath). The "five troubling feelings mastered" is the panch dooth teaching across the GGS (Bihaagraa B00C1141). "Shelter for whoever asks" is sarnaagati (Bihaagraa B00C1148, Wadahans B00C1176).
For Raag Nat-Naaraayan
The dancing raag opens gently for a child: keep the good in your heart morning and night, and the weight of old mistakes is set down and sent away, your heart rinsed clean like dirt washed off in water. Even the big, tangling feelings inside — the ones that feel impossible to fix — are eased, moment by moment, by turning toward the good. And it's an honest, good thing to ask to be around kind people when you feel small, and to run to shelter when you need to feel safe.
The raag opens: chant the Name day and night and old mistakes are washed away; the five troubling feelings eased in a moment; a humble wish for good company; and shelter for whoever asks.
The Form and the Raag
This opens Raag Nat-Naaraayan. Nat is the raag of the dancer/acrobat — so a lively, joyful, sometimes ecstatic feeling runs through it — joined to Naaraayan, a name of the Divine. Guru Ram Das (Mehl 4) writes the opening block; nearly every shabad is addressed to man, "O my mind," coaxing the mind toward joyful remembrance. This shabad has a rahao (Pauri0) + four verses (Pauri1–4).
The Arc
Pauri 0 (rahao): chant the Name day and night; old mistakes sent away. Pauri 1: loving remembrance rinses the heart "as water washes off dirt." Pauri 2: the "five incurable diseases" (the five troubling feelings) eased in a moment. Pauri 3: a humble wish for good company (sangat). Pauri 4 closes in sanctuary — shelter for whoever asks.
Key Vocabulary
Translation Notes
Themes and Cross-Connections
"Remembrance washes the heart clean" restates the raag-wide relocation of purity to the inside (Wadahans B00C1158, Bihaagraa's inner bath). The "five troubling feelings mastered" is the panch dooth teaching across the GGS (Bihaagraa B00C1141). "Shelter for whoever asks" is sarnaagati (Bihaagraa B00C1148, Wadahans B00C1176).
For Raag Nat-Naaraayan
The dancing raag opens gently for a child: keep the good in your heart morning and night, and the weight of old mistakes is set down and sent away, your heart rinsed clean like dirt washed off in water. Even the big, tangling feelings inside — the ones that feel impossible to fix — are eased, moment by moment, by turning toward the good. And it's an honest, good thing to ask to be around kind people when you feel small, and to run to shelter when you need to feel safe.
Last updated: 2026-07-05