The mind swings from high to low until something steady, held close, settles it, and awe can become your daily bread.
The Arc
Speak the Naam and listen to it. That is your ground, and useless tangles fall away. Listen, mind: you keep circling the same loops, and the Guru is the steady hand that keeps you afloat. Clinging to passing things knocks you off balance. Your mood can jump from sky-high to rock-bottom in a minute. Holding the Naam close brings it level. Let your grasping self go quiet, and you live at ease. Sing what is true, and the arguing inside you stops. Be clean on the inside. Make awe your breakfast. Spend time with people who speak the truth with love. Let praise soak right through you. At the centre, the Rahao: listen, mind, without the Guru you sink again and again.
Key Vocabulary
Naam aDhaar (the Name as support). Dhur hukam likhi-aa (the flow, set long before us). Khin khin oobh pa-i-aal (the mind's swing between heights and depths). Sabad marai sahilaa jeevai (quieting the small self to live at ease; jeevat marnaa). Sahj samaavai (absorbed in natural ease). Bha-o khaanaa peenaa (making reverent awe one's food and drink). Har ras chaakhi-aa (tasting the essence).
Themes and Cross-Connections
The hymn's picture of the mind is vivid: khin khin oobh pa-i-aal (P3) is the mind swinging between highs and lows, steadied by holding the Naam. Dhur hukam (P2) and sahj (P5) speak of the flow of existence and natural ease. Bha-o (P7) is holy awe, the wonder of standing before the One.
For Raag Prabhaatee
Fifth in the Prabhaatee run, this Ashtapadee gives the dawn raag its steadying note: the swinging mind coming to rest, and awe becoming the bread of an ordinary day.
Hukumnama
Subject: Listen, mind: the Guru keeps you afloat Preview: Speaking the Naam, tangles falling away, a mind swinging sky to depths, awe as daily bread
Today: Speak the Naam and listen to it. That is your ground, and useless tangles fall away. Listen, mind: you keep circling the same loops, and the Guru is the steady hand that keeps you afloat. Clinging to passing things knocks you off balance. Your mood can jump from sky-high to rock-bottom in a minute. Holding the Naam close brings it level. Let your grasping self go quiet, and you live at ease. Sing what is true, and the arguing inside you stops. Be clean on the inside. Make awe your breakfast. Spend time with people who speak the truth with love. Let praise soak right through you.
Listen, mind: with the Guru beside you, you stay afloat.
For today: When your mood swings today, pause and say the Naam once, slowly.
The mind swings from high to low until something steady, held close, settles it, and awe can become your daily bread.
The Arc
Speak the Naam and listen to it. That is your ground, and useless tangles fall away. Listen, mind: you keep circling the same loops, and the Guru is the steady hand that keeps you afloat. Clinging to passing things knocks you off balance. Your mood can jump from sky-high to rock-bottom in a minute. Holding the Naam close brings it level. Let your grasping self go quiet, and you live at ease. Sing what is true, and the arguing inside you stops. Be clean on the inside. Make awe your breakfast. Spend time with people who speak the truth with love. Let praise soak right through you. At the centre, the Rahao: listen, mind, without the Guru you sink again and again.
Key Vocabulary
Naam aDhaar (the Name as support). Dhur hukam likhi-aa (the flow, set long before us). Khin khin oobh pa-i-aal (the mind's swing between heights and depths). Sabad marai sahilaa jeevai (quieting the small self to live at ease; jeevat marnaa). Sahj samaavai (absorbed in natural ease). Bha-o khaanaa peenaa (making reverent awe one's food and drink). Har ras chaakhi-aa (tasting the essence).
Themes and Cross-Connections
The hymn's picture of the mind is vivid: khin khin oobh pa-i-aal (P3) is the mind swinging between highs and lows, steadied by holding the Naam. Dhur hukam (P2) and sahj (P5) speak of the flow of existence and natural ease. Bha-o (P7) is holy awe, the wonder of standing before the One.
For Raag Prabhaatee
Fifth in the Prabhaatee run, this Ashtapadee gives the dawn raag its steadying note: the swinging mind coming to rest, and awe becoming the bread of an ordinary day.
Hukumnama
Subject: Listen, mind: the Guru keeps you afloat Preview: Speaking the Naam, tangles falling away, a mind swinging sky to depths, awe as daily bread
Today: Speak the Naam and listen to it. That is your ground, and useless tangles fall away. Listen, mind: you keep circling the same loops, and the Guru is the steady hand that keeps you afloat. Clinging to passing things knocks you off balance. Your mood can jump from sky-high to rock-bottom in a minute. Holding the Naam close brings it level. Let your grasping self go quiet, and you live at ease. Sing what is true, and the arguing inside you stops. Be clean on the inside. Make awe your breakfast. Spend time with people who speak the truth with love. Let praise soak right through you.
Listen, mind: with the Guru beside you, you stay afloat.
For today: When your mood swings today, pause and say the Naam once, slowly.