Weigh every ritual you like; nothing tips the scale like the Name.
The Arc
You could do hard practices in a holy city, hold a giant ceremony, or give away piles of gold. You could bathe in every famous river, give away thousands of cows, and put your body through the bitter mountain cold. You could hand over horses, elephants, land, and your own weight in gold. Put all of it on one side of a scale. Put loving the Naam on the other. The Naam weighs more every time. So hold no anger, blame no one, not even death, and find the calm, clean place inside. Then drink in the sweetness. At the centre, the Rahao: drop the pretending, and take the Naam of the One every day.
Key Vocabulary
raam naam sar ta-oo na poojai — even this does not equal the Name; the refrain of the shabad.
paakhandee — one who only pretends to be holy.
nirbaan pad — the calm, unshaken state within.
amrit — nectar; the sweetness of the Name.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The Name set above all ritual; a critique of showy religion aimed at formalism in every tradition; and the letting go of anger and blame as the shabad's closing note. This is the raag's strongest single statement that no outer feat can equal inner love.
For Raag Raamkalee
Among the Bhagats' shabads near the close of the raag, this is the clearest word that ritual, however grand, cannot outweigh a heart that loves. The feats named are ones honoured by many people; the point is about hollow show, which can creep into any tradition, never about the people who keep these practices. Raam Chandra is Naam Dayv's own way of naming the One.
Hukumnama
Subject: Drop the pretending and take the Naam daily Preview: a holy city, a horse ceremony, thousands of cows, the mountain cold, your weight in gold, and a scale
Today: You could do hard practices in a holy city, hold a giant ceremony, or give away piles of gold. You could bathe in every famous river, give away thousands of cows, and put your body through the bitter mountain cold. You could hand over horses, elephants, land, and your own weight in gold. Put all of it on one side of a scale. Put loving the Naam on the other. The Naam weighs more every time. So hold no anger, blame no one, not even death, and find the calm, clean place inside. Then drink in the sweetness.
Drop the pretending, and take the Naam of the One every day.
For today: Do one good thing today just because it is right, not so anyone will see it.
Weigh every ritual you like; nothing tips the scale like the Name.
The Arc
You could do hard practices in a holy city, hold a giant ceremony, or give away piles of gold. You could bathe in every famous river, give away thousands of cows, and put your body through the bitter mountain cold. You could hand over horses, elephants, land, and your own weight in gold. Put all of it on one side of a scale. Put loving the Naam on the other. The Naam weighs more every time. So hold no anger, blame no one, not even death, and find the calm, clean place inside. Then drink in the sweetness. At the centre, the Rahao: drop the pretending, and take the Naam of the One every day.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The Name set above all ritual; a critique of showy religion aimed at formalism in every tradition; and the letting go of anger and blame as the shabad's closing note. This is the raag's strongest single statement that no outer feat can equal inner love.
For Raag Raamkalee
Among the Bhagats' shabads near the close of the raag, this is the clearest word that ritual, however grand, cannot outweigh a heart that loves. The feats named are ones honoured by many people; the point is about hollow show, which can creep into any tradition, never about the people who keep these practices. Raam Chandra is Naam Dayv's own way of naming the One.
Hukumnama
Subject: Drop the pretending and take the Naam daily Preview: a holy city, a horse ceremony, thousands of cows, the mountain cold, your weight in gold, and a scale
Today: You could do hard practices in a holy city, hold a giant ceremony, or give away piles of gold. You could bathe in every famous river, give away thousands of cows, and put your body through the bitter mountain cold. You could hand over horses, elephants, land, and your own weight in gold. Put all of it on one side of a scale. Put loving the Naam on the other. The Naam weighs more every time. So hold no anger, blame no one, not even death, and find the calm, clean place inside. Then drink in the sweetness.
Drop the pretending, and take the Naam of the One every day.
For today: Do one good thing today just because it is right, not so anyone will see it.