Everyone has their path — forest and silence, pilgrimage and fasting, learning and rite. I am meek; I simply hold the One.
The Arc
People reach for the One in many ways. Some build influence, put on grand worship, or master the breath. Some leave home for the woods, keep long silences, live at holy places, give up food, or wander the whole earth. Some lean on a noble family, strong brothers or money. Some wear bells, beads and forehead marks, or become clever scholars. You can come with empty hands, holding the One, taking shelter at the One's door. Without the Naam, every path leaves the mind asleep. In the Sangat, people gathered together to remember the One, the burning thirst cools. At the centre, the Rahao: my trust is in You alone; I know no other way.
Key Vocabulary
Mohi deen — I am meek; coming with empty hands, in simple trust rather than achievement.
Bharosaa — trust; leaning the whole self on the One (the Rahao).
Saadhsang — the Sangat, people gathered together to remember the One; where the thirst is quenched.
Trisnaa... seetlaaiaa — burning thirst cooled; the hymn's resolution.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The hymn does not attack any path. It sets a humble trust beside all of them: practices from many traditions, yogic breathing, renunciation and pilgrimage, bells and forehead marks, spells, the scholar's learning and the priest's rites, are all named plainly and with respect. Pride of noble family is set aside too; the One is the only support. This is the Fifth Guru's way: dignity for the seeker who has nothing to show but love. It links to a later Raamkalee hymn that surveys how differently people spend their days, and to the whole Raamkalee answer to the yogi: not more technique, but the Naam and the Sangat.
For Raag Raamkalee
Because Raamkalee is the raag of the questing yogi, this catalogue of disciplines is at home here, and its gentle turn (empty-handed trust beside all the striving) is the raag's recurring teaching.
Hukumnama
Subject: My trust rests in You alone Preview: forest hermits, ankle bells, forehead marks, spells and scholars, and a burning thirst finally cooled.
Today: People reach for the One in many ways. Some build influence, put on grand worship, or master the breath. Some leave home for the woods, keep long silences, live at holy places, give up food, or wander the whole earth. Some lean on a noble family, strong brothers or money. Some wear bells, beads and forehead marks, or become clever scholars. You can come with empty hands, holding the One, taking shelter at the One's door. Without the Naam, every path leaves the mind asleep. In the Sangat, people gathered together to remember the One, the burning thirst cools.
My trust rests in You alone; I know no other way.
For today: When you feel you have nothing to show, say a quiet thank-you to the One and lean on that trust.
Everyone has their path — forest and silence, pilgrimage and fasting, learning and rite. I am meek; I simply hold the One.
The Arc
People reach for the One in many ways. Some build influence, put on grand worship, or master the breath. Some leave home for the woods, keep long silences, live at holy places, give up food, or wander the whole earth. Some lean on a noble family, strong brothers or money. Some wear bells, beads and forehead marks, or become clever scholars. You can come with empty hands, holding the One, taking shelter at the One's door. Without the Naam, every path leaves the mind asleep. In the Sangat, people gathered together to remember the One, the burning thirst cools. At the centre, the Rahao: my trust is in You alone; I know no other way.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The hymn does not attack any path. It sets a humble trust beside all of them: practices from many traditions, yogic breathing, renunciation and pilgrimage, bells and forehead marks, spells, the scholar's learning and the priest's rites, are all named plainly and with respect. Pride of noble family is set aside too; the One is the only support. This is the Fifth Guru's way: dignity for the seeker who has nothing to show but love. It links to a later Raamkalee hymn that surveys how differently people spend their days, and to the whole Raamkalee answer to the yogi: not more technique, but the Naam and the Sangat.
For Raag Raamkalee
Because Raamkalee is the raag of the questing yogi, this catalogue of disciplines is at home here, and its gentle turn (empty-handed trust beside all the striving) is the raag's recurring teaching.
Hukumnama
Subject: My trust rests in You alone Preview: forest hermits, ankle bells, forehead marks, spells and scholars, and a burning thirst finally cooled.
Today: People reach for the One in many ways. Some build influence, put on grand worship, or master the breath. Some leave home for the woods, keep long silences, live at holy places, give up food, or wander the whole earth. Some lean on a noble family, strong brothers or money. Some wear bells, beads and forehead marks, or become clever scholars. You can come with empty hands, holding the One, taking shelter at the One's door. Without the Naam, every path leaves the mind asleep. In the Sangat, people gathered together to remember the One, the burning thirst cools.
My trust rests in You alone; I know no other way.
For today: When you feel you have nothing to show, say a quiet thank-you to the One and lean on that trust.