Raag Saarang
Commentary

Raag Saarang, Mehl 4 (Guru Ram Das)

In every heart, in every place — and still the heart longs to see.

The Arc

The shabad names the One as the inner-knower who ends all sorrow and gives all peace, then sings its presence in every heart, in water and on land, in every space — even as the heart aches with longing to see it and would gladly wash the feet of any guide who could show the way. It closes as the longing is answered: whole-hearted trust, met by grace, fills mind and body with joy, and the Name is held day and night.

Key Vocabulary

  • antarjaamee — the inner-knower who reads the heart.
  • ghat ghatay — in each and every heart.
  • chaa-o — longing, eager desire.
  • sardhaa — whole-hearted trust and longing (rendered as trust).
  • kirpaa — grace.

Themes and Cross-Connections

Omnipresence sitting side by side with longing is the signature of Saarang, and this shabad holds both at once. The wish to wash a guide's feet is Guru Ram Das's recurring image of devotion.

For Raag Saarang

Here the raag's two great notes — the One is everywhere, and the heart still aches to see it — are struck in the same breath, and then resolved: the longing, met by grace, becomes joy.

Translation Notes

sardhaa is rendered as whole-hearted trust and longing rather than the English word faith, which carries its own baggage.

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