Thirsty as the rainbird, I turn every direction and find You already there.
The Arc
There is a bird in old songs that drinks only rain from the sky. It waits, thirsty, until the drop comes. Let your heart want the One like that. The One looks after the people nobody else looks after. When no one holds you, the One holds you. The One is a home for anyone without a place. Walk in any of the ten directions, and the One is already with you. From one come millions, and the millions are still One. Sit in the Sangat, talk with the saints, and ask with your whole heart: let me see You. At the centre, the Rahao: a thirst for the Guru's sight, like the rainbird's thirst for rain.
Key Vocabulary
chaatrik — the rainbird that drinks only the raindrop from the sky; the soul that thirsts for one thing only.
darshan — the direct sight or vision of the divine.
anaath / naath — the masterless one and the Master who takes them in.
dah dis — the ten directions; a way of saying everywhere.
khel — play; creation seen as a living game rather than a machine.
saadh sangat — the Sangat, people gathered together to remember the One.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The rainbird thirst recurs throughout Gurbani as the image of single-hearted longing. The masterless-master tenderness and the Ik Onkar vision of one-as-many both root this shabad in the Granth's opening truth: there is only Oneness, appearing as the many.
For Raag Saarang
Raag Saarang is itself traditionally tied to the rainbird's cry for rain and the ache of the monsoon — so this thirst-image is the raag's own signature. The whole Chaupade section can be heard against it.
Hukumnama
Subject: Thirst for the One like a rainbird for rain Preview: a rainbird waiting for rain, a home for the homeless, all ten directions, and one becoming many.
Today: There is a bird in old songs that drinks only rain from the sky. It waits, thirsty, until the drop comes. Let your heart want the One like that. The One looks after the people nobody else looks after. When no one holds you, the One holds you. The One is a home for anyone without a place. Walk in any of the ten directions, and the One is already with you. From one come millions, and the millions are still One. Sit in the Sangat, talk with the saints, and ask with your whole heart: let me see You.
Let your heart thirst for the One the way the rainbird thirsts for rain.
For today: Sit with someone who loves the One today, and ask what the Naam means to them.
Thirsty as the rainbird, I turn every direction and find You already there.
The Arc
There is a bird in old songs that drinks only rain from the sky. It waits, thirsty, until the drop comes. Let your heart want the One like that. The One looks after the people nobody else looks after. When no one holds you, the One holds you. The One is a home for anyone without a place. Walk in any of the ten directions, and the One is already with you. From one come millions, and the millions are still One. Sit in the Sangat, talk with the saints, and ask with your whole heart: let me see You. At the centre, the Rahao: a thirst for the Guru's sight, like the rainbird's thirst for rain.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The rainbird thirst recurs throughout Gurbani as the image of single-hearted longing. The masterless-master tenderness and the Ik Onkar vision of one-as-many both root this shabad in the Granth's opening truth: there is only Oneness, appearing as the many.
For Raag Saarang
Raag Saarang is itself traditionally tied to the rainbird's cry for rain and the ache of the monsoon — so this thirst-image is the raag's own signature. The whole Chaupade section can be heard against it.
Hukumnama
Subject: Thirst for the One like a rainbird for rain Preview: a rainbird waiting for rain, a home for the homeless, all ten directions, and one becoming many.
Today: There is a bird in old songs that drinks only rain from the sky. It waits, thirsty, until the drop comes. Let your heart want the One like that. The One looks after the people nobody else looks after. When no one holds you, the One holds you. The One is a home for anyone without a place. Walk in any of the ten directions, and the One is already with you. From one come millions, and the millions are still One. Sit in the Sangat, talk with the saints, and ask with your whole heart: let me see You.
Let your heart thirst for the One the way the rainbird thirsts for rain.
For today: Sit with someone who loves the One today, and ask what the Naam means to them.