Nothing in any land equals a hair of my Beloved — I call Beloved, Beloved, like the bee for the lotus.
The Arc
This is single-pointed longing. The heart wants only the One, having searched everywhere and found nothing that comes close. Delicacies are set before it and it will not even look, wanting only the sweetness of the One — the bee drawn to the lotus. The close names the One as the treasure of all goodness and asks the dearest friend to draw near and hold the seeker close, a reunion the Teacher makes possible.
Key Vocabulary
aykai hee pari-a maangai — asking only for the One Beloved.
har ras — the sweet essence of the One that outshines every treat.
al kamlaa — the bee and the lotus; the image of single-pointed longing.
gun nidhaan — the treasure of all virtue; a name for the One.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The bee-and-lotus and the calling of pri-a pri-a are close cousins of Saarang's chaatrik thirsting for one raindrop. The Teacher-as-matchmaker who brings soul and Beloved together recurs across Guru Arjan's love-shabads.
For Raag Saarang
This shabad is Saarang's yearning in its purest form: a heart that has tasted the true sweetness and can no longer be tempted by anything else.
Nothing in any land equals a hair of my Beloved — I call Beloved, Beloved, like the bee for the lotus.
The Arc
This is single-pointed longing. The heart wants only the One, having searched everywhere and found nothing that comes close. Delicacies are set before it and it will not even look, wanting only the sweetness of the One — the bee drawn to the lotus. The close names the One as the treasure of all goodness and asks the dearest friend to draw near and hold the seeker close, a reunion the Teacher makes possible.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The bee-and-lotus and the calling of pri-a pri-a are close cousins of Saarang's chaatrik thirsting for one raindrop. The Teacher-as-matchmaker who brings soul and Beloved together recurs across Guru Arjan's love-shabads.
For Raag Saarang
This shabad is Saarang's yearning in its purest form: a heart that has tasted the true sweetness and can no longer be tempted by anything else.