Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When I was full of my separate self, there seemed to be no room for You. Now that You fill me, my old separate self has quietly disappeared.
Think of the wind lifting huge waves across a vast ocean, no matter how tall they rise, they were only ever water, moving in water.
When "me" fills up the room, there is no space for the One. When the One fills it, the separate "me" melts away.
These are the words of Bhagat Ravidas. A bhagat is a devotee, someone who loves the One with their whole life. His verses open the part of Raag Sorath written by the bhagats. He begins with one of the clearest pictures of Ik Onkaar, "there is One."
Jab ham hotay tab too naahee — when I was there, You were not. Ab toohee mai naahee — now You are here, and I am not. The "I" he means is haumai, the feeling of being a separate self, apart from everything.
Then comes the picture. The wind lifts huge waves on the ocean. A wave might look like its own thing, tall and proud. But it is only water, moving in water. Think of a wave at the beach crashing back into the sea. It was never apart from the sea. Seeing that clearly is how the idea of "two" dissolves.
When have you felt part of something much larger than yourself?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI