Raag Todee
Commentary

Raag Todee, Shabad 10, Mehl 5 (Guru Arjan)

"My tongue sings the Praises of the ocean of virtue; all sorrows run away."

The Arc

Praise fills the room until sorrow has nowhere to sit — peace, contentment, poise and delight welling up (v.0); drawing from "the source of nectar," the fear of endings loosens and one crosses the world-ocean (v.1); the long search resolving into the "essence of reality," and the simple counsel — for lasting joy, remember the One always (v.2).

Key Vocabulary

  • sukh / santokh / dheeraj / anand — peace, contentment, poise, bliss: a whole spectrum of well-being.
  • amrit / nectar — the deathless sweetness; the source that never runs dry.
  • bhavjal — the world-ocean; fearsome only until one is carried across.
  • tat — the essence/core of reality.

Themes and Cross-Connections

"Sorrows run away" echoes Anand Sahib's "the celebrating house is the defended house" (philosophy.md, Praise over Prayer). Crossing the bhavjal recurs across the raags. Search-resolving-into-simplicity is a Todee refrain (B00C1545).

For Raag Todee

Seals the first run of Mehl 5 shabads: singing doesn't grimly fight sadness — it fills the room until sadness has nowhere left to sit.

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