"carry me across the world-ocean"

[Freed]

GurFateh !

"carry me across the world-ocean"

I saw these beautiful pictures on flickr.com - They were taken near Kiratpur Sahib and show a boat on the River Satluj - The scene reminded me of this beautiful shabad

ਗੁਰੁ ਪਉੜੀ ਬੇੜੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗੁਰੁ ਤੁਲਹਾ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਉ ॥

ਗੁਰੁ ਸਰੁ ਸਾਗਰੁ ਬੋਹਿਥੋ ਗੁਰੁ ਤੀਰਥੁ ਦਰੀਆਉ ॥

(*Photos from Upinder Kaur's collection - click link for more beautiful pics http://www.flickr.com/photos/upinderkaur/)

Here is the complete Shabad

Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Siree Raag Ang 17

ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ॥

ਗੁਣਵੰਤੀ ਗੁਣ ਵੀਥਰੈ ਅਉਗੁਣਵੰਤੀ ਝੂਰਿ ॥

ਜੇ ਲੋੜਹਿ ਵਰੁ ਕਾਮਣੀ ਨਹ ਮਿਲੀਐ ਪਿਰ ਕੂਰਿ ॥

ਨਾ ਬੇੜੀ ਨਾ ਤੁਲਹੜਾ ਨਾ ਪਾਈਐ ਪਿਰੁ ਦੂਰਿ ॥੧॥

ਮੇਰੇ ਠਾਕੁਰ ਪੂਰੈ ਤਖਤਿ ਅਡੋਲੁ ॥

ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਪੂਰਾ ਜੇ ਕਰੇ ਪਾਈਐ ਸਾਚੁ ਅਤੋਲੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਹਰਿਮੰਦਰੁ ਸੋਹਣਾ ਤਿਸੁ ਮਹਿ ਮਾਣਕ ਲਾਲ ॥

ਮੋਤੀ ਹੀਰਾ ਨਿਰਮਲਾ ਕੰਚਨ ਕੋਟ ਰੀਸਾਲ ॥

ਬਿਨੁ ਪਉੜੀ ਗੜਿ ਕਿਉ ਚੜਉ ਗੁਰ ਹਰਿ ਧਿਆਨ ਨਿਹਾਲ ॥੨॥

ਗੁਰੁ ਪਉੜੀ ਬੇੜੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗੁਰੁ ਤੁਲਹਾ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਉ ॥

ਗੁਰੁ ਸਰੁ ਸਾਗਰੁ ਬੋਹਿਥੋ ਗੁਰੁ ਤੀਰਥੁ ਦਰੀਆਉ ॥

ਜੇ ਤਿਸੁ ਭਾਵੈ ਊਜਲੀ ਸਤ ਸਰਿ ਨਾਵਣ ਜਾਉ ॥੩॥

ਪੂਰੋ ਪੂਰੋ ਆਖੀਐ ਪੂਰੈ ਤਖਤਿ ਨਿਵਾਸ ॥

ਪੂਰੈ ਥਾਨਿ ਸੁਹਾਵਣੈ ਪੂਰੈ ਆਸ ਨਿਰਾਸ ॥

ਨਾਨਕ ਪੂਰਾ ਜੇ ਮਿਲੈ ਕਿਉ ਘਾਟੈ ਗੁਣ ਤਾਸ ॥੪॥੯॥

sireeraag mehalaa 1 ||

gunava(n)thee gun veethharai aougunava(n)thee jhoor ||

jae lorrehi var kaamanee neh mileeai pir koor ||

naa baerree naa thuleharraa naa paaeeai pir dhoor ||1||

maerae t(h)aakur poorai thakhath addol ||

guramukh pooraa jae karae paaeeai saach athol ||1|| rehaao ||

prabh harima(n)dhar sohanaa this mehi maanak laal || mothee heeraa niramalaa ka(n)chan kott reesaal ||

bin pourree garr kio charro gur har dhhiaan nihaal ||2||

gur pourree baerree guroo gur thulehaa har naao ||

gur sar saagar bohithho gur theerathh dhareeaao ||

jae this bhaavai oojalee sath sar naavan jaao ||3||

pooro pooro aakheeai poorai thakhath nivaas ||

poorai thhaan suhaavanai poorai aas niraas ||

naanak pooraa jae milai kio ghaattai gun thaas ||4||9||

Siree Raag, First Mehla:

The virtuous wife exudes virtue; the unvirtuous suffer in misery.

If you long for your Husband Lord, O soul-bride, you must know that He is not met by falsehood.

No boat or raft can take you to Him. Your Husband Lord is far away. ||1||

My Lord and Master is Perfect; His Throne is Eternal and Immovable.

One who attains perfection as Gurmukh, obtains the Immeasurable True Lord. ||1||Pause||

The Palace of the Lord God is so beautiful. Within it, there are gems, rubies, pearls and flawless diamonds. A fortress of gold surrounds this Source of Nectar.

How can I climb up to the Fortress without a ladder? By meditating on the Lord, through the Guru, I am blessed and exalted. ||2||

The Guru is the Ladder, the Guru is the Boat, and the Guru is the Raft to take me to the Lord's Name.

The Guru is the Boat to carry me across the world-ocean; the Guru is the Sacred Shrine of Pilgrimage, the Guru is the Holy River.

If it pleases Him, I bathe in the Pool of Truth, and become radiant and pure. ||3||

He is called the Most Perfect of the Perfect. He sits upon His Perfect Throne.

He looks so Beautiful in His Perfect Place. He fulfills the hopes of the hopeless.

O Nanak, if one obtains the Perfect Lord, how can his virtues decrease? ||4||9||

Waheguru !

Ranjit Singh 'Freed'

[tSingh]

I've just recently visited Sri Kirtpur. I was impressed by what survives of the Udasin influence there. I've always been very excited by the Baba Gurditta Gurdwara on the hill after reading Arshi's book on Sikh Architecture and pointing out how distinctive the structure of that Gurdwara is. Anyone visiting should take note of how impressive the overall structue is, and how you take darshan of Maharaj after the steps. Plus the smadh of the pir is there, Baba Sri Chand's dhuanaa, murti and udasin nishaan is at the bottom of the hill, Baba Sri Chand's sehli topi he gifted to Baba Gurditta, and the most interesting find...in a clump of trees, a small couple of reed huts which is called 'Dera Baba Sri Chand and Baba Lakshmi Chand', which marks th place they met. Inside is a dhunaa, and a table covered with a palki on which was a very old wooden pothi stand, some local herbs, shastar, a steel kumbh, an old pothi in urdu, and a steel ghanta (presumably to do aarti of the place). The surprise was that it is maintained by 'Buddha Dal', thus a lone nihang baba.

Which brings to mind a question for you image nerds out there. Has anyone any idea of what the 'Haveli Sahib' in the centre of Kirtpur Sahib in which Guru Har Rai Ji Maharaj and Guru Harkrishan Ji were born, originally looked like? Now it looks like everything else, empty lifeless white marble gurdwara, (with a sevadar outside who looked at me suspiciously and asked which pind I was from, hehe)...nothing like a haveli. It was so easy to just mathatekh and walk out without realising and meditating upon the significance of that place, that very spot.

[Freed]

Image Nerds indeed !!!

Those of us in the Image collection / appreciation / collecting / magpie / out and out theft / tea leaf - 'Fraternity' prefer the term 'Image Anorak' not the Americanism 'nerd' !!

Anyway - welcome back to dear old Blighty - that's funny - asking what pind youre from !!

He must of been eyeing you up as a potential son in law !! you know Punjabis are suckers for a - how shall I put it - a certain complexion !! to use the Punjabi euphemism 'Kanak Vana' or 'wheatish complexion ' - you see it in every 'matrimonial' column !

I've always loved the Baba Gurditta Gurdwara - it's a favourite of my grandads - I remember going with him once when I was around 8 - and being dissapointed that it wasn't Guru Gobind Singh Fort - it does look like a fort - in those days it was really hard to get to like most of Anandpur - there were lots of steps - i remember inventing counting games with my sister to pass the time !

Back to your question I do have some pictures of the birth place of Guru Harkrishan Ji - Gurdwara Sheesh Mahal - I've posted them in this thread on built heritage ;

http://www.sikhawareness.com/sikhawareness...opic.php?t=9129

Going back to Baba Gurditta - The gurdwara always gives me a strange indescribable feeling - it must be the hills and the quiet ---- you may laugh but I've only ever got that feeling there and at Glastonbury Tor -- one of my flatmates at college was from Bristol and she had lots of weird and wonderful friends and I went to Glastonbury Tor with them once and had a very strange experience at the top - though it might have been due to the Bristolians trancing out playing some African drums ! -- could be all the laylines - or could just be all those west country accents - I do love them -

Ideal !

I'll stop there before I embarrass myself any more with tales from my sordid past !

Take Care Mate !

Glastonbury Tor , Somerset .