"Birahaa" indicates intense longing and love of the Lord or pain of the sense of separation from Him. "Sultaan" (or Sultan) means the ruler. According to the the Gurbani (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS), Birahaa is the Sultaan. The Gurbani says that our worldly love for other things is "transitory" at best, as long as we do not love our God. The Gurbani further states that that human body, in which there is no Birahaa, "burn it". Pretty strong words!

• ibrhw ibrhw AwKIAY ibrhw qU sulqwnu ]PrIdw ijqu qin ibrhu n aUpjY so qnu jwxu mswnu: Birahaa birahaa aakheeai birahaa tu sulataan. Fareedaa jit tanu birahu na oopajai so tanu jaan masaan: Many talk of the Birahaa; O Birahaa, you are the ruler. Says Fareed Sahib, that body, within which Birahaa does not well up - look upon that body as a cremation ground (sggs 1379).
• horu ibrhw sB Dwqu hY jb lgu swihb pRIiq n hoie: hor birehaa sabh dhhaath hai jab lag saahib preeth n hoe: All other loves are transitory, as long as people do not love their God (sggs 83).
• nwnk ijsu ipMjr mih ibrhw nhI so ipMjru lY jwir: Nanak jis pinjar mehi birehaa nehee so pinjar lai jaar: O Nanak, that human body, in which there is no Birahaa, take that body and burn it (sgs 89).
• aumikE hIau imln pRB qweI: Oumakiou heeou milan prabh taaee: An intense longing to meet God has welled up in my heart (sggs 737).

How can one tell if one has the true love of the Lord within? Loving God selflessly means loving all beings equally, because the same One God dwells in all. Such selfless love only gives, it does not take. It has no complaints either, for it is acceptance. In other words, the one who truly loves God will selflessly love all living things and selflessly serve them as needed (compassion). This is true Bhagti (devotion). This is the true Gurmukh Lifestyle. The Gurbani says:

• gurisKw min hir pRIiq hY hir nwm hir qyrI rwm rwjy: Gurasikhaa man har preet hai har naam har teree raam raaje: The Guru's Sikh keeps the Love of the Lord, and the Name of the Lord, in his mind. He loves You, O Lord, O Lord King (sggs 450).
• gurisKW min hir pRIiq hY guru pUjx Awvih: Gurasikhaan man har preet hai gur poojan aavahi: The minds of the Gursikhs are filled with the love of the Lord; they come and worship the Guru (sggs 590).
• gurisK lµGY iprm ipAwlY: Gurasikh langhai piram piaalai: The Sikhs of the Guru go across the world-ocean by virtue of their cup full of love (Vaar Bhai Gurdaas Jee, 4).
• isKhu sbdu ipAwirho jnm mrn kI tyk: Sikhahu sabad piaariho janam maran kee tek: O Sikhs, love the Shabad; in life and death, it is our only support (sggs 320).
• ieik gurmuiK sdw scY rMig rwqy: Ik gurmukh sadaa sachai rang raate: The Gurmukhs are forever imbued with love for the True One (sggs 113).
• gurmuiK hovY su ieksu isau ilv lwey: Gurmukh hovai su ekas sio liv laaye: One who becomes Gurmukh embraces love for the One (sggs 115).
• hir Bgiq hir kw ipAwru hY jy gurmuiK kry bIcwru: Har bhagati har kaa piaar hai je gurmukh kare beechaar: By becoming a Gurmukh, if you reflect on this — devotion to the Lord is the love for the Lord (sggs28 ).
• gurmuiK bUJY eyk ilv lwey: Guramukh boojhai ek liv laaye: The Gurmukhs understand the One Lord, and enshrine love for Him (sggs 222).
• miq sq Bwie Bgiq goibMdw: Mati satt bhaai bhagat gobindaa: Wisdom, truth and love all come from devotion to the Lord of the Universe (sggs 1331).
• sdw sWiq suKu min vsY cUkY kUk pukwr: Sadaa saant sukh mani vasai chookai kook pukaar: Eternal peace and joy abide in their minds (those who serve the True Guru); they abandon their cries and complaints (sggs 86).
• kUk pUkwr n cukeI nw sMsw ivchu jwie: Kook pookaar na chukee naa sansaa vichahu jaai: (Those who do not become Gurmukhs) Their cries and complaints never end, and doubt does not depart from within them (sggs 647).
• kbIr hrdI pIrqnu hrY cUn ichnu n rhwie]bilhwrI ieh pRIiq kau ijh jwiq brnu kulu jwie: Kabeer haradhee peerathan harai choon chihan n rehaae: Kabeer says, tumeric has lost its yellow color, and no trace of lime's whiteness remains (when they merge, they both lose their color). Similarly, the one who loves God is said to be linked with Him only when he loses the sense of differences i.e. he sees the same one God in all beings (sggs 1367).
• nwnk Awsku kWFIAY sd hI rhY smwie: Naanak aasak kaandheeai sada hee rehai samaai: O Nanak, he alone is called a lover, who remains forever immersed in absorption (sggs 474).
• eyh iknyhI AwskI dUjY lgY jwie: Eh kinehee aasakee doojai lagai jaai: What sort of love is that, which clings to duality? (sggs 474).
  

Clearly, the life is to be found in the fullness of Divine love; for love of the Lord is all-important. Those who have become Gurmukhs while alive, stand for the Ultimate Principle. That's why it's said that the Gurmukhs are not individuals because there is no false ego-sense (Haume) in them, and that they are beyond name and form even though they do have names and forms. In Transcendental love, there are no higher criteria than genuineness and sincerity. A Gurmukh places true devotion above everything else, and attaches little value to such factors as birth, intellectual attainments, physical prowess and wealth. The Lord is said to be as the essence of Bliss (Anand). The single-minded involvement and the determination of the Gurmukhs to seek God's Presence within enable them to experience this highest Bliss. There are many disciplines that lead to this, where one's mind is filled with inward attachment to God, and the mind begins to constantly dwell on Him with delight and never turns away in spite of distractions arising from worldly sufferings and worries. But the Gurbani draws our attention to the fact that such a state is hard to experience. Because it cannot be forced, for forcing and imposing will only destroy any possibility of love to grow.

• pRym suDw rsu pIvY koie: Prem sudhaa ras peevai koi: How rare are those who drink in the pure essence of the Divine Love (sggs 343).
• gurmuiK scI AwskI ijqu pRIqmu scw pweIAY: Gurmukh sachee aasakee jit preetam sachaa paaeeai: The love of the Gurmukh is true; through it, the True Beloved (God) is attained (sggs 1422).
  

Our familiarity with Birahaa is superficial. True Birahaa is neither physical nor external. It is the power (Sultaan) that creates the transformation the Gurmukhs experience. It opens up the heart like a blossoming flower. It removes all conditions and divisions. It breaks the hard shell of the false ego-sense (Haume). It is the Freedom from bondage of the mind to the past and the future. It leads us to live in the NOW. Thus, the mind can only be purified through enshrining love for God. If there is fire, there will be the smoke. Similarly, if there is sincere and intense "Birahaa", there will me the "Milan" (meeting or linking with the Lord).

• mY hir nwmY hir ibrhu lgweI jIau: Mai har naamai har birahu lagaaee jeeou: The Lord has implanted a longing for the Lord's Name within me (sggs 175).
• nwnk TwFy cwhih pRBU duAwir: Nanak t(h)aadhe chaahahi prabhoo duaar: Nanak stands longingly at God's Door (sggs 1187).
• hau rih n skau ibnu dyKy myry pRIqm mY AMqir ibrhu hir lweIAw jIau: Hou rahi na sakaou bin dekhe mere preetam mai a(n)thar birahu har laaeeaa jeeou: I cannot survive without seeing my Beloved; deep within, I feel the pain of separation from the Lord (sggs 174).
• qin ibrhu jgwvY myry ipAwry nId n pvY ikvY: Tani birahu jagaavai mere piaarae need na pavai kivai: Separation from my Lord keeps my body awake, O my dear beloved; I cannot sleep at all (sggs 452).
• nYxI ibrhu dyKw pRB suAwmI rsnw nwmu vKwnI: Nainee birahu dekhaa prabh suaamee rasanaa naam vakhaanee: With my eyes, I gaze lovingly upon my Lord Master. I chant His Name with my tongue (sggs 1199).
• myrY min qin ibrhu gurisK pg lwieAw: Merai mani tani birahu gurasikh pag laaiaa: Within my mind and body, I have enshrined love for the feet of the Gur-Sikhs (sggs 493).
• rovh ibrhw qn kw Awpxw swihbu sMm@wlyhW: Rovah birahaa tann kaa aapanaa saahib sanmhaalehaan: Let us weep over the body's separation from the Lord; let us remember Him in contemplation (sggs 579).
• mnu qnu inrmlu hoieAw lwgI swcu prIiq: Manu tanu niramal hoiaa laagee saach pareet: By enshrining love for the true Lord, the mind and body become pure (sggs 48).
• goibMd Twkur imln durweNØI: Gobind thaakur milan duraaeanaee: It is so hard to meet the Lord (sggs1307).

Now perhaps we can appreciate as to why Baabaa Fareed Sahib calls Birahaa the "ruler", and states "that body, within which Birahaa does not well up - look upon that body as a cremation ground." Because such body is useless and worthless - a dead weight on this earth.

• ivsirAw ijn@ nwmu qy Buie Bwru QIey: Visariaa jinh naam thae bhue bhaar thheeeae: Those who the Name of the Lord are a burden on the earth (sggs 488).
• hir ky nwm ibnw suMdir hY nktI ]ijau bysuAw ky Gir pUqu jmqu hY iqsu nwmu pirE hY DRktI: Har ke naam binaa sundar hai nakatee. Jiou besuaa ke ghar poot jamat hai tis naam pariou hai dhrakattee: Without the Name of the Lord, the beautiful are just like the noseless ones. Like the son, born into the house of a prostitute, his name is cursed (sggs 528).
• pr ipr rwqI Ksmu ivswrw ]ijau bysuAw pUq bwpu ko khIAY iqau Pokt kwr ivkwrw hy: Par pir raatee khasam visaaraa. Jiou besuaa poot baap ko kaheeai tiou fokat kaar vikaaraa he: (The soul that does not realize God pervades all and does not contemlate on Him as the Gurmukh) She has forgotten her Lord and is infatuated with another's husband (duality). Just as no one knows who is the father of the prostitute's son, such are the worthless, useless deeds that are done (sggs 1028).

— T. Singh
www.gurbani.org

Updated on Friday, August 1, 2008 12:14 PM (PST)

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