Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fatih!

This week, we turn to Bhagat Sain, one of the fifteen bhagats (devoted beings) whose compositions are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Bhagat Sain is recorded as belonging to the oppressed barber caste. Barred from participating in rituals due to his caste background, he witnessed the ritual of Arti performed by the so-called high-caste priestly class, where a platter is adorned with incense, lamps, and ghee and the ritual is performed.

In ‘Arti’ he reflects on the contradictions and temporariness of this physical ritual performance. He speaks intimately and directly to IkOankar, the One. In this direct address, he transgresses the social hierarchy that kept those belonging to his caste-background from having access to divinity. In the mere fact of this intimate address, the Arti itself is reframed. Bhagat Sain shows us that all people are capable of cultivating a relationship with the One. The true Arti is not done by an exclusive group of people with exclusive access to the Divine. Devotion alone is the Arti.

Bhagat Sain shares his inner-state with the One:

I sing Your joyful song, O Hari, the Remover of suffering! Your joyful song. I sing the joyful song of You King Ram, the Emperor, the all-pervading Sovereign, daily.

Bhagat Sain bows down to the One in such sheer devotion that he cannot think of anything else to give. He offers his entire being. This humble and devoted surrender invites a happiness that is beyond explanation or quantification. In utter adoration, he resounds with the song of happiness and is filled with the ecstasy emanating from the joy of connection with the all-pervading Sovereign.

Through Bhagat Sain’s reflection, we are reminded that devotion is the only thing required to celebrate the One. We are invited to reflect on the intention behind our attitudes, beliefs, and rituals. We are drawn in to consider how misguided we may have become. Popularly, Arti calls for ingredients such as candles, incense, bells, lamps, and oil. Bhagat Sain changes this narrative by adorning the elements of these ingredients within each of us, modeling for us through earnestly offering himself to the One. We learn that our humble devotion is both the wick and the lamp when we devote ourselves to the One unblemished by material attachments.

Through Bhagat Sain, we ask ourselves: are we performing ritual, or are we engaging in devotion?

May we practice this Arti, rooted in intimate devotion rather than exclusivity.
May we sing the joyful song of the Remover of Suffering
May we sing the joyful song of the all-pervading Sovereign.

May the Wisdom-Guru guide us!