Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fatih!

Love is not merely an emotion; it is an all-consuming fire. The Chaubole composition draws us into this fire, where even the words are infused with the ecstasy of devotion. Eleven couplets, each a heartbeat of longing, weave a story of complete absorption in the Beloved. The very name Chaubole—a fusion of chau (four meters or languages) and bole (speech)—suggests that love transcends all barriers, breaking into multiple expressions. The lovers in this composition—Musan and Samman—stand as testaments to this boundless devotion, willing to surrender everything for their Beloved. Are we ready to do the same?

Let’s read.
Let’s linger.

Guru Arjan Sahib reveals the essence of this love in the second couplet:
For the being whose body remains absorbed in love and affection, there is not even the distance of a mustard seed between them and the Beloved, the IkOankar. The mind is pierced in the lotus-feet.

This is not metaphorical love. It is love so complete that the body itself becomes love—saturated, drenched, dyed in its hues. No distance remains between the lover and the Beloved. There is no room for even a mustard seed’s worth of distance between them—so wholly intertwined that separation becomes impossible, indistinguishable.

But what does it mean for the mind to be pierced in the lotus-feet? The feet symbolize humility, surrender, and openness. In the muddiness of life, the mind resists—analyzing, questioning, searching for a formula. When will we figure this out? Guru Arjan Sahib reminds us: there is no formula. Love is not logical. Only the lover knows what love is.

Let’s pause.
Let’s reflect.

Can we think our way into love?
Can we force devotion into our hearts?
The answer is no.

Love must fill us first—seep into our very being—until the mind is overcome by its radiance. And yet, the mind resists! Even as the body trembles with longing, the mind clings to its need for control.

But when love fully saturates us—when it permeates every cell—the mind no longer wrestles; it rests. It finds sanctuary in the lotus-feet, and in that surrender, it becomes the sanctuary itself. An intuitive alertness blooms in the mind—an awareness beyond logic, a knowing beyond thought. The mind softens, humbles itself, and submits in loving surrender.

Do we yearn to immerse ourselves in the love of IkOankar?
Do we yearn to remain immersed in this love every moment?

May we dissolve in devotion.
May the Wisdom-Guru be with us!