ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>&#7692AKHA&#7750E</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279<i>&#7692AKHA&#7750E</i>, title of sixty-nine &#347lokas by Gur&#363 Arjan, incorporated in his <i>v&#257r</i> in the measure M&#257r&#363, three each with its twenty-three <i>pau&#7771&#299s</i> or stanzas. The word <i>&#7693akh&#7751e</i> (Skt. <i>dak&#7779i&#7751&#299</i>) means 'southern. ' The language of these verses is a dialect of the southern Punjab, now in Pakistan, known as M&#363lt&#257n&#299 or Saraik&#299. <i>&#7692akha&#7751e</i> is not the name of any language but of a style of song-verse of that region. Gur&#363 Arjan, however, has complete mastery of the dialect of that region distant from his own central Punjab and these verses are remarkable for their poetic qualities.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The central theme of the <i>&#7692akha&#7751e</i> is the intense longing of the human spirit for the all-pervading Supreme Spirit and they depict, first, the beauty of the Beloved; secondly, the intensity of longing for Him; thirdly, the helpfulness of the Gur&#363, the mediator between the seeker and the sought after; and fourthly, some of the obstacles which bar union between the two.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The "woman" (devotee) addresses the. all-pervading Spirit as 'my own good friend' (I); 'my good friend and true king' (II. 3); 'beloved dwelling with me' (IV. 1); 'my close friend who is fond of me and who is friend of all, never disappointing anyone' (VII. 2); 'the hidden gem which I have found and which now shines on my forehead' (VII. 3 ); 'the One who is present in all and of whom none is bereft' (IX. 3); 'the colourful One' (XI. 1); 'the King of kings' (XII. 1); the One whose light is reflected in all as is the moon in the water in the pitchers' (XIV. 2); and implores Him to come and embrace her.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is how "she" expresses the intensity of her longing : 'My eyes long for Thee' (I. I); 'I am ready to give my head for Thy love' (I. I); 'I am in love with Thee and with none else' (I. 2); 'do not separate me from Thee for a moment' (II. I); 'my heart has been charmed by Thee' (II. I); 'if Thou cometh to my courtyard, the entire earth will turn green for me' (III. I); 'while embracing Thee, even the necklace I am wearing creates distance unbearable' (III. 3); 'I am longing ever to see how beautiful is Thy face' (VIII. I); 'may I become a couch for the Beloved, my eyes 'spread on it as a sheet' (XII. 3); 'incomparable in beauty is the face of my Beloved' (XVII. 2); 'I have looked in all directions, searched everywhere, none is comparable to Him' (XVIII. 1).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 'Those who take shelter with the <i>ust&#257d</i> (teacher) are saved' (VI. 1); 'the saints whose deeds are for the well-being of others show the path' (XXI. 2); 'eyes which see the Loved One are different from the outward eyes' (XVI. 3); 'this is the opportunity and He must be realized here and now' (VII. 1). <i>M&#257y&#257</i> is compared to a wet stone of jaggery (<i>gu&#7771</i>) and men to flies which fall upon it and get caught (IX. 2). This is how man is beguiled from the path to union.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"><i>Shabad&#257rth Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib</i>, vo1. III. Amritsar, 1959<BR> <li class="C1"> S&#257hib Si&#7749gh, <i>Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib Darpa&#7751</i>, vol. VIII. Jalandhar, 1964<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">T&#257ran Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>