ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>M&#256R&#362 V&#256R</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>M&#256R&#362 V&#256R</i>, Gur&#363 Arjan's composition in the M&#257r&#363 musical measure in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. Traditionally, M&#257r&#363 which gives the <i>V&#257r</i> its title is elegiac verse and is commonly sung in the afternoon. This measure has a martial undertone as well. The singing of M&#257r&#363 <i>r&#257ga</i> with devotion annuls the five evils, says Gur&#363 Arjan.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>M&#257r&#363 V&#257r</i> comprises twenty-three <i>pau&#7771&#299s</i>, or stanzas; each of eight lines, with a running rhyme. Each <i>pau&#7771&#299</i> is preceded by three <i>&#347lokas</i> or couplets, all of which are also the composition of Gur&#363 Arjan. For <i>&#347lokas</i> Gur&#363 Arjan has in fact used the word <i>&#7693akh&#7751e</i>, a form especially popular in south-western Punjab, the dialect of which region here predominates. However, all the <i>&#347lokas</i>, or <i>&#7693akhne</i>, are not in this Mult&#257n&#299 dialect: those prefixed to <i>pau&#7771&#299s</i> 10, 16, 17, 22, 23 are in central Punjabi whereas those added to <i>pau&#7771&#299</i> 20 are a mixture of both.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The themes of devotion, a spiritual vision of Reality and the operation of the moral law predominate the poem. In the <i>&#347lokas</i>, in general, the theme is devotion rendered in the idiom of conjugal love. Other strains such as emphasis on the immanence of the Divine Being, exhortation to men to disengage themselves from the illusory show of <i>m&#257y&#257</i>, praise of the Gur&#363, joy in God's will also occur, though the main emphasis is on devotion to and love of the Divine Being.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; God is the sole creator of this universe. He alone is omnipresent, all-pervasive and infinite. Everything else in this world is finite and subject to decay and death. The grace of the Gur&#363 and constant meditation on the Name of the Lord help man realize the Absolute. The seeker after Truth must be pure in thought as well as in deed. He must uphold the moral principle and have abiding faith in God. God is imaged as Almighty and man is adjured to seek His help and grace. Fearlessness results from fearing God. There is exhortation for man to practise <i>n&#257m, d&#257n, isn&#257n</i> (devotion, charity, and chastity).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; More specifically, stanzas 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, and 16-22, comprise thematically four parts of the composition. The first part describes this world, along with <i>m&#257y&#257</i>, as the creation of God who is all-pervading. Man forgets his Creator and remains engrossed in haumai , i.e. egoity. The only way to attain the Ultimate is to discard <i>haumai</i> and surrender oneself to the Gur&#363. The second part compares this world with an arena where various evils resulting from man's ego are denuding him of his spirituality. He alone can escape who with the grace of God takes shelter in the Gur&#363's Word. In the third part, there is a rejection of religious garbs and rituals which are termed futile; in the fourth is presented a glimpse of worthy living which consists in constant remembrance of God's Name.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"><i>&#346abad&#257rth Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib</i>. Amritsar, 1964<BR> <li class="C1"> S&#257hib Si&#7749gh, <i>Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib Darpa&#7751</i>. Jalandhar, n.d.<BR> <li class="C1"> Bishan Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>B&#257&#299 V&#257r&#257&#7749 Sa&#7789&#299k</i>. Amritsar, n.d.<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Harn&#257m Si&#7749gh <br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>