ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>SODARU</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>SODARU</i> or <i>SO DARU</i>, lit. That Door, implying the entrance to the Lord's presence, is a hymn by Gur&#363 N&#257nak figuring with slight orthographical variations, at three different places in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib; it forms part of the <i>Japu (pau&#7771&#299</i> 27), the morning prayer, and of the <i>Rahr&#257si</i>, recited at sunset and appears independently in the &#256s&#257 musical measure. Read in the three contexts, the hymn unfolds three different dimensions of spiritual experience. In <i>Japu</i> which is repeated by the Sikhs as part of their morning devotion, <i>So Daru</i> becomes a means of introvert meditation; in the <i>Rahr&#257si</i> the introvert God-consciousness gets transformed into a shared experience; and sung in R&#257ga &#256s&#257 it evokes feelings of elation and ecstasy. The poem sings in a variety of images the splendour of the Divine Threshold. Countless musicians and heavenly deities such as Brahm&#257, Vi&#7779&#7751&#363 and Indra, sit at His door and recite His praises. Likewise, myriads of <i>siddhas, yog&#299s</i>, celibrates constantly contemplate upon His Name. Sages and seraphs proclaim His glory as do the heroes and mighty warriors. The entire creation---all the continents, the worlds and the solar systems---chant the excellences of the Supreme Being who is Timeless and whose Name is everlasting. He is the creator as well as preserver of all and His will prevails everywhere.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The recurring use of the word <i>g&#257vahi</i>, i.e. 'are singing' in the hymn indicates the emphasis laid on the reciting of God's praise. This is what one is adjured to take to. The Timeless Being is proclaimed to be self-existent. He is transcendant as well as immanent. He is <i>nira&#7749k&#257r</i>, i.e. without form, yet He manifests himself in His creation. The creation thus acquires a divine aspect and does not remain mere <i>m&#257y&#257</i>. To comprehend Him, one must be free from ego which is possible only when one realizes one's insignificance in relation to His creation. <i>So Daru</i>, which shows all existence in obeisance at His Threshold, harmonizes man with the mystical rhythm of all cosmos, awakening in him consciousness of the Divine.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The metre and rhyme of the <i>So Daru</i> resemble those of <i>chhant</i> and <i>v&#257r</i> and the language is mainly Punjabi, with some admixture of words, both in their <i>tatsam</i> and <i>tadbhav</i> forms, from Sanskrit, Persian and Braj.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"><i>&#346abad&#257rth Sri Guru Granth S&#257hib</i>. Amritsar, 1959<BR> <li class="C1"> Sohan Singh, <i>The Seeker's Path</i>. Calcutta, 1959<BR> <li class="C1"> Macauliffe, Max Arthur, <i>The Sikh Religion : Its Gur&#363s, Sacred Writings and Authors</i>. Oxford, 1909<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Harba&#7749s Si&#7749gh Br&#257&#7771<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>