The collection of rāga asa shabds in Gurbāni Sangeet ends with shabads from
Guru Teg Bahadur and four partāls by Guru Arjan Dev Ji. These songs all convey a similar message: everywhere I look, I see people with their scattered minds going in so many different directions, engaged with the things that don’t really matter, sometimes things that seem important, often with trivia, but all they really need to do is remember the Name. It’s not that you have to stop doing the work in the world, engaging with family and friends, enjoying life, but when you remember the doer and manage the mind there is more clarity, less waste, more effectiveness, less illusion, more reality, less fantasy, more stability, less emotional roller coaster.

The humanity is still there. The emotional, fearful, doubting self is still there, influenced by the five constant companions, kām (desire), krodh (anger), lobh (greed), moh (attachment), ahankār (pride). One minute meditating, doing yoga, worshiping, in bliss, the next minute wandering in doubt. One minute delighted, the next minute miserable. Then there is kirpā.

How do you escape the five companions? When you remember the doer, it all becomes more manageable, the drama is no longer the only thing. Nām puts everything else in perspective.The guru’s response to find peace in the midst of the stormy realities of life is to sing the praises, sadā sat nām.

Nānak sees it like it is, tells it like it is, and decides to sing.