Gems of Gurbani

Guru Granth Sahib

Asa di waar; 1

In northern India waar a type of poetry is usually sung to praise a knight who has achieved fame in the battlefields to invoke Bir- ras a kind of mood or feeling and prepare people for heroic deeds. Guru Nanak has written three Banis in bir ras or waar form but all these banis are in three different ragas. We shall be explaining the contents of Asa di Waar a poetry of bir ras that is sung in the early hours of the morning from Gurudwaras in the world. Asa di waar is not to invoke bir- ras but it is nothing less than that because it invokes awakening in people to learn the contemporary social conditions where Guru Nanak has literally challenged the rulers, religious heads and high caste people to show their short comings. By singing this poetry Guru Nanak has invoked Bir ras in his self and dared the mighty by a very sharp criticism. Even the Mogul rulers of his time couldn't touch him because his words were so full of truth and might have ashamed many mighty people who were doing wrong to the humanity.

 Asa di waar is also a true analysis of tenets of Sikhism which are explained in poetry form and remind us every day of the righteousness that we shall adopt to live a life of truthful person who believes in the greatness of God and His Creation and acts accordingly. In these bani he has stressed upon equality of the human race, equality to women, criticism of the rituals suggested by Brahman because they take you away from the existence of God and leave you entangled in the fake daily chores that are meaningless, he has criticized the different dressing of the so called religious heads to keep themselves above the masses. He has explained the meaningless acts like pilgrimages, bathing at holy places and visiting fake Gurus which are suggested to reach a union with the Almighty.

Asa di waar explains us why we should fear God, wonder about His existence and His Creations, the most important of all how we should aim in our life to become a perfect being that enlightens the part of God present in every being and merges into the Perfect One.

To continue……