ਸ਼ਬਦ ਹਜ਼ਾਰੇ || Shabad Hazaarey || Read Along

PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a5KE...

Shabad Hazaarey is a sacred collection of soul-stirring verses by 5th Guru - Guru Arjan Dev Ji, and 1st Guru - Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It echoes the soul’s intense longing to unite with the Beloved—the True Guru, the embodiment of the Lord Himself.

Guru Ram Das Ji had three sons. The eldest, Prithi Chand (Prithia), was entrusted with administrative responsibilities. The second son, Mahadev, was deeply spiritual but withdrawn from worldly affairs, preferring solitude. The youngest, Arjan Mal, was pious, humble, and devoted—seeing in his father not merely a parent but his True Guru. His greatest joy was to live in obedience to his Guru’s hukam (divine command). When Guru Ram Das Ji’s cousin from Lahore invited him to a family wedding, the Guru asked his eldest son, Prithia, to attend on his behalf. Prithia refused, fearing that separation from the Guru might weaken his claim to succession. Mahadev, uninterested in worldly matters, also declined. The youngest, Arjan Mal, accepted the sewa with joy, grateful for the opportunity to serve his Guru’s command. Before sending him, Guru Ram Das Ji instructed him not to return from Lahore until the Guru himself sent for his return.

Arjan Mal carried out his father’s command faithfully, completing all his duties in Lahore. But as time passed with no message, the weight of separation from his Beloved Guru grew unbearable. His heart overflowed with longing, and in that pain he poured out his soul into a letter to Guru Ram Das Ji, expressing his yearning for reunion. Like the Chatrik bird that longs only for the Swanti boond - a rare kind of raindrop to quench its thirst, Arjan Mal too yearned only for the divine sight of his Guru. Nothing could ease his soul.

He sent the letter through a Sikh, but Prithia, who oversaw the daily operations, intercepted it and hid it away. Fearing that if the Guru read such words of love, he would summon Arjan Mal and bestow the Guruship upon him, Prithia allowed his jealousy to overpower his duty. When no reply came, Arjan Mal wrote a second letter, which was also hidden by Prithia. Still longing for his Guru’s embrace, Arjan Mal enquired of the messenger and learned of Prithia’s deceit. With unwavering devotion, he wrote a third letter, this time inscribing the number “3” upon it, and instructed the Sikh to deliver it directly into the Guru’s own hands.

When Guru Ram Das Ji received it, he immediately understood that two earlier letters must have been sent. As the knower of all hearts, the Guru revealed exactly where the hidden letters could be found in Prithia’s keeping, and they were brought forth before the sangat.

When Arjan Mal finally returned to the Guru’s presence, Guru Ram Das Ji read aloud the three letters to the congregation. Each verse was drenched in longing, humility, and divine love. Then the Guru gave an extraordinary command: whoever could complete the three letters with a fourth verse in the same spirit and poetic metre would be blessed with Guruship.

None dared to rise—neither Prithia, nor Mahadev, nor anyone else present. And here lies the beauty of the moment: even Arjan Mal, who had written the first three letters, remained seated. His words had not been written to seek reward, recognition, or worldly power. They were born only from the pain of separation and the purest longing for union with his Guru. His love was unconditional, without any trace of desire.

But then Guru Ram Das Ji himself turned to him and, commanded him to compose the fourth verse. Only then did Arjan Mal arise humbly, bowing in complete obedience, and penned the the final verse. In that divine moment, the light of Guru Ram Das Ji merged into him, and the mantle of Guruship was passed on. Thus, Arjan Mal became Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs.

The opening verses of Shabad Hazaarey are these very letters. The verses that follow, by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, guide the seeker on the path towards the Beloved.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji teaches that the way to the Divine is not through cleverness, pride, or intellect, but through surrender, humility, and devotion. The mind and body are bound to Maya—ever-changing, fleeting, and unreliable. What is real, what is eternal, is the Naam—the Divine Name. It is the Naam that carries the soul across the vast ocean of existence.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji teaches us to pray and seek for the grace to serve selflessly, to surrender completely at the feet of the True Guru—the one dyed in the deep colour of divine love. It is through such surrender that the soul is adorned as the true bride, beloved of the Lord.

He teaches that love is the path. Not worldly love, but divine love—awakened and revealed by the True Guru. And the Guru shows us the greatest truth: that the Beloved is not far, not beyond reach, but dwells within—right here, in the temple of this very body. To realize this, is wisdom. To live it, is liberation.