KANRE KI VAR

KANRE KI VAR, by Guru Ram Das, is one of the twenty-two compositions entered in the Guru Granth Sahib under the rubric of vdr. Like oilier vdrs it is assigned to a specific musical measure Kanra, in this instance. At the head of the Vdr is recorded by Guru Arjan, who prepared the first recension of the Holy Book, the direction as to the tune to which it should appropriately be sung, i.e. the tune of the folk ballad celebrating a popular hero, Musa, who attacked the chief to whom his fiancee had been married, capturing both the bridegroom and the bride, and then gallantly setting them free. The Vdr, in simple Punjabi with an occasional touch of Sadh Bhakha, consists of fifteen pauns, or stanzas, and thirty slokas, all of them of Guru Ram Das`s composition. Each paun comprises five lines, preceded by two slokas of unequal length. The central theme is the praise of God, the Supreme Being, the Infinite. He is the Creator of all that exists. His light is the light in all souls. He Himself is the seeker and the sought, the lover and the beloved.

He is the repository of the highest moral virtues, the treasure of all merits.He is the bestower of grace and bounties, and ferries man across the worldly ocean. What He wills comes to pass. He can be realized through constant remembrance of Him. Man is adjured to practise simran (smarnd).

Thus will his ignorance (avidyd) be dispelled and his haumai (egoity) erased. Following the instruction of the Guru and meeting with the holy in sangat one is put on the spiritual path. One thereby cultivates sabda and becomes receptive to ndm. The snare of mayd or temptation is then rent asunder. It is with God`s grace that the seeker meets such a Guru and learns to abide by his will.

References :

1. Sabaddarth Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Amrilsar, 1964
2. Sahib Singh, Sri Guru Granth Sahib /.)»r/`fln.Jalandhar, n.d.