As discussed in verse seventy-seven of this verse, the Hindu custom of satī, practiced in the bygone era, entailed the act of self-immolation by a chaste and virtuous wife on her husband’s funeral pyre. Using this custom as a reference point, this verse criticises those who pretend to be true lovers, but in reality, do not harbour true love for the Beloved and fail to be consumed in the fire of love of the Beloved.
In Hinduism, the term satī refers to a chaste, virtuous and faithful wife, who engages in self-immolation on her dead husband’s funeral pyre. The actual act of self-immolation is also known as satī. However, in the Ginans, satī refers to a true lover, whose object of devotion is the Beloved in the form of the Satguru. The relationship …show more content…
[Such a satī] burns the head and entire body to ashes [in the fire of love]!
The term sohāgaṇ in the above verse means ‘woman whose husband is alive’, ‘happy and joyous state of wifehood’, ‘a woman beloved to her husband’, ‘fortunate’. The Satguru is the spiritual consort of the satī, hence the above verse describes the satī as sohāgaṇ. While in the Hindu culture the satī engages in self-immolation because her husband ceases to live, the true satī, according to the Ginans, is totally consumed by the fire of love of the living and alive spiritual consort. Smouldering in the furnace of ʿishq al-ḥaqīqī (true love), day in, day out is indeed the hallmark of a truly devoted lover or satī. As long as there is life, the satī burns and burns even more, until the true or real death, discussed in verse seventeen, is attained. Abdul Latif Bhitai, the mystic poet of Sindh articulates this …show more content…
Apparently, the satī of this verse of the Saloko does not fulfil the above criterion, hence the questioning in the first two lines of the verse regarding the veracity of the claim of satī being made by such an individual – an individual, who does not burn in the fire of longing for the Beloved, an individual, who does not feel the burning sensation of the pangs of separation, and above all, an individual, who does not set ablaze his ego in the inferno of love.
According to the Gujaratilexicon, the term ghelaḍī, used in the third line, means 'mad', 'insane', 'foolish'. It also defines the word as premghelī, which means, a woman mad in love. However, in the context of this verse, ghelaḍī implies a simpleton who is experiencing infatuation. Therefore, the third line bluntly dismisses the individual claiming to be a true lover, but does not incinerate the ego in the inferno of love!
Indeed, love adorns and beautifies the lover, while the lover dignifies and upholds the honour of love through deeds and actions fitting a true lover. Alas, the individual who purports to be a satī neither exhibits the beauty of love, nor is he a true lover, hence the chiding and berating remark in the concluding line - prem lāj na mā(n)he - you did not uphold the honour of
In Hinduism, the term satī refers to a chaste, virtuous and faithful wife, who engages in self-immolation on her dead husband’s funeral pyre. The actual act of self-immolation is also known as satī. However, in the Ginans, satī refers to a true lover, whose object of devotion is the Beloved in the form of the Satguru. The relationship …show more content…
[Such a satī] burns the head and entire body to ashes [in the fire of love]!
The term sohāgaṇ in the above verse means ‘woman whose husband is alive’, ‘happy and joyous state of wifehood’, ‘a woman beloved to her husband’, ‘fortunate’. The Satguru is the spiritual consort of the satī, hence the above verse describes the satī as sohāgaṇ. While in the Hindu culture the satī engages in self-immolation because her husband ceases to live, the true satī, according to the Ginans, is totally consumed by the fire of love of the living and alive spiritual consort. Smouldering in the furnace of ʿishq al-ḥaqīqī (true love), day in, day out is indeed the hallmark of a truly devoted lover or satī. As long as there is life, the satī burns and burns even more, until the true or real death, discussed in verse seventeen, is attained. Abdul Latif Bhitai, the mystic poet of Sindh articulates this …show more content…
Apparently, the satī of this verse of the Saloko does not fulfil the above criterion, hence the questioning in the first two lines of the verse regarding the veracity of the claim of satī being made by such an individual – an individual, who does not burn in the fire of longing for the Beloved, an individual, who does not feel the burning sensation of the pangs of separation, and above all, an individual, who does not set ablaze his ego in the inferno of love.
According to the Gujaratilexicon, the term ghelaḍī, used in the third line, means 'mad', 'insane', 'foolish'. It also defines the word as premghelī, which means, a woman mad in love. However, in the context of this verse, ghelaḍī implies a simpleton who is experiencing infatuation. Therefore, the third line bluntly dismisses the individual claiming to be a true lover, but does not incinerate the ego in the inferno of love!
Indeed, love adorns and beautifies the lover, while the lover dignifies and upholds the honour of love through deeds and actions fitting a true lover. Alas, the individual who purports to be a satī neither exhibits the beauty of love, nor is he a true lover, hence the chiding and berating remark in the concluding line - prem lāj na mā(n)he - you did not uphold the honour of