This verse expands on the theme of true colour of Satpanth from the preceding verse, advising the faithful to embody and steadfastly retain the colour of Truth, just as a fabric permanently absorbs the colour of a dye.
The word ra(n)g or colour in the context of this verse means ‘attachment’, ‘love’, ‘affection’, ‘passion’, ‘liking’, ‘longing’ and the term ra(n)gāvu(n) means ‘to be imbued with’, ‘to be saturated with’, ‘to be enamoured of’, ‘to be deeply attached to’, ‘to be love-struck’, ‘to be filled with love for’. Thus, the first line means ‘dye yourself with the colour of Truth’ or ‘immerse yourself with the colour of Truth’. Clearly, dyeing or immersing oneself with the colour of Truth implies doing away with the fleeting colour of …show more content…
The uttam ra(n)g (best colour) is indeed the genuine colour, genuine in the sense of permanence and that is indeed the colour of Satpanth (True Path), the hue of the Truth, which leads one to Satguru, as explained by Pir Satgur Nur:
Jīrevīrā ra(n)g majīṭh sāchā hay, ane dīse te lāl gulāl,
Paṇ kasu(n)bīmā(n) guṇ hay, te dīse chhe ra(n)g āl
O brother, the Indian madder dye is genuine and appears red as the gulāl,
While the trait of safflower dye is to seemingly appear as the colour of āl
The word gulāl in this verse refers to slightly fragrant red powder used on joyous occasions, particularly during the holī festival. Ᾱl is another dye yielding plant, commonly known as noni, Indian mulberry and morinda. Like the Indian madder, the red dye produced from the roots of the Indian mulberry is permanent. The appearance of the safflower dye as the colour of the Indian mulberry, the Pir says, is merely a superficial display, superficial because its colour is not lasting, as is the colour of the Indian …show more content…
Therefore, it is through adherence to the teachings of the Satguru that one attains the lasting colour of Satpa(n)th and through the Satpa(n)th, one attains the Satguru. Hence, the Satguru is the means and the end, the path and the destination. This is not exclusively a Satpa(n)thi or Ismaili belief, but rather, it is a Shī‘a belief, confirmed through the words of Imam Zayn al-‘Ᾱbidīn (AS), the third Imam: “We are the gates of God, we are the Straight Path”. When Imam Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq (AS), the fifth Imam, was asked about the meaning of the ‘Straight Path’, He replied, “It is the Commander of the faithful”.
Indeed, the hue of the Truth is the dye of Satpa(n)th, the colour of the Satguru, or as the Ginans put it, the hari ra(n)g (colour of God), the Ṣibghat-Allāh (colour of Allah), according to the Holy Qur’an. Expounding the correlation between the True Path and the Satguru, Pir Shams says in his Saloko Moṭo:
Amārā dharam mā(n)he je jīv rahyā
Ane tene chhe amāro ra(n)g
Those who have stayed firm on our
The word ra(n)g or colour in the context of this verse means ‘attachment’, ‘love’, ‘affection’, ‘passion’, ‘liking’, ‘longing’ and the term ra(n)gāvu(n) means ‘to be imbued with’, ‘to be saturated with’, ‘to be enamoured of’, ‘to be deeply attached to’, ‘to be love-struck’, ‘to be filled with love for’. Thus, the first line means ‘dye yourself with the colour of Truth’ or ‘immerse yourself with the colour of Truth’. Clearly, dyeing or immersing oneself with the colour of Truth implies doing away with the fleeting colour of …show more content…
The uttam ra(n)g (best colour) is indeed the genuine colour, genuine in the sense of permanence and that is indeed the colour of Satpanth (True Path), the hue of the Truth, which leads one to Satguru, as explained by Pir Satgur Nur:
Jīrevīrā ra(n)g majīṭh sāchā hay, ane dīse te lāl gulāl,
Paṇ kasu(n)bīmā(n) guṇ hay, te dīse chhe ra(n)g āl
O brother, the Indian madder dye is genuine and appears red as the gulāl,
While the trait of safflower dye is to seemingly appear as the colour of āl
The word gulāl in this verse refers to slightly fragrant red powder used on joyous occasions, particularly during the holī festival. Ᾱl is another dye yielding plant, commonly known as noni, Indian mulberry and morinda. Like the Indian madder, the red dye produced from the roots of the Indian mulberry is permanent. The appearance of the safflower dye as the colour of the Indian mulberry, the Pir says, is merely a superficial display, superficial because its colour is not lasting, as is the colour of the Indian …show more content…
Therefore, it is through adherence to the teachings of the Satguru that one attains the lasting colour of Satpa(n)th and through the Satpa(n)th, one attains the Satguru. Hence, the Satguru is the means and the end, the path and the destination. This is not exclusively a Satpa(n)thi or Ismaili belief, but rather, it is a Shī‘a belief, confirmed through the words of Imam Zayn al-‘Ᾱbidīn (AS), the third Imam: “We are the gates of God, we are the Straight Path”. When Imam Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq (AS), the fifth Imam, was asked about the meaning of the ‘Straight Path’, He replied, “It is the Commander of the faithful”.
Indeed, the hue of the Truth is the dye of Satpa(n)th, the colour of the Satguru, or as the Ginans put it, the hari ra(n)g (colour of God), the Ṣibghat-Allāh (colour of Allah), according to the Holy Qur’an. Expounding the correlation between the True Path and the Satguru, Pir Shams says in his Saloko Moṭo:
Amārā dharam mā(n)he je jīv rahyā
Ane tene chhe amāro ra(n)g
Those who have stayed firm on our