The Song of Virah, by Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras
Following is the complete translation of this Shabd of Virah (a song sung when the lover suffers from the agony of separation from his sweetest Beloved) by Tulsi Saheb Hathraswale. Translation into English by Shweta Sharma.
Piya bin saavan kuch nahin, hiye bich uthat hilor
Bol bachan bhavein nahin, tan man tadpe atol.
Piye bin virhin baavari, jiya jas kaskat hool
Sool uthe pati peer ki, dhan sampat sukh dhool
It bairi badra bhaye Garaje ghumri ghanghor
Ghumari ghumari ghar dwar mein, kooke dadur mor
Beej kadak kas kas karun, sudhi budhi rahat na hath
Sath mile piya panth ko, marag chalun din raat
Surat nirat dori karunn, mann mat khamb gadai
Lai ki leher upar mili, jhuli surat chadai
Yeh savan tulsi kehen, khojo satsang mahi
Gaai gavan sajjan karein, bhooje sat mat pai
“Saawan* is the month of love, of longing for the Beloved and as the drops of rain touch the earth, the soul thirsts more and more for union with the Beloved, the Guru.
“Tulsi weeps “Saawan without my piya (the Beloved, the husband) is nothing, the pangs of separation rise like waves in the ocean do, in the inmost core of my heart. Uttering and hearing words do not entertain me or suit my mood, my body and mind are convulsing with immeasurable pain.
“The sorrow caused by the absence of my Beloved husband is so intense that it makes me wander like a mad woman. My heart seethes with anguish, this separation torments me like a thorn that pricks the skin. In this severance from the Beloved Guru, all the money and wealth of this world has become to me like the dust of this earth.
“Dark clouds laden with moisture have now become my enemies as they roar and whirl. I feel the twinge of the aching cry of the peacock and with this, the rumbling and twirling of the clouds fills my inner being and I become one with the turbulence of the skies. My soul begins to whirl and swing between the chakras (the doorsteps of these stations within) and I lose all awareness of the world outside.
“If my Beloved comes along with me, I would undertake this journey within the realms of my inner being day and night. Surat (the soul that is a drop from the Ocean of the Supreme Being) is the current that moves up when it engrosses itself in the Divine Shabd and Nirat (the current that detaches the Surat from the Shabd so that the journey of soul does not get hampered by getting stuck at one region of higher bliss).
“Tulsi makes a string of Surat and Nirat and ties this string with a pole that he makes of his mann (mind) and intellect. He merges with the rhythmic waves of the Divine Word that he encounters higher up and the surat rises swinging with these waves.
“This rainy season, Tulsi says, get active in pursuit of true satsang (‘sat’ — truth and ‘sang’ — company: company of the true Guru, the Beloved, the husband). Only those who cross the third til climb up and down this thread of Surat and Nirat and realize the path of Truth.”
* Month of Saawan: Summer, Mid July to Mid August;
