Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Religious Studies – Anthology
290Granthian exaltation ‘dhan janedi mau – blessed are the mothers!’ Our respec t goes
t o all t he mot hers from all t he spec ies, and so t he sc ript ural imaginary fills us wit h
pride in our own bodies, and c harges us all, men and women, to relish our Divine in
t he daily rhyt hms of life...
There is yet another strong feminist c urrent in their poetry: a vocative for the
Mot her – ‘meri mai’ – flows vibrant ly in t he Sikh t ext ual body. For example, the
daily hymn Anand begins with ‘anand bhaia meri mai – oh Mother of mind, I am in
bliss!’ The Third Guru experienc es unic ity, and in his ec stasy, he lyric ally and
polymorphous ly addresses his Mother, ‘meri mai – my M o t h e r! ’ C o min g f ro m t h e
lips of male poet s, it is a verbal embrac e gushing from t he point c losest t o t heir
unc onsc ious. She is the bedroc k of their identity, and so they ask of her passionate
questions: ‘How c an I live without the Name, O my Mother?’ (GG: 226); ‘How c ould
I forget That, O my Mother?’ (GG: 349); ‘How do I unite with truth, O my Mother?’
(GG: 661) and ‘What virt ues will unit e me wit h my life, O my Mot her?’ (GG: 204).
While t hey seek her knowledge, they also share passionate moments with her: ‘I
a m in lo v e O my M o t h e r! ’ Eac h time, the Mother c arries their language forward,
making their experience come alive. T his is not a dualist ic opposit ion bet ween the
male Gurus versus her, but a healt hy ‘dialogic ’ relat ionship, whic h is root ed in
openness and leads to a deeper self-awareness, a deeper communion.
Clearly, it is not in opposition to, but rather pulling towards, the Mother that
the Sikh Gurus establish their identity.
...Psychological
Psychologically, the Gurus connect with the female at a very deep level. Throughout
the Guru Granth, they identify themselves with her in their searc h for the Divine.
Woman is regarded as physic ally and spirit ually refined, so it is in her t one, her
mood, her image and her mode of dress that the Gurus express their yearning.
They envision The One as the handsome Groom, and take on the personality of a
bride, t ot ally merging wit h her feminine feelings and t hought s in t heir desire for
spirit ual union. The ma le–fema le duality whic h violates the wholeness of human
nature and deprives eac h person of the other half is overc ome, establishing, in
turn, the signific anc e of being human. Men and women are united, and share their
human angst and human hopes.
The pervasive bridal symbol est ablishes a sensuous and palpable union wit h
the Infinite One. The Groom (sahu) is known as agam (infinit e), agocaru
(unfathomable) and ajoni (unborn); He is utterly metaphysic al and beyond all
perc eption through the senses. It is ‘the Wholly Other’, as Rudoph Otto, the
eminent German theologian, said. The bride perceives and proclaims the
infiniteness of her Groom: ‘O my Beloved, your limits I c annot fathom.’ She is
perplexed and wonders how she is going to ‘see’ her True Groom when ‘He has no
color, no garb, no form’ (GG: 945). How is she going to know the unknowable? She
imagines Him to the ‘a deep and unfathomable oc ean full of prec ious jewels’ and
‘she dedicates herself entirely to Him – avar nahi an puja’ (GG: 1233). The bride
understands the Singularity of her Groom and dec lares fervently that she would
attac h herself to none other: ‘Without the One, I know no other.’