Thursday, October 13, 2005

Those whose cloaks are dyed...

The panjabi version of the book “The Spirit Born People“ by Prof. Puran Singh has a very interesting and powerful title. The title is taken from a sabad from the Guru Granth Sahib. In rag tilang, by Satigur Nanak there is a line that goes like this: jin ke cole ratre piare kant tina ke pas

Which literally means something like : Those whose cloaks are dyed, the Master is by their side.

The name of the book is “jin ke cole ratre“...or for a more phonetic transliteration “Jin kay cholay ratray“....those whose cloaks are dyed!

People who are born of the Spirit, it is as if their cherished cloaks are dyed and decorated by the color that is pleasing to their Master, the all pervading Creator. Their every breath and action is a passionate living in service of creation. Very apt translation of the concept. Prof. Puran Singh wrote the book in English. I am sure he chose the title based on the inspiring analogy of Satigur Nanak.