AmritVela Rose
Part2 Continued…

When attendants came with her morning meal, she asked to be shown to the king so
she might express her gratitude. She quickly washed, covered her head and
arranged her robe as best she could, then followed them to the throne room.
Lowering her eyes she crept to the king’s feet. Before him she placed her
offering of his lovely sunrise gardens flower petals bloom oozing droplets of
perfume, wetted by morning dew mingled with tears. Bowing low, she backed from
the room.

Her days and nights passed similarly in this way. Devotedly she spent her
mornings weaving, her afternoons tending the garden, and evenings nurturing the
rose bush. Every morning before the sun rose she reveled amongst the perfumed
petals of the rose garden seeking the most perfect blossom to convey her
gratitude to her sovereign. As the weeks passed, unbeknownst her beauty
increased the traces of her former life struggles erased by the blooming
devotion in her heart. She began to hum during her work making up songs to sing.

Merciful master you freed this slave,

Every wonderful thing to her gave

My king you are perfect in every way

Yet of others you have only good things to say

Your ways are so gentle so sweet and so kind

Desire to serve you is first in my mind

Loving you has given me reason to live

I only wish I had something worthy to give

That I might somehow in someway repay

All the joy that I have in living this day

Your ways are so gentle so sweet and so kind

Desire to serve you is first in my mind

So I offer to you this scented bloom

Upon a cloth woven from my simple loom

Soaked in my tears and wetted with dew

I realize it to be hardly fitting for you

Your ways are so gentle so sweet and so kind

Desire to serve you is first in my mind

You are so gracious to compassionately accept

This boon from one so utterly unadept

Your ways are so gentle so sweet and so kind

Desire to serve you is first in my mind

Your ways are so gentle so sweet and so kind

Desire to serve you is first in my mind

Repeating his name over and again she sang,

Emanating Light

Particles shimmer golden

Floating suspended

Sparkling on soundless waves

In the spectrum of Thy Name

Sultry breezes waft

Scenting the night with perfume

Of a thousand blooms

Intoxicating this one

With the essence of Thy Name

Though the girl thought herself to be alone when she sang, there are many ears
in a palace and her songs came to be known to the king. One day when she had
come to place her rose at his feet, He bade her look up at him. What he saw in
her eyes moved him completely. Her unending gratitude and depth of devotion awed
and overwhelmed him stirring him to request that she sit by his side as his
bride. She could refuse him nothing although she knew herself to be his inferior
and requested only that she be allowed to continue serving him in her humble
way. That she might always present to him the budding blooming fragrance of her
heart.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Right at the end, when we heard the words “blooming fragrance”, a delicate white
rose formed in the center of the sakhee’s letter. Right before our eyes, it
opened up and from it came the lushest most tantalizing intoxicating scent that
I had ever experienced. We just sat there enraptured by it as it seeped into
us. The letter slowly dimmed, but the fragrance lingered on.

A special joy permeated me. I felt wonderful and without want. Although this
had been the most fantastic morning in my life, somehow it felt perfectly
natural that I should feel this way - this was my inner most right; I was
created to feel like this!

After a long time, Aunty Jee said, “Wow! This one was special. What timing!”
It was rare to see Aunty Jee so moved. “That Sakhee! Oooh, I am going to send
her a big hug right now!” And to our utter amazement, we saw a small glow of
bright light come from Aunty Jee’s heart and streak out of the window into the
dark sky!

The Vaja ToR kid could no longer contain his excitement (oooh, I fell deeply for
the next vaja that comes his way), “This can’t be happening. Am I dreaming?
Ow! I guess I am not. Aunty Jee, what was THAT?”

Aunty Jee laughed, “Well, where should I begin? . Ok, my Sakhee knew that we
were going to be discussing this pauree about amrit vela but even I am surprised
at her timing. The story she wrote in her letter is the story of our soul. The
True One has given us so much, what can we possibly give back? The enchanted
Guru Nanak says there is one thing that is worthy of the True One and that is
one of the most beautiful things that the True One has created and given to us.
Do you know what that is?” she asked me.

Normally, I would have thought about this for a long time (before answering
“no”), but today the answer came quickly, “The mind.”

“Very good,” Aunty Jee continued, “That is the gift that is hardest to give -
the mind is very difficult to capture, let alone present as a gift. But Guru
Nanak says (and here is the essence of this puaree) that we can capture it at
Amrit Vela, wrap it with Naam and praises, and present it to the True One. When
our gift is accepted, we become the True One’s bride and we see the True One
permeating all.”

We drove the rest of the way to the Amrit Vela Naam Simran Session in silence.
By the time we arrived, the sounds of naamjap could be heard reverberating
through the hall in full swing. This my second such session felt quite
different from before. Every time I said “WaheGuru” I felt the most awesomely
soothing wave wash over me. I kept having visions of the rose releasing its
scent - every time the rose opened up, I could sense, even taste, its pure scent
filling and pervading the room…

aasaa mehlaa 4 chhant ghar 4 (panna 448)

har amrit bhinnay lo-inaa man paraym ratannaa raam raajay ||

My eyes are wet with the Nectar of the True One, and my mind is imbued with True
One’s Love, O Lord King.

man raam kasvatee laa-i-aa kanchan sovinnaa.

The Lord applied Truth to my mind, and made it pure gold.

gurmukh rang chalooli-aa mayraa man tano bhinnaa.

Through the Guru, I am dyed in the deep red color, and my mind and body are
drenched with True One’s Love.

jan naanak musak jhakoli-aa sabh janam Dhan Dhannaa. ||1||

Servant Nanak is drenched with True One’s Fragrance; blessed, blessed is the
entire life. ||1||