Gurbani Word Of The Day: machhulee

ਮਛੁਲੀ (machhulee)
Meaning: noun: Fish.

Quote:
ਮਛੁਲੀ ਹੋਵਾ ਜਲਿ ਬਸਾ   ਜੀਅ ਜੰਤ ਸਭਿ ਸਾਰਿ॥
machhulee hovaa jal basaa jee-a jaṅt sabh saar.
If I were a fish, I would live in water and appreciate the Creator just like other beings and creatures in the water do. – Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, 157

Message: The Guru would like us to dive in water like a fish and enjoy living in life sustaining water. We should, like fish living in deep waters, embrace the ‘Ocean of Life’ with open arms and in great joy whilst avoiding the path that separates us from the Creator.

When fish is separated from water and finds itself on the banks of the ocean, it dies immediately.

Just like the fish, which can’t endure separation from the water, our mind should be immersed in the pervasive presence of the Divine. It should never be without this awareness, even for an instant.

Forsaking such an awareness, for even a while, should be so potent that one ‘dies’ without the Creator’s presence.

ਨਾਮ ਬਿਹੂਨਾ ਤਨੁ ਮਨੁ ਹੀਨਾ ਜਲ ਬਿਨੁ ਮਛੁਲੀ ਜਿਉ ਮਰੈ॥
Without the Name of the Divine, the body and mind are worthless, (they wither away) like a fish dies out of water. – Guru Arjan Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, 80

Etymology:From Sanskrit matsya (fish) → Pali machchh/machchhee → Prakrit machchh/mashchalee → Old Marwari maachhalee. Comparable to Bihari/Hindi machhlee, and Sindhi/Punjabi machhee.

 

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