???? (mitaa)
Meaning: noun: Beloved friends.
Quote:
????? ?? �?? ???? ????? � ???? ???????�
???? ??? ???? ??? � ???? ???????
?? ????! ?? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ????? ????, ??? ???? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????�
phareedaa je mai hodaa vaariaa ��mitaa aai-?iaa.
he?aa jalai majee?h jiu ��upar a?gaaraa.
O Farid! If I hide anything from the friends who come to me, let my body burn like the majith on hot coals. -Bhagat Farid, Guru Granth Sahib, 1379
Message: Farid feels pain (as though hot coals are placed on his body), if he does not share whatever he has with his friends. Why?
Friendship or company of wise and virtuous people is very precious and important in life. It is through such an association (sangat) that we learn about and are able to keep ourselves oriented to divinity. These are the beloved friends who help us to keep the Divine love fresh in our hearts and will lead us to experience an increased sense of spiritual happiness and well-being.
A friend, who I haven�t seen for ten years, suddenly arrives at sunset. I open the door to receive him and without asking whether he came by boat or by land, and without bidding him to sit on the bed or the couch, I go to the inner chamber and ask my wife: �Have you got enough food and drink like Su Tungp�o�s wife?� My wife gladly takes out her gold hairpin to sell it. I calculate it will last us three days. Ah, is this not happiness? �Adapted from Chin Shent�an, a 17th century Chinese scholar
Note: Majith (Rubia cordifolia), often known as common madder�or�Indian madder, is a species of�flowering plant�in the coffee family,�Rubiaceae. It is cultivated for a red pigment derived from its roots. Read more.
Etymology: Modification of meet from Sanskrit�mitr�(friend; the sun god – Rig Veda); comparable to English�Mithra/Mithras�(the sun god, the friend of man, in the ancient Persian religion).
