RUTĪ (RUTTĪ), a composition by Gurū Arjan in Rāga Rāmkalī in the Gurū Granth Sāhib comprising eight six-line stanzas, preceded by two slokas, each of two lines. Ruttī is the plural of rut, Skt. ṛtu (season). The ślokas introduce the theme briefly while the stanzas, called chants here, elaborate it. Generally, the hymn portrays the intense urge in man to meet the Supreme Being. The yearning sharpens from season to season.

         According to the Indian tradition the year is divided into six seasons, viz. Vasant (spring). Grīṣma (summer), Vārṣa (rainy season), Śarad or Patjhar (autumn), Śiśir (the dewy season) and Hemant (winter). Vasant (Punjabi Basant) is from mid-March to mid-May.Grīṣma or Grīkham from mid-May to mid-July, and so on. The chhants in Ruttī describe a woman's (seeker's) longing for the spouse (the Lord), the pangs she bears in separation, and the blissful joy she experiences on meeting with the Lord. The union is achieved through meditation on the Name and thereby all the seasons, months and hours become delightful for the devotee.

         Fortunate are they who are dyed in the steadfast colour of single-minded meditation; fortunate is their coming into the world. In the spring season all is verdant within and without; the scorched innerself has bloomed through contemplation on the Name. The ego-ridden person, however, is unaware of the joys of the delectable showers of His grace. It is association with the gurmukhs which leads on to the path of devotion and to union with the Supreme Spouse. The jīva (bride), says Gurū Arjan, then never suffers the torments of separation : "binvanti nānak prabhi āpi melī tah na prem bichhoh jīu" (GG, 929). The changing seasons then do not affect her. "The saints are the true helpers of, jīva and they are capable of ferrying her across the worldly ocean. They are imbued with the love of God's Name and they are the acme of mankind ."