The Closing Saloks, Savaiye in Praise of Guru Amar Das (the bard Jaalap)
Carry what cannot run out, and no one can leave you empty or afraid.
The Arc
A single verse portraying the people Guru Amar Das is pleased with. Line by line it lists an inner wealth: no pain or hunger of soul, never truly poor, free of grief, beholden to no one for their worth, yet endlessly generous, and above all fearless amid opposition. It is a picture of what the Name does to a life from the inside.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The theme is inner sufficiency: fearlessness and generosity that flow not from having much but from carrying something inexhaustible. It rhymes with the Japji vision of the one who listens and is unshaken.
Translation Notes
The verse’s riches are read as inner (steadiness, generosity, fearlessness), keeping the For Your Children voice grounded in felt security rather than status.
Carry what cannot run out, and no one can leave you empty or afraid.
The Arc
A single verse portraying the people Guru Amar Das is pleased with. Line by line it lists an inner wealth: no pain or hunger of soul, never truly poor, free of grief, beholden to no one for their worth, yet endlessly generous, and above all fearless amid opposition. It is a picture of what the Name does to a life from the inside.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The theme is inner sufficiency: fearlessness and generosity that flow not from having much but from carrying something inexhaustible. It rhymes with the Japji vision of the one who listens and is unshaken.
Translation Notes