Savaiye in Praise of Guru Amar Das (by the bard Keerat), Verse 17 — good that rubs off on you
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Seeing the Guru, a Sikh of the Guru is blessed with chanting and deep meditation, truth and contentment.
Whoever comes to his shelter is saved. Their account in the city of death is wiped clean.
His heart is full of loving devotion, and he calls out to the Creator.
The Guru is a river of pearls. In a blink he carries the drowning across.
He was born into the house of Guru Nanak, and he sings the praises of the Creator.
Whoever serves Guru Amar Das has their pain and poverty taken far, far away.
Near the Guru, good things rub off on you: remembering the One, truth, and a feeling of having enough.
The poet is Keerat. He says a Gursikh, a learner of the Guru, gains good things just by seeing the Guru's darsan, his presence. Jap tap sat santokh: remembering the One, steady effort, truth, and a feeling of having enough.
Whoever comes into his shelter is safe. In the old picture, each person had an account kept in jam pur, the city of death. Keerat says that account is wiped clean. Nothing is held against them.
He calls the Guru gauhar daree-aa-o, a river of pearls. In a blink, he lifts those who are sinking and carries them across.
Think of standing near a warm oven on a cold day. You don't have to do anything. You just get warm. Guru Amar Das was born into Guru Nanak's own house. Those who serve him find their pain and hard times carried far away.
What good habits have you picked up just from being around the right people?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI