Savaiye Sri Mukhbak (Mehl 5), Verse 10 — I come just as I am
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There is only One. And the One is found by the True Guru's grace — a gift that is always here, waiting for an open heart.
This body is like unbaked clay, and it is tied up in attachment. I am foolish, hard as stone, unclean and without understanding.
My mind runs and wobbles and will not hold still; it does not know the ways of the Supreme One.
I am drunk on youth, good looks and riches; I wander around confused, full of pride.
Other people's wealth, other people's wives, quarrels and putting others down — these taste sweet to my heart.
I try to hide my tricks, but the One who knows every heart sees and hears it all.
I have no gentleness, no faith, no kindness and no purity, but I have come to Your shelter, O Giver of life.
Nanak prays: You are the Cause of every cause, all-powerful, O Master of Nanak — please save me!
With nothing good to show, the speaker owns everything honestly and comes to the One's shelter anyway.
A new set of savaiye begins here. Kaachee dayh: the body is like a clay pot not yet baked, easily broken. The speaker calls himself hard names: foolish, stone-hearted, unclean. The point is honesty, the end of pretending.
Par Dhan, other people's riches, and other people's wives tempt him; the point is wanting what is not yours. He enjoys quarrels and running others down, and he hides it. But the antarjaamee, the One who knows every heart, sees and hears it all.
Aa-i-o saran: I have come to Your shelter. Think of a child who broke a glass walking up to a parent and saying, "It was me."
Is it easier or harder to be honest about your mistakes to someone who already understands you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI