Savaiye Sri Mukhbak (Mehl 5), Verse 14 — Nothing you can hold will stay
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Not the body, not the house, not love lasts forever. You are drunk on Maya; how long will you be proud of these?
Not the crown, not the royal canopy, not the servants with fans last forever. You do not think in your heart that your life is slipping away.
Not chariots, not horses, not elephants or royal thrones last; in an instant you will leave them and go bare, with nothing.
Not the warrior, not the hero, not the king or ruler stays with anyone; see this with your own eyes.
Not a fortress, not a shelter, not a treasure will save you; doing wrong, you will leave with both hands empty.
Friends, children, wife and companions — none of them last; they shift like the shade of a tree.
The One is the Perfect First Being, kind to the humble; remember the Unreachable, Endless One every moment.
Nanak prays: O Great Master, Your servant has come to Your shelter; please be kind and carry me across.
Nothing a person can own or rule stays, so remember the One every moment.
The verse lists everything a person might be proud of: chhatar, the royal canopy; rath, chariots; gaj, elephants; singhaasan, thrones; kot, fortresses. None of it lasts. Naa(n)g siDhaarahu: you leave bare, carrying nothing.
Birakh kee chhaanrahu: like the shade of a tree, which moves as the sun crosses the sky. Even the people we love shift and change. Chhin chhin simrahu: remember every moment. Kirpaa kar taarahu: be kind and carry me across.
If you could keep only one thing that can never be taken away, what would you want it to be?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI