Savaiye in Praise of Guru Arjun (Bhatt Harbans), Verse 2 — the throne handed on, the light continuing
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When the Highest One willed it, Guru Ram Das went to the City of the One.
The One gave him a royal throne and seated the Guru on it.
The angels and the gods were full of joy. O Guru, they cheered your victory again and again.
The demons ran away; their wrongs made them shake inside.
Those who found Guru Ram Das were set free from their wrongs.
He gave the royal canopy and throne to Guru Arjun, and came home.
Guru Ram Das went home to the One, and the Guru's light passed to Guru Arjun.
When it was the One's will, Guru Ram Das went to the City of the One. The One welcomed him and gave him a royal throne. The heavenly beings were full of joy. They cheered, "Victory, victory!"
The asur, the demons of old stories, ran off shaking. That is a picture of wrong losing its hold. Whatever wrongs people carried fell away when they found Guru Ram Das.
Then Guru Ram Das handed the royal canopy and throne to Guru Arjun, and came home. Think of a relay race. The runner hands the baton on, and the race keeps going. Nothing is lost. For Sikhs, this is how the Guru's light moves: one lamp lit from the last, never broken. This verse closes the whole set of Savaiye.
When something ends, how can it also be a beginning of something else?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI