Salok Vaaraan Te Vadheek (Mehl 4), Salok 127 — the boat that carries us across
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The True Guru meditates on the One, the First Being. The Sangat loves the True Guru.
Those who join the Sangat and serve the True Guru, the Guru brings to meet the One.
This world is a frightening ocean. The Guru is the boat, and on the boat of the Naam the Guru carries us across.
The Guru's Sikhs accept the One's will, and the Perfect Guru carries them over to the other shore.
O One, bless me with the dust of the feet of the Guru's Sikhs, so that even someone who has done wrong, like me, may be set free.
Those who have it written on their foreheads by the One come to meet Guru Nanak.
The messengers of death are beaten back and chased away, and we are set free in the One's court.
Bravo to the Guru's Sikhs! The One is pleased and holds them close.
The world can feel like a rough ocean, and the Guru with the Naam is the boat that carries people across.
Satsangat is the Sangat — people gathered together to remember the One. Those who join it and serve the True Guru are brought to the One. Ayhu bha-ojal jagat sansaar hai: this world is a frightening ocean. Gur bohith naam taraa-ay: the Guru is the ship, and the Naam carries us over.
The salok asks for the dust of the Sikhs' feet, an old picture of humility: wanting to stand where good people have walked. Even the messengers of death, the jamkankar, are chased away. It ends with a cheer, saabaas, bravo to the Guru's Sikhs.
Who are the people who help you feel steady when life gets rough?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI