Let Love Settle on the One's Gentle Nearness
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When your love settles onto the beautiful, gentle presence of the One — the Cherisher of the whole universe — something in you comes clean and bright.
Through the grace of the good and holy company around you, your mind grows clear and pure, like still water. And then, night and day, you stay awake and alive with joy, your heart singing the praises of the One. Not asleep to the wonder anymore — awake, aware, glowing, all the time.
This is the Rahaao — the "Pause," the refrain that holds the central theme of the composition and is meant to be returned to. charan kamal gobind rang laagaa — love (rang — the color of devotion) becomes attached to the charan kamal (the "lotus feet") of Gobind, the Cherisher/Sustainer of the universe. "Lotus feet" is a tender Gurbani image for the beautiful, humble nearness of the divine that one comes to rest at — rendered here as the gentle presence one's love settles onto. sant parsaad bha-ay man nirmal — by the sant parsaad (grace of the holy company, the sangat) the mind becomes nirmal — pure, clear, spotless like still water. har keertan meh an-din jaagaa — in the keertan (loving song of praise) one remains an-din (night and day) jaagaa — awake and aware. Keertan and simran are framed, always, as joyful awakening — the mind kept bright and the heart kept singing. This Pause is the beating center the whole thitee returns to: love the near and gentle One, keep good company, and stay joyfully awake.
What is something that keeps your heart "awake" and full of wonder, even in the middle of an ordinary day?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI