The Toll-Collector Can't Reach the One's Servant

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

Here is another danger on the road: a greedy toll-collector.

Jah laalach jaagaatee ghaat — the place where the greedy toll-collector sits. He stops travelers and makes them pay. Think of a gate on a road where someone grabs more than is fair from everyone who passes. He stands for karma's reckoning, the idea that every deed comes back to be paid for.

But that path stays far from the One's humble servant. The servant is not on the toll-road at all, so he does not have to pay. Grace lets him through free. Another shabad in Raag Aasaa says the same: soaked in the Name, your long account is wiped clean.