Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When I keep the One in mind, I am truly alive. When I forget, something in me goes dim, as if I had stopped breathing.
It is not easy to hold the True Name — it asks something real of you.
But if you ever feel a genuine hunger for it, an aching to be near what is real, that very hunger will eat up your pains until they are gone.
Remembering the One is like breathing for Guru Nanak. Forgetting feels like the breath stopping.
Aakhaa jeevaa visrai mar jaa-o — when I speak the Name, I live; when I forget, I die. The Name here is not an extra hobby. It is as needed as air.
Then comes a surprise. Guru Nanak says a real bhookh, a hunger, for the True Name is not a problem. It is the cure. Tit bhookhai khaa-ay chalee-ahi dookh — that hunger eats up your pains.
Think of missing someone you love who lives far away. The missing itself shows how close your heart already is. In Raag Maajh this ache is called viraha, the longing to be near the Beloved. The longing is already the Beloved pulling you home.
What does it feel like in your body when you remember something you love — versus when you forget it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI