Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Everyone lives hoping in hope — hope placed upon hope.
But the one who understands His Command becomes free of that anxious hoping.
So many are asleep inside their hopes.
Only that one wakes, whom He Himself awakens.
Everyone lives on hope, and too much hoping can be a kind of sleep.
This shabad is in Raag Aasaa, and aasaa means hope. So here, in the raag named Hope, Guru Amar Das writes about hope itself. He begins with its shadow. Aasaa aas karay sabh ko-ee — everyone lives stacking hope on hope. That stacking is a kind of sleep. The mind dreams forward into tomorrow and misses the day in front of it. Think of a kid so busy waiting for the weekend that the whole week slips by.
The free state has its own word: niraasaa. It does not mean hopeless or sad. It means free of that anxious leaning into what comes next. It comes from understanding the Hukam, the flow of existence, the One's will. Then this moment is already held. And the waking up, as always, comes from the One: so jaagai jaagaavai so-ee — that one alone wakes, whom He awakens.
How much of your mind lives in what might happen next — and what is that costing you now?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI