Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Without the Guru, no one takes the dye — meeting the Guru, the color is applied.
Those dyed in reverent awe and love of the Guru are absorbed into the Praise of the True One.
The color of love takes when we meet the Guru, and it needs both love and awe.
Bin gur ko-ay na rangee-ai — without the Guru, no one takes the color. Cloth left beside the dye pot stays pale. It has to be dipped. Gur mili-ai rang charhaa-o — meeting the Guru is the dipping.
The verse names two things in the pot: bhai bhaa-ay, awe and love together. We have met this pair before as bhau. Love without awe can grow careless. Awe without love can grow cold. Together they are like dye and the fixer that makes it stay. Think of how you love a grandparent: warm hugs, and also deep respect. Someone colored this way does not just wear the color. They melt into the One who colored them, lost in the praise of the True One.
Think of someone you love and respect at once — how is that love different from your casual ones?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI