Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
This great ocean of the world is so deep — you could search forever and never find its far shore.
I have no boat, not even a raft. I'm going under — please, reach out and save me!
The letter Tatta (the dental one) drops the poem's guard completely — this is its rawest, most human verse. Bhaujal... na paavas paar — the world-ocean is bottomless. And then, no theology, just a cry: naa tulhaa naa haath — no boat, no raft, I'm drowning — kar kirpaa prabh raakh lai, save me! After many verses about how the One rules and pervades and provides, here is the small self simply asking to be pulled from the water. It's important that a child hears this too: you are allowed to not be strong, to not have the raft, to just call out for help. The calling is the faith.
Who do you call out to when you feel like you're in over your head?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI