Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When we lose our inner light, we feel the loss later and wish we'd tended it.
So keep the light lit now, while you can — hold onto the wise word that keeps it burning.
This one is about looking after your inner light now, while it is easy.
This verse is part of a poem that walks through the alphabet, one letter at a time. Here the letter is "jajja."
Jajai jot hir la-ee tayree — your light has been stolen away. The "jot" is the inner light in every person. It gets stolen when we stop looking after it. Ant ga-i-aa pachhutaavhigaa — at the end you will leave, and you will feel sorry. That is the ache of seeing, too late, what you let grow dim.
The fix is gentle, and it starts today. Ayk sabad tooN cheeneh naahee — you have not come to know the one Word. So the answer is to hold on to the Word now.
The poem is not trying to make a child feel doomed. It names the regret so you can skip it. Think of watering a plant a little every day. That is easy. Trying to save it after weeks of forgetting is much harder. Look after your inner light today, and there will be nothing to wish you had done differently later.
What is a small good habit that's much easier to start now than to wish for later?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI