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Sikhism·Raag Aasaa·Shabad 308
Verse 1 of 8

Sweetness Comes Drop by Patient Drop

ਆਸਾ ਮਹਲਾ ੪ ॥
aasaa mehlaa 4.
Aasaa, Fourth Mehl:
ਝਿਮਿ ਝਿਮੇ ਝਿਮਿ ਝਿਮਿ ਵਰਸੈ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਧਾਰਾ ਰਾਮ ॥
jhim jhimay jhim jhim varsai amrit Dhaaraa raam.
Slowly, slowly, slowly, very slowly, the drops of Ambrosial Nectar trickle down.
ਗੁਰਮੁਖੇ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਨਦਰੀ ਰਾਮੁ ਪਿਆਰਾ ਰਾਮ ॥
gurmukhay gurmukh nadree raam pi-aaraa raam.
As Gurmukh, the Gurmukh beholds the Lord, the Beloved Lord.
ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮੁ ਪਿਆਰਾ ਜਗਤ ਨਿਸਤਾਰਾ ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮਿ ਵਡਿਆਈ ॥
raam naam pi-aaraa jagat nistaaraa raam naam vadi-aa-ee.
The Name of the Lord, the Emancipator of the world, is dear to him; the Name of the Lord is his glory.
ਕਲਿਜੁਗਿ ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮੁ ਬੋਹਿਥਾ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਪਾਰਿ ਲਘਾਈ ॥
kalijug raam naam bohithaa gurmukh paar laghaa-ee.
In this Dark Age of Kali Yuga, the Lord's Name is the boat, which carries the Gurmukh across.
ਹਲਤਿ ਪਲਤਿ ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮਿ ਸੁਹੇਲੇ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਕਰਣੀ ਸਾਰੀ ॥
halat palat raam naam suhaylay gurmukh karnee saaree.
This world, and the world hereafter, are adorned with the Lord's Name; the Gurmukh's lifestyle is the most excellent.
ਨਾਨਕ ਦਾਤਿ ਦਇਆ ਕਰਿ ਦੇਵੈ ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮਿ ਨਿਸਤਾਰੀ ॥੧॥
naanak daat da-i-aa kar dayvai raam naam nistaaree. ||1||
O Nanak, bestowing His kindness, the Lord gives the gift of His emancipating Name. ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Slowly, slowly, drop by drop, a sweetness trickles into a patient heart.

The Name of the One becomes the boat that carries you across even the hardest times — and a life lived this way is the loveliest of all.

Sweetness often comes not in a flood but drop by patient drop — so keep your heart open and wait.
The deeper layer

The shabad opens with a gorgeous, unhurried image: har har har har — like drops — slowly, slowly the Ambrosial Nectar trickles down. Sweetness comes not in a flood but drop by patient drop, to a heart that waits. And the Name becomes a boat to cross Kali Yuga (the 'dark age,' the hard times) — the raag's steady picture of something to hold that ferries you over deep water. The promise is gentle and whole: a life lived close to the Name is adorned in this world and the next, the most excellent way to live.

A Question to Sit With

What good thing in your life came slowly, a little at a time, rather than all at once?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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