jag upjai binsai binas binaasai lag gurmukh asthir ho-ay jee-o.
The people of the world are born, only to perish, and perish, and perish again. Only by attaching oneself to the Lord as Gurmukh, does one become permanent.
gur mantar drirh-aa-ay har rasak rasaa-ay har amrit har mukh cho-ay jee-o.
The Guru implants His Mantra within the heart, and one savors the sublime essence of the Lord; the Ambrosial Nectar of the Lord trickles into his mouth.
jag upjai binsai binas binaasai lag gurmukh asthir ho-ay jee-o. ||4||6||13||
The people of the world are born, only to perish, and perish, and perish again. Only by attaching oneself to the Lord as Gurmukh, does one become permanent. ||4||6||13||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
The world is born and fades away, again and again. Holding on to the One through the Guru, you become steady and lasting.
The Guru plants the sacred word in your heart. You taste the One, and sweet nectar trickles into your mouth.
Tasting that nectar, what was dead comes alive and does not die again.
Through the Name you reach a life that lasts, and you melt into the Name.
Says Nanak, the Name is my only support and anchor. Without the Name there is nothing else at all.
Nothing in you is too far gone to come back to life — the sweetness revives even a heart gone numb.
The deeper layer
Nothing inside you is too far gone to come alive again.
The shabad ends with a contrast. Jag upjai binsai — the world is born and fades away, again and again. It is a tiring circle, a life spent on things that cannot last. But lag gurmukh asthir ho-ay — holding on to the One through the Guru, a person becomes steady and lasting.
Then comes a picture of new life. The amrit, the sweet nectar, trickles into the mouth. Mu-aa jeevaa-i-aa — the dead come back to life. This means a heart that has gone numb from forgetting can wake up again. Think of a plant that looks dried out. You water it, and in a few days green leaves appear. The Name is the only support and anchor, the one thing steady enough to hold in all the circling. Holding it, even what felt dead in you lives again.
A Question to Sit With
Have you ever felt something you thought was gone — hope, joy, love — come back to life in you?
