Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
O One I love, please come — I've missed You for so long. My heart is heavy and my eyes fill with tears.
Show me my beloved One, O Guru. Meeting the One, my mind is glad.
I don't feel wise or worthy at all, and yet I've somehow been given good work to do.
This one is about how you don't need to feel good enough to be given real work.
This is the raag's "viraha," the ache of being apart from someone you love. Here it is at its most tender. Chiree vichhunay — I have been apart from You for so long. Mayraa man tan bahut bairaagi-aa — my mind and body are very sad, and my eyes are wet.
The verse does not hide the sadness. It lets the heart say plainly, "I miss the One." Think of missing a grandparent who lives far away. It is okay to say it out loud.
Then comes a beautiful, humble surprise. Ha-o moorakh kaarai laa-ee-aa naanak har kammay — I am just a fool, says Nanak, yet the One has given me work to do.
You don't have to feel wise or worthy to be given something that matters. Missing the One, and feeling small, don't shut you out. The longing, humble heart is the very one that gets handed real work.
Have you ever been trusted with something important even when you didn't feel ready?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI