The Primal Lord God is the Life of the Universe; His Saints drink in the Lord's sublime essence. Meditating on Him, doubts, attachments and pains are shaken off.
ਚਾਤ੍ਰਿਕੁ ਜਾਚੈ ਬੂੰਦ ਜਿਉ ਨਾਨਕ ਹਰਿ ਪਿਆਰਾ ॥੩॥
chaatrik jaachai boond ji-o naanak har pi-aaraa. ||3||
As the song-bird yearns for the rain-drop, so does Nanak love the Lord. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
I wait for the One the way a little rain-bird waits, beak open, for a single drop — my very breath depends on it.
The One is dearer to me than money, treasures, family, or friends — and I don't want to forget it for even a moment.
Those who love the One drink in its sweetness. Remembering the One shakes off doubt, clinging, and pain.
There's one love at the center that holds all your other loves and makes sense of them.
The deeper layer
This one says there is one love at the center that holds all the other loves.
Chaatrik jaachai boond — the song-bird begs for a raindrop. The chaatrik is a bird that people say waits, beak open, for rain alone. The verse then names what is dearest: the One is more beloved than money, treasure, children, brothers and sisters, and friends.
This is not coldness toward family. Other verses call good and wise people our best friends. The point is what sits at the center. Think of a bicycle wheel. The hub in the middle holds all the spokes in place. Love for the One is the hub, and it helps every other love make sense.
Then comes a tender promise: saas giraas na bisrai kabahoo — I will never forget, not for a breath or a bite. Remembering is woven into breathing itself. The longing bird and the "dearer than all" are one feeling: the love at the center.
A Question to Sit With
What is the love that sits at the very center of your life?
