However Lost, There's a Shelter to Grab Hold Of

ਓਟ ਗਹੀ ਗੋਪਾਲ ਦਇਆਲ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਨਿਧੇ ॥

ot gahee gopaal da-i-aal kirpaa niDhay.

I have grasped the protection of the merciful Lord, the Sustainer of the Universe, the treasure of grace.

ਮੋਹਿ ਆਸਰ ਤੁਅ ਚਰਨ ਤੁਮਾਰੀ ਸਰਨਿ ਸਿਧੇ ॥

mohi aasar tu-a charan tumaaree saran siDhay.

I take the support of Your lotus feet, and in the protection of Your Sanctuary, I attain perfection.

ਹਰਿ ਚਰਨ ਕਾਰਨ ਕਰਨ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਪਤਿਤ ਉਧਰਨ ਹਰਿ ਹਰੇ ॥

har charan kaaran karan su-aamee patit uDhran har haray.

The Lord's lotus feet are the cause of causes; the Lord Master saves even the sinners.

ਸਾਗਰ ਸੰਸਾਰ ਭਵ ਉਤਾਰ ਨਾਮੁ ਸਿਮਰਤ ਬਹੁ ਤਰੇ ॥

saagar sansaar bhav utaar naam simrat baho taray.

So many are saved; they cross over the terrifying world-ocean, contemplating the Naam, the Name of the Lord.

ਆਦਿ ਅੰਤਿ ਬੇਅੰਤ ਖੋਜਹਿ ਸੁਨੀ ਉਧਰਨ ਸੰਤਸੰਗ ਬਿਧੇ ॥

aad ant bay-ant khojeh sunee uDhran satsang biDhay.

In the beginning and in the end, countless are those who seek the Lord. I have heard that the Society of the Saints is the way to salvation.

ਨਾਨਕੁ ਪਇਅੰਪੈ ਚਰਨ ਜੰਪੈ ਓਟ ਗਹੀ ਗੋਪਾਲ ਦਇਆਲ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਨਿਧੇ ॥੩॥

naanak pa-i-ampai charan jampai ot gahee gopaal da-i-aal kirpaa niDhay. ||3||

Prays Nanak, I meditate on the Lord's lotus feet, and grasp the protection of the Lord of the Universe, the merciful, the ocean of kindness. ||3||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

I've taken hold of the shelter of the kind One, and found a safe place to stand.

Those beautiful feet are the source of everything, and they lift up even those who feel most lost — so many have been carried safely across.

However lost you feel, there's a shelter you can grab hold of — and countless others have been carried safely before you.

The deeper layer

The verse rests entirely in shelter: I have grasped the protection of the merciful One... in Your Sanctuary I attain perfection. And it makes a sweeping, hopeful claim: the Lord saves even the sinners — so many are saved, carried across the deep water. No one is written off; the door of shelter is the widest door there is. The Lotus Feet are the cause of causes — the source behind all sources — and yet they stoop to lift the lost. For a child: however lost you feel, there is a shelter you can simply grab hold of, and countless others have been carried safely by it before you.

A Question to Sit With

Where do you go, or who do you hold onto, when you need shelter?

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

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