Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
How could I ever forget You? It would hurt too much.
The pain would be unbearable — no, I will not forget You!
This one is a simple, heartfelt cry: "How could I ever forget You? It would hurt too much."
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line. It is the center of the whole shabad. Kee visrahi dukh bahutaa laagai means "why would I forget You? The pain would be so great." Too visar naahee means "I will not forget You."
The thought of forgetting the One comes up, and it is pushed away at once. There is a word for this feeling: viraha, the ache of being apart from someone you love.
Think of a child on the first day at a new school, missing home. Once you have known someone's love, even imagining being without it hurts. That is how the soul feels once it has tasted the One. So remembering is not a chore here. It is what love naturally does.
What is something you could never bring yourself to forget?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI