Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The Word is the tree; the heart is the farm — tend it, and water it with the One's love.
Every one of these trees bears the fruit of the One Name; but without the good actions you have sown, how could anyone gather it?
This one says your heart is like a farm, and love is the water that makes it grow.
Akhar birakh baag bhu-ay chokhee means "the Word is the tree, and the heart is the good field." The Word, or Shabad, is the Guru's teaching. Sinchit bhaa-o karayhee means "water it with love."
Every tree on this farm gives the same fruit: the One Name. But there is a catch. Bin karmaa kaisay layhee means "without good deeds, how could anyone gather it?" Karmaa here means the good actions you have sown.
Think of a school garden. Someone else gives you the seeds and the rain. You cannot make a tomato grow by pulling on it. But you still have to weed, water, and show up. Grace gives the tree and the water. Our part is to tend the field. Both are needed. An earlier shabad in Raag Gauree makes the same point with a bowl turned upside down, which cannot catch any rain.
How do you "water" the good things you want to grow inside you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI