Sikhism·Raag Aasaa·Shabad 62
Verse 5 of 5

The Truest Free Spirit Is Soaked in Praise Within

ਸਿਫਤੀ ਰਤਾ ਸਦ ਬੈਰਾਗੀ ਜੂਐ ਜਨਮੁ ਨ ਹਾਰੈ ॥
siftee rataa sad bairaagee joo-ai janam na haarai.
Imbued with the Lord's Praises, one is forever a Bairaagee, a renunciate, and one's life is not lost in the gamble.
ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਸੁਣਿ ਭਰਥਰਿ ਜੋਗੀ ਖੀਵਾ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਧਾਰੈ ॥੪॥੪॥੩੮॥
kaho naanak sun bharthar jogee kheevaa amrit Dhaarai. ||4||4||38||
Says Nanak, listen, O Bharthari Yogi: drink in the intoxicating nectar of the Lord. ||4||4||38||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Soaked in praise, a person is a true free-hearted renunciate, and his life is not thrown away in the gamble.

Listen, Bharthari the yogi, says Nanak: drink the intoxicating nectar of the One.

The truest free spirit isn't the one who runs away, but the one soaked in praise from the inside.
The deeper layer

The truly free-hearted person is soaked in praise on the inside.

A Bairaagee is a renunciate, someone who gives up the world. Guru Nanak says the true one does not have to run from the world. Siftee rataa sad bairaagee — soaked in the One's praises, a person is always free-hearted. Joo-ai janam na haarai — such a person does not lose life in the gamble. Human life is a big chance. Wasting it is like losing everything on one bet.

Think of a kite. It flies free in the sky because it is held by its string.

Then Guru Nanak speaks to Bharthari the yogi again. He does not simply say, "Give up wine." He says drink, but drink the real, joyful Nectar of the One.

A Question to Sit With

What would it mean to feel truly free without having to escape anywhere?

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

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