Like a Swan Needs Its Lake, the Soul Needs to Serve

ਹਮਰੈ ਸ੍ਰਵਣੁ ਸਿਮਰਨੁ ਹਰਿ ਕੀਰਤਨੁ ਹਉ ਹਰਿ ਬਿਨੁ ਰਹਿ ਨ ਸਕਉ ਹਉ ਇਕੁ ਖਿਨੁ ॥

hamrai sarvan simran har keertan ha-o har bin reh na saka-o ha-o ik khin.

My ears hear the Lord's Kirtan, and I contemplate Him; without the Lord, I cannot live, even for an instant.

ਜੈਸੇ ਹੰਸੁ ਸਰਵਰ ਬਿਨੁ ਰਹਿ ਨ ਸਕੈ ਤੈਸੇ ਹਰਿ ਜਨੁ ਕਿਉ ਰਹੈ ਹਰਿ ਸੇਵਾ ਬਿਨੁ ॥੧॥

jaisay hans sarvar bin reh na sakai taisay har jan ki-o rahai har sayvaa bin. ||1||

As the swan cannot live without the lake, how can the Lord's slave live without serving Him? ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

My ears drink in the praises of the One, and I contemplate Him; without the One I cannot live an instant.

As a swan cannot live without its lake, how can the One's servant live without serving Him?

Like a swan that needs its lake, the soul needs to serve what it loves — it's not optional.

The deeper layer

Serving the One is as natural to a loving heart as water is to a swan.

Jaisay hans sarvar bin reh na sakai — as a swan can't live without its lake. Hans means swan, and sarvar means lake. The swan's whole life is the water. Take the lake away, and it cannot survive.

In the same way, the servant's life is the serving. Serving is not a chore added on top of life. It is the water the soul swims in. Another shabad nearby says this with a fish and its water. Pictures from nature say what big words can't: this love is part of who you are.

A Question to Sit With

What is something you love so much that doing it feels as natural as breathing?

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

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