Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When it pleases the Master, the servant gets to serve.
That servant lets the grasping self die away while still fully alive, and lifts up the whole family, all the way back to the ancestors.
Serving is a gift that comes when it pleases the One, and a quiet heart lifts up a whole family.
Guru Amar Das wrote this shabad in short, single lines, called ik tukaa. The first idea is that serving is a gift. Saahib bhaavai sayvak sayvaa karai means when it pleases the Master, the servant serves. You do not grab the chance to help. It is given to you.
Jeevat marai means "dead while alive." It does not mean dying. It means the loud, grasping "me" grows quiet while you are fully and warmly alive. Think of a noisy classroom that suddenly goes calm, so everyone can finally hear the teacher.
Sabh kul uDhrai means the whole family line is lifted up. One quiet, loving heart blesses everyone, all the way back.
What is something kind you could do that would quietly make your whole family proud?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI