Sikhism·Raag Bhairao·Shabad 42
Verse 4 of 5

What Holds You Up

ਮੀਤ ਹੀਤ ਧਨੁ ਨਹ ਪਾਰਣਾ ॥
meet heet Dhan nah paarnaa.
Friends, well-wishers and wealth will not support you.
ਧੰਨਿ ਧੰਨਿ ਮੇਰੇ ਨਾਰਾਇਣਾ ॥੩॥
Dhan Dhan mayray naaraa-inaa. ||3||
Blessed, blessed is my Lord. ||3||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Friends, people who wish you well, and wealth cannot hold you up.

Blessed, blessed is my Lord, Narayan.

Good things support you, but only the One is the ground itself.
The deeper layer

The One is what holds you up, more than friends or money; blessed, blessed is the One.

Meet heet Dhan nah paarnaa: friends, people who wish you well, and wealth won't be your final support. Friends are a gift. Having enough is good. The Guru is showing where the ground under everything is.

Think of a house. The paint, the furniture and the people inside all make it a home. But what keeps it standing in a storm is the foundation you never see. The One is that foundation. That is why the Guru says Dhan Dhan, blessed, blessed is my Lord.

A Question to Sit With

What do you lean on that could shake, and what feels steady all the way down?

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

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