Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
No god or great power is equal to the Guru.
Whoever has good fortune written on their forehead turns to seva, glad service.
Nothing is equal to the Guru, and the lucky ones get to serve.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the whole shabad, the part everything else leans on.
Gur jaisaa naahee ko dayv: no dayv, no god or great power, is equal to the Guru.
Then: jis mastak bhaag so laagaa sayv. A person with good fortune written on their forehead turns to sayv. That is seva, service that asks for nothing back. Here bhaag, fortune, simply means luck or blessing.
Think of helping in the kitchen before a family meal. Chopping, stirring, setting the plates. When you love the people who will eat, it feels like a gift you get to give.
That is how the verse sees service. The lucky ones are the ones who get to do it.
When has helping someone else made you feel lucky?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI