Sikhism·Raag Bhairao·Shabad 98
Verse 3 of 9

Every Life Is Held Close

ਕੋਟਿ ਮਾਇਆ ਜਾ ਕੈ ਸੇਵਕਾਇ ॥
kot maa-i-aa jaa kai sayvkaa-ay.
Millions of Mayas are His maid-servants.
ਕੋਟਿ ਜੀਅ ਜਾ ਕੀ ਸਿਹਜਾਇ ॥
kot jee-a jaa kee sihjaa-ay.
Millions of souls are His beds.
ਕੋਟਿ ਉਪਾਰਜਨਾ ਤੇਰੈ ਅੰਗਿ ॥
kot upaarjanaa tayrai ang.
Millions of universes are the limbs of His Being.
ਕੋਟਿ ਭਗਤ ਬਸਤ ਹਰਿ ਸੰਗਿ ॥੨॥
kot bhagat basat har sang. ||2||
Millions of devotees abide with the Lord. ||2||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Millions of Mayas, all the shiny pulls of the world, are the One's helpers.

Millions of souls are where the One rests, like a bed.

Millions of worlds are part of Your own body.

Millions of loving hearts live right beside the One.

In a universe this vast, not a single life is left outside the One's care.
The deeper layer

The One is huge, and yet every life is held close.

Maya is the pull of the world, all the shiny things we chase. Here, millions of Mayas are only the One's helpers. Millions of souls are the One's resting place, the way a bed holds someone asleep. Millions of worlds are like the One's own arms and legs. And millions of loving hearts live right beside the One.

Think of a big school with thousands of kids. A good principal still knows each child's name. That is the picture here: vast and near at the same time. Even the things that usually pull us away are only servants of the One who holds every life close.

A Question to Sit With

How does it feel to imagine that nothing and no one is left out of something so big?

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

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