The Rahau asks, gently, why wander lost — the loving One is always here, seeing and hearing, even when we act and then deny it. The verse names the sad trade of gold for glass, befriending the harmful and leaving the true friend, chasing the empty until worn out. The close turns to rescue: when kindness comes near, the teacher takes you by the arm and lifts you out of the low, dark place.
Key Vocabulary
aisay kaahay bhool paray: why wander lost
sadaa sang haray: the One ever-present
kaach / kanchan: glass and gold
andh koop: the dark, low place
gur bhaytai kaadhai baah faray: the teacher lifts you out by the arm
Themes and Cross-Connections
Never unseen, inverted values set right, and rescue by the arm.
For Raag Bilaaval
Closes the run on the raag's keynote — trouble met, and a hand that lifts.
Translation Notes
SSK's andh koop (deep dark pit) and burning away are rendered as a low, dark place and being worn out — the sense of being stuck kept, the terror set aside, and the shabad's own turn to rescue foregrounded.
However far down you feel, a hand can reach you.
The Arc
The Rahau asks, gently, why wander lost — the loving One is always here, seeing and hearing, even when we act and then deny it. The verse names the sad trade of gold for glass, befriending the harmful and leaving the true friend, chasing the empty until worn out. The close turns to rescue: when kindness comes near, the teacher takes you by the arm and lifts you out of the low, dark place.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
Never unseen, inverted values set right, and rescue by the arm.
For Raag Bilaaval
Closes the run on the raag's keynote — trouble met, and a hand that lifts.
Translation Notes
SSK's andh koop (deep dark pit) and burning away are rendered as a low, dark place and being worn out — the sense of being stuck kept, the terror set aside, and the shabad's own turn to rescue foregrounded.
Last updated: 2026-07-08