You are a treasure fortress -- and you are carried safely across.
The Arc
Guru Ram Das sings the body as both fortress and boat. Ego stepping aside opens a day-and-night song of love; the Name is the support he cannot live without. The body-house has ten gates where five thieves slip in -- yet that same house is a fortress full of jewels, and awakened wisdom locks the thieves away. The Name is the boat and the Shabad the boatman that carry us safely across; the mind comes home to the beat of a celestial drum; eyes, ears, and a softened heart drink the essence; and from the calm beyond the three qualities one sees the same One in all -- no one higher, no one lower -- merging at last in the Light that is tender to the small.
Key Vocabulary
das du-aar: the ten gates
panch chor: the five thieves
kanchan kot: the golden fortress
bohithaa: the boat
neesaan: the celestial drum
turee-aa gun: the fourth, transcendent state
ayk darisat: the single impartial eye
deen da-i-aal: merciful to the humble
Themes and Cross-Connections
The body as both danger and treasure; safe passage across; equality and oneness; grace toward the lowly. Closes the First Set with a vision of one Light in all.
For Raag Bilaaval
The raag's forward brightness suits the imagery of a safe crossing and a joyful homecoming.
Translation Notes
The 'messenger of death, the tax collector' (Pauri 4) is rendered as safety and fearlessness rather than death-terror. The single-impartial-eye verse (Pauri 7) is foregrounded as caste- and rank-leveling equality, per the project's emphasis.
You are a treasure fortress -- and you are carried safely across.
The Arc
Guru Ram Das sings the body as both fortress and boat. Ego stepping aside opens a day-and-night song of love; the Name is the support he cannot live without. The body-house has ten gates where five thieves slip in -- yet that same house is a fortress full of jewels, and awakened wisdom locks the thieves away. The Name is the boat and the Shabad the boatman that carry us safely across; the mind comes home to the beat of a celestial drum; eyes, ears, and a softened heart drink the essence; and from the calm beyond the three qualities one sees the same One in all -- no one higher, no one lower -- merging at last in the Light that is tender to the small.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The body as both danger and treasure; safe passage across; equality and oneness; grace toward the lowly. Closes the First Set with a vision of one Light in all.
For Raag Bilaaval
The raag's forward brightness suits the imagery of a safe crossing and a joyful homecoming.
Translation Notes
The 'messenger of death, the tax collector' (Pauri 4) is rendered as safety and fearlessness rather than death-terror. The single-impartial-eye verse (Pauri 7) is foregrounded as caste- and rank-leveling equality, per the project's emphasis.
Last updated: 2026-07-08