Sikhism·Raag Bilaaval·Shabad 109
Verse 1 of 3

Found by Sitting With the Wise

ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥
bilaaval mehlaa 5.
Bilaaval, Fifth Mehl:
ਅਗਮ ਰੂਪ ਅਬਿਨਾਸੀ ਕਰਤਾ ਪਤਿਤ ਪਵਿਤ ਇਕ ਨਿਮਖ ਜਪਾਈਐ ॥
agam roop abhinaasee kartaa patit pavit ik nimakh japaa-ee-ai.
O Inaccessible, Beautiful, Imperishable Creator Lord, Purifier of sinners, let me meditate on You, even for an instant.
ਅਚਰਜੁ ਸੁਨਿਓ ਪਰਾਪਤਿ ਭੇਟੁਲੇ ਸੰਤ ਚਰਨ ਚਰਨ ਮਨੁ ਲਾਈਐ ॥੧॥
achraj suni-o paraapat bhaytulay sant charan charan man laa-ee-ai. ||1||
O Wondrous Lord, I have heard that You are found by meeting the Saints, and focusing the mind on their feet, their holy feet. ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

You are beyond reach, beautiful and never fading. You are the Maker who makes even the fallen clean again. Let me hold You in mind, even for a single blink.

I have heard something wonderful: You are found by sitting with those who love You, and settling the mind at their feet.

A single honest moment of remembering counts.
The deeper layer

Remembering the One for even a blink counts, and the One is found near the saints.

The One is agam, beyond reach. The One is beautiful and abhinaasee, never fading. The One is patit pavit, the one who makes the fallen clean again. That is a hopeful promise: anyone who has slipped can be made fresh. Ik nimakh japaa-ee-ai — let me remember You, even for an instant.

Then: achraj suni-o — I heard something wonderful. The One is found by meeting the sants, holy people, and resting the mind at their feet. Think of learning to cook by standing in the kitchen with a great cook. You pick it up just by being near.

A Question to Sit With

What is something worth doing even for just a minute?

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

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