ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ ਮਹਲਾ ੪ ॥
bilaaval mehlaa 4.
Bilaaval, Fourth Mehl:
ਹਮ ਮੂਰਖ ਮੁਗਧ ਅਗਿਆਨ ਮਤੀ ਸਰਣਾਗਤਿ ਪੁਰਖ ਅਜਨਮਾ ॥
ham moorakh mugaDh agi-aan matee sarnaagat purakh ajnamaa.
I am foolish, idiotic and ignorant; I seek Your Sanctuary, O Primal Being, O Lord beyond birth.
ਕਰਿ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਰਖਿ ਲੇਵਹੁ ਮੇਰੇ ਠਾਕੁਰ ਹਮ ਪਾਥਰ ਹੀਨ ਅਕਰਮਾ ॥੧॥
kar kirpaa rakh layvhu mayray thaakur ham paathar heen akarmaa. ||1||
Have Mercy upon me, and save me, O my Lord and Master; I am a lowly stone, with no good karma at all. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I do not come with cleverness or credentials — I come not-knowing much at all, and I take shelter with You, the One beyond birth.
Be kind and hold me, my One. I feel as plain and heavy as a stone, with nothing good of my own to offer — and I am asking anyway.
Coming empty-handed is not shameful — the open hand is the one grace can fill.
Moorakh and paathar, the unknowing one and the stone, describe empty hands held out to the One: the plainest hand is exactly the open one grace can fill. Sarnaagat — taking sanctuary — is the whole posture of the shabad.
A Question to Sit With
When has admitting you did not have it all figured out helped you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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