ਬਾਰੇ ਬੂਢੇ ਤਰੁਨੇ ਭਈਆ ਸਭਹੂ ਜਮੁ ਲੈ ਜਈਹੈ ਰੇ ॥
baaray boodhay tarunay bha-ee-aa sabhhoo jam lai ja-eehai ray.
The children, the young and the old, O Siblings of Destiny, will be taken away by the Messenger of Death.
ਮਾਨਸੁ ਬਪੁਰਾ ਮੂਸਾ ਕੀਨੋ ਮੀਚੁ ਬਿਲਈਆ ਖਈਹੈ ਰੇ ॥੧॥
maanas bapuraa moosaa keeno meech bila-ee-aa kha-eehai ray. ||1||
The Lord has made the poor man a mouse, and the cat of Death is eating him up. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Young or old, everyone moves through the same doorway in the end — the little kids, the grown-ups, all of us. Time carries each of us along.
That is not scary; it is just true. And knowing it makes today feel precious instead of ordinary.
Time carries everyone the same way — so treasure the day.
baaray boodhay tarunay — children, old, and young alike are carried off by time. The mouse-and-cat image (maanas... moosaa... meech bilaaee) is a stark picture of mortality, held here with tenderness for the passing moment. bhaaee ("siblings of destiny") gathers all of us together.
A Question to Sit With
What is something small about today you would like to remember?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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