Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Be kind to me, and come live in my mind. I have little good of my own to offer — take me, and let me hold the edge of Your robe.
Once You are in my thoughts, what trouble could knock me over? Whoever walks with You is not shaken even by fear, and when the One is remembered, aches melt away — for the One stays with that person always.
This is a prayer: come and live in my mind, and let me stay close.
The first two lines are the rahaa-o, the "pause" line. It is the center of the whole shabad, the part you keep coming back to. Da-i-aa karahu bashu man aa-ay — "be kind, and come live in my mind."
The seeker calls themselves nirgun, "without good qualities." This is not putting yourself down. It is being honest: I have little to bring. Larh laa-ay means holding the hem of someone's robe. Think of a small child holding a parent's shirt in a crowded market.
The verse says the One's servant is not troubled by jam, the messenger of death. Put simply, whoever walks with the One is not knocked over, even by fear. When the One is remembered, aches ease away. Jaa kai sang sadaa parabh basai — the One stays with that person always.
What is a thought you can return to that instantly makes you feel steadier?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI