Sikhism·Raag Bilaaval·Shabad 50
Verse 1 of 5

A Color That Never Stains

ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥
bilaaval mehlaa 5.
Bilaaval, Fifth Mehl:
ਲਾਲ ਰੰਗੁ ਤਿਸ ਕਉ ਲਗਾ ਜਿਸ ਕੇ ਵਡਭਾਗਾ ॥
laal rang tis ka-o lagaa jis kay vadbhaagaa.
One is dyed in the color of the Lord's Love, by great good fortune.
ਮੈਲਾ ਕਦੇ ਨ ਹੋਵਈ ਨਹ ਲਾਗੈ ਦਾਗਾ ॥੧॥
mailaa kaday na hova-ee nah laagai daagaa. ||1||
This color is never muddied; no stain ever sticks to it. ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

There is a kind of love that soaks all the way through you, like a deep, glowing color. When your good fortune brings it, it settles into every part of you.

And here is the beautiful thing: this color never gets muddy. No stain can stick to it. Once the love of the One is in you, nothing the world throws at you can wash it out.

Love for the One soaks all the way through — and nothing can wash it out.
The deeper layer

Some love never fades.

Laal rang tis ka-o lagaa jis kay vadbhaagaa — the deep red color of love comes to the one with great good fortune. Laal rang means deep red, the color of love for the Beloved. It comes as a gift received, not a prize earned.

Think of a favorite T-shirt. Wash it enough times and the color fades. This color is different.

Mailaa kaday na hova-ee nah laagai daagaa — it never gets muddy, and no stain ever sticks to it. The world's dyes wash out. This love stays.

A Question to Sit With

What is something good in you that no bad day can take away?

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

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